“One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts.”

This Yoruba proverb is one of hundreds of iterations of the Golden Rule around the globe and through human history. Given the prevalence of the Rule, often expressed in Western culture as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” we can consider it the universal human ethic, distilled from the well of humanity’s conscience.

Yet the Golden Rule is more than an ethic; it also offers a Golden Path. As we engage with it and its wish, it can offer a way to self- knowledge and to the awakening of mind, heart, body—as explored in Stephen Aronson’s “The Golden Rule and the Transformation of Being,” the opening essay in this Winter 2021-2022 issue of Parabola. Myriad aspects and lore of the Golden Rule are considered throughout these pages, from Confucian wisdom on doing the right thing to the captivating story of how painting the Rule changed everything for renowned artist Norman Rockwell; from an exchange of letters on friendship between a journalist and a Trappist monk to a stirring story of compassion and respect between bear and human.

There are cautionary tales here too, one a memorable Hanukkah lesson and the other a deep look at what can happen when the Golden Rule is ignored in spiritual work. These pages also feature an enjoyable and ready-to-assemble magic device to teach the Golden Rule, and a conversation with its creator, magician Steffan Soule.

In addition, Parabola is proud to again present the annual winners of the Poetry of the Sacred Contest (2021), chosen by the Center for Interfaith Relations.

Our gratitude to Bonnie Phillips and the Golden Rule Project for their help and support on this issue, which we hope will serve all readers well.

—Jeff Zaleski