Winston, who writes at Nobody Asked, honored me with the Thinking Blogger Award. Apparently I am among the many blogs that tickle his gray matter. Now it falls to me to inform the world of five blogs that make me think. Here they are (there are many more, and it was difficult to choose):

Dating God: Kate Turner writes soulful, deeply authentic posts about her journey through the world. She’s unique, and I’d prefer to use her words to present her. From her “about” page:

I no longer believe that I have any answers. And I’m now even suspicious of my questions. But more will be revealed and I am dang skippy surrendered to whatever occurrs in the meantime.

I have lived in 70+ places in seven states and held at least that many different jobs including feng shui consultant, actor, corporate recruiter, bartender, limo driver, truck driver, personal assistant, psychic, holistic practitioner, dancer, yogini, weight loss instructor, strip club waitress, cat wrangler, and currently, public health intern. I write this here blog as a form of Life-as-jigsaw-puzzle, shove 6.2 billion scholarly facts daily into my sweet brain, and drive my car around the snowy streets of Albany as training for my future career in NASCAR on Ice.

I have had over forty soulmates and have discovered there is no such thing.

I have overturned a hundred thousand stones and moments searching for proof of god and I have discovered that god is Nothing.

I believe in love, Life, and creative expression as a path to salvation. I believe that we are all already saved but are too consumed by all the shiny things to realize it. I believe that all the love we need is inside of us. I believe that any love experienced in this world is better seen as a verb in motion rather than a stationary noun.

I recently discovered Memoirs of a Skepchick, which has as the tagline: Critical Thinking for the Masses. A lot of the books I see published about skepticism, culture, and religion tend to be written by men: Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, George Smith, David Mills, etc. So it’s refreshing to hear (i.e., read) a woman’s perspective. There are several authors for this blog; here are some of the categories used in organizing posts: Science, Anti-Science, Literature, Random Asides, Current Events, Religious Rants, and Skepchick-ism. I’ve only begun reading this blog and devour what they write.

Gerry Rosser is a fairly new blogger, and he posts at TwoBlueDay. I enjoy Gerry’s ruminations, and I especially appreciate the photography he posts. His eye for extraordinary shots is excellent, and I savor them. He reminds me to look at the world at all there is to see. I hope he decides to sell prints of his work. They really are that good.

Another new blog to me, Quiet Little Life is a gem. Kay Pere describes herself as “a multi-dimensional performing songwriter, visual artist, writer, educator and activist whose work embodies a message of hope, healing and humanity. When she isn’t traveling to perform, present workshops or show her artwork, Kay lives a quiet little life in a Mystical corner of southern New England.” I enjoy her mix of whimsy (an ode to Peeps, for example) and reflection (a post on experiencing creative blockage).

My dear friend Leah Piken is the author of Creative Every Day, another blog with soul. I’ve been reading Leah since I first began blogging in early 2002 and have been a witness to her journey into a new career, an engagement, and many other avenues for growth. She is an artist, and it was her blog that really inspired me to begin playing with art, which resulted in me embracing the identity of “artist.” Leah writes about creative synchronicities and unearths interesting tidbits (books, quotes, inspirations) that get my creative juices flowing.

The awardees are invited to participate and post a list of five bloggers whose writing makes you think. The original rules suggested:

• Create your own post of five blogs that make you think.
• Link to this place so that people know where the meme is from.
• Display the award, if you like, linking to the post that you wrote.

Happy Thinking!