Ask Dali Mama

DEAR DALI MAMA:

I have a good friend who has been friends with me since kindergarten. She’s a hard-core Christian-right person and sometimes she gets really preachy with me AND my family, including my kids. I am fine with whatever she believes but she is definitely not fine with me, as I am a looser spiritual person with no particular institutional or religious affiliations. How do I handle this behavior? When I try to address it, it’s gotten really tense and I feel like it makes things even worse.

–Spiritual but anxious (United States)

DEAR SPIRITUAL BUT ANXIOUS:

Give her space to have her beliefs and remain neutral when she begins to proselytize. If you don’t resist her or her preaching at you energetically, there is no energy to push back against, and she will back off or lose interest in trying to convert you. You might also want to have a conversation with your kids about people having different beliefs and that it’s okay for them and everyone else to have whatever beliefs are appropriate for them.

Enjoy the process.