For Sunday December 23rd, 2018

Hello to all, the word dissociation is a psychiatric term typically used to describe a state of 'disconnecting from one's surroundings' during times of trauma. It is a survival technique in extreme trauma. But here's a question; in situations which are safe and quiet, can it be learned and used to deepen meditation?

Can we learn to 'step outside our bodies' with meditative relaxation techniques? Can dissociation be crafted and perfected? Can it be used to "leave" everything and clear a path or pathway to the Unitive?

May we sit this Sunday, perhaps with the help of the attached meditative script, to reach beyond the physical, to search for the path to the Unitive, to find our way home. 

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday December 16th, 2018

Hello to all, here's a quote which seems useful at this time:  "Arguments will seldom change the aspects or the views of any. And truth itself needs no champion, for it is of itself champion of champions – and needs no defense; only for self to live according to that which IS the truth!"   – Edgar Cayce 1669-1 

Cayce is asking us to live the truth, but before that we must find what is far beyond our surface life, to find that which is honest, loving, and eternal. 

May we sit this evening for sight which is far beyond the work-a-day world. May we attain some degree of sight into the Divine depths. May we bring it back to live in this world.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday December 9th, 2018

Hello everyone and nearly Merry Christmas, as we celebrate 'the one' whose spiritual job is not yet finished let us work toward the Oneness which is within our reach. Here again a connective process:

Step one; get the hands busy, find or join an activity which can be done with a group. 

Step two; the community spirit which is built during the activity is the engagement of hearts. 

Step three; it is the engagement of people's hearts which changes the brain and thereby the thinking.

May we sit this Sunday in the unity which is promised but we have not yet attained. May we reach out and make the connections we can. May Thy Will be done in all things.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday December 2nd, 2018

Hello all, I apologize for the lateness of this posting. Due to illness in other Santas I got caught up doing Santa until 8pm. The original schedule said I'd be done by 2pm. So with this in mind, let's sit tonight for all those who portray, and those who help the portrayal, of Santa throughout the world. Collectively, they bring a great deal of joy to the Earth.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday November 25th, 2018

Hello everyone, if you're looking for hope in the world among the myriad distresses which dominate the news cycles – look toward nurses, hospital clowns, and volunteers sifting through the ashes of Paradise, CA. In other words, look for the helpers. If you're trying to measure the heart of the world amongst all the war, look for the helpers. If you're searching for the 'spiritual glue' which holds societies together, look for the helpers. 

All these helpers, and vastly many more, hold the seeds for the future of the human race. They hold those seeds in their hearts. And, anyone can join them. 

May we sit this Sunday in gratitude for all those who have been helpers to us in the past. May we sit for the opportunities to be helpers ourselves in the future. May we sit for the courage and outwardly loving heart which is required to fulfill helping.

Thank you all for your help,

Richard

For Sunday November 18th, 2018

Hello everyone, it's difficult to find any way to state this quote more clearly:

"At the most basic level, it's how we treat each other that will make the difference. As we recognize the extent of the pain and anger in the world, the importance of loving kindness becomes even clearer." -- Judge Stanley Peele 

Those who annoy, those who injure, and all those who are lost, are still on their own personally crafted path to Oneness. May we sit this Sunday for the depth of courage and self-awareness required to extend loving-kindness to all. 

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday November 11th, 2018

Hello everyone, it is possible to love someone who is in a state of fear, and when they are angry. It's even possible to love someone despite whatever 'wrongs' they may have committed.

Doing so can be called the beginnings of unconditional love, reaching out to others. It's also essential to do so for ourselves. 

The self-honesty which brings an awareness of our own internal difficulties is also a loving doorway for viewing the same difficulties in others. Then the forgiveness we wish for ourselves, once given, can be extended.

May we sit this evening for our own forgiveness. May we extend it to others. May we begin to touch upon Unconditional Love.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday November 4th, 2018

Hello to all, the ancient Grecian story of Pandora's box and it's content of troubles for humanity, when seen from a high enough spiritual level, was not intended as punishment but rather as challenges to provide growth and movement.

We can look at our societal troubles of today through the same lens. Exposing the angers, fears, and discord which are abundant in our national discourse provides us with a chance to address them healthily, giving us a reason to search for wisdom.

May we sit this evening for the proper attitude, enough courage, and the will to act from a loving place within.

Thank you all,

Richard

PS Here's a treat I just found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiVcYDyPA6I&index=23&list=PLqU_mQ9bmQDoZ7Mzth0s4qgJj0TqTxap0 

For Sunday October 28th, 2018

Hello to everyone, Vivekananda states: "The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him – in that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free."

May we sit this evening for the insight to see the Divine in every human being, for the personal freedom which comes from such insight, and for the benefits it brings to the world at large.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday October 21st, 2018

Hello to everyone, Dr. Charles Flynn was a good friend of Tom Sawyer. Together they made a terrific spiritual team known as Tom Sawyer and, not Huck Finn but very close, Chuck Flynn. Chuck came up with an idea he called the 'Love Project' wherein you identify someone you absolutely cannot stand as a human being, the most objectionable person you can possibly find – and decide love them. 

You can choose someone you will never likely meet in this life or someone very close to you. The more disgusted you are with this person, and the closer you are to them, the more powerful the project will be. But it is your choice to start wherever you may. 

Whoever you choose it begins with your thoughts and attitudes toward them. You do not have to agree with their actions, opinions, or decisions. You merely have to love them anyway, no matter what they do or say.

The Oneness we are promised will include this, perhaps we could take this opportunity get an early start.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday October 14th, 2018

Hello everyone, sometimes a quote from a friend can catch you up, complete and succinct, with nothing more to be said.

"At the most basic level, it's how we treat each other that will make the difference. As we recognize the extent of the pain and anger in the world, the importance of loving kindness becomes even clearer." -- Judge Stanley Peele

May we sit this Sunday for the loving kindness that Stanley lived, for his entire life.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday October 7th, 2018

Hello to all, Mother Teresa's well-known quote, "God did not call me to be successful, but to be faithful," speaks to the heart of her work ethic.  No matter what outcomes we may experience in life, the work remains the same. The Golden Rule still stands and "Love one another as I have loved you" still holds true. 

Being human, with all attending psychological frailties, we work on ourselves and thus upon the piece of the world that we are. The work accumulates over time and the world moves, sometimes haltingly, toward Oneness.

May we sit this Sunday for the highest parts of ourselves. May we bring out our best. May we move the entire world forward by one human step.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday September 30th, 2018

Hello to all, Barbara Whitfield has reminded me of a couple of sayings from St. Francis of Assisi, "When we pray to God we must be seeking nothing – nothing." And, "We should seek not so much to pray, but to become prayer."

The purity and intensity of such prayer is striking.

May we sit this evening for 'nothing.' May that which we strive for on the human level become folded into the experience of a higher existence. May we 'become prayer' itself.

Thank you,

Richard