For Sunday March 4th, 2018

Hello everyone, here's an interesting concept; altruism and self-sacrifice are essential for the survival of a group. Studies have found that people who volunteer on a regular basis have death rates 20-40% lower than those who don't. Further, psychologists use the term "hedonistic happiness," to describe someone who is happy because they are satisfying themselves, in contrast to "eudaimonic happiness," where someone is happy because they are giving to others. 

Eudaimonic happiness is a facet of transcending the self as an individual.

May we sit this Sunday for that which calls us beyond ourselves, which serves the greater good, and brings us closer to One.

Respectfully submitted,

Richard

For Sunday February 25th, 2018

Hello everyone, caring for an aging parent can allow a degree of connection which may not have been available in previous times. While loving care-giving can be enjoyed by a child, it may well be deeply appreciated by an aging parent whose physical abilities are dissolving.

At such times a warm handshake and the look in the eye can move aside mountains of past difficulties. This 'conditional loving' is essential in the world. It's a great curative and gives us a tiny peek into what unconditional loving may be.

Let us sit this evening for the connections we have, the connections that can be, and for the connections that will be as we continue to grow and learn.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday February 18th, 2018

Hello to everyone, when tragedies occur such as in Parkland, Florida we certainly offer prayers and well wishes. However, more is needed. Lost souls who may perpetrate such atrocities require human reconnection. Affected families benefit from compassionate, empathetic words and actions. Even strangers we meet in grocery lines and behind counters deserve our patience and kindness. We don't know what kind of struggles they may be facing.

If we are to fulfill our original potential of Oneness we need to take actions that help bring it about.

May we sit this Sunday for the sensitivity and awareness to know what to say and do with all we meet. May we sit for the ability to hear spiritual answers to our human problems. May our time on Earth be beneficial to all.

Reverently submitted,

Richard

For Sunday February 11th, 2018

Hello to all, a quote from the Dalai Lama - "Peace is not the absence of violence. Peace is the abundance of compassion" leads directly to this poem by Rumi:

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing

and rightdoing there is a field.

I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass

the world is too full to talk about."

May we sit for compassion which reaches beyond right or wrong, and simply sees a need for peace.

Thank you one and all,

Richard

For Sunday February 4th, 2018

Hello everyone, in the song 'That Kind of Grace' 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhlzKGNbNhA

David Roth and Anne Hill sing of actual events where surviving family members exhibit amazing compassion and forgiveness toward the perpetrators. 

The chorus goes:

"And when I sing Amazing Grace,

Your face is what I see.

I hope some day that kind of Grace,

Will find its way to me."

As the turmoils of our world tumble on, the need for Grace is clear. May we see it where it grows. May we use it when we are able. May we heal a world of troubles.

Thank you,

Richard