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