For Sunday January 30th, 2022

Hello to all, it has been said that not everything you face can be changed – but, to change anything at all, you must first face it.

That which comes to mind during the quiet of meditation is not our enemy. It is our indicator, our yardstick of acceptance – acceptance of ourselves. What comes to mind can be seen as the self-entertainment of an untrained mind. Note it and gently set it aside. When it returns, note it and again gently set it aside. It is not our goal to subdue it, fight it, or suppress it. Our goal is to simply be quiet.

 
May we sit this Sunday for the quietude which is our birthright. May our busy minds release their grip on the world. May we find that which is on the other side of activity.

 
Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday January 23rd, 2022

Hello everyone, the religions which have been built up around the words of the great prophets tell us how to love and what to love. But the great prophets themselves simply tell us to love.

All people, all the time, even ourselves, simply love. 

May we do so now, no matter how late I get this out...  :o)

Thank you all for your patience,

Richard

For Sunday January 16th, 2022

Hello to each and every one of you, it has been said that the purpose of life is not to be happy, nor is it to suffer - but that the purpose of life is to experience. 

When that experience is met with strength, courage, self-honesty, and some humor, then growth occurs – growth which can diminish suffering and bring happiness.

 
May we sit this Sunday to love ourselves by employing enough strength to be courageous, and enough self-honesty to see the humor in our growth.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday January 9th, 2022

Oh, for heavens sake, I sent this out without a subject line. Well, here it is again in case anyone is as confused as I am about what I'm doing... :o)

Hello everyone, "It's madness to hate all roses because you got scratched with one thorn, to give up all dreams because one of them didn't come true, to give up all attempts because one of them failed.
It's folly to condemn all your friends because one has betrayed you, to no longer believe in love just because someone was unfaithful or didn't love you back, to throw away all your chances to be happy because something went wrong.
There will always be another opportunity, another friend, another love, a new strength.
For every end, there is always a new beginning.....
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret:
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye."
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "The Little Prince"

He is, of course, talking about not just interpersonal romantic matters but the true work of the heart in the redemption of humanity. Our ability to honestly connect with our hearts, and to guide our lives from there in all situations, is the 'essential' that he's talking about.

May we sit once more for that astonishingly beautiful self-honesty which connects us to our hearts. May we be gentle with what we find there. May we share the best of what we find there with all.

Thank you all,

Richard 

Hello everyone, "It's madness to hate all roses because you got scratched with one thorn, to give up all dreams because one of them didn't come true, to give up all attempts because one of them failed.
It's folly to condemn all your friends because one has betrayed you, to no longer believe in love just because someone was unfaithful or didn't love you back, to throw away all your chances to be happy because something went wrong.
There will always be another opportunity, another friend, another love, a new strength.
For every end, there is always a new beginning.....
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret:
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye."
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "The Little Prince"

He is, of course, talking about not just interpersonal romantic matters but the true work of the heart in the redemption of humanity. Our ability to honestly connect with our hearts, and to guide our lives from there in all situations, is the 'essential' that he's talking about.

May we sit once more for that astonishingly beautiful self-honesty which connects us to our hearts. May we be gentle with what we find there. May we share the best of what we find there with all.

Thank you all,

Richard 

For Sunday January 2nd, 2022

Hello everyone, wow, what a treat it is to write 22 as the year we're in. Several sources claim the number 22 denotes a high spiritual vibration. We are more than ready for it.

Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman wanted to write "a lyric to honor the hardships, hurt, hope, and healing of 2021 while also harkening the potential of 2022." She titled it "New Day's Lyric", here it is:

"What was cursed, we will cure.
What was plagued, we will prove pure.
Where we tend to argue, we will try to agree,
Those fortunes we forswore, now the future we foresee,
Where we weren't aware, we're now awake;
Those moments we missed
Are now these moments we make,
The moments we meet,
And our hearts, once all together beaten,
Now all together beat."

She goes on to write:
"This is such a unique New Year's Day, because even as we toast our glasses to the future, we still have our heads bowed for what has been lost," she wrote. "I think one of the most important things the new year reminds us is of that old adage: This too shall pass. You can't relive the same day twice — meaning every dawn is a new one, and every year an opportunity to step into the light."

So here we are, wisened from our past, aware of our responsibilities to the future, and ready to step into the Light. May we sit for the loving steps we will take.

Thank you all,

Richard