Addendum for Sunday July 17th, 2016

Hello everyone, it seems one doesn't know in which direction to pray sometimes, with a political convention coming up and shootings happening at an alarming rate. Still, cry if you must - then pray - then act, as in the ancient decree, "Love one another." 

In difficult times can you find the true depth of, "Be the change you want to see in the world"?

In Reverence,

Richard

Lifetime happiness, a TEDx talk

Hello all, Barbara Whitfield just sent this out and I thought I'd pass it along. I found it quite beautiful.

https://youtu.be/8KkKuTCFvzI

For Sunday July 17th, 2016

Hello everyone, the recent killings of black people at traffic stops; white cops at a peaceful march; and party-goers in Nice, France bring to mind a comment from Tom Sawyer, who was the inspiration for this list. He had been talking about a book, "The Works of Invisible Helpers" by Amber Marie Tuttle. The book details incidences of disembodied entities, or invisible helpers as she calls them, coming to the aid of living humans. 

The psychic interventions she describes by these invisible helpers are surprising, loving and numerous. If you read the book you need to make some concessions for her rural, agrarian background but Tom validated the instances and championed her loving, sensitive abilities. 

So where's the connection? After a lengthy talk about the book Tom gave one last, brief comment, "Now is the time for 'visible helpers' to be at work."

The implication being; there are people living today who have the potential to do the same work. 

May we sit this Sunday for Nothing. May we release all thoughts, emotions, reactions, and beliefs. May we simply Be. And may God's will be done.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday July10th, 2016

Hello everyone, while overall violence in the world has decreased, awareness of and outrage over violence has increased. It may be that we are slowly, quietly becoming more peaceful and tolerant, which makes the violence feel more distressing than it used to. 

Meanwhile, media has found there's a lot of money to be made in sensationalism and constantly throwing events up for exposure. Are we outraged, distressed, and saddened over events? Certainly. But we ought not give up on ourselves as a community of humans.

As the mother of children's television icon Mr. Rogers told him when he was a child himself, "Whenever something bad happens - look for the helpers." Sadly, there are lost souls who commit terrible things but, beautifully, there are many, many more who are helpers who jump in to assist. They are the true measure of humanity.

May we sit this Sunday in appreciation for the helpers. May we give love to those who are lost. May all come together as One.

Reverently submitted,

Richard

For Sunday July 3rd, 2016

Hello everyone, as has been said many times - we are powerful beings. A desire of knowledge inherently creates its own vortex and therefore becomes whatever it is which fulfills the desire. 

Today, much of humanity is deeply involved with material desires. And, since the universe obliges selfish desires as easily as it does spiritual ones, and we carry the responsibility for them, it behooves us to view our desires with great wisdom. 

May we sit this Sunday for that quiet little voice of truth which speaks within. May we discern our innermost desires. May we find them to be aligned with the highest good for all.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday June 26th, 2016

Hello everyone, as humans we have many distractions which pull us away from a spiritual path. We divide ourselves up through any number of arbitrary walls, from economics to geography to skin coloring and more. Yet the return path is always the same, through the compassion of "Namaste."

May we sit this evening for the deepest meaning of Namaste which we can attain. As each of us is a tiny piece of the whole, so also can the entire whole be seen in any one of us. 

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday June 19th, 2016

Hello everyone, tragedies are often stern teachers. The recent events in Florida come under this heading. Following a tragedy there is typically an outpouring of compassion; a cleansing of the separations and divisions which we so easily fall prey to. This can be seen in the one-mile-long waiting line outside of a blood donation center. People stood in that line, in the Florida heat, for up to 6 hours while others began an impromptu support mission of bringing them food, water, and umbrellas for shade. 

This is a truth of the human condition; while only one lost soul caused the tragedy, hundreds if not thousands interrupted their daily lives to step up, come together, and contribute something from their own innate compassion.

And, in a sad demonstration of another side of the human condition, our leading politicians used it as an opportunity to separate themselves from each other, attack their opponents, and promote their own agendas.

"God enters our lives through the wounds in our hearts." 

May we sit this Sunday that we may respond spiritually to the tiniest of wounds; that we may not purposely cause wounds; that we may all come together.  

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday June 12th, 2016

Hello everyone, as we observe our current political situation, and their various followers, we would do well to have our hearts open. Here's a quote from Edgar Cayce, "...unless each soul entity makes the world better, that corner or place of the world a little better, a little bit more hopeful, a little bit more of brotherly love, a little more of kindness, a little more of long suffering – by the very words and deeds of the entity, the life is a failure; especially so far as growth is concerned. Though you gain the whole world, how little ye must think of thyself if ye lose the purpose for which the soul entered this particular sojourn!"

Whether we agree with someone's viewpoint or not it's their sojourn, and our good treatment of them, that's essential. 

May we sit on Sunday, June 12th for the insight required to see beyond the surface, to see into the sojourn of people. And, may our treatment of them be a furthering of our own sojourn on this Earth.

Respectfully submitted,

Richard

For Sunday June 5th, 2016

Hello everyone, spiritual healing energy is universal in our world. In spite of all human frailties and distractions it remains available as we are open to it. As we set aside our prejudices, poor attitudes, fears, angers, and obsessions - and open our hearts - it comes into our lives. 

May we sit this Sunday for that open-hearted healing power. May we see it in action. May we join in when we can. May we begin from where we are now.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday May 29th, 2016

Hello all, as we honor those who have passed in conflict this Memorial weekend let us recall the words of Gen. Robert E. Lee, "It is well that war is so terrible – otherwise we would grow too fond of it." That was 151 years ago. 

Let us honor the heroes of the past. Let us also pray they are needed less and less in the future, as the willingness with which we make war is a sign of spiritual immaturity. 

May we sit this Sunday for our greater spiritual destiny. Let us remember we are all One. May we find our way out of our heads and into our hearts. 

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday May 22nd, 2016

Hello everyone, as we search for answers and guidance in this life it is well to remember that we may know false prophets by the fruits of their labors. And, Eckhart Tolle says that conflict is a measure of spiritual growth; does conflict arise around you or does conflict tend to resolve in your presence?

It may be difficult to find a political candidate who exudes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control – the fruits of the spirit. But, we may nurture these qualities within ourselves and share them with all we meet.

We might thereby lay a foundation which leads toward a goal which already exists and only needs to be seen more clearly – Oneness.

May we sit this Sunday for the 'Fruits of the Spirit' within ourselves. May we recognize them in others. May they be the bedrock of our lives. 

Thank you,

Richard 

For Sunday May 15, 2016

Hello everyone, it's sad but reasonable to assume that fractious divisions, much as we see between people today, also existed between the 400,000 people who lived in San Francisco in 1900. More than half of those folks were left homeless by a devastating earthquake in April of 1906.

The writer Dorothy Day witnessed the event as a 9 year old child. Seeing the immense compassion offered between total strangers immediately after the catastrophe brought her to remark, "Why can't people live like this all the time?"

Major catastrophes do not occur solely for the purpose of creating a spiritual cleansing, yet it is a deeply human response. Whenever 'push comes to shove' and 'lives are on the line' people quickly drop arbitrary differences and reach out honestly, human to human, heart to heart. 

May we sit this evening for such connections in our own lives today. May we reach out to those who are lost. May we recognize and see beyond our flimsy emotional and thought-based divisions. May the deeper truths of our shared humanity shine through. 

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday May 8th, 2016

Hello all, in 1966 Pete Seeger had the crazy notion that doing one thing would start people on a path to cleaning up the entire Hudson River. He began building a sailboat, the "Clearwater."

https://vimeo.com/85385279

We do not have to work at such grand scales and lofty ideals if they are beyond us. A simple 'thank you' to a store clerk, an honest smile at a passerby, a caring and interested ear lent to a child are also crazy notions that clean up the river of humanity. As these bits of clarity flow through the twists and turns of time they have an amazing collective effect. 

People heal at their own pace. They return to Source at their own pace, too. Those little smiles, thank you's, and cares help light the way for them.

May we sit this Sunday for 'lighting the way.' May we bring our best to all we meet. May we not 'hide under a bushel' with our inner lights.

Thank you all,

Richard