With apologies, again!

Ok, so I just got back from a weekend of white water canoeing and am a bit tuckered out. That's why I forgot to put the date in the subject line of this week's focus. 

However, as a bonus treat, here's a video of me showing the bottom of my canoe to the sky yesterday. It's a bit blurry, but look for the red flash. It was very refreshing.

Love to all,

Richard

Hello everyone, the simplicity of this statement matches it's poignancy:
"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."

Those who annoy, those who injure, and all those who are lost, are still on their own personally crafted, but difficult, 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 March 24th, 2019

Hello to all, we are told that the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity (or love), joy, peace, patience, benignity (or kindness), goodness, longanimity (or long-suffering), mildness (or gentleness), faith, modesty, continency (or self-control), and chastity. These fruits would be well used in these turbulent times.

Not only ought we promote them within ourselves, but also celebrate them when found in others. 

May we sit this Sunday to attain the depth of spiritual connection which brings these gifts, and which the world needs so much. It's that simple, and that difficult.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday March 10th, 2019

Hello to all, the ancients tell us that the human 'surface mind' is a force of discord, pride, greed, infatuation, cruelty, and ignorance. And yet, as seeds become trees and caterpillars become butterflies, it can become more conscious. It can enter into lucid self-knowledge and realization of the Absolute Infinity within itself.

When we recognize that the Universal Mind which created and maintains the physical universe is far more trustworthy than our limited thoughts and opinions, then we can see others with more compassion. We are all 'on the path' in our own manner.

May we sit this Sunday for the deepening of our realization. May we see 'others' as part of the One. May our compassion spread over all.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday March 3rd, 2019

Hello everyone, no kindness is ever wasted however small it may be. Even the effect of a simple honest smile, given once, lives on within the receiver of it. 

Imagine for a moment a straight line running from now into the distant future. Now imagine another line starting from the same place but angled just a tiny bit, only a quarter of a degree.  In the years of our lives the final outcome of those two lines can be far, far apart. 

That's what a simple honest smile can do over the course of a lifetime. You don't know until the end how much change you've actually made with it.

May we sit this Sunday for the smiles we give and share, for laughter which may come, and for the tender lives we touch in loving ways. 

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday February 24th, 2019

Hello to all of you, someone recently noted that children will laugh and sing before they can talk, will draw before they can write, and will dance as soon as they can stand. The human need to express joy is endemic, built into us by design. 

This is why an honest smile can bridge massive gaps between people. It speaks to something deep within, something from our core.

May we sit this evening for our own joy. May we share it as comes to hand. May we bridge self-created divides with true purpose.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday February 17th, 2019

Hello everyone, imagine a tall slender flag pole stuck in the ground. Then imagine you push on one side over and over again with just the right timing. After awhile you can get it swinging back and forth a bit. If two or more join you the combined force becomes more powerful and you can really get it to sway.

This is a rough analogy for prayer. The vibrations which emanate from us will combine with others of the same frequency. The more pure our vibrations can be, free of the contaminations of the lower self, the more powerful they will be. So, our job is to pray at the highest level we can attain. 

Let us sit this Sunday for the purity of our efforts. May we find what we need to cleanse from within. May our efforts always be in keeping with Divine will.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday February 10th, 2019

Hello to all, sitting with the pain of tragedy is understandably uncomfortable. We tend to protect ourselves from the discomfort, sometimes by 'fixing' the tragedy with good intentions, sometimes by turning to blame and anger. Offering a 'fix' is to deny the pain while blame and anger creates a hardening in our hearts. 

Yet it is sitting with pain that can soften us. As an ancient saying goes, "God enters our lives through the wounds in our hearts." 

May we sit this Sunday to accept that tragedy occurs in this world. May we acknowledge it fully, and offer our love in return. May acknowledgement and love open our hearts, and lead us forward.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday February 3rd, 2019

Hello everyone, in today's world we often find ourselves drowning in information, gorging on emotional rhetoric, and yet starving for wisdom. If we seek 'foods' that include a sense of ethics, a degree of benevolence, unbiased judgment, human compassion, experiential self-knowledge, self-transcendence, and non-attachment; there we may find wisdom.

May we sit this evening for our own spiritual nutrition. May we discern that which is not fulfilling. And, may we find that which fills our hearts to over-flowing, that we may share with all.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday January 17th, 2019

Hello everyone, from the book "Living Your Divine Life" -- "The enlightened person perceives the Infinite Splendor of Divinity in all beings and the Christ's kingdom 'near you,' among you,' and 'within you.' This is a state of being where every thought and act in life is a spiritual exercise, and our reality is the thought of God manifest in human form." - Orest Bedrij 

It's clear that humanity is far from this divine goal. We tend to operate within an often unrecognized fog of prejudices, biases, self-absorbed desires, and many distractions. And yet - it is our destiny to attain exactly that ultimate spiritual reality.

May we sit this Sunday to release all things of the smaller self, that we may hear the whispers of the larger Self. May we remember that we are already One, and that separation is our own illusion. May we see far beyond ourselves.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday January 20th, 2019

Hello to all, as we come to see the Divine at work in all people and things, our hearts open and gratitude flourishes. It also works in reverse. Focusing upon gratitude opens our hearts, where Oneness emerges as through a fog.

Writer A.J. Jacobs started with something small, a simple cup of coffee. His efforts to thank those responsible for it took him around the world. 

https://www.ted.com/talks/aj_jacobs_my_journey_to_thank_all_the_people_responsible_for_my_morning_coffee#t-917095 

Oneness, being that it is an all encompassing One, can be approached from every direction that exists. May we approach it this Sunday evening from within. May we see that we are all connected, spiritually. May we act, knowing we are all connected in the physical as well.

Thank you all,

Richard

https://www.ted.com/talks/aj_jacobs_my_journey_to_thank_all_the_people_responsible_for_my_morning_coffee#t-917095

For Sunday January 13th, 2019

Hello to all, "We must recognize that the suffering of one person or one nation is the suffering of humanity." - Dalai Lama

For those who know we are all One; whether we inflict it, or condone it, or justify it, or allow it while looking away, we are complicit in the suffering of humanity. 

With all the wars, famine, pestilence, dis-ease, political strife, and personal challenges adrift in the world at this time it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Yet there is always something within our reach. Tom Sawyer credited Kathi Ann Middendorf with changing the attitudes of an entire division of IBM by simply smiling honestly and saying, "Hi" as she walked down the hallways.

May we sit this evening to recognize suffering, to see our complicity, and to find ways of helping no matter how seemingly small.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday January 6th, 2019

Hello everyone, we were created with the seed of unconditional love deep within. We have the ability to love someone who is angry, someone who is fearful, we can even love someone who has done us wrong. To do so is a beginning for unconditional love on earth.

It's also important to love ourselves unconditionally. The self-honesty through which we expose our frailties must be matched by the self-love to release them and forgive. This same forgiveness can be extended to others.

May we sit Sunday evening for our own forgiveness. May we extend it to others. May we begin to touch upon bringing Unconditional Love to Mother Earth.

Thank you all,

Richard