For Sunday March 15th, 2020

Hello everyone, seventy-five years ago this June, President Franklin D. Roosevelt led the Nation in prayer as the full force of the American military advanced onto the beaches of Normandy in France during a world-wide conflict. 

Today we face a different world-wide conflict. The novel coronavirus which causes the disease Covid-19 is apolitical and no respecter of our fragile, arbitrary boundaries. It spreads when unchecked and requires intelligent, active responses to curb that spreading.

Our government is now taking such active responses and a national day of prayer has been declared for this Sunday March 15th as well. It's a fine time to join in.

May we sit this Sunday for the condition of the world. May we all learn our lessons. May we open our hearts with compassion. May our prayers lighten the load of all those who are or will become afflicted. 

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday March 8th, 2020

Hello to everyone, it would be well to keep in mind what the great teachers have often told us – sometimes that which we need spiritually can be vastly uncomfortable. 

Once again the coronavirus grabs attention. As the rules for who can be tested for Covid-19 are relaxed the number of confirmed cases in the US are expected to rise dramatically. This would not be an increase in the spread of the disease but an increase in the detection of it, which is wise.

The precautions for avoiding the disease are the same for the spiritually minded as for everyone else. But with a spiritual foundation you may look more lovingly upon the scenario at large. We have lessons to learn as a society, and as individuals. In the simplest terms, we are learning to love. An open-hearted, non-judgmental, un-fearful view of the process at work can be a calming salve to the afflicted. 

May we sit this evening for the acceptance of our part in this process. May we care for those who are brought before us. May we care for ourselves during this process. May we be guided by love.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday March 1st, 2020

Hello everyone, we all know physical matter is made of energy. There is so much energy contained within even a small amount of matter that the release of it causes massive explosions. But, looking at that process in reverse, what was it that prompted such enormous amounts of pure energy to gather and coalesce into the denseness of physical matter to begin with?

Does Einstein's famous equation (E=mc2) offer a glimpse into the act of creation?

Along with all the serious scenarios which call out for prayerful attention these days, let us also sit for the largest, most loving perspective we can grasp, that we have all come from the same source.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday February 23rd, 2020

Hello everyone, the ongoing spread of the coronavirus is worrisome. May we sit this evening with the intention that God's Will be done for all those affected, all those who may yet be, and what we all have to learn from this experience.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday February 16th, 2020

Hello to everyone, self-awareness can be difficult, even painful at times. Our personal foibles can be embarrassing to face up to. One way of avoiding this inner torment is to follow an image of authority. By relinquishing necessary and challenging inner work, which ultimately leads to personal growth, to follow someone else's preset rules - we trade true happiness for temporary comfort.

Authority creates power. Power can corrupt the leader and blind the follower. It leads us away from the matter of our inner issues and gives a balm, which necessarily fades over time.

May we sit this Sunday for the courage to dig in. May we see ourselves clearly and lovingly. May such love fully 'be' on this Earth.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday February 9th, 2020

Hello to everyone, the economic difficulties of the world; the political turmoil; environmental disasters of pollution; tectonic plate upheavals of earthquakes and volcanoes; endless separations of people into 'us' and 'them'; personal internal strife of anger, anxiety, and fears; the addiction to external power, and much more – can all be handled in the same fundamental way. The world needs the 'spiritual glue' which holds it all together.

The practice of love, backed by honesty, and in search of wisdom, is always welcome, no matter who or where you are, or who you interact with. 

May we sit this Sunday for spiritual growth. May we be loving to ourselves and others. May we pray for the bigger picture.

Thank you all,

Richard 

For Sunday February 2nd, 2020

Hello to all, how do we handle all the tumult in the world today? We have earthquakes, volcanoes, storms, wild fires, and political turmoil offered to us daily on the news channels. How might we respond to it?

As a friend once said, "Put on the song 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' and play it several times, as often as you need. Really get into it and actually be happy. And now that you're happy, get up and get to work!"

Our job is to spread joy and love. Our job is to maintain the minimum amount of 'spiritual glue' needed to keep Mother Earth in balance. Our job is to love one another. We do a better job of that when we're happy.

May we sit Sunday evening for the best we can be and the best we can share.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday January 26th, 2020

Hello everyone, the word 'fervent' is an adjective which refers to having or displaying a passionate intensity. It's archaic meaning is 'hot, burning, or glowing' and in Latin it means boiling.

Now let's consider the phrase 'fervent prayer.' It's the intensity of prayer which Padre Pio, Saint Francis of Assisi, the modern Tom Sawyer, and many other great prophets employed while doing their spiritual work. It has been described as the condition in which, for the person praying, nothing exists but the actual prayer itself.

May we sit this Sunday toward fervent prayer. There are many, many circumstances in the world which could benefit from that degree of effort, including Mother Earth herself. May we meet each other there.

Thank you all for all you do,

Richard

For Sunday January 19, 2020

Due to poor time management skills here is an 'oldy but goody' from three years ago: 

Hello everyone, comedy guru Swami Beyondananda talks about changing the world, "...when it comes to healing our lives - or the world - the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. The heartless minds that value money over all else have tried to convince us that their inhuman nature is our human nature. I say if we want the Golden Rule to overrule the rule of gold, we have to embody the heart core values of truth, beauty and goodness."

I don't know how to say it better. This Sunday may we sit to see ourselves clearly, laugh at what we find, and love beautifully.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday January 12th, 2020

Hello to all, in these turbulent times of wildfires, earthquakes, and political upheaval, when great spiritual work is essential – a soothing salve is necessary.

Let's combine Tom Sawyer's comment, "It's like the song 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' and now that you're happy – get to work" with the writer Anne Lamott who opines 'laughter is carbonated holiness.' 

Intensive times require extensive spiritual effort, followed by maintenance and renewal. May we practice all three as needed in our journeys.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday January 5th, 2020

Hello everyone, for all the difficulties that exist in the world today, grace still endures; quietness can be found, seabirds still float on water, and deer disappear into woodlands.

Taking time to renew ourselves can be as simple as gazing out of a window. The faster events occur in life the more essential it becomes to do so.

May we endeavor to keep up with the world by taking moments to slow down. May the windows of our souls open to the beauty of the world. May our hearts shine in the darkness.

Thank you all,

Richard

Welcome to 2020!

Hello everyone, I've been looking forward to this year ever since the beginning of last year. I have nothing to point at to say, "This is why." But, I've been enjoying the idea of this year coming for quite some time. 

As I wrote, it feels like this year is chock full of wonderful things just waiting for a chance to occur. It's as though spirituality sends down these carefully selected 'bleams of goodness' to the Earth which then look for open, receptive individuals and situations through which they may manifest - all done for the enhancement of humanity. 

If so, then let's stay open and receptive to what may come. 

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday December 29th, 2019

Hello to all, humans divide energy into arbitrary fragments. We choose this, that, and other to define all we observe. Everything is separated and labeled into easy-to-think-of categories. It is this, our concept of separation, which gives rise to conflict.

And yet, similar to waves on an ocean, all energies are part of a unitary movement, a completeness from which nothing can be separated, a Oneness. If we dispense with separation and learn Oneness, we can solve conflict.

May we sit this evening to see with the widest possible clarity. May we see separation as an illusion. May we absorb into Oneness.

Thank you all,

Richard