For Sunday January 31st, 2016

Hello all, the biblical phrase 'become a fisher of men' is often interpreted by religions as a numbers game, the more people you can pull into your belief system the more you win. However, a more spiritual interpretation may be that of casting your personal realm of love about them, bringing them into a greater awareness of what is loving, no matter where they stand otherwise. 

Each person has their particular need in any particular moment. To be sensitive and to respond to it in an unselfish, outwardly-loving manner is a good thing. Being human it's not always within our reach but is always good when it happens. 

May we sit this Sunday for the sensitivity, strength, and love to follow our deepest 'heart of hearts' and to always treat people as well as humanly / spiritually possible.

With love,

Richard

For Sunday January 24th, 2016

Hello everyone, here is a true story. Chloe C. planned her suicide with all the detail an 11 year old can muster. She gathered what she needed, had her reasons, and decided upon a time. Her saving grace was that her parents would often play a dinner table game of "What would you do if...?" wherein the topics were wide ranging and all viewpoints considered. 

It was this familiar ease of communication which created a sense of safety and trust so that her courage was enough. She told her parents of her plans and how she was feeling. She is now on the long and overall upward road of healing.

May we sit this evening not only for her and all others in such dire circumstances, but for the creation of trust and safety in this world. May we find them within. May we have the courage and strength to bring them out. May we in the world be more at ease with each other. 

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday January 17th, 2016

Hello everyone, the old question about whether a glass is half full or half empty misses an important point – the glass itself is beautiful. Beauty in the moment is easy to see when the glass is full. But standing back to take a longer view, to watch the glass filling and emptying and refilling, shows the beauty of patterns in our lives over time. 

May we sit this evening, in whatever place we may find ourselves pattern-wise, and take a longer view of our own selves. May we recognize patterns in others and find them similar to our own.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday January 10th, 2016

Hello all, we exist here on Earth as part of the path toward being a companion with the Creative Forces, toward Oneness. Our ultimate responsibilities are always in this vein and our advancement may be measured by our interactions with others.

In our current political climate it's easy to find people with whom we disagree. It can be more difficult to treat them with kindness. Our spiritual job is not to convince anyone that our view is right. Our job is to search for wisdom and treat them well.

May we sit this evening for the strength to search for wisdom in the face of our own discomfort. May we find the deeper truths within. May we bring them forward from ourselves.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday January 3rd, 2016!

Hello everyone, sunshine and rain do not argue with each other, winter and summer are not enemies, daytime and nighttime exist together upon the Earth. Each has its place as the forces of nature work as one for the greatest good. So it should be with us. 

May we sit this evening for the natural coming together of humanity. May we allow each other our time and space and may our differences begin to blend, like sperm and egg, into an entirely new creation.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday December 27th, 2015

Hello everyone, as we prepare to face another year of political extremes let us recall the lesson of Hitler and Ghandi, that a person's personal views typically reflect the individual's internal strife. 

And, by virtue of this video age, that listening to someone with the sound turned off allows us to get a 'feel' for the person without the distraction of words. 

May we sit this evening for the strength and courage to observe with clarity and kindness. May we allow others the space to follow their own path. May we see the Divine within all whom we meet.  

Thank you,

Richard

For Friday December 25th, 2015

Hello everyone, may we each find that the Yule Hole of our hearts reaches out infinitely. 

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday December 20th, 2015

Hello all, at a recent interfaith prayer service for the people involved in the San Bernardino tragedy the common thread among all the speakers was to find peace within yourself, and then pray for the lost.

The suggested technique was this: with full recognition of understandable human reactions from heart-sinking sadness to thoughts of righteous anger, just stop and take a breath, or two, let those breaths make space for the Divine to come in. When you've made a connection with the Divine, then pray for the victims, who are innocent, as well as for the perpetrators, who are lost. 

Our greatest enemies, the fear and anger which shuts out the Divine, always come from within. May we sit this Sunday for inner purity. May we sit for those in pain. May we sit for those who are lost in the dark. May we sit for all who struggle.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday December 13th, 2015

Hello everyone, in seeking to solve world problems look first within. Finding even an unpleasant truth within ourselves not only allows us to heal that piece, but to see and understand the larger dynamics of the world. 

Said in another way introspection as a process of self-improvement is essential in life, yet it ought not be self-enclosing. Introspection properly used leads to greater awareness, and awareness leads to compassion and truth. 

This process of starting within to find a personal truth then seeing it at work in the outer world leading to the enhancement one's compassion, is a microcosm of a greater circle. The beginning and the end are one.

Let us sit this evening for that personal process and for the end result. May we find our demons. May we lovingly release them. May we see the unbroken circle of our existence.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday December 6th, 2015

Hello everyone, a flyer which advertises roll-playing as a costumed character shows Star Wars characters to be extremely popular. Taking a closer look shows that people portraying anonymous Storm Troopers from Darth Vader's Galactic Empire, the villains known as "Vader's Fist," far exceeds the number of people playing characters from Luke Skywalker's Rebel Alliance, known as "The Good Guys."

Can it be that more people are attracted to the appearances of external power, weaponry and mass mobilization, than to a sense of personal freedom and ethics? It's hard to say.

However, there apparently are many in this world who are desperately attached to the illusion of external power, the idea that one can force people and situations into some manner of conformance. 

In truth, the future of our world depends upon authentic power, having a personal relationship with the Divine Source.

May we sit this Sunday for authentic power. May we find it within. May we support it without. May it be the wish of the world.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday November 29th, 2015

Hello everyone, here's a quote from Christopher Reeve: "At first dreams seem impossible, then improbable, then inevitable." The spiritual transformation of the Earth is just such a dream. Over the past century over 150 million humans have died at the hands of other humans, with that in mind a spiritual transformation seems impossible. 

Looking at the anger and divisions in the world today it still seems improbable. 

Yet, in time and for each of us, the illusion of our separateness will melt into the truth of our connectedness and it will be seen as inevitable.

May we sit this Sunday for that melting. May we sit for the melting of walls in the world. May we sit for the melting of the walls within our hearts.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday November 22nd, 2015

Hello everyone, the refugee crisis stemming from the difficulties in Syria is large, and certainly more complex than we can see. It can however be simplified down to this; there are those who want peace and those who want war. 

This evening may we petition for Divine Light to come down on all who are involved. May the peaceful find strength. May the warring find their hearts. May the lost find home.

Thank you,

Richard

For Sunday November 15th, 2015

Hello everyone, in his talks and writings Jeff Foster <http://www.lifewithoutacentre.com/> often makes a distinction between where the mind goes and what the heart knows. With the attacks on Friday in Paris the mind easily goes to retribution, retaliation, justice, protection, and so on. And yet the heart knows it is profoundly sad. 

It's sad that people were terrified, maimed, and died. It's sad that there are those who are so lost as to perpetrate such horrible sadness upon others. It is further sad that all this sadness is claimed as a retaliation for a previous sadness. 

The human condition can bring you to tears.

Yet there is always hope. In our tears we often turn to something higher than ourselves, something beyond our minds and in touch with our hearts, something closer to us than breath itself. 

May we sit this Sunday for that closeness. May we sit for it within ourselves and may we sit for all who are hurting.

In Reverence,

Richard