Excuse me, please

Hello, I missed again. I've been dragging myself through the week with a head cold. I've had a great inspiration for the meditation but apparently I thought I had already sent it out so it didn't enter my foggy mind until Eileen sent me a reminder. Thank you, Eileen. I guess I need a minder to keep me on track.

Keep your fingers crossed for next week, eh?

Foggy but healing Richard

For Sunday September 18th, 2022

Hello everyone, it has been said that meditation is not for eliminating the ego, but for understanding it, for grasping it fully. With this understanding we remember that we came here for a purpose, a purpose to be fulfilled with that same ego.

The trick is between how much we let the ego run our material lives, and how well we use the ego to serve the higher purpose of our material life.

May we sit this Sunday for the continued 'enlightenment' of ourselves. May we see ourselves clearly, without judgement, but with discernment. May we use the best of ourselves for the best of all.

Blessings upon you,

Richard

PS I remembered to use the larger font!  :o)

For Sunday September 11th, 2022

Hello everyone, humanity is learning great lessons. As politics splits the nation we have the opportunity to see ourselves at our worst, or at our best. Up/down, left/right, for/against, all with complete justification, we put ourselves on display to be seen by the world. Yet it is seeing our very own selves which holds the most value.

 
Do we feel anger?
That is our lack of compassion.
Do we feel fear?
That is our lack of understanding.
Do we feel separation?
That is our lack of connection.

May we sit this Sunday to see ourselves as we are; fraught with human frailties, yet bursting with great potential.

 
May blessings be with us,

Richard

For Sunday September 4th, 2022

Hello again to all, in trying times it is well to look for strength and courage. Joseph Campbell tells us, "Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me. At a certain moment in his life, the idea came to him of what he called 'the love of your fate.' Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, "This is what I need." It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment – not discouragement – you will find the strength is there."

The key point is not the stern stoicism of putting your head down and grinding through worldly chaos with bitterly gritted teeth – but of raising your head and lovingly taking on the challenge as your own – that's when you may be open to receiving strength and guidance.

May we sit this evening to face whatever travails may come with an open heart. May we lead ourselves with the love we find. May we lovingly enjoin with humanity's transition.

Bless you all,

Richard

For Sunday August 28th, 2022

Hello everyone, the Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand shows the beauty of humanity. Over the course of nearly three weeks more than 10,000 people, from 17 different countries, came together to try and save the lives of 12 kids and their soccer coach.

 
Despite our endless wars, the distraction of political justifications, and the illusion of separation – the entire world was treated to a demonstration of compassion, and an answer to the question, "What is the value of human life?"

 
May we sit Sunday evening in gratitude for that compassion. May it uplift our lives. May our compassion lift the lives of those around us.

Thank you all,

Richard

"Thirteen Lives" a movie by Ron Howard

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tham_Luang_cave_rescue 

For Sunday August 21st, 2022

Hello to all, some species of beetles have eltrya, wings that, due to circumstance, have hardened into shields. This seems to be an excellent metaphor for the human tendency to willingly reduce our flight in exchange for protection. There may well have been a time in each of our lives where we 'pulled our wings in' out of fear for our safety, emotional or otherwise.

This may have been a wise and useful choice at the time. But the beauty of releasing protections to regain flight is easily forgotten.

May we sit this Sunday in search of those moments where it is now safe to once more spread our wings. May we find what needs to be released to continue our ascent. May we support others on our way.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday August 14th, 2022

Hello everyone, when Tom Sawyer had his NDE he was 'blasted' into the spiritual realm. Afterward he could immediately go into the highest meditative state at will. It can be very different for those of us who've not had that launch.

However, we are encouraged in our efforts by the anonymous 14th century mystic who wrote in The Cloud of Unknowing:
"...in the beginning is it usual to feel nothing but a kind of darkness about your mind, or as it were, a 'cloud of unknowing'. You will seem to know nothing and to feel nothing except a naked intent toward God in the depths of your being. Try as you might, this darkness and this cloud will remain between you and your God. You will feel frustrated, for you mind will be unable to grasp him, and your heart will not relish the delight of his love. But learn to be at home in this darkness. Return to it as often as you can, letting your spirit cry out to him whom you love. For if, in this life, you hope to feel and see God as he is in himself it must be within this darkness and this cloud. But if you strive to fix your love on him forgetting all else, which is the work of contemplation I have urged you to begin, I am confidant that God in his goodness will bring you to a deep experience of himself."

This fits well with Tom's advice to do 'nothing' meaning to attain the Buddhist concept of the 'no thing' in your meditations.

 
May we sit this evening, and every time, for 'nothing'. It could be the greatest 'something' we've ever had.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday August 7th, 2022

Hello everyone, this Sunday may we focus our loving intentions upon those impacted by the flooding in:

Eastern Kentucky
Missouri
Illinois
Southwest Virginia
West Virginia
Las Vegas Valley
Phoenix
Flagstaff
Death Valley National Park
and Eastern Kentucky – again!

Thank you all for your kindness and your good hearts,

Richard

For Sunday July 31st, 2022

Hello, and a gracious good day to all of you. As we sit in meditation we may wonder what we're trying for. There are various explanations ranging from 'watch your breath' to 'don't fall asleep.' About our desire to quiet the mind J. Krishnamurti writes, "Meditation is the understanding of desire, not the overcoming of one desire by another." Food for thought right there, eh?

But an anonymous 14th century mystic explains that ordinary thoughts and earthly concepts must be buried beneath a "cloud of forgetting," while our love must rise toward a God hidden in the "cloud of unknowing." The idea that we must peer through a "cloud of unknowing" in order to more fully connect with our Source seems appropriate and relatable.

May we sit this evening with the awareness of this cloud and the need to peer through it. May our progress be well-suited to our lives. May the world benefit.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday July 24th, 2022

Hello all, the writer Martha Beck has mentioned the phrase 'extinction burst' in her blog <https://marthabeck.com/2022/07/outlasting-the-extinction-burst/>
It details how when previously learned behaviors no longer provide the expected rewards they can intensify before finally ending, much like a child's tantrum.

As the world moves toward the authentic power of the heart and people realize their own sacredness, as well as of the Earth, it frustrates those who seek to serve themselves through external power; financial, military, political, psychological. They may increasingly employ the old patterns of external power to achieve their goals in a classic extinction burst. Ms. Beck suggests that we have to outlast them. We do so by holding our center, being compassionate and observant.

 
May we sit this Sunday evening in our loving selves, compassionate, observant, engaged but not enraged. May we hold a steady love amongst the storm. May the future be held in all our hearts.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday July 17th, 2022

Hello and a gracious good day to all, we're told by many sources that we must love God with all our heart and soul. And, since God is One, everything which exists materially, from the tiniest subatomic particles to the farthest galaxies, and even our favorite belly button lint, is an expression of God. This brings up the question from the song, "What if God were one of us?"

Recognizing the heady thrill of our human tendency for judgement, can we really, even if only for a moment, love all? It could be life-changing.

May we sit this evening to drop all judgements in favor of love. May we take a look beyond ourselves – and truly see us.

Thank you all,

Richard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USR3bX_PtU4 

For Sunday July 10th, 2022

Hello to all, as we navigate the currents of life, the storms and the tides, remember to bring forth the pearls.

 
We may find ourselves easily buffeted by the political and social upheavals of our time, as well as personal trials and tribulations. But if we peer clearly into our calmer depths, we can find beauty growing amongst the weeds.

This evening may we find some calm, ask the Benevolent Universe for guidance, and see what comes into view. Perhaps it will be a thing of great value.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday July 3, 2022

Hello everyone, we clearly face myriad political, financial, and environmental challenges in this life. The solutions to all of these share a common facet – compassion – as in 'what is best for all concerned?'

We can't all have every solution but we can ask, "How would I live if I was exactly what was needed to heal the world?" This brings the personal responsibility for being loving right up front.

 
For this evening let us focus on that which is available to us all, being loving. May we take on the challenge of loving everyone we meet, if only for one hour, or one day. Releasing our typical judgments, we may simply love them as they are, knowing they are on their path, as we are.

Xapis,

Richard