Pierre Pradervand in his book, 365 Blessings to Heal Myself and the World, says he starts his day by saying “Yes, thank you” at least seven or eight times as he gets out of bed. The idea–whatever comes his way that day he will not only be appreciative of, but he will also be flexible…
Excerpts from Deborah King’s blog of December 15, 2022, on the power of sutra meditation. To read the entire blog, please visit https://deborahking.com/sutra-meditation/ On that site you will find information on Ms. King’s background as a spiritual teacher and her many offerings. … Many years ago, when I first began seeking to expand my consciousness…
“At every single moment of our lives, we choose our thoughts, hence our vision of reality. It is in that sense that one can say that we truly do create our reality. So what if the most productive and helpful way was in seeing all through the eyes of Love? I bless myself in the…
Satish Kumar We live in a benevolent universe. . . . The benevolence of the soil is endless; it helps one single seed to multiply into millions of seeds for hundreds of years, producing colourful, aromatic, juicy and delicious fruit, feeding birds, bees, humans and animals. The tree celebrates the benevolence of the soil and…
For the month of February, we are pleased to offer you a “guest blog” by Olivier Clerc, from his book J’arrête de me juger, Day 6, on the topic of blessing (I stop judging myself, our translation as the book is not available in English). A link to his site is at the end of…
As we enter 2023, our world is in dire straits, to say the least. Tragic situations exist on every continent, from the war in Ukraine, to countries on the brink of famine in Africa, deadly floods in Asia and South America, fires, deforestation, Syrian and other refugee crises, catastrophic climate-related events … and the list…
Below are a few excerpts from an excellent article by Jack Kornfield. Please follow this link to read this very timely and insightful piece. Source: https://jackkornfield.com/dharma-politics/ “Many Buddhist practitioners have questioned what to do in these turbulent times. More than anything, I believe the world is in need of a spiritual perspective. The Dharma teachings…
We live in a world where our entire lives, almost everywhere, are totally invaded by advertising. It’s not yet in the underground caves explored by speleologists or on the sides of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa or Mount Everest (but who knows if it will not be there when I attempt to climb Mount Everest for…
Soon after giving birth to a daughter two months premature, Terri Logan received a bill from the hospital. She recoiled from the string of numbers separated by commas. Her daughter is now 13. Then a few months ago … Logan received some bright yellow envelopes in the mail. They were from a nonprofit group [RIP…
by Justin Faerman* I see so many people talking about the world’s problems but so few talking about the solution to them: Love. It really is that simple despite how complicated we often try to make it. Pretty hard to keep a war going when people are focused on love. Pretty hard to have an…
Our November guest blog is reprinted from Luc Bodin’s September newsletter, and we encourage you to visit his site at https://luc-bodin.fr/ Pierre’s note: Luc Bodin is one of those too rare thinkers who think outside the square box of the “system” that always tries to better lock us in mental sardine cans. What he says…
Center for Action and Contemplation teacher Brian McLaren shares the power of ongoing discernment, allowing ourselves to be drawn into service and action on behalf of others: From CAC Meditation of August 24, 2022 “If you listen to the Spirit, here is what will happen to you. You’ll be at a party, and you’ll notice…
By Chuck Collins (excerpts from the original article. Read the full article here. Over the next 20 years, a minimum of $35 trillion, and up to $70 trillion, in wealth will transfer from the post-World War II generation to the next younger generation. Most of that wealth will flow in the upper canopy of the…
Recently I was invited to participate in an event on compassion on internet. One of the Jewish participants, a certain rabbi Ariel, shared possibly the most moving story on compassion I have ever heard in my existence. His son was a participant on a study-abroad trip to visit the notorious Nazi concentration camps in Poland…
Sandy Wilder Each step you take is Hers:it is that which She is revealing to you.You are never taking a step alone.(Deep breath again.Feel it all the way down.) Therefore,you can stand, and face, and acceptwhatever is happening,because all experiences are offeredfor your growth and benefit. In this you can trust.She would have it no…
Buddhist activist and teacher Joanna Macy invites us to meditate on our intimate coexistence: You know your lives are as intricately interwoven as nerve cells in the mind of a great being. . . . Out of that vast net you cannot fall. . . . No stupidity or failure or cowardice can ever sever…
For eons we lived in a world where change was so slow that a snails’ pace would by comparison seem like a racing car from the famous Le Mans car race. Stability was the name of the game, be it in government or institutions (e.g., the Christian church). Then, with the advent of the industrial…
My dad has bees. Today I went to his house, and he showed me all of the honey he had gotten from the hives. He took the lid off of a 5-gallon bucket full of honey and on top of the honey there were 3 little bees, struggling. They were covered in sticky honey and…
A lucky Frenchman has decided to dedicate most of his record-breaking $217 million lottery jackpot to a nature foundation he created, he told Le Parisien in an exclusive interview published Wednesday. The winner, nicknamed “Guy” by French lottery group Françaises des Jeux (FDJ), won the sum in December 2020. At the time, the jackpot was…
The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis reflects on the universal wisdom that proclaims the mutuality of love: No matter who we are or where we come from, no matter whom we love and how we earn a living, the admonition to love your neighbor as you love yourself, when lived out, expresses the interdependence humans need…
Shared by permission from the author A Journey of Purpose May you be reminded today of the unique being that you are,May you appreciate all that you have been and all that you have come to be,May you know the joy of being alive on this wondrous planet,May the flowers salute you with their fragrance,May…
It is a great platitude to say that the world is getting more and more complicated and complex. Take just the field of technology and internet. Many of our seniors are hopelessly lost with a system that is changing and evolving almost daily. The aim of this blog is not to denounce or on the…
In this troubled time of war and pandemic, the World Happiness Report 2022 shows a bright light in dark times. According to the team of international researchers, including McGill University Professor Christopher Barrington-Leigh, the pandemic brought not only pain and suffering but also an increase in social support and benevolence. “COVID-19 is the biggest health crisis we’ve…
The war in Ukraine is but one small sign of the numerous rumblings reminding us that huge changes are awaiting us all as this globe becomes – mentally – smaller and smaller. Many people with just a little foresight can see that these rumblings, unless attended to, will become major explosions. It is a major…
April 2022 The following quotation comes from a very recent letter of Roger W. McGowen (RogerMcGowen.org), a former death row inmate with extremely modest basic primary education whom Pierre, with the help a few friends, got off death row – but not out of prison. This man was condemned to death for a crime we…
If freedom has any meaning at all, its most vital meaning must be the freedom to think, the freedom to seek, to question, and to discover that which is beyond the horizon of accepted knowledge until we arrive at the goal we are seeking, a goal which is life harmonious, life abundant, life eternal. Why…
The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another…
The intensity of the drive within us will determine how many hours a day we will give to meditation and spiritual study. Some persons cannot drive themselves to practice scales for more than an hour a day. And others cannot drive themselves to stop in less than seven or eight hours a day. There are…
Recently, during my quiet time, I received what was clearly an order from “above”: “Love Putin!”. And since then, I spend a moment almost every day showering this man with love. For how can this important leader at the head of one of the most powerful countries in the world ever change with the wall of…
A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive it, without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is too poor that he cannot give it…
It is important to remind ourselves that blessing often flies in the face of material evidence, because when we bless we affirm an omnipresent spiritual reality that can only be contacted through spiritual vision and a deep trust in this Other Reality. We bless ourselves in our trust in the divine Omnipresence which is the…
“The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.” Elizabeth Gilbert According to an old Hindu legend, there was once a time when all human beings were gods, but they so abused their divinity that Brahma, the chief god, decided to take it away…
UNESCO has designated a 4,876-square-mile area around the Mura, Drava, and Danube rivers the first biosphere reserve to span five countries. Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovenia have been campaigning for recognition of a biosphere reserve – dubbed the “Amazon of Europe” – for years. Europe has degraded up to 90% of its flood plains,…
By Ram Dass Unconditional love really exists in each of us. It is part of our deep inner being. It is not so much an active emotion as a state of being. It’s not “I love you” for this or that reason, not “I love you if you love me.” It’s love for no reason,…
“As God* becomes a reality and we become consciously one with It, It guides every step of our experience. It supplies us. It draws to us all that we need in the world–right friendships, right family relationships, right supply, right activity, right books, right associations – everything that is necessary to advance our cultural and…
Elsewhere on this site you will find a narrative of an amazing encounter in an airplane with the allness of infinite Love, and that has been the crowning experience of my existence. Many years ago, I prided myself on being an intellectual who wrote a 900 page dissertation with close to 1000 references for the…
By Henry Drummond, excerpt Everyone has asked himself the great question of antiquity as of the modern world: What is the summum bonum—the supreme good? You have life before you. Once only you can live it. What is the noblest object of desire, the supreme gift to covet? We have been accustomed to being told that…
By His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Wednesday November 14th, 2018 Can Compassion Cure All? In Tibet, we say that many illnesses can be cured by the one medicine of love and compassion. These qualities are the ultimate source of human happiness, and the need for them lies at the very core of our being. Unfortunately, love and…
Excerpted from Simple Keys to a Fuller Life by Fred Burks Many Forms of Guidance Guidance comes in many forms. Family or friends may give wonderful words of wisdom in dealing with a particular problem or situation. An inspiring book, video, or program might provide meaningful advice. All of this guidance can be useful, particularly…
A Blessing For the Challenges of Climate Change All round the world, populations are leaving their ancestral lands due to climate change, for instance various populations in the highlands of Nepal. Innovative new measures and policies are urgently needed to face what could with time become huge challenges for hundreds of millions. I bless the…
