Tag: blessing

The Purpose of Life

Paramahansa Yogananda or Paramhansa Yogananda (1893 –1952) was an Indian yogi and teacher who introduced millions of westerners to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga . Excerpted from his writings on The Purpose of Life. Giving love to all, feeling the love of God, seeing His presence in everyone, and having but one desire…

March 7, 2017, National Geographic http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/felix-finkbeiner-plant-for-the-planet Children are not often invited to speak to the United Nations General Assembly. But there stood Felix Finkbeiner … with a somber question about climate change. “We children know adults know the challenges and they know the solutions,” he said. “We don’t know why there is so little action.…

Unity in Diversity: The importance of finding the thread of love upon which the universe is woven

Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma) The world before us today is trembling with violence, anger and discord. Everywhere we look, we see fear, tension, and anxiety. This group is suspicious of that group; that group is suspicious of this group. There is a constant feeling of apprehension and rivalry. At the heart of this problem…

When Stefano Boeri imagines the future of urban China he sees green, and lots of it. Office blocks, homes and hotels decked from top to toe in a verdant blaze of shrubbery and plant life; a breath of fresh air for metropolises that are of fumes and dust. Last week, the Italian architect, famed for…

An Unspoken Sermon

Author Unknown His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally is wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant. Kind of esoteric and very, very bright. Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church.…

For Young people: Adapted from a Graduation Message

By Debra Corry Brandt JUNE 9, 2016 TCM Dear Graduate, “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared” (Exodus 23:20). Those are the words of promise that the Bible says were spoken by God when He gave the Ten Commandments and…

Islam and Women – Progress in Afghanistan

Thanks to Jamila Afghani and the organization she created, Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization (NECDO). 6,000 imams in Afghanistan have taken gender-sensitivity training Click here for the full story of this amazing, courageous woman: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2017/0105/Thanks-to-this-Afghan-woman-6-000-imams-have-taken-gender-sensitivity-training It is Friday noon in Kabul, Afghanistan, and men dressed in traditional clothes hurry to mosques to pray in…

Freedom by Grace

Excerpt from the Infinite Way Letter of August 1955 By Joel Goldsmith Freedom is not a condition of government—freedom is a condition of the Soul. Men in chains have been free; men have been free under slavery and oppression. Men have prospered in periods of depression and panic; men have survived war and flood and…

Sita Shrestha, 19, took part in a two-day training on leadership organized by the UN Women-supported women’s group SAATHI, in Nepal, following which she helped construct a tap and organize villagers to turn a natural water source into a public space they could share. Sustainable Development Goal 6 seeks to ensure universal and equitable access…

Duality is an illusion, only oneness exists

Everything you see, feel, touch, hear or think comes from and manifests in pure Consciousness. Time and space emerge from pure consciousness. Your body and that of millions of other human beings, as well as trees, animals, rivers originate from and appear in this pure consciousness. When you understand that all that exists is the…

Gratitude of the wealthy child

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country wanting to show him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his…

Could we be thinking about consciousness all wrong?

In the scientific community, the lack of scientific understanding about the nature of consciousness and from where it emerges is commonly referred to as the ‘hard’ problem. The standard view of science is that consciousness is an epiphenomenon of the body—meaning it arises as a result of the anatomy, complexity, and wiring of the brain.…

Protecting our Oceans: In recent weeks the world has shown unprecedented unity

We bless ourselves in our ability to express the light we truly are at the heart of our being, and thus to become willing tools to uphold, heal and sustain our beautiful planet. Pierre Pradervand, from his Global Oneness Day 2016 blessing. On October 28, 2016 24 nations and the European Union agreed to create…

Friendship

by Alireza Nurbakhsh The Sufis refer to God as the Friend (dūst). This is based on the Koranic verse yuhibbuhum wa yuhibbuhunah (God loves them and they love Him, 5:45), which is interpreted by the Sufis as meaning that it is God’s love for us that gives rise to our love for Him. Fakhruddin Iraqi,…

by Carolyn Bowyer Let us bless the Universe that we reside in, all the planets and their satellites, the asteroids and the comets and meteors and all the stars beyond.. Let us bless the Earth, our planet, the air we breathe and the water we drink and use, the seas and the rivers and lakes.…

Imagine you’re working at a school and one of the kids is starting to act up. What do you do? Traditionally, the answer would be to give the unruly kid detention or suspension. But in my memory, detention tended to involve staring at walls, bored out of my mind, trying to either surreptitiously talk to…

Install LOVE on the HUMAN Computer

Program your spiritual life for a new year! Customer: I really need some help. After much consideration, I’ve decided to install LOVE. Can you guide me through the process? Tech Support: Yes, I can help you. Are you ready to proceed? Customer: Well, I’m not very technical, but I think I’m ready to install it…

Prayer for peace and tolerance

If you believe that a smile is stronger than a weapon If you believe in the power of a helping hand If you believe that what unites people is more important than what divides If you believe that being different is an asset and not a danger If you look at the other with a…

Compassionate Belgian Town Housing the Mentally Ill Since 15th Century

Good News Network – http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org The town of Geel has been a sanctuary with a tradition of hospitality toward anyone with mental illness since the 1400s – and such ground-breaking integration was the key to healing success. Resident families volunteer their homes to people affected by mental disabilities by signing agreements with health authorities to…

Look to This Day – Ancient Sanskrit poem

“On awakening, bless this day, for it is already full of unseen good which your blessings will call forth; for to bless is to acknowledge the unlimited good that is embedded in the very texture of the universe and awaiting each and all.” Pierre Pradervand, The Gentle Art of Blessing Look to this day for…

Humanity is Waking Up to the Intelligence of Nature

By Paul Lenda, Guest Writer for Wake Up World, May 25, 2016 Excerpted from from the full article. There is a growing awareness and understanding within the human race of the unity that humanity has with the environment within which it exists. This sense of unity with nature is not something new and indeed has…

A Practical guide to spiritual enlightenment

Adyashanti From The way of Liberation Open Gate SanghaSan Jose, California Practice Absolute Sincerity To have genuine sincerity is absolutely necessary in the spiritual life. Sincerity encompasses the qualities of honesty, genuineness, and integrity. To be sincere does not mean to be perfect. In fact, the very effort to be perfect is itself insincere, because…

Lakota Prayer

Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me. I am small and weak. I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you…

A Blessing for Global Oneness Day – October 24, 2016

The wonderful organization Humanity’s Team, an international spiritual movement whose purpose is to communicate and demonstrate the timeless truth that We Are All One, asked me to write a blessing for Global Oneness Day 2016. Here it is. I would like to preface it by a few lines from that great Sufi master and poet…

The Radical Power of Humility

Excerpted from an article by Nipun Mehta, July 7, 2015: http://www.dailygood.org/search.php?op=auth&name=Nipun%20Mehta I recently met a 97 year old Sufi saint named Dada Vaswani. He has a great many followers around the world, is highly respected by monks and nuns from various traditions, and radiates a profound sense of peace. I was deeply grateful to meet…

She Begged On The Streets So She Could Feed Every Orphan She Saw!

A story about love, compassion and devotion. “All the supply in this world is within you and it has to flow out FROM you. It cannot come TO you. If you want to demonstrate supply, you have got to begin with ‘What have I in the house.’ And then you have got to begin to…

The Bridge Builder

By Will Allen Dromgoole* An old man going a lone highway, Came, at the evening cold and gray, To a chasm vast and deep and wide. Through which was flowing a sullen tide The old man crossed in the twilight dim, The sullen stream had no fear for him; But he turned when safe on…

Blessing and the Spiritual Path

Recently Les Voies de Soi asked Pierre to talk about his spiritual path. In this just released informal video conversation Pierre shares with us the role the practice of blessing has had in his life: ”demolishing” the ego, fostering unconditional love, compassion and forgiveness, eliminating all judgement, and creating a yearning for simplicity in all…

111 trees planted for each baby girl being born in a small Indian village!

In a country where the privileged social status of boys is compelling, it is nice to know that some small villages are bucking the patriarchal tradition. In north east India, in the state of Rajahstan, female infanticide is a tradition. However, a community of 8000 inhabitants, the village of Piplantri, celebrates the birth of each…

The Atheism of Material Power

Excerpt from – Awakening Mystical Consciousness, Chapter 1 By Joel S. Goldsmith The life of God is my life and yours; the soul of God is my soul and yours; the Spirit of God is my spirit and yours; the very selfhood of God is my selfhood and your selfhood, and that means we are…

“Every Acacia Tree for a Hive” …

… producing honey, protecting trees AND providing income to small farmers!A win-win project wherever acacia trees grow! I bless us in our ability to develop a relationship of deep caring, unconditional love and authentic reverence towards our sisters the bees and all creation. Pierre Pradervand, from his forthcoming book ‘365 Blessings to Heal Myself and…

The Might of Love’s Tenderness

Pierre Pradervand The seashell called angel wing is delicate and exquisitely beautiful. One sometimes finds numbers of them on the shore when the tide recedes, their winsome loveliness resting gently on the sand. One wonders why they were not crushed to smithereens in the pounding of the huge waves that brought them in. Yet wave…

I Have Decided to Stick With Love

Martin Luther King I’m concerned about a better World. I’m concerned about justice; I’m concerned about brotherhood and sisterhood; I’m concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about that, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can’t murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar,…

Education and conservation – a win-win for African communities

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela. Education is a challenging undertaking even under the best circumstances. It is especially problematic in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo which has gone through years of political upheaval and violence, where schools were raided by paramilitary…

Have You Met St. Francis?

A mystical encounter in Tuscany. Andrew Harvey Andrew Harvey is an author, religious scholar and teacher of mystic traditions, known primarily for his nonfiction books on spiritual or mystical themes. He is the founder of the Institute for Sacred Activism and has been featured in many videos and interviews on mysticism and sacred activism. During…

A Disappointing Restaurant Experience Turned Into an Effort That Now Feeds Poor Children

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead What started as a small gesture, feeding destitute children, by 31-year-old Darshan and his friends has turned into a full-blown movement. An email Darshan Chandan sent to a restaurant, after being…

He chose me to be

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” (Jer. 1:5) Our minds cannot comprehend how special each soul is to God. We do not understand the dignity that is ours when His Goodness chose each one of us to live, to think, to know, to see, to love. We did not happen to…

An interview with Kelly Howell

Direct link to track ~ approximately 30 minutes http://traffic.libsyn.com/kellyhowell/131TOTMPradervand.mp3 Here’s the link to the show on the Theatre of the Mind website. http://www.brainsync.com/blog/pierre-pradervand-the-gentle-art-of-blessing/

Welcome the ‘gift economy’

What is the gift economy? In a gift economy, goods and services are given without any strings attached; it is an economic system where it is the circulation of the gifts within the community that leads to increase; in this context, hoarding actually decreases wealth. At its core, gift-economy is a shift from consumption to…

Turning Children of War into Children of Peace

An estimated 19 million children have been caught up in world conflicts but perhaps the most famous may be Amina Ali Nkeki . She was one of 219 Nigerian girls abducted by Boko Haram militants in 2014, and the only one to be rescued so far. After meeting with the Nigerian president, she was promised…