Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) and his daughter Mpho Tutu van Furth focus on our fragile humanity, the good and bad that we are all capable of, as the entry point for forgiveness: We are able to forgive because we are able to recognize our shared humanity. We are able to recognize that we are all…
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…
On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza entered the Sandy Hook Elementary School in the town of Newton, Connecticut and shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children between six and seven years old, and six adult staff members. The incident is the deadliest mass shooting at an elementary school in U.S. history. As first responders arrived,…
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…
Amid rocket fire and Arab-Jewish violence on the streets, doctors and nurses at Assuta Hospital in Ashdod, Israel, have treated 111 people affected by the violence. Due to the hospital’s 15-mile proximity to the Gaza border, medics of both Arab and Jewish faiths staff the premises. During the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, much of…
At the end of one of the parables that Jesus left us, that of the Prodigal Son (Gospel of Luke), we find the most extraordinary spiritual affirmation that I have ever read in my entire life: “My child, you are always with me and all that I have is yours.” ALL that God is/has is…
by James O’Dea “I consider this an extremely important and and exceptionally lucid analysis of the contemporary spiritual/personal development scene. Many years ago, Byron Katie, one of the genuinely great figures of the world-wide field of personal development, stated that the number one problem of the world was not issues like hunger, war, etc. but…
By Madisyn Taylor When we accept that we always exist in a state of grace, we are able to live our lives more graciously. Grace exists inside of all of us and around us. It is our inner beauty that radiates outward, touching everyone we meet. It is that unseen hand that comes from the…
By Pierre Pradervand You Are Me & I Am You read by Suzanne Bonetti.Suzanne is a British actress working globally in film, television, commercials, radio and on-line media. http://www.suzannebonetti.com/ One of the more amazing and beautiful aspects of internet is that it is becoming the most powerful tool ever to spread ideas instantaneously worldwide, including a…
“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. “John Lewis Tolstoy wrote to Gandhi that “love is the only way to rescue humanity from all ills” ……
We live in an infinitely benevolent, ever loving, universe …. but a very, very strange humanly (dis)organized world! After all, a world where a tiny virus weighing a microgram can upset the world economy in a few weeks is either inhabited by a very, very clever virus…or then is really inhabited by an extremely strange group of people. So…
“Love itself can only increase by being shared. Extending love ensures its increase. Every loving thought, or every opportunity we take to think, see, feel or act in loving ways, such as forgiving, listening, allowing, accepting, and giving will manifest as Love in our lives. The more Love we give, the more we receive, and…
Your desire to be happy must include others’ happiness. When we serve others, we serve ourselves. Do not think, I will help others, think rather, I will help my own, my world, because I cannot otherwise be happy. The law of life is designed to teach us how to live in harmony with objective Nature…
By Madisyn Taylor Our Comment: In a recent blog (https://gentleartofblessing.org/an-infinitely-friendly-universe/) Pierre wrote of his deep conviction (shared by many thinkers and mystics) that the universe is governed by a loving, benevolent intelligence. Thus, all challenges we personally face in this human existence are teaching tools that force us to progress on our spiritual path especially if…
“I believe it is impossible to live a happy life if one nourishes resentment for some harm done to oneself, or guilt or repressed anger for an error of omission or commission we caused. On the other hand, we become incapable of resentment when we have understood that everyone is at every moment at their…
In a variety of teachings, unconditional love is the heart and soul of the spiritual life and the ultimate aim of the spiritual path – and by love is meant love in action of course (be it meditation or feeding the hungry), not discourses about love. “We bless ourselves in our desire to have a…
“The non-dual spirituality of today is necessarily service-oriented. If my neighbor is myself, I cannot just state this in front of my private altar and let it stay there. If spirituality is worth its salt, it will be concerned with some form of active service to the world. Together, we will heal this world or destroy…
“We need a new consciousness, and we need to act differently. Instead of revenge we need to practice forgiveness, instead of all-out competition, we need embracing love, and in place of looking for our own advantage in every situation, we need to embrace everyone concerned – and do so unconditionally…. We need to embrace the…
For years, Italian coffee giant illy has earned the reputation of a company that prioritizes people over profits. And while it sources its coffee from 25 countries around the globe, Columbia is the place where that philosophy is making a real difference. Ask Fernando, an ex-commander of the FARC paramilitary revolutionary movement that spent 50…
Excerpts from Julian of Norwich One morning early, while making my fruit salad, the sentence “All is well, all is well, all is very, very well” continued playing through my mind. I was suddenly reminded of a very beautiful booklet I read years ago, ENFOLDED IN LOVE – daily readings with Julian of Norwich. Despite…
Posted by Neeti S W on Jul 10, 2017 We thought we would post this today, Global Oneness Day 2017, to illustrate how compassion for and acceptance of others can have a healing impact and remind ourselves that we are all ONE. Awakin gatherings started when three friends got together in 1996 to sit in…
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…
As long as you believe that the God you seek is hidden up there in the sky, As long as you believe that your salvation is to be found in religions, sects, gurus or others, As long as you believe that you are too small to forgive yourself and that and only God can do…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
I believe it is impossible to live a happy life if one nourishes resentment for some harm done to oneself….. On the other hand, we become incapable of resentment when we have understood that everyone is at every moment at their highest level of consciousness. We then live in deep peace and quiet joy. I…
From an article by Olivier Clerc, writer and lecturer, author of ‘The Gift of Forgiveness’. Ever since I’ve been running workshops on forgiveness and Circles of Forgiveness, this is without a doubt the question I have been asked most often by participants as well as by journalists: “Can one forgive everything?” In fact, for many…
Shared with permission of Prayerful Living – copyright Pierre Pradervand. For information on archived and future audio talks offered by Prayerful Living Learning Center, please check http://www.prayerfulliving.com/learningcenter/ What if forgiveness were one of the greatest gifts you could ever make to yourself in your lifetime? With over 50 years professional life experience in over 40…
I believe it is impossible to live a happy life if one nourishes resentment for some harm done to oneself, or guilt or repressed anger for an error of omission or commission we caused. On the other hand, we become incapable of resentment when we have understood that everyone is at every moment at their…
“I decided to forgive him,” says former child soldier Colombia’s talks to end a six-decade-long civil war (in which an estimated 220,000 have been killed and thousands more abducted) .offer valuable lessons. One big one is how to create an atmosphere that can soften attitudes before hard decisions have to be made. Recently, the government…
I have a very dear French friend, Meena, who went through one of the most powerful experiences of forgiveness I have ever come across. When she was still in her late teens, she fell head over heels in love with a man just a few years older than her. They got married and had two…
“We are choosing love, not for an outcome but for the actual creation of a different reality, where cynicism cannot overshadow the real connection of Love. The norm is fear and separation, but Love is the greater reality. I don’t have to judge those who fear, I can feel compassion for them. There are wounded…
Because integrity is such an essential element of the spiritual quest – after all it is one of the many dimension of truth – I felt like sharing my reflections on the theme of being true to oneself – which is the essence of integrity as I understand it. Integrity is a quality of being.…
