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…
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…
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…
In this period of growing world distress and challenges, it is good to remember that maybe Someone/Something else is pulling the strings. My dear friend Sandy Wilder of the Educare Unlearning Institute, who sends out daily the most profound and enlightening free messages anyone can receive (sign up at educare-unlearning-insights-sign-up), sent out recently this poem: …
by Luc Bodin Many are wondering about their life path which is a good question. It is not always easy to answer them. However, one thing is common to all missions, it is to experience love, to live love, to radiate love during this existence. If you don’t know which direction to take in life, start by developing love … love in all…
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…
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…
No one is asking you to completely neglect the material life in order to devote yourself solely to meditation and prayer, as some mystics or ascetics who wanted to flee the world, its temptations and difficulties, did. But to allow yourself to be monopolized by material concerns, as more and more humans are doing, is…
“The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others. Only then have we ourselves become true human beings. I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought…
“Blessings …serve not only those who emit them, and not only those to whom they are addressed, but all people in the human community.” From Dr. Laszlo’s Foreword to 365 Blessings to Heal Myself and the World. After a professional career spanning well over 50 years that took me to over 40 countries of the…
Israeli government plans last year for a mass deportation of African asylum-seekers created a public outcry and remain on hold. But migrant families and their children live in a painful state of uncertainty. Yet in an impoverished neighborhood in Tel Aviv is a school dedicated to helping migrant children thrive educationally and emotionally, teaching students…
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…
Excerpts from an article by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee Unity holds the essential vision that we are one living, interconnected ecosystem—a living Earth that supports and nourishes all of its inhabitants. If we acknowledge and honor this simple reality, we can begin to participate in the vital work of healing our fractured and divisive world and embrace a…
Excerpts from The Dynamic Laws of Prayer, Caroline Ponder In the silence, when your conscious mind becomes quiet, then the subconscious phase of the mind, which is the seat of memory and feeling, is free to function, revealing fresh inspiration and new ideas … The silence is the workshop of God. The silence is the…
Below is an excerpt from a recent feature in “Grateful Changemakers” of Gratefulness.org. We hope this short summary will encourage you to click on the link and read the entire inspiring story and, who knows, perhaps get involved. https://gratefulness.org/grateful-news/grateful-changemakers-musicians-for-world-harmony/ “Music is a great force for healing – something we all need in our lives…We are…
In her book The Healing Secrets of the Ages, Catherine Ponder writes: “Bless the world around you unselfishly with divine order. As you do so, you release the power of order into the atmosphere to do its perfect work. Look for, expect and give thanks for divine order, often. By doing so, you release…
For the Incredible Beauty of Creation Pierre Pradervand The incredible beauty of nature defies the wildest imagination. From the perfection of a tiny alpine flower no one will ever even see to the splendor of a star-studded summer’s night, through the intricate beauty of a seashell to the breathtaking harmony of a spider’s web, all…
A simple meditation to start your day There is a brief text which is one of the most universal, ecumenical texts in the world spiritual literature. Be you a Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jew, follower of shamanist practices, this text speaks to any open heart. The reason is that it is pure poetry, being composed…
It has been my privilege to travel widely through the five continents of the world in the course of a very active existence. I have met people from all walks of life, from prostitutes to presidents, saints and sinners. I have witnessed incredible poverty, amazing acts of daily heroism (especially from women). I have studied…
You are unique, unlike any other. Without reservation or hesitation, I allow you to be in this world as you are, without a thought or a word of judgment… I see no error in the things you say or do, feel and believe, because I understand that you honor yourself by being you and doing…
I bless all journalists (or: the journalists of (name of station or newspaper/magazine) in their great love for and responsiveness to truth, and their sensitivity to beauty and goodness. I bless them in their ability to avoid being manipulated into reporting trivia or hiding truth. They denounce evil only to correct it. I bless them…
Spirit of Truth and Love, I bless this day for all the goodness it already includes. I bless this cab as a rolling temple of Thy presence. I bless the roads I shall travel on, and all those whose paths I cross. I bless every person who enters this cab. I bless them in the…
From time to time, we shall give a blessing for a specific profession or job. Today, we will start with one of the most important activities on the planet – that of teacher. There are so many stories of children whose lives were turned around by a remarkable teacher. So if you have teacher friends who do their best in their challenging job, please share this blessing with them. I bless this day for the constant opportunities that it offers me to share wisdom and truth, to broaden my circle of compassion and my understanding, and to manifest patience and love toward all the children or students entrusted…
With a Cameroonian friend, I was organizing a benefit concert in favor of peasant-farmer groups in Senegal. The concert had been publicized on the radio and in the local press and was to be held in a large auditorium of a Geneva college which was lending it to us free of charge. However, the technician…
I am the busy mother of two young sons and am expecting a third baby in just a few weeks time. Like many women at this stage of pregnancy, I am not sleeping well at night and am very tired at the end of the day. This means I can be grumpy with my two…
“The Gentle Art of Blessing has changed my life already. – and I doubt I am anywhere near expert in it. Everything has changed – the reception I receive from my classes, the kind of day I have, etc. Most of all I am loving the peace in my heart and the improvement in my…
Some years ago I bought The Gentle Art of Blessing from you. The title just touched me. I gave it as a present to a friend and even bought it in Dutch to give as a gift. I was very moved by the content. The Power of Blessing is in its essence a true Art,…
“I am a Christian Science nurse and when I first began to practice blessing there was a certain “bed ridden” patient with whom every nurse seemed to have a difficult time and I was no exception. I would go in her room when assigned to it and she would (seemingly) bark orders in a tone…
My friend Mamoudou Kassambara of Mali (W. Africa)is one of the most wonderful persons I have met in my life. A devoted and tolerant moslem, he has adopted blessing as a way of life and witnessed amazing healings among the people he recommended it to. Here is one of his stories. You will find the…
Anne was a participant of one of my workshops on blessing. A schoolteacher in an average-sized school, she had a colleague who stubbornly ignored her very existence. Anne had not the foggiest idea why. When they would cross in the school corridor, the other teacher would simply look the other way, conveying the clear message:…
My friend Mamoudou Kassambara of Mali (W. Africa)is one of the most wonderful persons I have met in my life. A devoted and tolerant moslem, he has adopted blessing as a way of life and witnessed amazing healings among the people he recommended it to. Here is one of his stories. You will find the…
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. On passing people in the street, on the bus, in places of…
