Tag: kindness

A benevolent Universe

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…

Shine some light!

Our positive news this month is an Excerpt from an article by Elizabeth Gilbert, an American author best known for her memoir Eat, Pray, Love. Some years ago, I was stuck on a crosstown bus in New York City during rush hour. Traffic was barely moving. The bus was filled with cold, tired people who…

Spirit-Led Action

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…

Being there for others – a lesson from bees

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 blessing written to celebrate a birthday

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…

Amid war and disease, World Happiness Report shows bright spot

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…

Gleaning: the ancient right that is making a comeback in Cornwall

An idea dating to biblical times that could be replicated elsewhere! The Cornwall Gleaning network was started in early 2020 after its founder, Holly Whitelaw watched a Simon Reeve documentary about Cornwall, its hidden poverty and challenges being faced by its inhabitants.After some shocking conversations with desperate individuals on the front line of the food…

Who is really running the show?

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: …

The Medicine of Altruism

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…

Namaste: Let’s Keep It After the Pandemic

by Philip Goldberg Below are a few excerpts from this article, which you can read in its entirety here. https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/articles/2021/04/27/namaste-lets-keep-it-after-the-pandemic …Thanks to the popularity of yoga, the presence of gurus and swamis, increased travel to India, and the assimilation of citizens of Indian descent, Americans have learned that the hands-at-chest greeting is traditionally accompanied by the…

The sun knows no favorites

This article published by Pierre in the early eighties, read here by Suzanne Bonetti & Stephen Hope-Wynne, illustrates some of the ways a loving Providence takes care of us in ways we don’t even have to plan. Life has such gentle ways of taking care of us. Take my friend Maurice, for instance. When we first…

You are Me and I am You

Oneness

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…

Guest Blog: John O’Donohue on blessing

The great Irish poet and writer remains a rare master of the English language. His use of words is unique. This month we quote from the introduction to that magical book of blessings of his, To Bless the Space Between Us. PP “It would be infinitely lonely to live in a world without blessings. The word blessing invokes…

Giving is Receiving: Undoing the “Getting” Concept

“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…

Clear intention + blessing = pure spiritual dynamite

“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…

Love without conditions

Real Love does not change. It exists independently of the form through which it expresses. The Source of this eternal, omnipresent, formless Love is within you. This is where your faith must be placed, for this love is as certain as anything you will ever know. And once it is firmly established in your heart,…

The essence of true spirituality

For over 60 years I belonged to forms of organized religion. These still play a useful role for some individuals who need to have verbal formulations of truths and liturgical and cultural forms that reassure and comfort. However, we live in a world where increasingly everything is challenged and each one is called to define…

How a nightmare childhood inspired one-of-a-kind gifts

Foster care

“I bless children in foster care, that the challenges of their past weigh not unduly on their future. I bless  the  hosting  families that they may welcome their foster child with gentleness, deep compassion and caring and an understanding of their special needs.” Pierre Pradervand, from https://pierrepradervand.com/365-blessings-to-heal-myself-and-the-world/ On any given day, there are nearly 437,500…

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…

A blessing for migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean

One can never insist enough on the fact that blessing is one of the main tools we have at our disposal for healing the world. Wherever we are, whatever the situation, we can bless. Some people complain that they do not know what to do to heal the world. Well, if we just open our…