Tag: The Gentle Art of Blessing

The heart and soul of my spirituality

I was raised in a traditional Christian family and even studied two years of theology before understanding that it was ABSOLUTELY NOT my cup of tea, a spirituality entirely in the head, nothing in the heart. For ten years I wandered in a spiritual no man’s land, then in 1969 I received a two-year scholarship…

My kind of spirituality

By Cristen Rodgers Introduction by Pierre  Close to forty years ago, Byron Katie, for me one of the leading figures of the personal development movement during the past generation, made the comment that the greatest challenge to the world was … confusion. Not poverty, famine, war …and so many other challenges. This confusion is mainly…

The values that led humanity forward this year

In an excellent article on December 22, 2022, The Christian Science Monitor highlighted some of the values that guided actions in the world during the year – ingenuity, responsibility, dignity, equality, cooperation. You can read the entire article here. We highlight here the first two, ingenuity and responsibility. https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Points-of-Progress/2022/1222/The-values-that-led-humanity-forward-this-year Ingenuity Much of 2022’s progress was…

We are all Beings of Light

It is through our connection to our light that we know things beyond what the visible world can tell us. We are all beings of light. Put another way, we are spiritual beings having a human experience. As children, most of us know this, but other human beings who have forgotten what they really are…

Help, I’m drowning… in information

There are two major factors which, combined, make present day living extremely challenging for anyone who attempts to stay informed on major issues of our times. The first one is the weakening of authority in so many areas of life. For thousands of years, people’s lives were run by a very few authorities, religion, the…

The Quest for a Mustard Seed

 – or being of service to others When it comes to releasing the vibration of fear from your body, mind, and heart, the biggest fear by far is that of death—the death of yourself and the death of your loved ones. In the spiritual realm, it is the death of that individual ego that is…

The world’s first “sand battery”

capable of storing green power for months at a time, is up and running in Finland.  One obstacle to year-round renewable power is the difficulty of capturing and storing energy when intermittent sources like wind or solar energy are unavailable. Finnish engineers at Polar Night Energy have employed a solution in a simple material: low-grade…

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…

Someone stole our attention. Oh, did they really?

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…

Forgiveness – essential humility

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…

Medical bills cancelled

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…

Simple, simple, simple …. and essential

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…

Thoughts from Roger McGowen

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…

Listening to the Divine

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…

The art of constant wonder

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. One of the greatest secrets of life is to know how to…

Contemplative Walking

Christine Valters Paintner describes the ancient and accessible contemplative practice of walking or moving slowly through the natural world as a way of connecting with God. This is clearly the “road not taken” by too many of us in the modern world, even though it shaped and sustained the faith of our ancestors for millennia.…

What can I do about global warming?

So many people feel totally overwhelmed by the problem, and this at all levels. The ordinary citizen sees himself as a tiny pawn without any significant influence on a chessboard with 7.9 billion players. The director of a large multinational company immediately sees the constraints of a system that would oblige him/her above all (supposedly)…

Living a Life of Grace

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…

Creative Listening

“Listening is a true art, be it listening to one’s neighbor or anyone who is suffering, to one’s partner or children, not to mention the most important of all, listening to the Godhead. For this, I believe, is the true value of prayer: not telling an omniscient Deity what It already knows, but listening to what It is telling…

A Vision for Love Overflowing

Here is another wonderful Vision from Carol Peacock of  Sweetbriars Retreat Center in Springfield, Missouri. Carol says: We envision a world where love is the answer to all questions.  Now that each and every one of us know in our hearts that love is the feeling that supports the highest good of all mankind, we…

Reconciling the material and spiritual life

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…

Deepening Our Comfort with Uncertainty

By Kristi Nelson, the Executive Director of A Network for Grateful Living You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope.~ Thomas Merton…

Sentenced to Serving the Good Life in Norway

On Bastoy, an island 46 miles south of Oslo, [125] residents live in brightly colored wooden chalets, spread over one square mile of forest and gently sloping hills. They go horseback riding and throw barbecues, and have access to a movie theater, tanning bed and, during winter, two ski jumps. Despite all its trappings, Bastoy…

There is no price on love

There are so many extraordinary texts around people just run through them without it impacting them.  But a story, it stays with you. which is why Jesus and other spiritual masters spoke in parables.  Pierre Pradervand There once was a farmer who had some puppies he needed to sell, so he painted a sign advertising his 4…

Deep trust in troubled times

“…may I trust Divine Love sufficiently to know that ultimately all is very, very well in the unfolding of the incredible divine Plan already written into the destiny of the universe for me and all.”365 Blessings to Heal Myself and the World To say the world is going through some challenges is the understatement of…

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…

A Blessing for Mother Earth

By Pierre Pradervand Finally, humanity is just beginning to perceive that our planet is a living being which has been infinitely patient with the abuse we have wrought upon it. We bless Mother Earth in its infinite abundance and stunning beauty, the wealth of its fauna and flora, the infinite subtlety of its growth and…

The coronavirus: A Blessing in Disguise?

Pierre Pradervand If a small virus carried by a minuscule bat in the boondocks of China can send the whole world reeling, then apparently there is something in the system which urgently needs healing, and this includes the possibility of major surgery. Eliza Gilkyson wrote a prophetic song, which was performed by Joan Baez, called…

Blessing for Spiritual Seekers

Pierre Pradervand We are in a period of unprecedented, challenging and exciting change. In all areas, old structures are falling away or being challenged, including in the field of religion and spirituality. More and more people are undertaking an individual spiritual quest for their right spiritual niche. This blessing is for them.   I bless…

Help for the homeless in Lyon, France

In Lyon, France, “L’Entreprise des possibles” helps the homeless. Some 3,000 people sleep every night in the streets of Lyon. A daily tragedy that a local entrepreneur wants to end. His idea? Mobilize all the companies in the region and pool their resources so that everyone can find a roof over their heads.  A powerful…

Express gratitude and generosity

How do you express your gratitude in life? Do you rise with the sun and thank the creator for this incredible planet and your wonderful life? Give thanks for the blessings you receive throughout the day? Are you attentive when you express your gratitude to those who help you and do you want to create…

The Meaning of Life… and the gift of unconditional love

Excellence Reporter: Suzanne, what is the meaning of life? Suzanne Giesemann: The answer is simple:  You as a soul have temporarily taken on human form to develop your divinity. God … Spirit … the Divine is Love; therefore you are here to be the presence of Love. Love is the Force that breathes you. Love is your very essence.…

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…

Sharing Your Happiness with Others

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…

Advances in reforestation!

Danish telethon raises cash to plant a million trees Danes donated around 2.4 million euro (£2.6 million) for the planting of trees, in a Telethon event on September 14 described as the world’s first to focus on the climate. For every donation of 20 Danish kroner (about $3 or 2.7 euros), one tree will be…

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…

Excerpts from Compassion and the Individual

Tenzin Gyatso; The Fourteenth Dalai Lama The purpose of life I believe that the purpose of life is to be happy.  From the moment of birth, every human being wants happiness and does not want suffering.  Neither social conditioning nor education nor ideology affect this.  From the very core of our being, we simply desire…

Social implications of oneness

A dominant aspect of mystical experiences all round the world is that the mystics very often see the links of all things – not only between all humans, but between humans and nature, and sometimes they feel a total immersion with the Ground of Being that upholds the universe and every living being. And what…

The power of saying “Yes”

Dr. David Hawkins was one of the best-known US psychiatrists in the last third of the past century, before becoming at the end of his career a great seer who influenced thousands via his workshops and his books such as The Power vs. Force.  He once made the (to some people) provocative statement that the…

Full Abundance

By Tosha Silver, from her book Change Me Prayers Divine Beloved, Change Me into someone who can give with complete ease and abundance, knowing You are the unlimited Source of All. Let me be an easy open conduit for Your prosperity. Let me trust that all of my own needs are always met in amazing…