Why Do We Pray For People? It often feels like my social media screens overflow with requests asking me to pray for people. The pandemic and all of its accompanying stresses are obvious sources of people asking for prayer. I know quite a few people who deal with parents who are growing older and other health challenges. A friend of mine who has stage-four cancer just lost his wife, the love of his life, to her own fight with cancer.... Read more
Becoming Our True Selves I believe spiritual life, our own unique spiritual path, is all about recognizing and becoming our true selves. We hide ourselves from ourselves and from each other. Our true selves are precious to us and we go to great lengths to hide them, even before we realize what we are doing. The defenses we construct to hide and protect ourselves are complex, particularly when they are unconscious. We determine the world is not a safe place... Read more
How Do We Learn to Let Go? Many of us believe, whether we realize it or not, it is better to hold on than to let go. We have worked hard for what we have and do not want to lose the rewards of all our effort and persistence. Some of us learned to apply ourselves and take care of what we have wisely. We feel grateful, but also know we want to hold onto what we have earned. It... Read more
Speaking Truth to Power It is easy for us to be confused about Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and this weekend. Speaking truth to power is what this holiday is all about. For some of us it is a weekend for football playoff games or college basketball. We need more information about this man named Martin Luther King, Jr. Some of us believe he was a rabble rousing troublemaker and others see him as a dreamer. He falls into the... Read more
Taking a Deep Breath This seems like an excellent opportunity for many of us to practice taking a deep breath. We have struggled through challenging months trying to sustain ourselves long enough to survive. Some of us were reaching toward the end of the year, or a new beginning. We believed we had almost made it when we started to realize we were still not safe. Some of us are having a hard time catching our breath. Many of us... Read more
Light on the Darkest Day For months, many of us have been living through days which seem to be competing to be the darkest day. We are lonely and afraid, anxious and full of doubts. Each day appears to have its own way to be the darkest day. Some of us worry about getting sick or spreading sickness to people we love. We may be concerned about people we miss and cannot see. Some of us wonder when we will... Read more
Epiphany Grows in Stillness Epiphany grows in stillness, drawing us into deeper understanding and appreciation of the life within us. Some of us try to cultivate our epiphanies, encouraging them to grow in neat rows according to our schedule. We would appreciate being able to plan them out and have them bloom at regular intervals. Then we could journal about these hothouse epiphanies and show them off. We come to realize, though, we cannot domesticate epiphanies. Epiphany grows in... Read more
The Last Day of an Endless Year Today is the last day of a year which, for many of us, has seemed to last forever. Last New Year’s feels like at least seven or eight years ago. We have shared an apparently never-ending series of challenges, struggles, and obstacles which have made this year so long. All our lives have been turned upside down by the threat of the coronavirus. In addition, in many places, this year has been measured... Read more
A Contemplative Christmas This uniquely challenging year gives many of us an opportunity to practice a contemplative Christmas. Some of us have learned how to spend time with ourselves this year. We may have begun to remember who we are in our deepest selves. Some of us have begun to find time for much needed rest and reflection. This year of staying at home and solitude has shown some of us how to start slowing down and pay attention. Each... Read more
Taking Time for Stillness When will we begin taking time for stillness? We value our time. Some of us believe time is money. We do not want anyone else to waste our time. It is almost as if we could hoard spare moments or days in boxes to use them later. Some of us pay attention to time management. We want to use our time as effectively as we can. Some of us are convinced each second counts. We want to squeeze... Read more
Strategic Monk
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