Discerning Guidance

Last updated on: June 13, 2023 at 3:37 am By Greg Richardson

Discerning Guidance in the Stillness What is guidance and why would we listen to stillness to find it? How are we discerning guidance in stillness? We find looking for knowledge or information less challenging than seeking guidance. Our culture seems to value being informed and knowing things more than discerning guidance. Some of us assume we need to grow before we can discern well. We like to believe experience automatically helps us find guidance. We might try discerning guidance from... Read more

We Want to Be Right

Last updated on: June 8, 2023 at 3:57 am By Greg Richardson

0 Comments

We Want to Be Right For longer than I can remember I have been told being right is better than being wrong. We are taught it is essential to having a happy life. In school, at home, in spiritual life, it is important. Life is about finding right answers and sharing them with other people. Our lives will be better if we make right choices and decisions. We educate ourselves, and our children, about its power and importance. Many of... Read more

Meaning in the Present Moment

Last updated on: June 6, 2023 at 4:14 am By Greg Richardson

0 Comments

Finding Meaning in the Present Moment We spend our lives running as fast as we can from the past into the future. Do we ever find meaning in the present moment? Studying the past, we try to discern its lessons for us. How can we avoid the mistakes other people have made? What examples does the past offer for us to follow? Are we able to learn from history, or are we doomed to repeat it? We read books and... Read more

Setting the World on Fire

Last updated on: May 25, 2023 at 3:54 am By Greg Richardson

0 Comments

Setting the World on Fire This is a week of setting the world on fire. Fire is one of my favorite metaphors for spiritual life. It purifies, melting and burning away what does not belong. Fire shines light into darkness. It warms us. Fire is powerful, beyond our ability to control it. It helps us feel safer and more secure. Fire grows stronger as we feed it fuel. This week we live surrounded by fire. Some of us try to... Read more

What Difference Do Our Spiritual Practices Make?

Last updated on: May 23, 2023 at 3:33 am By Greg Richardson

0 Comments

What Difference Do Our Spiritual Practices Make? When we begin a spiritual practice, we generally expect it to make a difference. Why would we develop and follow our spiritual practices if we did not think they would change our lives in some way? We choose our practices, and work to follow them, because of how we expect them to help us. One of the standard questions about our spiritual practices is how they will help us. What is it we... Read more

Stillness in the Middle of May

Last updated on: May 18, 2023 at 3:47 am By Greg Richardson

0 Comments

Stillness in the Middle of May There are a few more weeks of spring left before summer. The sun is not yet up on this morning in the middle of May. I get up slowly, reluctant to greet this May morning. Fumbling in the dark, I avoid significant injury and begin to follow my morning routines. After completing a few tasks I sit down and listen to sacred stillness. We may be regularly following a practice of listening to sacred... Read more

We Are Strong Where We Have Been Broken

Last updated on: May 16, 2023 at 3:44 am By Greg Richardson

0 Comments

Where We Have Been Broken Many of us believe spiritual life is about finding comfort, not about where we have been broken. We like to think spiritual life wants us to be joyful. I remember singing about the joy down in my heart. Some of us believe spiritual life is about feeling safe again. Spiritual life is not about making us miserable. I do not believe, though, it is about making us feel comfortable. We do not start over as... Read more

What Do We Fear?

Last updated on: May 15, 2023 at 5:49 pm By Greg Richardson

0 Comments

What Do We Fear? Our fear keeps us awake at night. It holds us back from even trying to do what we hope to accomplish. Being afraid eats away at us, robbing us of who we have the potential to become. It can steal our closest relationships and our most cherished dreams. We have known it since before we can remember. We may have been, or still be, afraid of the dark, of being our true selves, or of failing.... Read more

Taking Time for Stillness

Last updated on: May 9, 2023 at 4:45 am By Greg Richardson

0 Comments

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... Read more

How Do We Pray?

Last updated on: May 4, 2023 at 5:54 am By Greg Richardson

0 Comments

How Do We Pray? People ask us to pray for them or someone they know on social media. We pray for people who are ill or injured, people who experience tragedy or loss. Some of us pray for relief from natural disasters or for people affected by gun violence. Many of us are praying for peace in Ukraine and Sudan and the Middle East and the rest of the world. We pray for people we know and for those we... Read more