When you pray, what do you pray for? Do you pray for specific things to happen, say a promotion at work, the attention of a person you’re romantically interested in, or to win the Powerball lottery? Do you pray for the well-being and happiness of others, perhaps for a close friend or one of your children or grandchildren? I was thinking about the nature of prayer recently, during the final days of my father-in-law’s life. I ran into a neighbor… Read more
April 14, 2021
2 Prayers We Don’t Say Much (But Probably Should)
April 14, 2021 By Tom Rapsas
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April 7, 2021
Do You Possess the 8 Insights of a Spiritually Mature Person?
April 7, 2021 By Tom Rapsas
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The American monk Thomas Merton once told a story about climbing the ladder of success. Merton pointed out that we can spend years of our lives climbing the corporate or economic ladder. Up and up and up. Only to find that when we get to the top of our ladder, it’s leaning against the wrong wall. In Falling Upward, A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, Richard Rohr reminds us that our “supposed achievements” of the first half of… Read more
March 31, 2021
The Secret Story Behind the Resurrection of Jesus
March 31, 2021 By Tom Rapsas
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It’s Easter week and if you attend Christian church services in the coming days, you’ll hear the story of the resurrection of Jesus. In a nutshell, it goes like this: Jesus was crucified, died and was buried—and on the third day he rose from the dead. It’s the third day that’s worth we’re looking at, because as it turns out there are many different tales as to what happened on the day of Jesus’s resurrection. There are two variations that… Read more
March 24, 2021
7 Morning Rituals to Start Your Day Right
March 24, 2021 By Tom Rapsas
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Are you having a good day today? Will you have a good day tomorrow? It might be a little late to impact the day you’re currently living through, but there is a way to prepare for a better day tomorrow. It starts when you wake up and involves taking a few simple steps to get your day off to a good start. A good day starts with a good morning. You’ve heard the expression that someone “got up on the… Read more
March 17, 2021
What a 2300-Year Old Philosophy Can Teach You Today
March 17, 2021 By Tom Rapsas
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Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy that dates all the way back to 300 B.C. Yet despite the fact its best known voices, Seneca the Younger and Marcus Aurelius, lived and taught around the time of Jesus Christ, it still holds great sway today. Both old and new books on stoicism, by authors like Ryan Holiday, regularly top Amazon’s best-selling philosophy book list. The stoic philosophy is based on a system of ethics that include having a set of high… Read more
March 10, 2021
We’re Not Just Getting Older. We’re Getting Happier.
March 10, 2021 By Tom Rapsas
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We have a better capacity to be happy as we get older. That’s the finding of a report in an academic publication called Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews, co-authored by Jamila Bookwala, a dean of psychology at Lafayette college. It of course raises the question, what is happiness? Bookwala points out that what defines happiness is unique to each individual, so my idea of happiness may differ from yours. For some people it’s defined as joy, for others contentment. One important factor: Our… Read more
March 3, 2021
2 Unique Ways to Sense the Presence of God
March 3, 2021 By Tom Rapsas
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Have you ever felt the presence of God in your life? For most of us, this happens in one of a few ways, usually through an event or mechanism that opens up our senses. We have a sudden awareness that there is something greater inside us and/or around us, a supreme force or energy that is the very essence of life. This trigger can be nature, the sublime feeling you get when you walk along a wooded path, gaze up through… Read more
February 25, 2021
3 Questions to Ask Before Death Comes Calling
February 25, 2021 By Tom Rapsas
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Sometimes it takes a death to get us thinking about life. I had a very close relative pass away a few days ago, his name was John. He had seemed in okay health but after fainting a couple of times, he was taken to a local hospital. Over the ensuing days, a number of tests were conducted and he was diagnosed with a fatal illness. Less than 3 weeks later he was dead. While the death seemed sudden, I can’t… Read more
February 17, 2021
The Power of Semi-Positive Thinking
February 17, 2021 By Tom Rapsas
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Say “I can,” instead of “I can’t.” Think positive and positive things will happen! Tell yourself: “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.” When you expect the best, you release a magnetic force which brings you the best. Do these positive-thinking quotes strike you as a bunch of hooey? Me, too. They’re the sort of messages you can find on motivational posters (#1 and #2) or in the book The Power of Positive Thinking (#3 and… Read more
February 10, 2021
5 Keen Insights from a Professional Beachcomber
February 10, 2021 By Tom Rapsas
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Do you know the difference between a beach bum and a beachcomber? Purpose. According to my trusty laptop dictionary, a beach bum is defined as a person who loafs on or around a beach. On the other hand, a beachcomber is a person who walks along the beach looking for valuable or interesting items. Richard Bode falls into the beachcomber category, though instead of walking the beach with a metal detector looking for buried treasures, what he seeks are the… Read more
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