You wanna fly, you gotta give up the shit that weighs you down. ~Toni Morrison Some folks begin the new year with a resolution to lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more. By the end of February, many resolutions, about weight or otherwise, have fallen by the wayside. So the title of this post might have […]
I just ran across a blog post I wrote at the end of 2023, a year that began with a prayer for liberation “whatever it takes.” The universe answered my prayer with cancer, not exactly what I had in mind, and yet it was the perfect opportunity for me to decide if I really meant
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Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. ~C. S. Lewis When someone asked me this morning how I cope with the tragedy of fear and rage and suffering going on in our country right now, I answered, “with compassion.” That is a simple answer,
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What love is this That never grows weary Never despairs Never condemns Worthiness becomes meaningless In the arms of grace
If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it. ~Toni Morrison We might not think of surrender as leading to power. On the contrary, the word often suggests defeat or weakness. But surrender in the realm of spirit is different. Here, we are referring to alignment with the universal energy of creation. The power
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Seeing the small is insight. ~Dao De Jing I don’t know what insight I gained, but I spent almost an hour this morning just looking out the back window at the birds and the squirrels. My desk looks out over the backyard. While I was attending to things on my computer this morning, I looked
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. …[A]s we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Willamson I had a friend who, although barely five
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Like the lotus blooms from murky depths Awareness glows in the dark of mystery It shines not to dispel the darkness For the mystery is its origin And deep darkness fuels its flame
Peace is this moment without judgment. That is all. This moment in the Heart-space where everything is welcome. ~Dorothy Hunt We talk a lot about peace, especially this time of year. We want peace in our families. We want peace with our neighbors. We want peace on our streets. We want peace in the world.
Every time I drive to my forest cabin in the mountains, I pass a hand painted wooden sign nailed to a tree that says “Wake up, America!” While I don’t necessarily agree with the sentiments of the person who posted this sign, I do support the idea of inviting people to wake up. Spiritual teacher
In the movie Black Panther, Nakia tells T’Challa, “You can’t let your father’s mistakes define who you are. You get to decide what kind of king you are going to be.” I loved the whole movie, but this line is what stuck with me. So many of us are shackled, limited, burdened by our history.
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The title of this post is said to be what Paul Revere inscribed on the wedding ring he gave his wife. I don’t know if that is true, and I have no idea if either of them lived its advice, but what a simple reminder that contentment is not something that is bestowed on those
In the realm of true dharmaThere is neither self nor otherOnly spontaneous recognitionAs we say together “not two”~Sengcan Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron says that she practices compassion by reminding herself that everyone she encounters is “just like me.” Just like me, this person wants to be free from suffering. Just like me, this person wants
Let your deeds be the offspring of the path of light. ~Pamela Eakins Our deeds have an origin. We might act out of fear, or obligation, or obedience, or anger. Or out of joy, or love, or compassion, or kindness. Many of us are taught to submit to an outside authority, so we discipline ourselves
I accept my destiny to walk this earth awake and at peace, in mastery and not in fear. ~The Way of Mastery How do we walk through our lives? How do we walk through a single day? What guides our steps? Too many of us are driven by fear, by shoulds, by musts, by must
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There are no guarantees. From the viewpoint of fear none are strong enough. From the viewpoint of love none are needed. ~Emmanuel’s Book II Have you ever known someone – perhaps a friend, a child, a parent, a significant other – for whom no assurance of love was ever enough? This quote reminded me of
The mystery, the essence of all life, is not separate from the silent openness of simple listening. ~Toni Packer Listening. That’s not something many of us are very good at. While we’re listening to music or podcasts, our minds are often engaged in something else. We pride ourselves on multi-tasking, not realizing that our minds
Walk sweetly with yourself. Find every reason possible to love who you are. ~Emmanuel’s Book II The Bible tells us to love our enemies as ourselves. The Dao De Jing speaks of extending self-love to all creation. But these teachings assume that we love ourselves. The story is told of the Dalai Lama being asked
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Years ago, I was standing on a sidewalk in Paris, close to a line of cars parked along the curb, chatting with some friends. Suddenly a deep voice bellowed from the car closest to me. “Step away from the car! Step away from the car!” I didn’t just step, I leapt several feet, crashing into
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ~Matthew 7:7 I asked and indeed it was given to me. I sought and indeed I found. I knocked and indeed the door was opened to me. All as promised. Only then did