Archives: June 2009
Fri Jun 26, 2009
bIn our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book, Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Donald Hall
Dear Hearts,
Sometimes it’s easy for us to put our “best effort forward” when we’re with friends or at our place of business. We try to be patient and kind. Yet, when we get home, our patience can wear thin, our remarks can become curt even to the point of being unkind.
Psychiatrist Ken Timkin was once asked, “How do you avoid a nervous breakdown?” His response was, “marry well.” He went on to explain that we're able to sustain much stress in the “outside” world if we can come home to an environment of love and kindness. He compared our home life to a shelter, a place where we can recharge our batteries, a place where we can retreat and find comfort and solace.
Our relationship with our significant other is a powerful training ground. It is where we learn, on daily basis, to be consistently loving and kind.
Let’s begin to recognize the one we’re closest to as a Child of God. Let’s know that from all eternity we have chosen this very special person so that we might learn and grow. Our significant other gives us a daily opportunity to learn to be more loving in our heart and to understand that love and kindness always reign supreme.
St. Paul said it so beautifully, “Love is patient and kind.” Today, we get to become more God like through our willingness to go the extra mile by practicing loving kindness with our very special “other”.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Mon Jun 08, 2009
In our book section, you can purchase Oprah Winfrey's favorite book, Eckhart Tolle's, "A New Earth".
President John F. Kennedy
Dear Hearts,
The above profound words were spoken during President Kennedy’s inaugural address in 1961. How often do we take for granted what our country gives to us? Is there something we can actively do today for our country? That can mean many different things including prayer ~ as prayer is a powerful way of supporting our country.
Expanding on the words of President Kennedy, how often do we expect others to do something for us? Sometimes we become bitterly disappointed when our expectations aren’t met. What if today, we turned our focus away from someone doing something for us and allowed our focus to be “what can I do for another?” That may mean doing something special for someone in our family, office, on the highway, in the store ~ what can we do for another today? (Without telling the person…and with no expectations of anything in return.)
This is a reciprocal Universe that always pays its debts. So whenever we give to something such as our country or give to someone, we will always receive something back…often not from the source we gave ~ but our acts of goodness, kindness, generosity and prayer work will in some way be returned to us.
Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given unto you”. Today what are we willing to give?
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Sun Jun 07, 2009
In our book section, you can order Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth"...Oprah's Book of the Month
- Alfred D'Souza
How often do we think that when this or that situation is over or when this challenge passes, we’ll be truly happy and finally able to enjoy our life? It’s called a “when-then” consciousness. When we’re living in a “when-then” consciousness we’re always thinking “when this situation changes or when this challenge passes, then I’ll finally be happy. Fr. D'Souza reminds us that obstacles and challenges are all part of the fabric and weave of our life. To wait for our challenges to end or for the obstacles in our life to disappear is self-defeating because challenges and obstacles are part and parcel of our life and will be with us until we take our last breath.
The question to ask ourselves is how are we thinking about the challenges and obstacles in our lives? How we think about these challenges and obstacles will make or break the quality of our living. Let’s embody the fact that “we live in the midst of Eternal Good” and know that within every challenge and within every obstacle there is a blessing for us and there is an opportunity to grow and expand. We no longer have to resist challenges or obstacles and wait for our good to appear. We can embrace whatever challenge or obstacle appears knowing that this is part of the human realm and that in the midst of whatever is happening there is always Eternal Good.
Today, let's make a conscious choice to remember that our life is perfect right in the midst of all of its imperfections. No no matter what is happening in our life, God is there and God is always more than any condition or circumstance.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara