Contemplation #24 “Serve the needs of others, and all your own needs will be fulfilled.” Through selfless action, fulfillment is attained.” (The Tao, Verse #7) In my June 28th Blog post (Breaking Free of Depression, Contemplation #22) I mentioned the alarming increase in depression rates among adolescent girls (36% by age 17). The rates of […]
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Simple Wisdom, Multiple Sources
Contemplation #20 The Integration of Spiritual Paths I have always found it fascinating how different spiritual paths integrate to provide common wisdoms for personal and spiritual growth. Whether the teachings are thousands of years old (the Gita & the Gospels), or contemporary (A Course In Miracles), the wisdoms are the same. Equally fascinating is how […]
Read the rest of this entry »Heavenly Valentines
Contemplation #19 If your experience was anything like mine as a child, I can remember anticipating Valentine’s Day with a degree of excitement and dread. Excited at the possibility of receiving that very special valentine from that very special someone, and, of course, dreading the heartbreak if it didn’t come. I would eagerly wonder […]
Read the rest of this entry »A Spiritual Interpretation of The Lord’S Prayer
Contemplation #18 Asked by his disciples to teach them how to pray, Jesus proceeded to give them the Lord’s Prayer. His prayer is an affirmation of truth. Truth about ourselves, our relationship to God, and our power and potential in the physical world. Our Father Jesus’ use of the words “Our Father” is certainly not […]
Read the rest of this entry »Know Thyself
Contemplation #16 “When an inner situation is not made conscious it appears outside as fate.” Carl Jung Legend has it that the words “Know Thyself” were written on the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi by seven sages of ancient Greece. Both Plato and Socrates employed the maximum extensively in their writings and teachings. It is a saying familiar to us all. But […]
Read the rest of this entry »The Greatest Obstacle To Personal Growth
Contemplation #15 Why do you look at the speck in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? Matthew 7:3 Freud called it projection; the tendency to see in others what we cannot tolerate in ourselves. Through the unconscious practice of projection we see our flaws in the behaviors of others. Unfortunately, projection only […]
Read the rest of this entry »When Life Is Unfair
Contemplation # 14 “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?” (Matthew 5:45-46) It appears to me that all too often we get caught […]
Read the rest of this entry »Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Contemplation #13 “Do not dwell on the past, do not dream of the future. Concentrate the mind on the present moment.” The Buddha Warning, thinking can be hazardous to your health! Clinical studies over the last 40 years have demonstrated beyond any doubt that the vast majority of human suffering is not caused by external stress, […]
Read the rest of this entry »Peace Comes To A Disciplined Mind
Contemplation #12 Jesus said, “The kingdom of the father is like a certain man who wanted to kill a powerful man. In his own house he drew his sword and struck it into the wall in order to find out whether his hand could carry through. Then he slew the powerful man.” (Gospel of Thomas #98, […]
Read the rest of this entry »The True Measure of Success
Contemplation #11 “It is better to perform one’s own duties imperfectly than to master the duties of another. By fulfilling the obligations he is born with, a person never comes to grief.” The Bhagavad-Gita Here in the U.S. we have an extremely bad habit of defining success by the amount of money, power, and status one has achieved. To survive as a […]
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