Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
PULL A WEED, PLANT A SEED
The spiritual practice for this month has been forgiveness. Our Sunday morning love and inspiration group has been having some amazing conversations about forgiveness. In the midst of it, I realized that I had not forgiven myself for not writing to anyone last week. I had taken an entire week off from blogging. My first time to do that in five years and I was angry at myself for not having done so. I had to stop and practice forgiveness with myself. I had to forgive myself for expecting that I would write without ceasing and never take a break when I needed one. I had to stop and forgive myself for not trusting those of you who read the meditations of my heart for understanding when I need a vacation or need to take a week off.
As I sat and thought through all this, this past week, I remembered a teaching from my Bubby (Yiddish for grandmother) who taught me to never go to bed angry.
Read More
It’s Sharing Time!!
This image suggests that shaking hands can symbolize forgiveness. It is a moment when we empty what we are holding on to and embrace that which is being offered. What other things do we do in our lives that symbolize forgiveness or the feelings that come with forgiveness?
Monday, September 28, 2015
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Saturday, September 26, 2015
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
There are no exceptions when it comes to forgiveness. Forgive every one, every where, every time.
Friday, September 25, 2015
Song of the Week
Saying I am sorry is not always easy, but it frees us to strengthen our relationships with each other. That is the theme for this week's song of the week. http://inspiritual.biz/inspiritual-song-of-the-week1/
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Everyday we have the ability to heal our inner wounds and become more loving. Why would we choose otherwise?
Monday, September 21, 2015
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
May we fill our lives with love and humility so that we may forgive and seek forgiveness
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Saturday, September 19, 2015
SONG OF THE WEEK
This week's song of the week was inspired by Renee, the mother of a 20-year-old daughter who was killed by a drunk driver. Renee was not only able to forgive her daughter's killer after visiting him in prison, but fought to get his 22-year sentence reduced, so that he could join her speaking around the country on the dangers of drunk driving. http://inspiritual.biz/inspiritual-song-of-the-week1/
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
FORGIVING OTHERS MEANS WE ALSO HAVE TO BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES AND REVISE THE WAY WE TELL OUR STORY.
Friday, September 18, 2015
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Who would like to join me in intentionally breaking the ancient chains of resentment with the gift of forgiveness?
Thursday, September 17, 2015
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
It is amazing what happens when we redirect our energy from holding on to the pain to offering a gift from the heart.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
What if we remembered that forgiveness is a choice? Then if I choose to not forgive you and hold on to the pain, anger, hurt, blame, resentment, and other feelings then that too is a choice. Today may we choose to forgive.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
POULTICE OF SELF-LOVE
As many of you who follow us on a regular basis know, the next few years we are focusing on a different spiritual practice each month. September is the month of forgiveness. While I have always known it to be a spiritual practice, I did not realize that there days that were set aside to calm together as global bodies and practice forgiveness. For example, I just found out that August 5th was International Forgiveness Day, Global Forgiveness Day was August 27th and Regular Forgiveness Day was June 26th. While all these days are important, it is also important to remember that each day has the potential to be forgiveness day in our lives.
After our Living the Five Agreements group tonight, I decided to see what Toltec Wisdom said about forgiveness. In the Everything Toltec Wisdom book, it is written,
Read More
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Do we realize what we are saying when we forgive? Do we realize that we are owning our own weakness as well as our inner richness?
Monday, September 14, 2015
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Are you enlarging your heat to allow people in or contracting it to keep them out? Forgiveness means making room for them and for us.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
If we want more intimate relationships with others, lets begin by breaking down the barriers with the tools of apology and forgiveness.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
PLEASE FORGIVE ME
Dear God,
I am not even sure what to say today. Other than please forgive me. I am just going to start with that. I have been intentional about my thoughts, words, and deeds on so many levels. However, today was one of those moments when I was intentional about what came out of my mouth, but not what went into my mouth or through my head. So please forgive me for not really thinking about why I was craving something fatty. Forgive me for not turning my back on the custard when I realized it was not the frozen yogurt, I had originally thought it was. Forgive me for not being intentional enough about my feelings, thoughts and actions.
Some days I am so much better at being intentional then others. So rather than beat myself up for what I did today
Read More
Friday, September 11, 2015
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Why do we choose to stay in a cycle of resentment and retaliation when we could be governed by an endless cycle of peace and celebration?
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Song of the week
TobyMac told Christianity Today the story behind this song: "Anyone who is married knows the feeling of offending and lying in an ice cold bed yet sweating. Sometimes our resolve to confess and seek forgiveness is more difficult to navigate than we can imagine. This song sums up a typical 'post-stick my foot in my mouth' moment." http://inspiritual.biz/inspiritual-song-of-the-week1/
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
UBUUNTU
I recently read this quote from Desmond Tutu in Victor Chan’s book The Wisdom of Forgiveness. It was written,
In our country, we speak of something called ubuuntu. When I want to praise you, the highest praise I can give you is to say, you have ubuuntu — this person has what it takes to be a human being. This is a person who recognizes that he exists only because others exist: a person is a person through other persons. When we say you have ubuuntu, we mean that you are gentle, you are compassionate, you are hospitable, you want to share, and you care about the welfare of others. This is because my humanity is caught up in your humanity. So when I dehumanize others, whether I like it or not, inexorably, I dehumanize myself. For we can only by human, we can only be free, together. To forgive is actually the best form of self-interest.
Forgiveness, is not about what you do for others, it is the willingness to help yourself become the best person you can be.
Read More
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Genuine forgiveness is like a tweezer, it removes the splinter of anger from your heat, mind, and soul
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Monday, September 7, 2015
It’s Sharing time! An Attitude of Forgiveness
It’s Sharing time! An Attitude of Forgiveness http://inspiritual.biz/spiritual-discussion/2015/9/7/an-attitude-of-forgiveness
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Saturday, September 5, 2015
HATRED CANNOT HEAL HATRED
Dear God,
I want to thank you for the reminder of the transformative power of love. I was so moved by this video and the story of those who radiated love out to those whose actions and beliefs had led to such a devastating effect on their lives and families. As I watched it, I was reminded of how my Bubby had taught me to pray for those who hurt me. That lesson first started when I was 13, at least that is when I first remember it. It was when I was gang raped by people I went to school with and had to sit in the same room as so I could finish my education. She had told me that I needed to pray for my own healing, but that I also needed to pray for forgiveness and healing for all those who had violated me.
She would always tell me that holding on to hate for them would only make me sick, angry, and bitter and that was not who you had created me to be. So she taught me to pray for them and for me until there was only love in my heart and I had forgiven them for what they had done. Maybe that is why I was at such piece decades later when one of them came to pay his condolences when I was home preparing for my father’s funeral. It was odd that he needed to come by after all those years to seek forgiveness. He somehow thought that he needed me to forgive him; the sad thing was that I had done that decades ago.
Read More
Friday, September 4, 2015
Thursday, September 3, 2015
A DIET OF FORGIVENESS.
The spiritual practice we are focusing on this month is forgiveness. As I began to pray about this, I wondered how I was going to talk about forgiveness and food. It was during our Living the Five Agreements group when I realized that what had helped me stop overeating and eating compulsively was when I began forgiving myself and others.
I, like so many others, have tried just about every diet imaginable. For the longest time I thought about dieting as it related to food and how much I ate. When I thought about forgiveness, I thought about other people. I had never thought about forgiveness and food. In my mind, forgiveness was what I ate, not what I had a relationship with.
Read More
SONG OF THE WEEK
What if you thought about forgiveness as a way of creating a blank page on which God could paint your heart. That is the message behind this week's song of the week http://inspiritual.biz/inspiritual-song-of-the-week1/
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
September issue of One Spirit, Many Voices
The September issue of One Spirit, Many Voices is now available for download at http://inspiritual.biz/s/September-2015-One-Spirit-Many-Voices-Newsletter.pdf. Please remember that this is your newsletter and submissions are always welcome.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Forgiveness is me giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me. I am not sure who said this, but this is one right I am willing to give up. Are you?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)