Tag Archives: acceptance
A Mutually Loving Gaze
It’s not a matter of being correct, but of being connected. Continue Reading A Mutually Loving Gaze
The Power of Surrender
Spirituality and Addiction The Power of Surrender Friday, November 19, 2021 Author and activist Holly Whitaker does not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to sobriety, but she fully embraces “surrender” as vital for any healing and recovery to occur. I’d always considered the word surrender to be blasphemous. Surrender was never a possibility to consider;… Continue Reading The Power of Surrender
Accepting What Is
Christianity and Buddhism Accepting What Is Wednesday, November 10, 2021 Father Richard has often said that transformation mostly comes through great love and great suffering. The First Noble Truth of Buddhism shows how accepting the inescapable nature of suffering can lead to greater freedom. Kaira Jewel Lingo, a former Buddhist nun in Thich Nhat Hanh’s… Continue Reading Accepting What Is
Compassion: Weekly Summary
Compassion Saturday, October 2, 2021 Week Thirty-Nine Summary and Practice Sunday, September 26—Friday, October 1, 2021 Sunday Much of the early work of contemplation is discovering a way to observe ourselves from a compassionate and nonjudgmental distance until we can eventually live more and more of our lives from this calm inner awareness and acceptance.… Continue Reading Compassion: Weekly Summary
Cultivating Compassion
Compassion Cultivating Compassion Friday, October 1, 2021 Sadly, but understandably, the virtue of compassion is more closely associated with Buddhism than Christianity in some people’s minds. If we want to change that, we might learn from Buddhist teachers like Tara Brach who offer us a broad definition of compassion that we can build upon. She… Continue Reading Cultivating Compassion
Contemplation Creates Compassion
Compassion Contemplation Creates Compassion Sunday, September 26, 2021 A practice of contemplation is one of the surest ways to develop the virtue of compassion—for both ourselves and others. Father Richard speaks to how this loving gaze is developed between ourselves and God. Much of the early work of contemplation is discovering a way to observe… Continue Reading Contemplation Creates Compassion
Participating in Love
Life as Participation Participating in Love Tuesday, September 7, 2021 I want to share again from the series of talks I gave years ago on the Great Themes of Paul: Life as Participation: For Paul, love is clearly the word by which he describes this participatory life. It’s what he calls the greatest of the… Continue Reading Participating in Love
The Gift of Tears
Everybody Grieves The Gift of Tears Tuesday, August 3, 2021 The human instinct is to block suffering and pain. This is especially true in the West where we have been influenced by the “rationalism” of the Enlightenment. As anyone who has experienced grief can attest, it isn’t rational. We really don’t know how to hurt!… Continue Reading The Gift of Tears
Forgiving Reality and Forgiving Ourselves
Choosing Love in a Time of Evil Forgiving Reality and Forgiving Ourselves Thursday, May 20, 2021 Dr. Edith Eger was just 16 years old when she was taken to Auschwitz with her family. She lost her mother and father to the gas chambers the very day they arrived, and she survived with the help and… Continue Reading Forgiving Reality and Forgiving Ourselves
Making a Choice
Choosing Love in a Time of Evil Making a Choice Wednesday, May 19, 2021 Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. —Viktor Frankl The quote above sounds like something a teacher of contemplation would say! The… Continue Reading Making a Choice