The Great Gesture That Unites Us
Brother David Steindl-Rast
I recognize, I acknowledge, I am grateful; in French these three concepts are expressed by one term: “Je suis reconnaissant.” I recognize the special quality of this joy: It is a joy fr...
Heart Is Not About Emotions
Cynthia Bourgeault
"Put the mind in the heart." From page after page in the Philokalia, that hallowed collection of spiritual writings from the Christian East, this same refrain emerges. It is striking in both...
Virtues Are Like Vitamins
Adam Grant
Virtues can be a little bit like vitamins. Vitamins are essential for health. But what if you get more than your body needs? If you take too much Vitamin C, it won’t hurt you. If you overdose on...
Just Become A Swinging Door
Shunryu Suzuki
When we practice [meditation] our mind always follows our breathing. When we inhale, the air comes into our inner world. When we exhale, the air goes out to the outer world. The inner world is limitle...
I Am Me
Virginia Satir
I am me. In all the world, there is no one exactly like me. There are persons who have some parts like me, but no one adds up exactly like me. Therefore, everything that comes out of me is authentical...
Die Empty
Todd Henry
I remember a meeting in which a friend asked a strange and unexpected question: “What do you think is the most valuable land in the world?” Several people threw out guesses, such as Man...
Path With Heart
Jack Kornfield
In undertaking a spiritual life, what matters is simple: We must make certain that our path is connected with our heart. In the end, spiritual life is not a process of seeking or gaining some extraord...
Practice Over Parables
Jason Garner
A Zen teacher once told me something interesting. We were meditating together at my home when my dog began to bark. He sensed my agitation and said in his rich Tasmanian accent, “Don’t be ...
A Fixed Place To Stand
Richard Rohr
Archimedes (c. 287–c. 212 BCE), a Greek philosopher and mathematician, noticed that if a lever was balanced in the correct place, on the correct fulcrum, it could move proportionally much greate...
Run With The Unexpected
Aryae Coopersmith
So many portals to you Hindu, Jew, Sufi, Sikh, artist, lover, dancer, explorer, peace-warrior. Children, strangely familiar, are rushing up to greet and initiate you. Joyful ravens ...
See The Universe In A Sunflower
Thich Nhat Hanh
I live in Plum Village, in the Dordogne region of southwest France, an area known for its sunflowers. But people who come to Plum Village in April do not see any sunflowers. They hear people saying th...
Blessing For The Longest Night
Jan Richardson
All throughout these months as the shadows have lengthened, this blessing has been gathering itself, making ready, preparing for this night. It has practiced walking in the dark, traveling...