The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost (Powerful Life Poetry)

Desiderata - A Life Changing Poem for Hard Times

Via Daily Dharma: Filling with Silence

Silence can be an emptiness that is, paradoxically, full. You do not occupy this silence; it occupies you.

—Mark C. Taylor,“Hearing Silence”

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Via Buddhist Global Relief // Vesak

https://www.buddhistglobalrelief.org/index.php/en/

Via Daily Dharma: Waking to What Life Really Is Inbox x

Through the process of mindfulness, we slowly become aware of what we really are down below the ego image. We wake up to what life really is.

—Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, “What Exactly Is Vipassana Meditation?”

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Via Daily Dharma: How to Suffer Less

You eliminate an enormous amount of suffering by concentrating on the suffering that is actually present instead of creating more with your thinking. It is the difference between discomfort and torment.

—Larry Rosenberg,“When the Student is Ready, the Teacher Bites”

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Via Daily Dharma: Connecting with Our Power

What if we said that power is internal freedom, that power is the capacity for choice?

—Helen Tworkov, “Just Power”

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Via White Crane Institute // LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN

Ludwig Wittgenstein

1889 -

LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1951); an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in the foundations of logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of language. His influence has been wide-ranging and he is generally regarded as one of the 20th century's most important philosophers.

Before his death at the age of 62, the only book-length work Wittgenstein had published was the Tractatus Logico-Philisophicus,["Philosophical Investigations"], which Wittgenstein worked on in his later years, was published shortly after he died. Both of these works are regarded as highly influential in analytic philosophy.

Ludwig Wittgenstein seems to have been uncomfortable with his sexuality. Certainly, he was very secretive about his sexual interests and activities. His secretiveness is not altogether surprising, considering the fact that homosexuality was illegal in Austria and Britain during his lifetime. Therefore, details of his emotional and sexual life are sparse.

William W. Bartley first broached the subject of Wittgenstein's homosexuality in his 1973 biography and received considerable censure and disapproval from the philosophy establishment. Apparently, in his student days in Vienna, Wittgenstein occasionally cruised the Prater, a large public park, where he met rough trade youths; he seems to have continued this activity later in England. However, Wittgenstein is also believed to have had long-term affairs with men of his own class, such as the philosopher Frank Ramsey and the architect Francis Skinner.

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation / Words of Wisdom - April 26, 2020 💌

"If we can imagine a wheel whose rim is the cycle of births and deaths, all of the 'stuff' of life, conditioned reality, and whose center is perfect flow, formless no-mind, the source, we’ve got one foot with most of our weight on the circumference of the wheel, and one foot tentatively on the center. That’s the beginning of awakening. And we come in, and we sit down and meditate, and suddenly there’s a moment when we feel the perfection of our being and our connection. Then our weight goes back on the outside of the wheel. Over and over and over, this happens.
Slowly, slowly the weight shifts. Then the weight shifts just enough so that there is a slight predominance on the center of the wheel, and we find that we naturally just want to sit down and be quiet, that we don’t have to say, 'I’ve got to meditate now,' or 'I’ve got to read a holy book,' or 'I’ve got to turn off the television set,' or 'I’ve got to do… anything.' It doesn’t become that kind of a discipline anymore. The balance has shifted.
And we keep allowing our lives to become more and more simple, more and more harmonious. And less and less are we grabbing at this and pushing that away..."

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Softening Your Ego

Gratitude is a way of undercutting your ego.

—Interview with Rev. Dr. Alfred Bloom by Jeff Wilson, “Beyond Religion”

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Via Insight Meditation Society

May all beings be healthy.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe and protected.
May all beings be free.

Via Daily Dharma: Recognize the Miracles of Life

Distractions can be so harmful: they [turn] us away from the miracle of life all around us.

—Leo Babauta, “Dropping Distraction”

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Ram Dass: In Between Stories

Via Daily Dharma: How to Strengthen Your Mind

The more clearly you see things, the stronger and more quiet the mind will grow.

—Phra Ajaan Suwat Suvaco,“Contemplate the Body, Free the Mind”

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Rev. Patricia Mushim Ikeda prays the Shantideva Prayer

Join the the nationwide #ClimatePrayer at 12noon local on Earth Day, April 22nd. Sign up and download the prayer of your choice here: http://bit.ly/earthdayprayer Then come back to FB to pray along! Why not say a prayer at 12noon local every day of Earth Week! Rev. Patricia Mushim Ikeda, a core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, CA is praying Shantideva’s Prayer. 

#FaithClimateActionWeek Ecumenical Advocacy Days Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life Earth Day Network Lutherans Restoring Creation CA Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology Presbyterian Hunger Program United Church of Christ Parliament of the World's Religions Sojourners Creation Justice Ministries

NC Interfaith Power & Light Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light Interfaith Power & Light (MD.DC.NoVA) Faith in Place

Shantideva’s Prayer, as recited by Rev. Patricia Mushim Patricia Ikeda, East Bay Meditation Center

May I be a protector to those without protection, A leader to those who journey,
A boat, a bridge, a passage to those desiring the shore of non-suffering.
May the pain of every living creature Be completely cleared away
May I be the doctor, and the medicine, and may I be the nurse for all sick beings until everyone is healed.
Just like space And the great elements such as Earth may I always support the life of all the many creatures.
And until they pass away from pain, may I also be the source of life for all the realms of varied beings that reach into the ends of space.

Oração composta pelo mestre Shantideva no século VIII

Publicado em 15 de outubro de 2015 por Tudo Positivo

Que eu me torne em todos os momentos, agora e para sempre,

Um protetor para os sem proteção,
Um guia para aqueles que perderam o seu caminho,
Um navio para os que têm oceanos a cruzar,
Uma ponte para aqueles com rios para atravessar,
Um santuário para aqueles em perigo,
Uma lâmpada para aqueles sem luz,
Um lugar de refúgio para aqueles que não têm abrigo,
E um servo para todos que precisam.

http://caminhodeshantideva.blogspot.com.br/2008/12/introduo.html

Via Daily Dharma: Listening to Silence

[When] you simply listen without attachment to sound, to silence, or to the contrast between the two, there’s no attachment at all … You will eventually reach a point when listening still occurs, but it no longer has an object. In other words, there is still awareness, but that which you are aware of is empty.

—Dharma Master Hsin Tao,“Listening to Silence”

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Via Rev. Patricia Mushim Ikeda, East Bay Meditation Center: Prayers and Climate Blessings

Prayers and Climate Blessings

 

National Climate Prayer

Join in the National Prayer at noon your time on Earth Day, April 22.  Sign up here to to let us build the biggest participation, in a shared prayer for the climate, yet.

Interfaith Climate Prayer in English and Spanish ( La bendición climática)

We Hold the Earth

We hold brothers and sisters who suffer from storms and droughts intensified by climate change.

We hold all species that suffer.

We hold world leaders delegated to make decisions for life.

We pray that the web of life may be mended through courageous actions to limit carbon emissions.

We pray for right actions for adaptation and mitigation to help our already suffering earth community.

We pray that love and wisdom might inspire my actions and our actions as communities. . .

     so that we may, with integrity, look into the eyes of brothers and sisters and all beings and truthfully

     say, we are doing our part to care for them and the future of the children.

May love transform us and our world with new steps toward life

Sostenemos la tierra

Sostenemos la tierra.
Sostenemos hermanos y hermanas quienes sufren de tormentas y sequías intensificadas por el cambio climático.
Sostenemos todas las especies que sufren.
Sostenemos líderes mundial delegados a tomar decisiones por la vida.
Rezamos que la red de la vida se pueda reparar a través de acciones valientes en limitar la emisión de carbono
Rezamos por acciones correctas en ajustacion y mitigación para ayudar nuestra comunidad mundial que sufre
Rezamos que el amor y sabiduría enspire mis acciones y nuestras acciones como comunidad…
para que podamos, con integridad, mirar a los ojos de los hermanos y hermanas y todos los seres y en verdad
digamos, estamos haciendo nuestra parte para cuidar de ellos y el futuro de los niños
Para que el amor nos transforme y el mundo con nuevos pasos hacia la vida.

Prayer for our Earth from Pope Francis Encyclical ( English and Spanish)

A prayer for our earth

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.

Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.

O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light.

We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.

Download the English version here.

Oración por nuestra tierra

Dios omnipotente,
que estás presente en todo el universo
y en la más pequeña de tus criaturas,
Tú, que rodeas con tu ternura todo lo que existe,
derrama en nosotros la fuerza de tu amor
para que cuidemos la vida y la belleza.
Inúndanos de paz, para que vivamos como hermanos y hermanas
sin dañar a nadie.
Dios de los pobres,
ayúdanos a rescatar
a los abandonados y olvidados de esta tierra
que tanto valen a tus ojos.
Sana nuestras vidas,
para que seamos protectores del mundo
y no depredadores,
para que sembremos hermosura
y no contaminación y destrucción.
Toca los corazones
de los que buscan sólo beneficios
a costa de los pobres y de la tierra.
Enséñanos a descubrir el valor de cada cosa,
a contemplar admirados,
a reconocer que estamos profundamente unidos
con todas las criaturas
en nuestro camino hacia tu luz infinita.
Gracias porque estás con nosotros todos los días.
Aliéntanos, por favor, en nuestra lucha
por la justicia, el amor y la paz.

Prayer of Stewardship by Catholic Relief Services

God of all Creation,

At the beginning of time
You placed a single mandate on humankind
To be stewards of Creation
To replenish and nurture all generations
What you have made

We kneel today amid that same Creation-
A world that is, in many ways, more splendid than ever
But, in too many ways, scarred beyond recognition

Turn us from our unmindfulness
Help our tough be light
Help us renew the worlds that supports us
So we may once more know Creation
As it was in the beginning

Amen

Dios de la Creacion,

Al principio de los tiempos nos diste un mandato:

Cuidar y ser responsables de la creacion cultivando
a traves de las generaciones lo que Tu habias creado.
Hoy, nos arrodillamos en este mismo mundo
que es parte de tu creacion.
Un mundo que en muchos aspectos y lugares es mas esplendido
que nunca antes,
y en otros, lo hemos mancillado hasta dejarlo irreconocible.

Aparta de nosotros nuestra propia inconsciencia.
Ayudanos para que nuestras obras sean reflejo de tu luz. Ayudanos a reparar el mundo que creaste para nuestro sustento
de modo que podamos volver a ver en el la belleza
y armonfa que tu creaste.

A Buddhist Prayer

New Mexico IPL uses this as a commitment at each of our Earth Sabbath monthly gatherings

I vow to myself and to each of you:

To commit myself daily to the healing of our world and the welfare of all beings.

To live on Earth more lightly and less violently in the food, products, and energy I consume.

To draw strength and guidance from the living Earth, the ancestors, the future generations,

and my brothers and sisters of all species.

To support others in our work for the world and to ask for help when I need it.

To pursue a daily practice that clarifies my mind, strengthens my heart, and supports me in

observing these vows.

Shantideva’s Prayer, as recited by Rev. Patricia Mushim Ikeda, East Bay Meditation Center

       May I be a protector to those without protection,

       A leader to those who journey,

       A boat, a bridge, a passage to those desiring the shore of non-suffering.

       May the pain of every living creature Be completely cleared away

       May I be the doctor, and the medicine, and may I be the nurse for all sick beings until everyone is healed.

       Just like space And the great elements such as Earth may I always support the life of all the many creatures.

       And until they pass away from pain, may I also be the source of life for all the realms of varied beings that reach into the ends of space.

Prayer of Love and Healing for Earth

O God of All Names and Beyond All Names,

I pray in great gratitude this holy day for Love.

Love raises the sun and greets me

in each drop of water I drink,

in each crumb of bread I taste,

in each smile and tear I touch,

in each child I meet.

In a mantle of awe I stand enwrapped.

My feet rest upon Earth and my head meets the moon.

O Holy One, our times are fraught with challenge.

Our Earth suffers climatic chaos,

Men, women and children suffer from wounds of conflict,

droughts, floods and crumbling economic systems.

All manner of suffering and questions press into my soul.

My small beating heart does not seem large enough…

yet daily it keeps expanding beyond body boundaries into Compassion.

Each morning Love rises beyond a known horizon in the unknown day.

Each morning Hope beckons me into my stardust destiny.

Each noontime Grace feeds me with Love.

Each evening an invisible Breath enfolds me in a shawl of mercy.

O Holy one Who Is Love, Hope, Grace and Breath

transform our sadness and doubt into songs for Life.

We pray for our beloved planet and all brothers and sisters.

May healing waters bathe the rivers and oceans.

May small, deliberate actions grow seeds of Earth justice.

May one prophetic note of the smallest birdsong courageously sung

on a busy street at dawn inspire leaders to free their voices to speak

for the Common Good and future generations.

O God of All Names and Beyond All Names, Whose Face is Love

May I and we collectively

Be the face of Transforming Love

In this moment, In this day, In these times. Amen.

From “Full Circle” by Howard Shapiro
Nature Suite

And we shall pass from this scene
And from this stage called life
Yet the Earth will always be
And her children
The wind, the sky, the land, the sea
Shall ever sing songs of praise to the Creator
Their Nature Suite

Wilderness

O vast and untamed wilderness
Where wind and river speak
Against the untainted electra sky
Live the hunter and the meek

Where no foulness of society
Has corrupted what God has wrought
Unconscious memories of visions past
No possession to be kept or bought

For within the soul of each city street
Beneath the oppressive mass
Lives the spirit of the unbridled frontier
To some a time that’s past

But in the stories born in our hearts
Conceived before our births
The wilderness will always be
The calling of the Earth

Prayer by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Through the silence of nature,
I attain Thy divine peace.
Oh sublime nature,
in thy stillness let my heart rest.
Thou art patiently awaiting the moment
to manifest through the silence of sublime nature.
Oh nature sublime, speak to me through silence,
for I am awaiting in silence like you the call of God.
Oh nature sublime,
through thy silence I hear Thy cry.
My heart is tuned to the quietness,
that the stillness of nature inspires.

Prayer from The Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism

Praised are you Adonai our God, who rules the universe, which lacks
nothing; for God created fine creatures and pleasant trees in order that
humans might enjoy them.

Prayers from The Rabbinical Assembly of the United Synagogue of America

Light and Darkness, night and day. We marvel at the mystery of the stars.
Moon and sky, sand and sea. We marvel at the mystery of the sun.
Twilight, high noon, dusk and dawn. Though we are mortal, we are Creation’s crown.
Flesh and bone, steel and stone. We dwell in fragile, temporary shelters.
Grant steadfast love, compassion, grace. Sustain us, Lord; our origin is duest.
Splendor, mercy, majesty, love endure. We are but little lower than the angels.
Resplendent skies, sunset, sunrise. The grandeur of Creation lifts our lives.
Evening darkness, morning dawn. Renew our lives as You renew all time.

Prayer by Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
 Modim anachnu lach – מוֹדִים אֲנַחְנוּ לָךְ – grateful, we are, to You – Source of Life:
For Earth’s intricate, interconnected, interdependent biosphere. For the marvelous riot of flora and fauna filling every niche. For the diversity of life, among millions of species; and for the diversity of humanity, each of us a unique reflection of Your image. For the gift of Existence, which we must never take for granted!
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’, אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, עוֹשֶׂה מַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית
Barukh ata HAVAYA, Eloheinu Ruach ha’olam, oseh ma’aseh v’reisheet
Blessed are You, Eternal our G!d, Spirit of the universe, maker of the works of Creation.
Modim anachnu lach – מוֹדִים אֲנַחְנוּ לָךְ – grateful, we are, to You –  
Source of Connection:
For our humble, critical place in Your world. For relationships between people; among all peoples; among all creatures; and with You, Holy Blessed One. For the first enduring covenant You made – not with one group or one species but with kol chai, All Life (Genesis 9) – our enduring call to remember that we’re all in it together:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’, אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, זוֹכֵר הַבְּרִית וְנֶאֱמָן בִּבְרִיתוֹ וְקַיָם בְּמַאֲמָרוֹ.
Barukh ata EHEYEH, Eloheinu Ruach ha’olam – zocher ha’brit, v’ne’eman bi’vrito, v’kayam b’ma’amaro
Blessed are You, Eternal our G!d, Spirit of the universe – who remembers the rainbow covenant, and is faithful in the divine covenant, and sustains the divine word.
Modim anachnu lach – מוֹדִים אֲנַחְנוּ לָךְ – grateful, we are, to You –  
Source of Purpose:
For setting the very first human mission l’ovdah ul’shomrah (Gen. 2:15), to serve and to guard the ecosystem within which we are one beautiful part. For guiding us lirdof tzedek, to pursue justice, for all Your children. For implanting within us awareness, intelligence, wisdom, and goodness, by which we make meaning for our own lives, and contribute to the good of all.
נברך את עין החיים שנתן לנו הזדמנות לתקן את העולם
N’varekh et Ain Ha’chayim – sh’natan lanu hizdamnut l’taken et ha-olam
Let us Bless the Source of Life – who has given us the sacred opportunity to repair the world.
Mostly traditional prayers, woven together by Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb of www.adatshalom.net and www.coejl.org, incorporating phrases from Marcia Falk and Danny Nichols.      
              
A note on names and metaphors for G!d – the original Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey name is unpronounceable, for which “Adonai” (‘My Lord’ or ‘My Master’ is the most common convention. Gender-neutral images like “Havaya” (existence) and “Eheyeh” (“I Will Be,” from Exodus 3) are traditionally rooted too, and no less accurate. If you choose to read this set of prayers, use any names or images for G!d that feel right for you…

Hindu Prayer

May the waters flow peacefully; may the herbs and plants grow peacefully; may all the divine powers bring unto us peace. May the rain come down in the proper time, may the earth yield plenty of corn, may the country be free from war. The supreme Lord is peace.

Pawnee prayer

Oh, Eagle; come with wings outspread in sunny skies.
Oh, Eagle, come and bring us peace, thy gentle peace.

Oh, Eagle, come and give new life to us who pray.
Remember the circle of the sky; the stars, and the brown eagle,
the great life of the Sun, the young within the nest.
Remember the sacredness of things.

Hawaiian Prayer

Let us give thanks for the world around us.
Thanks for all the creatures, stones and plants
Let us learn their lessons and seek their truths,
So that their path might be ours,
And we might live in harmony, a better life.

May the Earth continue to live,
May the heavens above continue to live,
May the rains continue to dampen the land,
May the wet forests continue to grow,
Then the flowers shall bloom
And we people shall live again.

By Hildegard of Bingen

God is the foundation for everything
This God undertakes, God gives.
Such that nothing that is necessary for life is lacking.
Now humankind needs a body that at all times honors and praises God.
This body is supported in every way through the earth.
Thus the earth glorifies the power of God.

By St. Basil the Great

O God, enlarge within us the sense of
fellowship with all living things,
our brothers the animals to whom thou
gavest the earth as their home in
common with us.

We remember with shame that in the past
we have exercised the high dominion
of man with ruthless cruelty
so that the voice of the earth,
which should have gone up to thee
in song, has been a groan of travail.

May we realize that they live not for
us alone but for themselves and for
thee, and that they love
the sweetness of live.

Prayer from the National Council of Churches

Gracious God, your amazing love extends through all time and space, to all parts of your creation, which you created and called good. You made a covenant with Noah and his family, putting a rainbow in the sky to symbolize your promise of love and blessing to every living creature, and to all successive generations. You made a covenant with Abraham and Sarah, blessing them and their descendants throughout the generations. You made a covenant with Moses and the Israelite people to all generations, giving them the 10 commandments and challenging them to choose life. In Jesus, you invite us to enter into a new covenant, in communion with all who seek to be faithful to you.

As people of faith, we are called into covenant. Your covenant of faithfulness and love extends to the whole creation. We pray for the healing of the earth, that present and future generations may enjoy the fruits of creation, and continue to glorify and praise you.

New Zealand Prayer – From “A New Zealand Book of Prayer”

Eternal Spirit, Earth-Maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name shall echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed
by the peoples of the earth!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and forever.
Amen.

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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation / Words of Wisdom - April 22, 2020 💌

"Here is where we come to suffering, because what suffering tells you is where the mind is clinging. Now, I am talking about your suffering. I am not talking about somebody else’s suffering. Let’s just deal with us. For me, suffering is telling me where my mind is clinging. If I experience suffering because I am getting old, it’s because I have a model of myself that’s other than what this is. This is what this is, including dying, pain, loss, all of it.
The models in our heads about it, and the way we cling to it, is where the root of suffering is. So when you wanna get free badly enough, you begin to experience your own suffering as grace. You don’t ask for it. You don’t say, 'Give me suffering,' but when it comes you see it as something that’s showing you a place where you are holding. That's the place to release."

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Realize Your Communion with All Life

Alive in the present moment, held in the arms of nature, and knowing our direct communion with life, we breathe out and our hearts are at peace.

—Zachiah Murray,“Mindfulness in the Garden: Zen Tools for Digging in the Dirt”

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