Nobler Loves and Nobler Cares

“Personal Talk (concluded)” by William Worsdworth Nor can I not believe but that herebyGreat gains are mine; for thus I live remoteFrom evil-speaking; rancor, never sought,Comes to me not; malignant truth, or lie.Hence have I genial seasons, hence have ISmooth passions, smooth discourse, and joyous thought;And thus from day to day my little boatRocks in …

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Actively Abiding

“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart…live in the question.” – Rainer Maria Rilke Everyone has unsolved matters in his heart. Such matters ebb and flow with the passage of time and their resolution cannot be forced arbitrarily.  How these matters are handled largely determines ones effectiveness in living. Actively abiding in …

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A New World

What ails society is not its politics and politicians, but something deeper. We like to think we have reached a unique juncture in history, but we have been here before, both in modern times and in civilizations reaching back into the distant past. Make no mistake: what ails us is at its root an existential …

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Knock, knock.

All in the universe follows one basic, universal law: effect follows cause. There is no escaping this reality. No prayer, supplication, incantation, or petition can change the working of this cosmic mandate: as you sow, so also shall you reap, as you do good, so too shall good be done to you; as you are, …

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Brotherhood of Mankind

The great lost chord of mankind is forgetfulness of the fact in nature of universal brotherhood. Mankind—the body of humanity—is not a contrived, sentimental or political brotherhood. It is a spiritual or cosmic brotherhood of common ancestry, an integral part of the vast body of the universe, that likewise springs from a common root. The …

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Cosmic Law

When we think of laws, what typically comes to mind are man’s laws, i.e. a system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties. These laws, like a company handbook, protect the best from the worst and …

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Our Highest Selves

From the Rig-Veda, chiefest of the Vedas: “Tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi,Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat.” Slightly paraphrased: "That lofty inner soul of the god's sun, may it unite the thoughts of us, its offspring, and urge us into that union, the union of the lower with the superior, of the individual with the spirit …

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On Being Virtuous

The notion that virtue is an outer ideal toward which man must strive lies at the root of much of the evils and suffering that we’ve experienced through the millennia. This belief pits courageous man against courageous man, caring person against caring person, in a struggle to establish a good and just world through imperfect …

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Love’s Dominion

Man ought never to withdraw his love; he is designed for one purpose: to establish love’s dominion in the earth.  Love should not be withheld in order to punish another, neither should it ever be withdrawn out of spite. Withdrawing love leaves only a void in which all manner of ill spirits thrive.  Love’s nature …

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Anchored in Love

If you’ve ever been the target of bullying, religious persecution or maltreatment of any type, you’ve likely had to make an important decision: sink to the level of the aggressor or rise above the attack. When faced with such an emotionally charged decision, the most common reactions are to 1) lash out in an attempt …

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