Be Kind to Yourself

If the human race wishes to have a prolonged and indefinite period of material prosperity, they have only got to behave in a peaceful and helpful way toward one another. — Winston ChurchillI had a wickedly funny video I was going to share with you today, but having thought some more about it, I believe … Read more

Happy Birthday, Beethoven!

Then let us all do what is right, strive with all our might toward the unattainable, develop as fully as we can the gifts God has given us, and never stop learning!— Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most respected and influential composers of all time. Year after year, his symphonies … Read more

The Halcyon Days Begin

Then for the teeming quietest, happiest days of all!The brooding and blissful halcyon days!— Walt Whitman Alcyone (“al-SIGH-ah-nee”) was the daughter of Aeolus, King of the Winds, and the wife of Ceyx, King of Thessaly. Alcyone and Ceyx (pronounced “SEE-ecks”) loved each other devotedly and were never willingly apart. Nevertheless, a time came when Ceyx … Read more

Solstice Sun Wheel – the Fourth Candle

Tonight, we light the fourth candle of our Solstice Sunwheel. It is not too late to join this ritual, even if you have not done so before. Instructions can be found here. Our Intention:Let our intention be that we will shine with the Light of understanding and truth. Let our Light awaken what is best … Read more

Let It Flow

©Osho Zen TarotThe generous man enriches himself by giving;the miser hoards himself poor. — Dutch proverb With last night’s collapse of the American auto industry bailout (for now), and so many other factors that point to a deepening recession, we are all very jittery about what cash we do have. How, then, can we give … Read more

Blessings of the Full Moon in Gemini

Lick Observatory Moonrise © Rick BaldridgeThis Full Moon is literally a big one, as astrologer Lynn Hayes discusses, because the Moon is currently at perigee, meaning it is at its closest orbit to Earth. It is therefore at its highest point in the sky, and looks bigger than any other Full Moon we’ve seen in … Read more

Intentional Giving

Charity by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver. — Maya Angelou As I discussed last week, according to Moses Maimonides’ hierarchy of giving, the most virtuous form of charity is that which enables the recipient to become self-reliant. And anonymous giving is more … Read more

Charitable Giving

© Lisa MertinsWhen we cast our bread upon the waters, we can presume that someone downstream whose face we will never know will benefit from our action, as we who are downstream from another will profit from that grantor’s gift.— Maya AngelouWinter Solstice is less than two weeks away and, as I have in past … Read more

Shop Locally

Think globally, act locally.— David Brower, founder of Friends of the Earth, 1969Winter Solstice is less than two weeks away and, as in past years, my response to the holiday intensity is to create for my visitors a daily haven of calm and an oasis of peace. But peace comes from our actions. So with … Read more