Looking the precept up simply as a translation from the Bramajala Sutra from which our Soto Zen sixteen precepts come, we get something pretty straight forward: “Not to be stingy, or encourage others to do so.” Looking to versions offered by contemporary western Zen teachers we find a variety of angles. Perhaps with […]

I love sharing photos of beauty in the yard. But it is harder to know how to share the challenges and failures. I actually feel like a failed gardener right now. Yes, there are little harvests, yes there are elements of beauty. But there is so much that is overwhelming. I don’t enjoy “weeding” which […]

Taking my time (and tea) with Franco “Bifo” Berardi and Kiasmos (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) It’s that time of year when, thankfully, I am able to down tools for the month of August for some rest, recreation, re-thinking and restoration, And where that last word really means, re-story-ation. Consequently, it is likely that nothing will appear on this blog for the next month. So, dear readers, as always, I thank you for dropping by now and then to read one of my pieces, to look at the photos I have posted or, perhaps, even to listening to an episode of the podcast. And in all cases, your continued support is much appreciated, and I look forward to re-connecting with you again in September. B...

“Humility is really important because it keeps you fresh and new.”-Steven Tyler What keeps you fresh and new?

The movement of starlings on Stourbridge Common, Cambridge   A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation.   (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece)   —o0o— One of the problems about religion, at least as it is generally practised in the European and North American context, is that so many of its leaders and practitioners end up overly focussing upon providing people with putative, final, propositional answers about how God and the world ultimately is. Right belief about these things, “orthodoxy”, to use the technical term, comes firmly to the fore. Not surprisingly, therefore, as a minister of religion, peo...

I went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston yesterday (in part so I could take advantage of their air conditioning on a steamy, stormy day). Major art museums in the West tend to be strange places, because they are typically full of deities from many different cultures. We in the West may have … Continue reading "Astarte"

Please join us on Sunday (30 July 2023) at 11:00 AM for “Assimilation . . . The Good Kind” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  71106 if you are able to … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (30 July 2023)"

During the summer, our children and youth participate in various fun artistic and creative activities. On this Sunday (30 July 2023), our children and youth will collect natural items on a brief walk outdoors, then use them to make creative bleach print t-shirts with Ash McLain. Children and youth who missed this last week will … Continue reading "Nature Print T-Shirts, Part II — Summer Activities for Children and Youth (30 July 2023)"

Our weekly adult religious education class is taking a break for the next two Sundays (30 July 2023 and 6 August 2023). Please join us when we resume our adult religious education class on 13 August 2023 at 9:00 AM. This dual-platform class meets on most Sundays at 9:00 AM in person in the Social … Continue reading "No Adult Religious Education Class on 30 July 2023 and 6 August 2023"

Please join us next Tuesday (1 August 2023) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Our weekly Zoom lunch is going dual-platform — join us from home using Zoom or in person in the social hall. Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.

Please join us on Saturday (29 July 2023) at 10:30 AM for our weekly meditation group with Larry Androes. This is a sitting Buddhist meditation including a brief introduction to mindfulness meditation, 20 minutes of sitting, and followed by a weekly teaching. Please note that this group is still meeting via Zoom.  You will need … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (29 July 2023)"

It never surprises me when my dad shows up in memory or visitation when I am thinking about the Adirondacks or wandering in the woods somewhere. Those were his places and my places, and another one of the connections that we shared. Continue reading The Little Things at The Wild Hunt.

“…The term ‘postmodern’ had been used sporadically by process [theology] thinkers since the 1960s. The later French movement that gave ‘postmodernism’ wide currency reinforced many Whiteheadean criticisms of modernity, but it concluded on a ‘deconstructive’ note. Whiteheadians [and other process thinkers] joined with other constructive critics of modernity in emphasizing reconstruction.” — John B. Cobb, … Continue reading "Deconstruction and reconstruction"

…Il n’a pas de gestesSeulement ma peauEt les fourmis qui grouillent entre mes jambes oncteusesPortent des masques du silence en travaillent…. …There are no deedsOnly my skinAnd the ants that crawl between my unctuous legsCarry masks of silence while laboring…. — from the poem “Il n’a pas de mots” by Joyce Mansour, trans. Emilie Moorehouse, … Continue reading "Joyce Mansour"

                                          A white mob attack a black home during the 1919 Race Riots. The Chicago 1919 Race Riots seared the souls of the cotton field diaspora who had found rough shelter in the city’s unwelcoming arms—the Great Migration , Exodus indeed.   The proper city of the gleaming towers and rah-rah civic boosters strove mightily to forget , to infuse or enforce a willful amnesia.   But the poets noticed. Carl Sandburg was 41 that year and bursting forth as a poet to be noticed.   Chicago Poems had shaken up conventions in its sensational appearance in 1914 and later in the fatal year Cornhuskers would win the Pulitzer Prize.   But the prairie Socialist was still proud to pound a t...

“What is Free Religion?” by Imaoka Shin’ichirō (1881-1988) (Dated December of Showa 38 [1963], from “Religion and the Modern World”) Free Religion in Modern Times   Free religion emerged as a resistance movement against established religious institutions, doctrines, traditions, and rituals. In the history of modern religions, Unitarianism, Universalism, and Baha’ism are the most notable examples of free religion. The first two were religious reforms in the Christian world that occurred from the 18th to the 19th century. However, initially, they were reforms within Christianity and did not seek to go beyond Christianity itself. In this regard, the Bahá'í Faith, which emerged in the mid-19th century in Persia, stood out as ...

This reflection was first published on March 13, 2014. I was born into and raised in the United Methodist Church.  Some part of me will always be Methodist because the best parts of Methodism in my life are Universalist and … Continue reading →

A Prayer for Juiciness - Week of July 31, 2023 Restorer and Savorer of Life’s Abundance, lead us in the wide, verdant paths of nurturing a juicier life for each and for all. May we savor the sweetness of life, from the conversations that spark our minds to sharing a...

Many of us are taught not to show pride in what we have done, or in who we have become. And yet, it is necessary to counter humility with celebrating ourselves from time to time. What do you need to pat yourself on the back about today?

The United Nations Security Council adopts an historic resolution on religious freedom that includes a call to improve women's rights worldwide. Continue reading UN Security Council accepts unprecedented resolution on religious freedom and gender inequality at The Wild Hunt.

By Julia Watts Belser | Ever since I began writing “Loving Our Own Bones,” I knew I wanted to craft a plain language version. The book brings disability culture into conversation with Jewish and Christian traditions, inviting readers to explore how disability insights can transform our politics and our spiritual lives. At its heart, it’s a book about challenging ableism—a book that calls us all to build a radically accessible world.

Por fin, estamos en un país donde hablo el idioma. At last we are in a country in which I speak the language! Only a fool would complain about traveling in Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, and France, and I’m not complaining. But oh, what a relief to understand what people are saying and know that I can make myself […]

Left: Torajiro Okada (1872-1920) Right: Joseph Warren T. Mason (1879-1941) in Tokyo with his wife Memories of Two People: Mr. Torajiro Okada (1872-1920) and Mr. Joseph Warren T. Mason (1879-1941) by Imaoka Shin’ichirō (1881-1988) Recently, I have been thinking about two people from my memories. Most of you may not be familiar with them, but let me introduce them. One of them is Mr. Torajiro Okada, who taught the Okada method of Seiza meditation from the end of the Meiji era to the beginning of the Taisho era. Today [1965], the 93rd anniversary of his birth will be celebrated at Hongyo-ji Temple in Nippori. The other person is an American named Joseph Warren T. Mason. The name Mason is well known in Japan who was a correspondent for th...

Horizon S. A selection of UU World Black Lives Matter stories from the past ten years.

There are lots of folks these days who have been identified as billionaires and at least one knew what to do with their money, donating one of his or her billions to McPherson College. It will be used to expand their model for learning, that model having been established by their one of a kind auto restoration program. More about the endowment can be found here: https://www.hemmings.com/stories/mcpherson-college-2662372034/ When we launched the Wisdom of the Hands program at the Clear Spring School, the idea was not that kids needed to know woodworking, but that the way we learn woodworking might serve as a model for all else that requires learning. We start with the interests of the child, progress from the known to the unknown, from t...

A Chicago Tribune cartoon published while the 1919 riots were still raging depicts the flashpoint at the 29th Street Beach. It began over 100 years ago with what might, under other circumstances, have been passed off teenage rough house when a boy from another neighborhood wandered into the waters of a Lake Michigan beach and the local rascals pelted him with stones. By all accounts 24year-old George Stauber threw the rock that ultimately caused 17-year-old Eugene Williams to drown.   When the Chicago police arrived at the chaotic scene they arrested a youth who pointed out the assailant. A melee erupted.   It spread over the afternoon and evening into the city streets. Not much to see here, move on.   Except that the incident set off...

Have you ever just taken on too much? At some point, you need to let some things go or you’re going to break down. How do you face overwhelm?

Reposted from a previous reflection from March 19, 2014 Every seed is a capsule of life, containing the full potential of its parent.  Flowers, trees, shrubs, and grasses release this part of themselves each season to discover their place in … Continue reading →

TWH correspondent Elyse Wells lives in Greece and shares a firsthand account of life with the threat of wildfires and how to help. Continue reading Living in Greece and wildfires at The Wild Hunt.

By Ben Mattlin | When you’ve grown up in a world not quite made for you or are forced into one from an accident or illness, and when you feel you should be able to do what everybody else seems to do, when you feel as if you’ve been inexplicably singled out for punishment, it can be utterly, achingly soul sinking. Worse still, it’s hard to shake. “Internalized ableism” is believing the prejudicial assumptions and expectations thrust on you by society, believing you’re inferior, undesirable, burdensome, don’t fit in, and/or in need of repairing or healing or fixing or curing.

I’m sad to learn that Sinéad O’Connor has died. She was just a little older than I am. I was at the 1992 “Bobfest” (officially the 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration, for Bob Dylan) in Madison Square Garden, when she got up to sing “I Believe in You,” but was booed mercilessly by the crowd. She […]

Jeff Milchen The 2023 Berry Street Essay urges UUs to recognize and confront an imminent threat.

Some reflections on my most recent trip to Perugia, Italy. The post Back in Perugia appeared first on Colin Bossen.

George Catlin captured Native American culture just before it was wiped away like this council of Northern Plains Indians and tepee village.  Amazing detail in costume, decoration on the tepee, cultural symbols such as the central tribal staff and bundles, smoking, and the scalps hanging from the tripod. When George Catlin was born on a farm near Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County , Pennsylvania on July 26, 1796 the area was only a couple of generations removed from being on the frontier.   During the American Revolution it had been subject to raids by native tribes allied with the British .   His own mother had been taken hostage on such a foray and she was held for a while in captivity.   Like many female captives she was apparently we...

A repost of a previous reflection from March 14, 2014 Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are weeds, as we all know.   They are the nemesis of many a gardener, as well as those who attempt to cultivate vast, pristine lawns.  But they … Continue reading →

“What humility does for one is it reminds us that there are people before me. I have already been paid for. And what I need to do is prepare myself so that I can pay for someone else who has yet to come but who may be here and needs me.” -Maya Angelou How do … Continue reading Preparing

Religion within Non-Religion by Imaoka Shin’ichirō (1881-1988) Kiitsu Kyokai, Sunday Sermon Summary, 1973   The disciples of Christ, feeling hungry on the Sabbath, plucked heads of grain and ate. Witnessing this, the Pharisees criticized Jesus, questioning whether it was permissible to do such things on the Sabbath. This story can be found in the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Matthew, and many of you may already be familiar with it. However, for Jews and Christians alike, the Sabbath has been and continues to be a sacred day, and it is considered inappropriate to engage in other activities. It’s also true that trains and buses aren’t running either.   I remember when I became a Christian in junior high school and was taught ...

Taken with a Fuji X-T2 (with a SMC Pentax-M 1:1.7 50mm lens) using Kevin Mullin’s “Parr” simulation Just click on the photo to enlarge it

I almost stepped on this small fungus — it was maybe two and a half inches tall — when I was out for a walk today. I’m not competent to identify it, but between my field guides and iNaturalist, I’m thinking it’s a coral fungus in genus Clavulinopsis. Not that I’m particularly anxious to learn … Continue reading "Coral fungus"

July 30: activities on the environment with members of the Green Sanctuary, Paula and George Shaw and Catherine Miller. If the weather is good, the group will spend most of the time outside. Please have your child wear long pants, socks and sturdy shoes. We recommend ... read more . The post Summer Stars program this Sunday, July 30th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

UU Wellspring is a 10-month spiritual deepening course. Group members experience deep listening and spiritual reflection in small groups of about ten, inspiring personal and community transformation. Participants read, view and respond to pre-session assignments that are focused on spiritual topics and UU Theology. This year ... read more . The post Registration is Now Open for UU Wellspring 2023-24 appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Names like Charon, Cerberus, and Lucifer may help communicate the dangers of heatwaves. Continue reading Charon, Cerberus, and Lucifer: Scary names for heatwaves are debatable but appropriate at The Wild Hunt.

I pointed to a Barbie poster in the Paris Metro. Me: I really want to go see this when we get home. Does either of you want to come along? Munchkin: You’re joking, right? Joy: Um . . . why? Me: Greta Gerwig is a serious director, you know. It’s not going to be a […]

This Week: Walking the Labyrinth With Lay Leader Linda Clark at First Parish Northboro   “A labyrinth is a symbolic journey . . . but it is a map we can really walk on, blurring the difference between map and world.” ―  Rebecca Solnit   This in-person only service will take place in the grove at   [ … ] The post Sunday, July 30 ~ Labyrinth Walk at FPUUN ~ 10:00 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

  Head Start is our country’s most successful early learning program. It has been the most important social and educational investment in children, families, and communities the United States has ever undertaken. But now, Republicans in Congress are considering hurting families by cutting funding for Head Start by $750 million—depriving roughly 80,000 children access to this critical program. Moms Rising     Head Start was launched in 1965 as a comprehensive child development program. Over the last 60 years, Head read more... The post July Action Alert: Protect Head Start appeared first on Promise the Children.

 

            The new Cleveland MLB name, logos and uniform patches. Note —The sting felt by Cleveland baseball fans has been somewhat assuaged by the success this year of the rechristened team who at this writing are in a competitive second place in the American League Central with a 49-51 record at mid-season. Two years ago, while they attention of sports fans was diverted by the opening hoopla for the Tokyo Olympics on the traditional late Friday afternoon dump for stories flacks want buried the Cleveland American League franchise finally announced a new name starting the next season—the Guardians.   The team had put up a long, bitter fighting retreat before giving up the ghost of the Indians entirely. They tried to soften t...

A repost from an older reflection from March 15, 2014 I work with people, and the most important thing I do is to sow seeds of trust between us. I talk about it in different ways with the people with … Continue reading →

“I have learned to trust those who are witnesses rather than gurus, those who express their confusion as well as their knowledge, and those who share their suffering along with their joy.” -David O. Rankin How do you bear faithful witness to something you don’t completely understand?

In this week's Pagan Community notes, Texas Tech cancels Witchcraft course but not because of pressure, the National Secular Society raises concern about a church, Pagan events this weekend, announcements and even a Wrinkle. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of July 24, 2023 at The Wild Hunt.

I have become a flat-out café mocha addict over the past couple of years, and when we were preparing to travel in the continent of cafes, I went so far as to bring my thermos so as to avoid littering Europe with any more disposable cups than necessary. I planned to try mochas in every […]

Thanks W. S. Merwin  - 1927-2019 Listen with the night falling we are saying thank you we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings we are running out of the glass rooms with our mouths full of food to look at the sky and say thank you we are standing by the water thanking it standing by the windows looking out in our directions back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging after funerals we are saying thank you after the news of the dead whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you over telephones we are saying thank you in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators remembering wars and the police at the door and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you in the banks we are saying thank you in the f...

I left the discussion group for Gadfly some time ago. I'm serving a congregation now, and will leave the discussion to those who want to continue. It seems clear to me that while some people are making a genuine effort to listen and to find some commonality, most are stubbornly refusing to hear one another and becoming even more entrenched as the argument continues. In this case, there really are fine people on both sides. I love and esteem my colleagues. I think the majority of them are more dedicated, more productive, and more capable than I. That's not false modesty. I just don't feel entitled to judge their devotion to this faith and to the causes we all find important. I do want to share a few things that have come across my radar. ...

Women are raging. And women who've been abused sexually are feeling traumatized all over again, not merely by the description of the alleged assault against Dr. Ford, but by the behavior of the GOP, the President and some of their apologists. To say "boys will be boys" or to say "all guys do this" is to open wounds so deep that it seems as if blood is flowing throughout our society. The rage spills over into social media. Women (and some men, because men are victims too) report that they feel physically ill, and have had exacerbation of chronic conditions. It's important to remember that so often the initial trauma is bad, but that it could have been far less had there been a vehicle for healing available. Instead, most victims face sham...

I’m in the process of bringing the index to this blog up to date. I maintained the index up until 2012, then let if fall into disuse. You might wonder: who’s going to bother looking at an index when you can just use the search function? But I feel that a blog index can do … Continue reading "Blog index"

A repost of an previous reflection from March 16, 2014 Sowing seeds is an act of faith.  You take a few specks, press them into some dirt, give them a drink, and then… really, you’re dependent on magic for the … Continue reading →

A tiny college in Kansas received a 1 Billion dollar endowment this month, and one might wonder why a school with only 800 students would qualify for such generosity. This article explains it:  https://robbreport.com/lifestyle/news/mcpherson-college-anonymous-donation-1234871348/ They have an automotive restoration program, and are the only college in the US offering a degree in the subject. The small college has an impressive collection of restored cars, each having received the attention of students from years past. But as stated so clearly by Otto Salomon, the value of the students' labors is not in what the students have made, but in the students. And what does one do with a degree in auto restoration? Anything one wants. The value ...

                    The engine wright from the pits, young George Stephenson. On July 25, 1814 George Stephenson put his first steam locomotive, a small engine for use hauling coal on the Killingworth Wagonway in England near his home and workshop.   He called the noisy little contraption Blucher after Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher who had helped the Duke of Wellington whip Napoleon.   It could haul 30 tons of coal up a hill at 4 mph and was the first successful flanged-wheel adhesion locomotive—gaining traction only from the wheel turning against the rail and not from a cog or other system.   Steam had been applied to moving coal as early as 1804 by Richard Trevithick   at a colliery at nearby Tynesi...

“There are two moments that matter. One is when you know that your one and only life is absolutely valuable and alive. The other is when you know your life, as presently lived, is entirely pointless and empty. You need both of them to keep you going in the right direction.”-Richard Rohr How do you … Continue reading Empty

A beautiful queen descends to the Underworld to understand death, then returns to find her unfaithful consort has taken her throne. Meg Elison notes that this isn't just the myth of Inanna - it's also the plot to Greta Gerwig's new film BARBIE. Continue reading “Barbie” is the new Inanna at The Wild Hunt.

There are possibilities to explore.

Our hike this week including 4 of these structures to navigate. They were bridges/boardwalks across gullies or streams. I found it challenging to climb them, and rather scary to go down on the other side. My balance (and my confidence in my balance) has never been great. My experience of polio as a child left […]

Whatever you call it — “artificial intelligence,” “machine learning,” or as author Ted Chiang has suggested, “applied statistics” — it’s in the news right now. Whatever you call it, it does not present a neutral point of view. Whoever designs the software necessarily injects a bias into their AI project. This has become more clear … Continue reading "The non-neutrality of “AI”"

                       Charles Boles a/k/a Charles Bolton, T. Z. Spaulding, and Black Bart after his arrest in San Francisco in 1883. On July 23, 1878 the outlaw known as Black Bart robbed a Wells Fargo stagecoach.   Wells Fargo was a favorite target and he was operating in the familiar territory in and around Calaveras County, California.   When the empty strongbox was found, it contained a little poem:   Here I lay me down to sleep   To wait the coming morrow, Perhaps success, perhaps defeat, And everlasting sorrow. Let come what will, I’ll try it on, My condition can't be worse; And if there’s money in that box ‘Tis munny in my purse.   —Black Bart PO8 The daring highwayman began his crime spree just ...

“Perfectionism is such a thief. It robs us of experiences we could be having, of growth we could be experiencing, of the help we so desperately need right now. If anyone feels perfectly anything as they reach out in the midst of a desperate moment, they are telling you a lie and they are lying … Continue reading Perfectionism

Storm Faerywolf reviews "The Tarot of the Vampires," by Charles Harrington and Craig Maher, an oracle deck sure to appeal to anyone who loves the creatures of the night. Continue reading Review: Vampires, Queerness, and Shadow Work in “Tarot of the Vampires” at The Wild Hunt.

Please join us on Sunday (23 July 2023) at 11:00 AM for “Religion is the What?” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell. We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service.  Please join us in person at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  71106 if you are able to do so. Our … Continue reading "All Ages Worship (23 July 2023)"

All Souls is hosting an Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) Basic Workshop with facilitators Kathy Osuch, Susan Yellott, and Bob Jordan. Here are the dates / times for this workshop: Friday, 18 August 2023 // 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM Saturday, 19 August 2023 // 9:00 AM – 12:15 PM //  1:15 PM – 5:00 … Continue reading "Alternatives to Violence Project (18-20 August 2023)"

We will have our monthly building and ground work day on Saturday (12 August 2023 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. We will have tasks for all ages and abilities — indoor and outside. Check back on our website and our Facebook page for additional details as we get closer to 12 August 2023.

During the summer, our children and youth participate in various fun artistic and creative activities. On this Sunday (16 July 2023), our children and youth will collect natural items on a brief walk outdoors, then use them to make creative bleach print t-shirts with Ash McLain. Kids should bring a black or dark colored t-shirt … Continue reading "Nature Print T-Shirts — Summer Activities for Children and Youth (23 July 2023)"

Please join us on Sunday (23 July 2023) for our adult religious education class at 9:00 AM. Our adult religious education class is now a dual-platform class — meeting in person in the church social hall and also on Zoom. For that week, we will continue our discussion of Patrice Cullor’s An Abolitionist’s Handbook.  We … Continue reading "Online and In-Person Adult Religious Education — 23 July 2023"

Please join us next Tuesday (25 July 2023) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Our weekly Zoom lunch is going dual-platform — join us from home using Zoom or in person in the social hall. Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.

The current issue of American Woodturner features amazing work (as always) including a feature article on Matt Monaco who teaches regularly at our Eureka Springs School of the Arts. Our director, Kelly McDonough was interviewed for the article. One of the interesting things about woodturning is the amount of strategic thinking that's involved. I'm convinced that an educational program could be built on woodturning that would be of tremendous benefit to schools and scholars.  Just imagine the strategic thinking and problem solving  that is represented by this one vessel featured in this month's American Woodturner Magazine. If you think for one minute that the mind and hand are disconnected in the process of thought or that either is we...

Back in my old hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming the annual rodeo completion cum bacchanal known as Cheyenne Frontier Days is getting underway this week. This is the 127th edition of what has usually been held annually. It is expected to attract the 200 thousand who attend the Daddy of ‘em All which is held over the ten days around the last full week in July virtually swamping the Wyoming capitol city ’ s 64,000 residents.   It is both the longest continuously held cowboy competition in the world and by far the largest outdoor competition of its kind.   Although there has been a National Finals Rodeo since 1956 to crown individual champions in each main professional rodeo event , that indoor competition, currently held in Las Vegas, la...

“We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean… and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect.” -Michelle Obama Who has had a hand in your success?

 A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation. (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece)   —o0o— A proverb that one should take seriously is, “Look before you leap.” I hope I don’t need to rehearse why it’s a piece of wise advice . . . well, it’s wise for the most part. I say “for the most part” because proverbial advice works by radically simplifying the world and, in consequence, its greatest danger to us is that it serves to stop us from seeing those moments, those complex moments, when, inevitably, the proverbial advice is not only wrong, but positively dangerous to follow. The simplifying proverb...

Please join us on Saturday (22 July 2023) at 10:30 AM for our weekly meditation group with Larry Androes. This is a sitting Buddhist meditation including a brief introduction to mindfulness meditation, 20 minutes of sitting, and followed by a weekly teaching. Please note that this group is still meeting via Zoom.  You will need … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (22 July 2023)"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "30 April 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "23 April 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "16 April 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services. This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats. For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live.  One does not have to log into Facebook … Continue reading "9 April 2023 Worship Livestreaming Video"

Although I never felt confused about my identity as a multicultural Witch, I started to wonder if the language I used would make a difference. I didn’t think the spirits and energies I worked with would care about it, but I do. Language is part of who I am, what I say, the feelings I experience, and there are words that are not completely translated from one to the other. Continue reading The Languages of Multicultural Witch at The Wild Hunt.

Aunque nunca me sentí confundido acerca de mi identidad como brujo multicultural, comencé a preguntarme si el lenguaje que usaba marcaría la diferencia. No pensé que a los espíritus y energías con los que trabajo les importara, pero a mí sí. El lenguaje es parte de lo que soy, de lo que digo, de los sentimientos que experimento, y hay palabras que no se traducen completamente de uno a otro. Continue reading Los lenguajes de un brujo multicultural at The Wild Hunt.

We are delighted to be collaborating with several of our UU neighbors this summer for shared worship services. Worship service on Sunday, July 23, is hosted by First Parish Church in Berlin. Service begins at 10:00 a.m. Photo credit: Facebook First Parish Church of Berlin Meetinghouse 16 Central St, Berlin, MA 01503 We are the   [ … ] The post Sunday, July 23 ~ Summer Worship On The Road Continues! appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

By Fred Pearce | Whatever its moral pitfalls, the production of the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan was a triumph of twentieth-century science. In the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the steam-powered industrial revolution suddenly seemed quaint. But the arrival of the new atomic age had been very sudden. It was the result of a tidal wave of new science about the structure of atoms, and how unstable these supposed building blocks of matter actually were.

Reposted from February 2, 2014 (almost 10 years ago) In June I started a new job, as a librarian for the Environmental Protection Agency. I work for the Ecosystems Research Division lab in Athens, supporting scientific research that rivals Icarus’ … Continue reading →

Here are a few things I’ve come across recently on the topic of religion and LGBTQ+ issues: 1. A statement signed by some 300 prominent Muslim scholars and clerics titled “Navigating Differences: Clarifying Sexual and Gender Ethics in Islam” interprets the Quran as asserting that “God explicitly condemns sexual relations with the same sex”; and … Continue reading "LGBTQ+ and religion"

The windowsill in my Cambridge office with Imaoka sensei’s calligraphy to the left What kind of “church” is Kiitsu Kyokai? [In Japanese, Kiitsu ( 帰一 ) means “oneness” or “unity.” However, Kyōkai can be written in two ways, 協會 or 協会, and each rendering has a subtly different meaning. The first, 協會, means “assembly” or “association,” whilst the second, 協会, leans more towards the meaning of “school.” The twentieth-century Japanese advocate of liberal, free religion, Imaoka Shin’ichirō (1881-1988), used the second rendering of Kyōkai to foreground the idea of gathering together in order to learn and grow. Kiitsu Kyōkai was the name Imaoka sensei gave to his own post-1948 liberal, free relig...

        Robert Ingersoll died on this day, the 21st of July, 1899. Perhaps an unusual figure to note on the anniversary of his death, which is more commonly done in religious circles. Death being a marker for winning the victory and obtaining one’s reward. Some might sneer, suggesting his reward was hell-fire. […]

When my daughter was a freshman at Columbia University I attempted to contact university president Lee Bollinger to suggest a change to their Core Curriculum. The "Core" is a long standing effort to instill some of the classic literature of western civilization as a common foundation to be faced by every graduate of the institution. Silly me, at the time, I thought some ideas of my own might provide an even better core. Of course the president of a major university gets lots of letters. And one from a woodworker in Arkansas need not be taken seriously. But the strategic implementation of the hands in learning is actually a serious matter for concern.  My simple idea was this: Across the street from Columbia University is the great unfin...

Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation , 5603 Bull Valley Road in McHenry, will host another of it popular Open Mic and Coffee Houses on Saturday, August 19 from 7-9 pm.   It is a showcase for all sorts of performers including musicians in all genres, poets and spoken word artists, magicians, and novelty acts. Tree of Life Open Mic host Lisa Campagnolo. Organizer and host Lisa Campagnolo is issuing a call for acts to sign up.   Performers can sign up on the spot for one of the open 12 slots. Each should be no longer than a firm 8 minutes.   Larger acts will receive ample additional time. Coffee and light refreshments will be available.   The event is free and open to the public but free will donations will be accepted.   F...

A Prayer for Loving Ourselves - Week of July 24, 2023 Quirky, delighted and amazing Grace, may we keep practicing this daily effort of loving ourselves. May we have the wisdom to practice self-compassion when we would offer compassion to others and also notice how much easier compassion for others...

“Humility is the true key to success. Successful people lose their way at times. They often embrace and overindulge from the fruits of success. Humility halts this arrogance and self-indulging trap. Humble people share the credit and wealth, remaining focused and hungry to continue the journey of success.” -Rick Pitino When have you experienced people … Continue reading Success