Swami Nirmalananda (Gurudevi) always begins a talk with this benediction: OM svaroopa svasvabhavah namo namah It means: “I bow to your own inherent Divinity, your Self. I bow to my own inherent Divinity, my Self. I bow to the inherent Divinity of all beings, the One Divine Reality being you, being me and being all.” And… Read More Bow to the Self Masquerading on Halloween, and to Barbie!

One of the highlights the past few weeks, for each of us, was getting time to read a good book. Mine was Sometimes Brilliant, by Larry Brilliant, one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and winner of the TEDPrize. He really is brilliant. So are you, by the way, but more on that later.… Read More You are brilliant

Well July seemed to fly by. Can we slow down August? I like the depiction of August as “the Sunday of Summer.” Sunday is the end of the week, and August is the end of summer (almost). But there is a much deeper correlation than that. Sunday is a time for slowing down, for rest… Read More Savoring the Remaining Days of Summer

Soon after her brother was born, little Sachi began to ask her parents to leave her alone with the new baby. They worried that like most four-year-olds, she might feel jealous and want to hit or shake him, so they said no. But she showed no signs of jealousy. She treated the baby with kindness… Read More What does God feel like?

A Sunday school teacher asked her class, “Where is God?” No one seemed to have an answer except Danny. “I know where God is!” he said excitedly.   “And where is that?” the teacher asked.   Danny responded: “In the bathroom at my house.”   “Very interesting, Danny. How are you so sure God is… Read More Where is God?

A minister was giving the offertory for church services. He raised his arms, looked up to the heavens with a look of rapture on his face. “Dear Lord,” he exclaimed. “Without you, we are but dust!”   He would have continued, but at that moment one little girl leaned over to her mother and asked… Read More Good news all around

Our world is rife with disconnection. I am not referring to power grid outages. I am referring to outages affecting the human grid of love.   Most people spend more time peering into their screens than into the eyes of another human being. They spend more time in their head than in their heart. They… Read More From Disconnect to Connect

Who Amongst Us?   This particular story tells of a mysterious stranger who showed up at the door of a rundown monastery operated by several old monks who had become “spiritually parched.”   The monks noticed that the mysterious stranger had a glow about him. So they were eager to get to know him and… Read More It Could Be You (It Is!) ~ A Parable

February is often the coldest if not the snowiest month of the year. So Valentine’s Day comes at a good time. It’s a day that gives us an opportunity to share the warmth of our heart more generously and extensively. It can even be a day to thaw a cold heart — our own or… Read More Find the Sweetness in Your Heart

Hello and Happy New Year   For certain, 2023 promises to be another interesting year. You are likely to see plenty of challenges and opportunities — individually, nationally and globally. You might think the easy route (and a tempting one) is to escape from the world. But wherever you escape to, you still have your… Read More The New Year Brings Challenges and Opportunities