Every Moment is a New Beginning

In many faith traditions, including Buddhism, one has the option of making a fresh start and renewing one's determination, not just once, at the beginning of a new calendar year, but at any time. The Buddhist term, Honnin-myo, expresses the concept that every moment is a new beginning.

I live in the present moment.
I put aside fear, resentment, anger,

and guilt from the past.

I begin in the present moment.

I allow compassion for myself

which allows me to have compassion for others.

I can always start anew

beginning with this very moment.

The Power of Kindness

The great English writer Aldous Huxley was a pioner in the study of philosophies and techniques aimed at developing human potential, including such diverse approaches as Vedanta, psychedelics, bodywork, meditation, hypnotic trance, and Zen. Toward the end of his life, he said, in a lecture, "People often ask me what is the most effective technique for transforming their life. It is a little embarrassing that after years and years of research and experimentation, I have to say that the best answer is—just be a little kinder."

From The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life by Piero Ferrucci, translated from the Italian by Vivien Reid Ferrucci.

Family

My brother Wayne and his wife Joanne have four grandchildren. This is the most recent picture of them together. They are (left to right) Jacob Spessard, Madison Casey, Mason Spessard, and Harrison Ridge. Great-uncle Allan thinks they are “the best”!

Forces

The forces which move the cosmos are no different from those which move the human soul.

Lama Anagarika Govinda (1898-1985) was born Ernst Lothar Hoffman in Germany in 1898. He lived on Capri in Italy from 1920 to 1928, where he became interested in Buddhism. He then moved to Sri Lanka and became a Buddhist monk. He embraced the teaching of Tibetan Buddhism and lived for three decades in northern India. In the 1960s he began traveling around the world to lecture on Buddhism, and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area in his twilight years, where he was hosted for a time by Alan Watts.

Yuletide Greetings

My friend Nina Osterlye sent this greeting card a few years ago. It is a reproduction of an original Danish card dating from around 1890.

"White Christmas" animated by Joshua Held, performed by The Drifters

True Spirituality

True spirituality is being aware that we are interdependent with everything and everyone else. Even our smallest, least significant thoughts, words, and actions have real consequences throughout the universe.

Adapted from Sogyal Rinpoche, author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, which has been translated into 30 languages and published in 56 countries.

Universal Life

By feeling gratitude toward life, I move toward light, wholeness, universal energy, love. I move beyond the bounds of my own life and discover that I am an expression or form of universal life, of divine energy.

Arnaud Desjardins

Reflection

Like still water reflects the world,

the tranquil mind of the wise man

is the mirror of the universe.

Chuang-tzu

Chinese philosopher, 4th century BCE

Cycles

There is beauty to be found in the changing of the earth's seasons, and an inner grace in honoring the cycles of life.

Jack Kornfield

Wisdom from George Washington

Courtesy of FontMarketplace.com

Influences

Wisdom and compassion should become the dominating influences that guide our thoughts, our words, and our actions.

Matthieu Ricard

Global Heart Vision

The following is from the Global Heart Vision of the United Centers for Spiritual Living.

We envision the emergence of the Global Heart to balance and guide the further evolution of humanity as stewards of our planet and all its inhabitants.

We see a world free of homelessness, violence, war, hunger, separation and disenfranchisement.

We see a world in which there is generous and continuous sharing of heart and resources.

We envision a world in which forgiveness, whether for errors, injustices, or debts, is the norm.

We see a world in which borders are irrelevant.

We see a world which has renewed its emphasis on beauty, nature, and love through the resurgence of creativity, art, and aesthetics.

We see a world in which fellowship with all life prospers and connects through the guidance of spiritual wisdom and experience.

We envision a world in which we live and grow as One Global Family that respects and honors the interconnectedness of all life.

Oneness

Do not pursue outer conditions

nor dwell in the inner void.

Rest yourself in oneness with everything
and all barriers will disappear.

—Seng-ts’an (526-606)