JOYFUL WANDERING -- 78

+ My Joyful Wandering posts are usually published before they are complete so I urge you to bookmark this blog or this post if you want to see where my wandering goes next.  

+ On April 22, 2022 I added the photo above and more about our 2019 trip to Germany and France. Also I invited you to see many photos I have uploaded in the past 20 years.

+ JW 77 got to be too long so it's time to begin another post as I wander through this amazing life.  Remembering past events in my life is fair game in these posts and you could do some joyful wandering with me by remembering past events in your amazing life and maybe even adding a JW post of your own.

+ A recent event, pre-Covid, was associated with the fiftieth anniversary of my wonderful marriage.  Mary and I and our daughter and grandson headed for Germany and France after we celebrated at a Wilde Family Reunion idining  n Pittsburgh. This was in August 2019. 

Our flight to Frankfurt was delayed so we remained in Pittsburgh for a night and had to cancel our reservation for a hotel in Bingen on the Rhine.  But it all worked out.  Instead of that hotel we stayed at one right on the river, Hotel NH Bingen, and right next to the museum I wanted to visit there, the Museum am Strom which features a fascinating exhibit on the life and work of Saint Hildegard of Bingen, a nun who was a great spiritual teacher, leader, artist, gardener, mystic and scientiest of the 12th century.  Judith Liro, a colleague of mine and fellow InterSpiritual Mentor, is a founding member of St. Hildegard's Community, contemplative and activist followers of this wise woman from 900 years ago.  See where Joyful Wandering takes us.  I hope you are enjoying the journey.

Our trip began in Germany and ended in Germany.  In between we went over the border to Alsace.  

A highlight of our stay in Bingen was the museum featuring a great exhibit on Saint Hildegard of Bingen.  Then, a delightful roundtrip boat trip on Der Mittelrhein from Bacharach to St. Goar before driving to Alsace.  Returning from Alsace we visited friends in Brühl.  We had a wonderful time and we enjoyed going to a park on the Rhine in Mannheim and visiting the Maulbronn Monastery and a short stop in Heidelberg.

We spent several days in Alsace, a part of France which has a history of being German much of the time for many centuries. We stayed in Eguisheim which is surrounded by vineyards and has many of the storybook village features of the region. Once again Rick Steves guided us to a wonderful place, Eguisheim where we stayed at a wonderful hotel which now has a different name. We drove to storybook villages and towns, vineyards, wineries and a partially restored castle with a view from a high point in the Vosges Mountains. Before we left we stopped for lunch in one of the most popular storybook villages of Europe: Kaysersberg.

Here are links to photos from that trip:

• Germany 2019
• France 2019

+ Maybe you would like to see all of the galleries going back 20 years. That's when I began using a digital camera. As of April 22, 2022 I have uploaded nearly 2800 photos in 117 galleries at pbase/abundancetrek. Since 2002 Mary and I have been blessed with the opportunity to visit England, France, Norway, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, China, Brazil and more.  Mary's job often made our overseas trips very economical.  I took advantage of these opportunities to travel and often made her jealous because I did sightseeing while she worked.  Within the USA and Canada we have enjoyed going to many places including California, Florida, Oregon, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Quebec, Ontario and, of course the great state of New York where we have lived since 1988 except for a couple of years in Western Massachusetts.  Perhaps my Joyful Wandering posts in the future will focus on some of these trips

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 77

+ I wonder what I will offer here in this post as I write this on April 5, 2022 at 3:19pm ESDT.  

+ I think I will begin where I left off in JW -- 76.  Baseball.  The 2022 season was delayed by a week due to a strike which got resolved.  The season will begin on April 7 and the Red Sox will meet the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.  So, right off, the great rivalry between these 2 teams is re-ignited.

+

+ During the Wilde Family Reunion in Pittsburgh in August 2019, we celebrated two 50th wedding anniversaries: Jeanette & Stewart Long (June 28) and Mary & John Wilde (July 12). We all went to see the Pirates play the Cubs on a very hot afternoon.  Fortunately our seats were in the shade.  The Cubs won behind the great pitching of Jon Lester who was a huge factor in the Cubs finally winning a World Series in 2016.

+ My other 2 blogs are somewhat organized.  This one is definitely not. Enjoy! 

But if you want the more organized ones, here are the links:

• The Abundancetrek Blog
• The Abundancetrek Travel Blog

The OUR AMAZING JOURNEY posts are on The Abundancetrek Blog. The latest one is OUR AMAZING JOURNEY -- 21.

 

+ I have been discovering a variety of mantras and chants and songs lately.  Here are links to a few:

• Heart Sutra sung by Julia Elena
• The Angels are Listening (Suni-ai) sung by Snatam Kaur
• Om Mani Padme Hum sung by Imee Ooi
• Water of Your Love sung by Snatam Kaur
• River by GuruGanesha Singh

+ I have been a blogger for 2 decades.  From 2002 to 2007 I offered MESSAGES FOR THE TREK.  Here is the one I posted on January 19, 2005, my 58th birthday:

A MESSAGE FOR THE TREK 1/19/05

+ Do you often experience life as a feast?  I do.  I didn’t always but now I do.  It takes fasting and other kinds of purification. It takes meditation and contemplation and prayer.  It takes all kinds of experiences and relationships.  I got to this point through many years of spiritual effort.  Now I am writing about the abundance and joy I am experiencing. Possibly this will be helpful to you. My growing awareness that life is a perpetual feast is based profoundly on the practice of stillness. Over and over again, I need to be still and allow my body, mind and soul to become centered and grounded again.  I have resisted mightily and I still resist but I have gotten past many of the blocks and I’m getting past a few more as I continue to be on this journey of discovery and delight. 

     In stillness I come into contact with everything there is.  It’s awesome.  It’s amazing.  It’s fantastic.  It’s delightful.  It’s heaven.  Yes, it’s heaven.  I’m in heaven and I’m enjoying being here in heaven a lot.  Are you?

     In no particular order the practice of stillness opens the door to the glorious experiences of silence, solitude, simplicity, detachment, discernment, devotion, delight, humility, healing, holiness and, finally, heaven.  Heaven is the experience of abundance, joy, wisdom, beauty, love, truth, peace, justice and freedom.  These are the nine characteristics of heaven.  Everyone of them could be called love.  God is love. 

     “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10a) 

     Know that I am love!  Know that I am beauty and truth.  Know that I am abundance, joy and wisdom.  Know that I am peace, justice and freedom.  What a feast God has made for us.  We’re all invited.  We’re all wanted.  We’re all cherished.  It’s a happening.  It’s happening now here.  Do you experience it? 

     Begin.  Be still.  Breathe deeply.  Breathe fully.  Be glad all over.  Celebrate.  Enjoy.  Lighten up.  Loosen up.  Be centered.  Be grounded.  Be yourself.  Begin again.  Be still.  Breathe deeply.  Breathe fully.  Be ... and the wheel of life keeps turning, turning, turning.  It’s a delightful journey and it’s simple, too.  Very simple.  Very simple and very good.

     There are many tools and techniques out there for becoming still, becoming you.  I have benefitted and continue to benefit from: Chi Lel Chi Gong (easy to learn from a videotape and workbook), Centering Prayer (quite easy to learn), Yoga (Erich Schiffman’s book and website and video makes this pretty easy, too), the twelve pathways to higher consciousness, chakra or energy work, working with archetypes and many others which I will cover in future messages or elsewhere at Abundancetrek.com.  Perhaps you already have an effective practice going. Please share.

     I am convinced that we can never get very far on our spiritual journey in isolation.  We are meant to be one unit which we might call a family or a community or a village or a tribe or a nation or a church.  These terms are not that important.  The main thing is to realize that we are intimately and intricately connected to each other and to the source.  There is really no separation at all.  In the practice of stillness this becomes totally clear.  But there are no words which can even come close to describing this mystery, this truth, this abundance, this joy, this love, this beauty, this freedom, this peace.  I believe this mysterious and wonderful oneness extends beyond earth to the whole universe.  I believe that the biblical event which possibly brings the most light to this mystery is the encounter of Moses with the burning bush during which God says: I AM has sent you.  I AM!  Moses possibly experienced this as a voice coming from beyond himself but it is never really beyond us.  It IS us.  I AM!  This is the holy name of God.  It’s God’s name and it is your name and my name.  Practice stillness faithfully and see for yourself.

     God is everywhere and God is complete wherever God is.  So, my experience of God is not an incomplete thing.  It is complete.  I’m not asserting here that I am God when I am living my life as this particular human being.  My particular life lacks all kinds of experiences and relationships which God encompasses.  When I practice stillness, though, I get in touch with the wholeness, the holiness, in a mysterious and wonderful and indescribable way.

     I believe that God is now creating the new church for the new age here on earth.  We have become a planet best described as a global village.  We can no longer hide from each other the way we once could hide behind mountains and oceans and jungles and deserts.  We thought and unfortunately continue to think that violence is necessary for our protection and security.  We have convinced ourselves and continue to convince ourselves that there is not enough to go around, that it is necessary to divide us into haves and have nots.  We have erected huge barriers which are looking pretty ugly in our global village.  There is the barrier between the rich and the poor, between the various races and religions and nations and cultures, between the healthy and the sick, the popular and the unpopular, the powerful and the powerless.  These barriers need to come down and that’s what God is doing by creating the new church for the new age.  The new church for the new age is Christian and Jewish and Islamic and Hindu and Buddhist and Taoist and lots of other wisdom traditions.  This is the church Jesus really wants, not an exclusive dining club but an inclusive one.

+ This is a link to all of the MESSAGES FOR THE TREK.

+ Thanks to the virtual Silent Retreat I was at today, April 9, I discovered a wonderful song to encourage us to get up and move > https://youtu.be/fCZVL_8D048.  It was good to get my body fully into this wonderful contemplative time.   

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 76

My immersion in post-season Baseball has begun.  Last night, October 8, I watched most of the Red Sox-Rays game in St. Petersburg.  And then I stayed up to see the finish of the Giants-Dodgers game in San Francisco.  The Red Sox and Giants are my two all-time favorite teams and last night they both were wonderful.  The Sox came from behind and trounced the Rays 14-6 to tie the series at 1-1.  The Bullpen led by Tanner Houck kept the Sox in the game from the second inning on. The hitters came alive and set records for their accomplishments.  Kiki Hernandez went 5 for 6 including a homerun and 3 doubles.  Altogether the Sox hit 5 homeruns.  But Houck is clearly the MVP of the game. What a performance. Here’s an article > https://www.mlb.com/redsox/news/tanner-houck-retires-30-straight-over-4-games

Great pitching was also on display in San Francisco.  The Giants won the first game of the NLDS series with the Dodgers 4-0.  Home runs by Giants sluggers plus the pitching by Logan Webb > https://www.mlb.com/giants/news/giants-win-nlds-game-1-2021

I did not watch the second ALDS game between the White Sox and Astros in Houston for very long.  The Sox could not hold on to a 4-2 lead and lost decisively 9-4.  The series moves to Chicago with the Sox on the verge of elimination.

The Brewers beat the Braves in Milwaukee 2-1.  Pitching by both teams was great but I did not watch that game.

It was Baseball at its best for me with those Red Sox and Giants victories with such great pitching and great hitting.

More about Baseball >   

I became a fan of the Giants when they were still in New York.  They moved to San Francisco in 1958 and so did the Dodgers.  I was 11.  So the NYC National League rivalry became a California NL rivalry.  The Giants did not win a world series in San Francisco until 2010. So I waited a long time.  Between 1959 and 1963 the Dodgers won 3 World Series and lost 1. They also won in Brooklyn in 1955 and in Los Angeles in 1981, 1988 and last year, 2020.  Overall the Dodgers have a 7-12 WS record.  Against the Yankees 2-8.    

I became a Red Sox fan in the 60s when I was at the Maine State YMCA Camp for 3 summers.  I can remember beginning to like the Red Sox in the 50s but I was definitely a White Sox fan and definitely anybody but the Yankees who simply were too dominant from 1936 to 1964.  In that period the Yankees won the World Series 16 times and lost 6.  The Red Sox won 5 World Series between 1903 and 1918.  They got into the World Series in 1946 and lost to the Cardinals in a seven game series. They got into the World Series in 1967 and lost to the Cardinals in a seven game series. They got into the World Series in 1975 and lost to the Reds in a seven game series. They got into the World Series in 1986 and lost to the Mets in a seven game series. Incredible frustration because they often had contending teams especially in the 40s, 70s and 80s. 

In this 21st Century the 2 most successful teams are the Red Sox and Giants.  The Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years in 2004.  They also won in 2007, 2013 and 2018.  They haven’t lost a WS in this new century.  The Red Sox are a hard team to beat when they do get into a World Series. In 78 WS games since the modern World Series began in 1903 they have won 49 and lost 29. Overall 9 WS victories and 4 losses. Only the Yankees (27) and Cardinals (11) have won more. The Athletics have also won 9. The Giants were not too successful in the twentieth century winning in 1905, 1921, 1922, 1933 and 1954 and losing in 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1923, 1924, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1962 and 1989. Five wins, 11 losses. But, like the Red Sox, this new century has turned things around.  They lost a seven game series in 2002 to the Angels but won in 2010, 2012 and 2014.  So now they are 8-12.  So, it’s Yankees 27, Cardinals 11, Red Sox and Athletics 9, Giants 8, Dodgers 7.  The Yankees have only won 1 since 2000, Red Sox 4, Giants 3, Cardinals 2, Dodgers 1, Diamondbacks 1, Angels 1, Marlins 1, White Sox 1, Phillies 1, Royals 1, Cubs 1, Astros 1, Nationals 1. It is wonderful that 14 different teams have won since 2001.  No team has won in consecutive years since 2000. The last team to do that was the Yankees in 1998, 1999 and 2000 (3 straight). Before that the Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993.  The Yankees did it in 1977-78.  The Reds in 1975-1976.  The Athletics in 1972-1974 (3 straight). The Yankees in 1961-62. The Yankees in 1949-1953 (5 straight).  The Yankees in 1936-1939 (4 straight). The Athletics in 1929-1930. The Yankees in 1927-1928. The Giants in 1921-1922. The Red Sox in 1915-1916. The Athletics in 1911-1913 (3 straight). The Cubs in 1907-1908.  I think it takes at least 3 consecutive WS wins to be considered a dynasty. So, the dynasties are in bold. 3 for the Yankees, 2 for the Athletics. As I said, none yet in the 21st century.  The Giants have come close with their wins in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 75

+ A message from The Heavenly Council:

This is the good news: Miracles happen. We are all on an amazing journey and it gets really marvelous once we realize that we journey on behalf of all creation. We are never separate from every other creature. This realization changes everything since you now perceive all of your pain and joy as everyone's pain and joy. This is the way it is. The whole creation shares your pain and joy at all times, at this time, all the time. The pain and joy you are experiencing is inclusive of all the pain and joy everywhere, past, present and future. This is very mysterious. You gotta love the mystery, just love it. Love your pain. Love your joy. Let them become one. This is how miracles happen. There is no other way. 

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 74

+ Let's pray for the women and girls of Afghanistan. Here is a great source of information and wisdom and suggestions > https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/blogs/posts/praying-the-news/838/a-prayer-for-the-women-and-girls-of-afghanistan 

+ http://abundancetrekblog.blogspot.com/2021/08/our-amazing-journey-1.html is the first of a new series of posts on The Abundancetrek Blog. Unlike here at this blog I will be offering ideas for our journey in a way which can become a book in the arena of InterSpiritual Wisdom, Practices and Community Building.

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 73

+ It has been nearly 11 months since I posted the last Joyful Wandering post.  My intention is to offer these posts far more often from now on.

+ The photo above is from our recent trip to Eastern Long Island.  This one is from Riverhead where my parents met and lived in the 1930s.

+ I have worked with another version of these 8 QiGong verses and this method for more than 2 decades.  I think what I found today is a more illuminating version of the 8 verses and I like the ZhiMeng method from what I have read so far.  I do believe any method of QiGong is a powerful tool of energy harmonizing and the healing which can result from it.

• https://www.qigong-for-life.com/eight-verses/
• https://www.berou.gr/zhineng-qigong/?lang=en

+ The following is from today's Bowl of Saki (August 18) which I frequently turn to for powerful inspiration and illumination > 

At every step of evolution man's conception of good and bad, of right and wrong, changes. How does it change? Does he see more wrong or does he see less wrong as he evolves? One might naturally think that by virtue of one's evolution one would see more wrong, but that is not the case; the more one evolves the less wrong one sees, for then it is not always the action itself which counts, it is the motive behind it. Sometimes an action, apparently right, may be made wrong by the motive behind it. Sometimes an action, apparently wrong, may be right on account of its motive. Therefore although the ignorant are ready to form an opinion of another person's action, for the wise it is most difficult to form an opinion of the action of another.

-- from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VIIIa/VIIIa_2_14.htm

The Daily Bowl of Saki is always something from the writings of the great Sufi teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan who came to the USA about 100 years ago and founded a Sufi center which his son and grandson have led.

https://wahiduddin.net/ is where you will find all of the Bowl of Saki posts and far more.

+ My cousin Evelyn has told me about an upcoming workshop on "a rare mindfulness practice & teaching from the Himalayan Siddha tradition taught by meditation-master HH Swami Vidyadhishananda." Go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-breathe-and-still-the-mind-tickets-166092187203 for detailed information.

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 72

+ Photo is of Delta Lake, September 2020.

+ Where have I been? Where am I going? It's a mystery, isn't it?

+ We are all entitled to abundance. Or, to put it another way, all the glories of the heavenly realms are our birthright and our eternal destiny. There is no need to wait for abundance. It is here now, always has been, always will be. There is no adequate explanation for this truth. It simply is the way it is and the way it is is simply wonderful. 

The glories of the heavenly realms are miraculous, mysterious and marvelous. We begin participating in this abundance whenever we simply accept the gift gratefully in the here and now. Every breath we take is a new opportunity to receive abundance, to be in heaven. 

So, breathe in this abundance right now. Begin again. And again. And again. Smile. Sing. Dance. Laugh. Listen. Rest. Relax. Wonder. Imagine. Love. Cry. Pray. Receive. Give. Appreciate. Share. Care. Stand. Sit. Walk. Swim. Fly. You are in heaven. Nothing is impossible. Everything is within reach.

+ Your Turn

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 71

+ Where have I been? Where am I going? It's a mystery, isn't it?

+ Dear Christian Trump supporters, I know you believe that making Trump President would lead to policies and laws that you folks on the Right think would be good for us.  But, oh, what a stain you have put on the name of Christianity and the stain will not wear off for generations to come.  

+ 4 Music Videos I like >

·         New Soul by Yael Naim

·         Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men

·         The Logical Song by SuperTramp | https://genius.com/Supertramp-the-logical-song-lyrics

·         Healing Part 1 by Todd Rundgren LIVE in Morristown NJ September 2010 (wish I was there) | Part 2

+ Your Turn

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 70

+ Where have I been? Where am I going? It's a mystery, isn't it?

+ Beginning Again is a powerful and even essential spiritual practice and I'm not the only one who says so. Here is SE 126 where I quoted a few wise teachers telling us to Begin Again ... and Again ... and Again.  > http://abundancetrekblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/spiritual-explorations-126.html

+ Your Turn

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 69

+ Where have I been? Where am I going? It's a mystery, isn't it?

+ I really like this chant > Hidden Things > https://youtu.be/rG-THBxIzz0. It is based on Jeremiah 33:3 > Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. 

+ The Gratefulness Word for the Day on February 18, 2020 offers this very profound and provocative thought by one of the great contemporary Buddhist teachers: “We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.” -- Thich Nhat Hanh

+ 2 More #TNFFTNE tweets: 

February 18, 2020

#TNFFTNE #11 + The New Faith for The New Earth is essential for all creation. Humanity is evolving rapidly now so now is the time to create far more compassion, peace, justice & sustainable abundance throughout the planet.

#TNFFTNE #12 + It is simply urgent that we embrace the #GELF, the Great Evolutionary Leap Forward.

+ Your Turn …

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 68

+ Where have I been? Where am I going? It's a mystery, isn't it?

+ The New Faith for the New Earth #tnfftne

I have begun to offer tweets on The New Faith for the New Earth with the hashtag #tnfftne

February 5

+ The New Faith for the New Earth > #tnfftne is essential for all creation > #tnfftne is an idea whose time has come (again).  Ideas go round and round.  They come.  They go.  They come again. so #tnfftne is not a new idea but it is as old as life itself.

February 10

#tnfftne #2  THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH is now here and you are an essential participant right now.  You know what it is as well as I do because we are one.

#tnfftne #3  THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH unites all creatures everywhere with this CREDO > We are intimately, intricately, infinitely connected to a matrix of unconditional, unlimited, uniting Love which is miraculous, mysterious and marvelous.

#tnfftne #4  THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH is: non-hierarchical, free, open, loving, caring, compassionate, healing, energizing, inclusive, humble, non-judgmental, fun, creative, yours, mine.

#tnfftne #5 THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH is happening now.  It is essential.  You know when you see it.  It is all of us creating more and more Compassion, Peace, Justice and Sustainable Abundance.  You can consider more ideas at http://abundancetrek.com

#tnfftne #6 Since THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH is mysterious, it is hard to describe.  Actually it is impossible to describe.  But we have clues.  I have a take on what #tnfftne is and that's what I am writing about.  Sometimes I will be right and sometimes I will be wrong.

aq

#tnfftne #7 THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH is open to correction, revision, new ideas, new visions, new possibilities, new directions.  Let us all be open and committed to discovering new ways to create more compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all.

February 15
#TNFFTNE #8 + we are creating the new faith for the new earth which is creating #compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all breath after breath.

#TNFFTNE #9 + we are creating the new faith for the new earth which is creating #compassion, peace, justice and sustainable #abundance for all thought after thought after thought.

#TNFFTNE #10 + In the essential practice of #stillness you discover who you are, your purpose, your message, your path and there is simply no other way for you learn that. http://abundancetrek.com/stillness.html

+ Your Turn …

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 63

+ updated at 11:57am on Monday, May 16, 2016.

+ This post includes entries from Monday, May 16, 2016 until a date in the future (turns out to be January 16, 2019). Latest entries are at the top. If you would like to contribute, write JW in your subject line and send it to John@abundancetrek.com or put a comment on my Facebook page.

+ Stir offers  I Know Why Poor Whites Chant Trump, Trump, Trump
by Jonna Ivin

+ Yes, racism has been and continues to be a very sinful reality here in the USA. This article takes a little time to read but it definitely reveals why I am for Bernies Sanders for President.  He gets it.  The others don't.

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 61

+ Updated on Tuesday, March 8 at 7:49am

+ Spiritual & Practice offers A Thought to Carry with You :

Way back in 1971, humorist Erma Bombeck wrote that it seems "rather incongruous that in a society of supersophisticated communication, we often suffer from a shortage of listeners." She was not only perceptive but prophetic. 

This week, help reverse the trend. Look for a way each day to listen to someone, letting go of any other agenda. Remember all the tools at your disposal: concentrated silence, a nod, simple words of support like "um hmm" or "oh?" or "wow!" Reflect back what you hear the other person saying, so that they can hear themselves more clearly. Ask follow-up questions like "How come?" or "What happened then?" Offer gentle encouragement to someone by your unconditionally accepting presence. It's okay if that someone is yourself.

+ Spiritual & Practice offers "Unleashing America's Shadow" by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. Excerpt: "'With media complicity, Trump has unleashed the beast that has long resided not far from the American hearth, from those who started a Civil War to preserve the right to enslave a fellow human to the Know-Nothing mobs who burned Irish-Catholic churches out of fear of immigrants.' This observation is from Timothy Egan's excellent article "The Beast Is Us" in The New York Times."

+ Patheos offers "The Making of Donald Trump and the Unmaking of a Nation" by Frederic Schmidt. Excerpt: "But Donald Trump is also the media’s creation. Together, since Richard Nixon’s appearance on 'Laugh In,' Presidents and the media have been erasing the boundary between entertainment and national leadership. Presidents make the rounds on talk shows and fawn over the hosts, treating them as the high priests of public opinion. They try their hand at stand-up comedy and they reduce policy debates into punch lines."

+ Dharma Wisdom offers "The Heart's Intention" by Phillip Moffitt. Excerpt: "Setting intention, at least according to Buddhist teachings, is quite different than goal making. It is not oriented toward a future outcome. Instead, it is a path or practice that is focused on how you are 'being' in the present moment. Your attention is on the ever present 'now' in the constantly changing flow of life. You set your intentions based on understanding what matters most to you and make a commitment to align your worldly actions with your inner values."

+ Weaving Home offers "Wilderness Places" by Naomi Kelly. Excerpt: "So we can come face to face with ourselves in the wilderness, with our fears, with what gets under our skin and makes us act in certain ways,. When we are on a Lenten journey, we take the time to see, to let our inner nature see the false self that so often holds us hostage. Seeng with the eyes of the heart can reveal all the pettiness and fear that tends to drive us into habitual directions of non-functionality."

+ Patheos offers "On Making America Great Again" by Erin Wathen. 

+ So, would a Bernie Sanders presidency be good for the economy?  An independent analysis suggests that it would be a dream come true for millions of hard working Americans who deserve much better than what the plutocracy has offered us in recent years. Common Dreams offers "Enacting Sanders Agenda Would Catapult Economy, Shatter Inequality" by Lauren McCauley.

+ Joyful Wandering posts 1 to 58 are found on The Abundancetrek Blog. You can find them all here.

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 60

+ updated at 9:56am on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.

+ I am working on the spiritual practice of humility for the next series of posts in the Spiritual Explorations series. There will be 16 posts beginning at SE49. It sure helps to have the resources Spirituality and Practice offers including their quotes on humility. You can search for all kinds of resources at the best website in the universe.   

+ Inner Frontier offers "Walking Presence," the next in the Presence Trigger series.

+ Spirituality and Practice offers The Most Spiritually Literate Films of 2015. How many have you seen?

+ Video > The Mystic Heart Uploaded to Youtube on Nov 12,2006 > In this dialogue series, Brother Wayne Teasdale and Ken Wilber discuss the advent of an integral mysticism in the postmodern world. Reflecting on their own spiritual experiences, the relation of science to spirituality, the lives of the great inter-spiritual pioneers, and how youth culture is revitalizing the mystical traditions, Brother Wayne and Ken show how an integral perspective can bring the revelations of mysticism

+ Diane Rehm Show at its best today, January 18.  Two important interviews >

1 - Congressman John Lewis and author Andrew Aydin talk about March: Book Two, a comprehensive and inspiring history of the Civil Rights movement. 

2 - Joseph Stiglitz deals very informatively with the huge crisis of income inequality in the USA.  

+ “The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that its center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.” -- Black Elk

https://www.goodreads.com/…/15888-the-first-peace-which-is-…

As Jesus said: "The Kingdom of God is within you."

When we get to mysticism, we get to the heart of all of our great wisdom traditions. Wayne Teasdale promoted this vision.

In The Mystic Heart (2001), Wayne Teasdale says, “The real religion of humankind an be said to be spirituality itself, because mystical spirituality is the origin of all the world religions. If this is so, and I believe it is, we might also say that inter-spirituality – the sharing of ultimate experiences across traditions – is the religion of the third millennium.” (Teasdale, p. 26) + For more on InterSpirituality, visit https://quotationstreasury.wordpress.com/tag/wayne-teasdale/

+ Joyful Wandering posts 1 to 58 are found on The Abundancetrek Blog. You can find them all here.

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 59

+ Updated at 1:13pm EST on Friday, January 15, 2016

+ This post includes entries from Saturday, November 21, 2015 until January 15, 2016. Joyful Wandering posts 1 to 58 are found on The Abundancetrek Blog.   You can find them all here. Latest entries are at the top. If you would like to contribute, write JW in your subject line and send it to John@abundancetrek.com or put a comment on my Facebook page.

+ Daily Necessities 
Tips & pointers for building a spiritual life from scratch

Pray 
Meditate 
Be aware/Stay awake 
Bow 
Practise yoga 
Feel 
Chant and sing 
Breathe and smile 
Relax/Enjoy/Laugh/Play 
Create/Envision 
Let Go/Forgive/Accept 
Walk/Exercise/Move 
Work/Serve/Contribute 
Listen/Learn/Enquire 
Consider/Reflect 
Cultivate oneself/Enhance competencies 
Cultivate contentment 
Cultivate flexibility 
Cultivate friendship and collaboration 
Lighten up 
Celebrate and appreciate 
Dream 
Give thanks 
Evolve 
Love 
Share/Give/Receive 
Walk softly/Live gently 
Expand/Radiate/Dissolve 
Simplify 
Surrender/Trust 
Be born anew

from Awakening The Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das and found when scrolling down http://www.sapphyr.net/buddhist/buddhist-quotes.htm

+ Patheos offers 

Advent Two: Longing for Sunlight and Song by Jill Crainshaw. It begins: 

The songs and images of the Advent and Christmas season stir in many people a longing for peace and good will. But peace is hard to come by these days. Instead, violent world realities incite fear.

How can a fear-wearied world rejoice with songs of hope? How do we keep fear from taking over and destroying our capacity to love and care for each other and our neighbors with open hearts and minds?

+ DailyZen 12/2/15 > "If you have any desire to surpass others, or any thought of your own ability, this is egoism and possessiveness. These are sicknesses in the context of nirvana, so The Nirvana Sutra says, “Space can contain everything, but space does not entertain the thought that it can contain everything.” This is a metaphor for the disappearance of egoism and possessiveness, by which you proceed to indestructible concentration." - Hongren (602-675)

+ ‪#‎Advent‬ > http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/…/…/view/24493/advent+ The Spiritual Discipline of WAITING is a major theme of the season + One of the great spiritual practices related to waiting and patience id FASTING + Doesn't quite go along with everybody putting up their Christmas tree by now, does it? + Advent's great themes are hard to honor these days + Excerpt from this S&P resource for the season > As Pierre Teilhard de Chardin advised, we need to "trust in the slow work of God." That is what the Israelites did during their long sojourn in the desert and what Christians do during Advent.

+ The SpiritualLiteracy Blog offers "After Paris - Thoughts from Rabbi Lerner." Excerpt: "Lerner points out that the ancient strategies of revenge and payback should be out of the question; they lead only to more bloodshed. Healing will come only when we move beyond the unconscionable terrorist attacks of ISIS and the havoc the United States and other countries have reigned down on the innocent civilians in Syria and Iraq in drone attacks. He writes: 'As long as our resources (and here I include not only the U.S. and the West, but also China and Russia) are primarily focused on military, economic, cultural and political domination of the world, what we saw in Paris will become an increasing reality worldwide.'"

+ If you are on Facebook, I invite you to "like" and be inspired by the frequent (almost daily) photos and reflections offered on Weaving Home.  You can also go to The Weaving Home Blog offering wisdom regularly (often once a week). Here is an excerpt from the first post by Weaving Home creator Naomi Kelly, a Presbyterian pastor and a Spiritual Director:

We can plug into the Spirit of Christ in many ways, Weaving Home is one such guide to deepen your spiritual practices to enthuse and inspire, so that you are empowered to live out your calling to love God and each other.  

+ Spiritual Explorations posts have begun to accumulate on The Abundancetrek Blog. You can begin this series of posts at Spiritual Explorations -- 1 or you can find any one of the posts by going to abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html.

COFFEE BREAK 354

+ The weekly Spirituality and Practice newsletter is always a great source for spiritual growth and cultural awareness.  We pick most of our movies based on the reviews offered by Mary Ann and Fred Brussat. 

+ I am doing more Joyful Wandering on The Abundancetrek Blog.     

COFFEE BREAK 340

+ updated at 1:00pm ESDT on Tuesday, July 10, 2012

+ I am reading an amazing book about an amazing NDE connected with an amazing healing.  I highly recommend DYING TO BE ME by Anita Moorjani and her website.  The insights and ideas and experiences she shares resonate with me a lot.  For example, I believe:

We are
intimately,
intricately,
infinitely
connected
by a matrix of
unconditional,
unlimited,
uniting
LOVE
which is
miraculous,
mysterious and
marvelous.

I found many, many thoughts which resonate with that belief. She calls the greater reality that we can access THE MAGNIFICENCE.  I like it!

+ The Abundancetrek Blog offers Joyful Wandering -- 38 with a magnificent Desmond Tutu quote which I found in "God's Dream," Barrett Lee's July 8 sermon.