Prayers of thanksgiving bring to the foreground what is usually in the background.
They are acts of focused attention on the white paper
without which we would not notice the black dot.
They remind us that without the dominance of kindness we would be indifferent to cruelty.
Without faithfulness we would be unmoved by betrayal.
Around us everywhere, flooding us with its light, is the dazzling goodness of creation —
order instead of chaos,
diversity not monotony,
the brilliant colors and intricacy of the natural world
and the hundred acts of human grace for every one of gracelessness. --
Jonathan Sacks in Celebrating Life
They are acts of focused attention on the white paper
without which we would not notice the black dot.
They remind us that without the dominance of kindness we would be indifferent to cruelty.
Without faithfulness we would be unmoved by betrayal.
Around us everywhere, flooding us with its light, is the dazzling goodness of creation —
order instead of chaos,
diversity not monotony,
the brilliant colors and intricacy of the natural world
and the hundred acts of human grace for every one of gracelessness. --
Jonathan Sacks in Celebrating Life
"Metta”, or Loving-Kindness, Meditation
is a meditation practice that was taught by the Buddha over 2500 years
ago to develop a mental habit of selfless and altruistic love for all beings starting with you.
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Common Metta meditation phrases:
May all beings be happy, May all beings be safe and protected from all harm, May all beings be well, May all beings live their lives with a sense of ease. |
It is helpful to remember to apply these phases to ourselves:
May I be happy, May I be safe and protected from all harm, May I be well, May I live my life with a sense of ease. |
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Will's Weekly - more on Sangha page - blog
Something to think about... In a one-of-a-kind study, students at Pennsylvania State University were assigned to two groups. The first group was instructed to give or receive a minimum of five hugs per day over the course of four weeks and to record the details. The hugs had to be front-to-front (nonsexual) hugs, using both arms of both participants; however, the length and strength of hug, as well as the placement of hands, were left to their discretion. Furthermore, these students couldn’t simply hug their boyfriends or girlfriends half a dozen times; they had to aim to hug as many different individuals as possible. The second, the controls, was instructed simply to record the number of hours they read each day over the same four weeks. The hugging group (which partook in an average of forty-nine hugs over the course of the study) became much happier. Not surprisingly, the students who merely recorded their reading activity (which averaged a not-too-shabby 1.6 hours per day) showed no changes. |
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