Whatever the coming year brings, a scientifically grounded gratitude practice can reduce stress, strengthen will, expand happiness, and even lower bodily inflammation….(hint—this is NOT about keeping a personal gratitude journal)…. So, let’s practice together!… more
On July 9, we looked into our deep genetic hunter-gatherer nature, reflected and enacted in our 7 UU Principles. Today we consider 10 guidelines from Humankindness author Rutger Bregman — for profound nonviolent evolution and revolution — through the lens of our 8th UU Principle.… more
What if our human evolutionary success (7,942,645,086 and counting) is rooted in generosity and collaboration rather than competition and aggression? I will share the hopeful realism of Rutger Bergman, bestselling author of HUMANKIND: A Hopeful History, who argues “cynicism is another word for laziness.” (He also tells us, “Friends make us smarter.”)… more
At age 37, when neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke that silenced her left brain, she found bliss and abiding peace in her right brain. Her 8 year “Hero’s journey” back to whole brain functioning taught her to “team huddle” the 4 major brain functions to consciously choose a better more spiritual life. Dr. Taylor’s 2021 book teaches us how.… more
Today we honor beauty, human uniqueness, diversity and community.
Please bring flower beings from your yard or the roadside to share.… more
In Frank Baum’s Oz novels, all visitors and residents of the walled Emerald City are fitted with comfortable and absolutely mandatory green glasses. Eventually they forget they are seeing the world with a green tint. What lenses might you and I be wearing unawares?… more
For those of us who have survived the suicide of a loved one, or considered ending our own lives. This is a Zoom-only service.… more
Have you ever been absolutely certain you were right and then found out you were wrong? I have!! Beyond being embarrassed, sometimes I have hurt people with the consequences of my certainty. In my late sixties, I am trying to practice what American philosopher/poet/farmer Wendell Berry calls “The Way of Ignorance.”… more
We are sending our beautiful “Five Stones with Chalice Rising” quilt to The Mountain Retreat Center, where it will have a new home. This Thanksgiving Sunday, please join us as we celebrate this eternal process of creation, joy and giving away what we cherish.
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Professor Pruitt makes this promise every year to the
hundreds of Harvard students enrolled in his course on
ancient Chinese philosophy–the third most popular
course at that university, after introductory economics
and computer science. According to co-author Christine
Gross-Loh in their best-selling book, THE PATH,
these Chinese thinkers and teachers, “offer a fresh
perspective… more
