Elimination of Competing Desires

 Little Truths Studio

"But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun.; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic monotony that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never gotten tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we." ~ G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

"Consider, conceive, create, connect, concede that it all starts within."  ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

Dr. Randall Smith on the book of Daniel listen here

"Experience the goodness of:

Freedom, Perspective, Wisdom, Creativity

Great leadership grows in the soil of good rest" unhurriedliving.com

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Henry David Thoreau :

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Jesus, the Good Shepard source

“...Keep God before our minds... This is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in thus practicing the presence of God is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him. In the early time of our 'practicing' we may well be challenged by our burdensome habits of dwelling on things less than God. But these are habits—not the law of gravity—and can be broken. A new, grace-filled habit will replace the former ones as we take intentional steps toward keeping God before us. Soon our minds will return to God as the needle of a compass constantly returns to the north. If God is the great

Longing of our souls, He will become the pole star of our inward beings.” ~ Dallas Willard 

“Mary Magdalene : The Mislabeled Woman” click here for article and video

Numbers 25:12 "Behold, I give unto him [who was zealous for my sake] my covenant of peace."

"Okay now I'm meandering but … it’s a way for me to stay oriented and engaged… " David Foster Wallace interview Infinite Jest listen here

Podcast: "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry with John Mark Comer" listen here

"...Quiet your mind, lift up your heart, muse, mull over, make discoveries...Pray...

"Read the Scriptures, 

"...Sacred poetry, or a meditation from an inspirational book. 

"...Think about the day ahead and how it might unfold more smoothly. Invoke Divine Order, asking Spirit to take charge of your life today and every day...” ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

Unhurried Living Blogpost : "The Way of Love" here

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"... Visualize yourself at the end of a happy, stress-free, productive day, relaxing and enjoying the well-deserved leisure of the evening. Stroll into the back yard, onto a balcony, sit on the front porch or front stoop with a cup of coffee and wait for the sun to rise." ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

Women Woman quote: "It's not about deserve. It's about what you believe, and I believe in Love. Only Love will truly save the World."

"eXquisite" comment by Heather, photo by me

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Zagarenski, Pamela, illustrator of a recent "story for all ages" read at All Souls recently

 click here to listen 

Dedicated to Ann Kadlecek

"Adventure of our lives... let them change us... Always remember, we don't do it alone..." ~ Ann

"Big part of transition … we have to say goodbye...

"Commit to living this life with as much love, kindness, Courage and joy as we possibly CAN!"

"Discernment... Deep conversation about things that matter... Deep learning

"Everything You Need - All Souls New London - May 16, 2021" listen and watch by clicking here

Friends,

Goodbyes matter

Hugs :  Ann, Thank you

"I offer you my blessings and my love and may the congregation say with great enthusiasm and love say "Amen" ~ Rev. Carolyn Patierno

"Joy of connection and loving service to our Unitarian Universalist faith and the world..."

"Kindle this flame for the journey and for the light of community that flows in our soul offering courage and love as we go"

"Let it Be a Dance" ~ beautifully sung by Rev. Caitlin O'Brien

"May you move into your future with great joy and great courage" ~ Ann Kadlecek

Next week (June 6, 2021) Ordination - I'll add the link here, once it becomes available.

"Opportunity to honor the two years she's journeyed with us at All Souls" ~ Caitlin O'Brien

Poem by Eeyore " Christopher Robin is going / At least I think he is / Where? / Nobody knows.

But he is going / I mean he goes (To rhyme with "knows")

Do we care? / To rhyme with "where") / We do / Very much.

(I haven't got a rhyme for that "is" in the second line yet / Bother).

(Now I haven't got a rhyme for bother. Bother)

Those two bothers will have to rhyme with each other / Buther.

The fact is this is more difficult / than I thought / I ought - / (Very good indeed)

I ought / to begin again / But it is easier / To stop.

Christopher Robin, good-bye,

I

(Good)

I / And all your friends / Sends -

I mean all your friend / Send -

(Very awkward this, it keeps going wrong.)

Well, anyhow, we send / Our love / END." A.A. Milne

Quiet, centering 

 Reading by Rev. Carolyn Patierno 

 click here for full poem

Story for all ages: Magic Wanda's Travel Emporium by Joshua Cyril White adapted and narrated by Perry Montrose, brought to life by Carolyn, Caitlin, and Ann as Wanda :)

"Tenacity, determination, all of which you have modeled for 

Us these past to years..." ~ Rev. Carolyn Patierno 

Video of this entire service is here: https://youtu.be/QrZqi8bbMBM

Wicked lyrics: "I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason" opportunity to grow for good and you have given us that in and so with (see "Y" below)

"Your wisdom and your humor and your thoughtfulness...You have given us that, Ann" ~ Rev. Carolyn Patierno

Zoom link to Coffee Hour (20 mins) I don't normally do that, but perhaps, one day soon...

Seeds - As a Man Thinketh and other inspiring quotes

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"As the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed. .Act is the..."

"...Blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits; thus does a man garner in the sweet and bitter fruitage of his own husbandry."

"Cause and effect are as absolute and undeviating in the the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things. A noble and Godlike character is not a thing of favour or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association with Godlike thoughts. An ignoble and bestial character, by the same process, is the result of the continued harbouring of grovelling thoughts."

Detailed book summary of As a Man Thinketh by James Allen source

"...Every act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them."

"Full of passionate intensity.” Yeats' The Second Coming

"Growth by law, and not a creation by artifice"

Husbandry: management and conservation of resources.

..If one endures / In purity of thought...

Joy follows him / As his own shadow—sure." ~ James Allen's As A Man Thinketh

"Kaleidoscope, and the varying combinations of colours, which at every succeeding moment it presents to you are the exquisitely adjusted pictures of your ever-moving thoughts." As A Man Thinketh

"Law, not confusion, is the dominating principle in the universe; justice, not injustice, is the soul and substance of life; and righteousness, not corruption, is the moulding and moving force in the spiritual government of the world..." As A Man Thinketh 

"Man has but to right himself to find that the universe is right; and during the process of putting himself right he will find that as he alters his thoughts towards things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him." As A Man Thinketh

"Noble and Godlike character is not a thing of favour or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association with Godlike thoughts.”

“Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its highest. Live in fragments no longer.” ~ E. M. Forster, Howards End

Pernicious: having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.

Quote from the movie Inception: idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious. And even the smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you.

Result of long and patient effort in self-control, calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. Its presence is an indication of Ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.

“Suffering is always the effect of wrong thought in some direction. It is an indication that the individual is out of harmony with himself, with the Law of his being. The sole and supreme use of suffering is to purify, to burn out all that is useless and impure. Suffering ceases for him who is pure. There could be no object in burning gold after the dross had been removed, and a perfectly pure and enlightened being could not suffer.”

"Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative force: he who knows this is ready to become something higher and stronger than a mere bundle of wavering thoughts and fluctuating sensations; he who does this has become the conscious and intelligent wielder of his mental powers.” 

“Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment.”

Video of an "Animated Book Summary" click here

Walden Thoreau writes: "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." Thoreau's phrase "striking at the root" may be an allusion to Matthew 3:10 -- "And now also the aXe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."

“You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration.”

Spiritual achievements are the consummation of holy aspirations. He who lives constantly in the conception of noble and lofty thoughts, who dwells upon all that is pure and unselfish, will, as surely as the sun reaches its Zenith and the moon its full, become wise and noble in character, and rise into a position of influence and blessedness.”

Beauty of plants, foraging, and Instagram favorites

 Advice from a caterpillar: Be Patient. Get out of your comfort zone. Be persistent... Sketches in Stillness

"Be like a river. Let your emotions flow through you without shame, guilt or judgment." Sketches in Stillness

Celandinephoto by me source

 source: a.c. sparks on Instagram 

Euphorbia cyparissias

Forgaging and Feasting has some of the coolest posts, like this one: 

GILL-OVER-THE-GROUND (Glechoma hederacea) you can eat the lovely little blue flowers and the leaves are also edible, and can be minced into dishes for an aromatic accent reminiscent of musky-oregano-mint, but really a flavor all its own. This aromatic, wild, prolific perennial of the Lamiaceae family, (often hated for its invasiveness), is a diuretic, digestive and is also used for chelating heavy metals (lead) out of the body; pretty powerful actions for such a common plant.

Happy Mother's Day (yes, I began creating this one on May 9, and "finished" May 20, 2021 and for my dear friends who's Mom's have recently passed, I offer this song:

 < click to listen to Lauren Daigle

 source

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

"Krasavitsa Moskvy" aka Beauty of Moscow

Lovely Lilac

 from All Souls eBlast

Noah's for breakfast 

 < click image to hear it read by the author on YouTube

Purple Dead Nettle is highly nutritious source 

"Q" key on my computer keyboard was covered in lotion when I woke one morning. Just the "Q" :)

Rest...

Sketches in Stillness:  Instagram post

 listen here

Unbelievably adorable...

Violet's first library card photo by Ken Law

Wilcox Park Westerly RIphoto by Ken Law

we shall not cease from eXploration / and the end of our eXploring / will be to arrive where we started / and know the place for the first time..." ~ T.S. Eliot from "Little Gidding" 1943

www.sketchesinstillness.com

Zen by Ken

What if... WHAT IF, indeed!

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“At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in.” ~ The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

"Blessed Be a Witness" by Ben Harper Joan of Arcadia S1E7 listen here

Clarion call: a strongly expressed demand or request for action.

Dave Matthews "The Maker" listen here song by Daniel Lanois

"Every Grain of Sand" by Emmylou Harris listen here S2 E3

“Faith is not a leap in the dark; it's the exact opposite. It's a commitment based on evidence… It is irrational to reduce all faith to blind faith and then subject it to ridicule. That provides a very anti-intellectual and convenient way of avoiding intelligent discussion.” ~John Lennox

Grace? It's a touch of truth that let's you see the world in a new way. It's a gift that can only be felt when you are open enough to accept it." Joan of Arcadia S1E14 "State of Grace"

"Here With Me" by Mercy Me Joan of Arcadia S1E11 listen (with lyrics) here

"I did not say that faith was easy, merely that it was necessary" p.268 Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah Facebook memory May 3 2012

Joan of Arcadia and John Lennox, have been an interesting, delightful duo these last few weeks

"Kite" by Patty Griffin Joan of Arcadia S2E9 listen (with lyrics) here

Lyrics: "If God had a name what would it be? And would you call it to his face? If you were faced with Him in all His glory / What would you ask if you had just one question?

... What if God was one of us? from "One of Us" by Joan Osborne

May Day celebrations: hummingbirds are here, time with Mom, Shaun's birthday celebration

“Nothing to preach” Hall said, though the issues she tackles and the positions she takes will preach nonetheless. “I’m not going to supply the answers, but I do think these are interesting questions, and to have a show that would just kick off the conversation would be great.” source

"Pour over the word of God prayerfully, and wait on God until his face appears." ~ John Lennox source

Questions, Quotes, and even an episode called "The Book of Questions" Season 2 Episode 10

"Rich Woman God : A gift is an offering, a selfless act that adds something to someone's life, something that they need, and only the two of you can decide the value of that gift." S1 E22 source

"Stumbling To Bethlehem" by Patti Scialfa Joan of Arcadia S1E23 listen here

"Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps." Amos 5:23

"Unless God is real through His word, we're missing the central fellowship that He offers us." ~ John Lennox source

"Vanity Thy Name is Human" Season 1 Episode 21 Joan of Arcadia

"Word of God is given to us to make eternal things REAL! and we need to spend time immersed in it.. with other people and alone." John Lennox source

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oXherd Boy inspirations on Instagram and this website

Yeats' "The Second Coming" read it here

Zacchaeus was a chief tax-collector at Jericho, known primarily for his faith in climbing a sycamore tree to see Jesus, and also his generosity in giving half of all he possessed.