It is said that when we refuse to forgive someone it’s like we are taking poison every day and somehow expecting them to die. Unforgiveness only hurts us, not the person or institution against whom we hold a grudge. We all know this at some level, and yet to truly forgive is a tall order—especially when we have been legitimately hurt or wronged. How can we learn to master this spiritual tool which will transform our lives?

In our culture there’s a prevalent message that it is better to give than to receive. The truth is that giving cannot exist without receiving. One is not better than the other, and we are not better people by giving more than we receive. Balance is the key. Becoming a “good” receiver allows us to enjoy the gifts of life, and allows the universe in all its expressions to give freely to- and through- us. Join us for our “White Stone” ceremony, as in meditation we each receive a word of personal inspiration as our guide in the coming year, and write it on a white stone that we then keep as a reminder.

Kali is the Hindu Goddess of destruction; she is also the Mother of freedom and creativity. She exemplifies the truth that in order to claim what is new and good in our lives, it is necessary to release the old, the worn, the outdated. This week is our annual Burning Bowl ceremony, where we acknowledge and put down on paper that which we are ready to let go of, then literally set fire to it!! Get a fresh start to your new year--join us for this rich and meaningful service.

As we light the 4th candle of advent in advance of Christmas eve, we concentrate our attention on love in all its guises—human and Divine. What, really, is love? How do we recognize it, receive it, give it? Is it truly –as the song says, “all you need?” We’ll explore the ways love heals us and makes us whole.

“Joy, The Sacred Dance of Life” is a poem attributed to the great mystic Hafiz. These paraphrased lines of his poem speak to the necessity to live in Joy.

“I sometimes forget that I was created for joy My mind is too busy My heart is too heavy …Untangle my feet from all that ensnares Free my soul That we might Dance”

Who among us has not experienced the act of dancing so perfectly, and without thought, that we become lost in the ecstasy of the moment?

Hafiz knew that joy happens when we let go of all that ensnares us, so our true self emerges for us to discover and for all to see. Joy is not something that we can find, but something that emerges from us, as us, and has always been us.

Let’s explore this invisible thing called Joy!

On this, the 2nd Sunday in Advent we light a candle for Peace. But what do we mean by peace? The absence of noise or disharmony, challenge or frustration? If we wait for the events of the world to line up perfectly so that we can have peace, we will wait a long time, or we will dwell in delusion. Peace, when it comes, only ever comes from within. So how do we cultivate peace in a troubled world? In difficult and challenging personal circumstances?

The 1st Sunday in Advent we traditionally light a candle for hope or faith: the only advent virtue for which 2 different terms are used. Why? What is hope? Is it the same thing as faith? How are they different, and how do we hold them in a helpful, healthy way? To hope for specific changes in circumstances over which we have no control can be a hopeless proposition, but can we have faith in our ability to come through any circumstance in love, in peace, in inner freedom? If so, how? Let’s explore together.