“Avoid attachment to both what is pleasant and what is unpleasant. Losing the pleasant causes grief. Dwelling on the unpleasant also causes grief.” - Buddha

“Whatever human beings struggle for, the King of Souls is all eyes and ears attending.” - Rumi

“O Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit.” - Psalm

Sunday after church, the music returned briefly.

   There is connection between the 
   music and participating in
   community.

There are things I must do or face regret.
   Reconcile my debts.
   Complete my education.
   Invest in my art and music.
   Devote myself to the stream-winner’s path.

“Complete what you’ve started, then you can move on.”

Lord, You are holy and I am not.
Together we look on and observe this disparity.

Please grant me the resources, desire, ambition and insight to live in your presence and fulfill Your will for my life.

Thank You for Your providence, grace, forgiveness, peace and charity.
       Amen.

“The wise man, by vigor, mindfulness, restraint and self-control, creates for himself an island which no flood can submerge.” -Buddha

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” -Psalm

Like a broken machine or discarded toolbox,
I am unable to fulfill the purposes for which I’m wired.
Constantly out of place.
A gear in the wrong mechanism.
This thumping drum surrounding my days.
Dissonance - the friction between mismatched pairs.
Mismatched ambitions.

Knowing what ought to be done and doing the other.

The teeth wear down, sharpen, then shatter.

(Fatigue,
Confusion,
Lack of Clarity,
Sloth,
Malice,
Pain,
Sorrow,
Fear.)
: The symptoms of this out-of-place-ness. 

We display our understanding through our diligent actions.

You’ve shown me the way.
Please give me the resolve and courage to follow it.
       Amen.

One may recite a hundred verses full of vain descriptions, but a single verse bringing peace to the listener is worth far more.” -Buddha

“The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of Sheol coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.” -Psalm

Bring peace to my listening heart, Lord.
Your word is worth thousands upon thousands.
Enlighten these yawning days. 
There is so much darkness entwined in these moments. 

Bring peace to my listening heart, Lord.
Your ways are worth thousands upon thousands.
Guide my thoughts to Your righteousness.
Guide my actions to right-ness.
Correct the hue and shadows of my life.
Remake me into Your image.

Bring peace to my listening heart, Lord.
Your mercy and grace are worth thousands upon thousands.
Permeate Your presence into my moments.
Open my spirit to the flavor and aroma of Your being.

       Amen.

“To shun all evil. To do good. To purify one’s heart. This is the teaching of the Buddhas.” -Buddha

“Because for speech, the act of listening is needed….” -Rumi

“From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise.” -Psalm

There are times to sit, still, in silence, listening and learning in thoughtful reverie.
       But the time for learning
       is done and right speech
       and right action must follow.

Lord, set my hands to doing good work.
Set my mind to taking right action.
Set my heart to giving joyfully.
Set my feet to right places.
Set my mouth to right speech.

       Inside of me there is a well
       of bitterness and regret.
               Please transform these broken things to Your glory.

       I love You.
       Amen. 

“Living simply on alms does not make a man holy if he also behaves badly.” -Buddha

“How cruel are those who sew their eyes together and with their words incinerate a world.” -Rumi

“…all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.” -Psalm

Correct me in Your gentle way.
Purify my intent.

Thank You for Your blessing and providence.
Thank You for the sacrament of work.

Lord, shelter me according to Your will.
   Renew what has fallen.
   Redeem what is broken.

Please give strength to my brothers and sisters who seek to bring revival around the world.

Continue to guide us to right action.
   Thank You for Your love.
       Amen. 

“Whoever overcomes unwholesome deeds with wholesome actions illuminates the world like the moon emerging from a cloud.” - Buddha

“He sought him with a view to be his slave, and so the seeker turns into the finder.” - Rumi

“For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous.” - Psalm

Lord,
You are holy.
You are grace.
You are loving kindness.

Please fill me with Your presence.
Please guide me to right action.
Please forgive my mistakes.

 I pray for my friends who struggle
with illness, unemployment and uncertainty.
Please bring healing, direction and peace.
(And please help me to find the right career — to take the necessary steps to fulfill Your vision. )

I continue to rely on Your providence and grace.
Thank You for providing my needs.
Thank You for surrounding me with a loving community.

       I love You.
       Amen. 

Echos. I’ve been thinking a lot about how the past and our actions reverberate through both our personal history and those around us. I think this mandala crystallized around these thoughts. The central seed splashes through the world and the echos end up shaping the original form. Let’s be kind to ourselves and others. The echos and harmonies we make now can create consonance or dissonance for years to come.

“Deeds done with bad motives remain everlastingly tainted.” - Buddha

“This nafs is hell, and hell is like a dragon that seas cannot extinguish or decrease. It drinks the seven oceans dry, and still that creature-burning fire will not die down.” - Rumi

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on this law he meditates day and night.” -Psalm

Father,
When I step away from You my world becomes dark and filled with grief.

Teach me constancy.
Teach me to abide in Your light.
Guide my soul to goodness.

Desire is a strangling serpent.
Contentment and Charity is its cure.

I want to delight in Your ways.
I want to live a holy life.

Thank You for Your kindness, forgiveness and unfailing love.
       Amen. 

“If one pursues his own happiness, while causing no harm to other living beings who also strive to live happily, he will reap a wholesome harvest.” - Buddha

“Beware! Don’t celebrate this fickle world. O slave to change, don’t act as if you’re free.” - Rumi

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” -Psalm

Father, please teach me to delight in Your ways.
Please help me to live a harmless life.
Please guide my actions and speech to kindness.
Reconnect me with Your grace moment by moment.

   I am too experienced with destroying.
   I am too adept at harming.
   I am too practiced at hurting self.

Your love is a beacon to the islands.
Your grace is the wind pushing us forward.
Your mercy is the cure for all wounds.

   Bring revival to Your people.
   Bring redemption to the broken.
   Bring community to the lost and scattered.

Let Your will envelope the earth.
       Amen. 

“You have reached the end of your time. You stand face to face with death. You have no place to rest upon the road, nor any preparation for the journey.” - Buddha

“Like leaves and branches dancing in the air, he clapped his hands, for he’d escaped death’s grasp.” - Rumi

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” - The Apostle Paul

Father, please heal my illness. 
Please bless the works of my hands.
Please guide me to right actions and right thoughts.

I am tired.
I am weakened.
I am confronted by my frailty.

I know that all good things come from You.
I know that all things come from You - and they are good.

Teach me gently.
I trust You.
Please make my life a testament to Your grace.
       I love You.
       Amen.