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Prayer of Forgiveness
Seeking to eliminate all obstructions that prevent my evolution, I
will devote a few minutes to forgive.
From now on, I forgive everyone who, in any way, has offended me,
caused injury or harm, or unnecessary difficulties. I sincerely
forgive those who have rejected me, hated me, abandoned me, betrayed
me, ridiculed me, humiliated me, frightened me, and deceived me.
I specially forgive those who have provoked me to lose my patience and
react violently so that afterwards I felt embarrassment, remorse, and
inappropriate guilt. I recognize that I was responsible as well for
the aggressions I received, as several times I trusted negative
individuals, allowed them to make a fool of me, and let them discharge
on me their bad character.
For long years I endured hostility, humiliations, wasting time and
energy in the useless attempt to have a good relationship with those
people.
I am free of the compulsive need to suffer, and free of the obligation
to mingle with toxic individuals and environments. I have just started
a new phase in my life, in the company of friendly, healthy, and
competent people: I want to share noble feelings, while working for
the progress of all of us.
I will never again complain, speaking about sorrow and negative
people. If by chance I think about them, I will remember that they are
already forgiven and dismissed from my intimate life indefinitely. I
am thankful for the difficulties those people have caused, as they
helped me evolve from the common human level to the spiritualized
level in which I am now.
When I remember the people who have hurt me, I will seek to value
their good qualities, and I will ask the Creator to forgive them as
well, preventing them to be punished by the law of cause and effect,
in this life or in future lives. I acknowledge they were right in
rejecting my love and my good intentions, as I recognize that everyone
has the right to repel me, not correspond, and keep me out of their
lives.
(Pause and take a few deep breaths to accumulate energy).
Now, I sincerely apologize to everyone who in any way, consciously or
unconsciously, I have offended, injured, harmed, or displeased.
Analyzing and making judgment of everything I have done throughout my
life, I see that the value of my good deeds is enough to pay all my
debts and redeem all my guilt, leaving a positive balance in my favor.
I feel at peace with my conscience and, with my head raised, I take
deep breaths, hold the air in, and I concentrate to send an energy
chain to my Superior Self. As I relax, my sensations reveal that this
contact has been established.
Now I send a message of faith to my Superior Self, asking for
orientation, in an accelerated pace, for an important project I have
in mind, and towards which I am already working with dedication and
love.
I thank, with all my heart, everyone who has helped me, and I promise
to pay back, working for my good and for the good of everyone else,
acting as a catalyzing agent of enthusiasm, prosperity, and
self-accomplishment . I will do all in harmony with the laws of nature,
and with the permission of our Creator, eternal, infinite,
indescribable, that I, with my intuition, feel is the only real power
acting inside and outside of me.
So be it, so it is, and so it will be.
SOURCE: Kat Miller
Submitted by: Amy Russell
Seeking to eliminate all obstructions that prevent my evolution, I
will devote a few minutes to forgive.
From now on, I forgive everyone who, in any way, has offended me,
caused injury or harm, or unnecessary difficulties. I sincerely
forgive those who have rejected me, hated me, abandoned me, betrayed
me, ridiculed me, humiliated me, frightened me, and deceived me.
I specially forgive those who have provoked me to lose my patience and
react violently so that afterwards I felt embarrassment, remorse, and
inappropriate guilt. I recognize that I was responsible as well for
the aggressions I received, as several times I trusted negative
individuals, allowed them to make a fool of me, and let them discharge
on me their bad character.
For long years I endured hostility, humiliations, wasting time and
energy in the useless attempt to have a good relationship with those
people.
I am free of the compulsive need to suffer, and free of the obligation
to mingle with toxic individuals and environments. I have just started
a new phase in my life, in the company of friendly, healthy, and
competent people: I want to share noble feelings, while working for
the progress of all of us.
I will never again complain, speaking about sorrow and negative
people. If by chance I think about them, I will remember that they are
already forgiven and dismissed from my intimate life indefinitely. I
am thankful for the difficulties those people have caused, as they
helped me evolve from the common human level to the spiritualized
level in which I am now.
When I remember the people who have hurt me, I will seek to value
their good qualities, and I will ask the Creator to forgive them as
well, preventing them to be punished by the law of cause and effect,
in this life or in future lives. I acknowledge they were right in
rejecting my love and my good intentions, as I recognize that everyone
has the right to repel me, not correspond, and keep me out of their
lives.
(Pause and take a few deep breaths to accumulate energy).
Now, I sincerely apologize to everyone who in any way, consciously or
unconsciously, I have offended, injured, harmed, or displeased.
Analyzing and making judgment of everything I have done throughout my
life, I see that the value of my good deeds is enough to pay all my
debts and redeem all my guilt, leaving a positive balance in my favor.
I feel at peace with my conscience and, with my head raised, I take
deep breaths, hold the air in, and I concentrate to send an energy
chain to my Superior Self. As I relax, my sensations reveal that this
contact has been established.
Now I send a message of faith to my Superior Self, asking for
orientation, in an accelerated pace, for an important project I have
in mind, and towards which I am already working with dedication and
love.
I thank, with all my heart, everyone who has helped me, and I promise
to pay back, working for my good and for the good of everyone else,
acting as a catalyzing agent of enthusiasm, prosperity, and
self-accomplishment . I will do all in harmony with the laws of nature,
and with the permission of our Creator, eternal, infinite,
indescribable, that I, with my intuition, feel is the only real power
acting inside and outside of me.
So be it, so it is, and so it will be.
SOURCE: Kat Miller
Submitted by: Amy Russell
A Sufi Prayer
Oh God, if I worship you for fear of Hell,
burn me in Hell.
If I worship you in hope of Paradise,
exclude me from Paradise.
But if I worship you for your own sake,
grudge me not your everlasting Beauty.
-- Rabi'a al-Adawiyya
Oh God, if I worship you for fear of Hell,
burn me in Hell.
If I worship you in hope of Paradise,
exclude me from Paradise.
But if I worship you for your own sake,
grudge me not your everlasting Beauty.
-- Rabi'a al-Adawiyya
Contributions from our Members & Friends
Elenor Roosevelt's Wartime Prayer
Dear Lord,
Lest I continue My complacent way,
Help me to remember that somewhere,
Somehow out there
A man died for me today.
As long as there be war, I then must
Ask and answer:
Am I worth dying for?
Dear Lord,
Lest I continue My complacent way,
Help me to remember that somewhere,
Somehow out there
A man died for me today.
As long as there be war, I then must
Ask and answer:
Am I worth dying for?
WINTER SOLSTICE CEREMONY
by Steve Burkhart
Spirits of Earth, we congregate in your presence and shout out our joy
for the harvests presented to us, for the nourishment you provide for our body and soul.
Spirits of Water, we are together now for you that provides us with
the beauty of cleansing and the quenching of thirsts, we praise you.
Spirits of Air, we come and gather to show our appreciation for the gift of breathing
air to sustain all beings dependent upon yoou for the gift.
Spirits of Fire, we are here before you to show our gratitude
for the heat and light you gracefully give for survival in this world.
Spirits of the Aether, as a group we come to show you our thanks and we praise you
for the opportunity that is given to us to achieve and understand your graceful ways.
Universal being, I would say to you that I am thankful to you for the turning of the seasons,
for being able to recognize the old manners to be thankful for the lessons taught me by them
and to let go of them with proper respect and look forward to the new beginnings that yoou afford us
as growing beings, attaining at least a little of the love that you show us at all times.
Please recognize our humble thanks and pleas.
First performed December 21, 2008 by Amy DeCanter, Austin, Steve Burkhart and Chris Cowart
by Steve Burkhart
Spirits of Earth, we congregate in your presence and shout out our joy
for the harvests presented to us, for the nourishment you provide for our body and soul.
Spirits of Water, we are together now for you that provides us with
the beauty of cleansing and the quenching of thirsts, we praise you.
Spirits of Air, we come and gather to show our appreciation for the gift of breathing
air to sustain all beings dependent upon yoou for the gift.
Spirits of Fire, we are here before you to show our gratitude
for the heat and light you gracefully give for survival in this world.
Spirits of the Aether, as a group we come to show you our thanks and we praise you
for the opportunity that is given to us to achieve and understand your graceful ways.
Universal being, I would say to you that I am thankful to you for the turning of the seasons,
for being able to recognize the old manners to be thankful for the lessons taught me by them
and to let go of them with proper respect and look forward to the new beginnings that yoou afford us
as growing beings, attaining at least a little of the love that you show us at all times.
Please recognize our humble thanks and pleas.
First performed December 21, 2008 by Amy DeCanter, Austin, Steve Burkhart and Chris Cowart
We Are a Welcoming Congregation!
YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME
We Meet at Temple Bnai Israel
1301 Marshall Street in Tupelo
Sundays at 11:00 a.m.
We Meet at Temple Bnai Israel
1301 Marshall Street in Tupelo
Sundays at 11:00 a.m.
The Many Paths
"We each travel a path to peace and harmony that is unique to us and us alone.
We each tread on different stones even when our paths are near to
each other. When we reach our goal, we may find there either
no one else or everyone."
R.L.S. -- an Occidental Taoist
"We each travel a path to peace and harmony that is unique to us and us alone.
We each tread on different stones even when our paths are near to
each other. When we reach our goal, we may find there either
no one else or everyone."
R.L.S. -- an Occidental Taoist
You may have noticed me looking thoughtful during your talk yesterday, and while I wasnt ready to expound upon it at the time, I have been thinking about it since and wanted to write down my ideas on the topic. You suggest that Life is still within the realm of God because while we can copy it, we cannot really create it. However, I suspect that within a decade, both the biologists and the nano-chemists will be able to actually set in motion a self perpetuating life from building blocks, and then your theory on Gods role will be sunk! However, I maintain that while we will be able to create life, we wont be able to re-create what really was Gods great achievement, which was the whole IDEA of life, from nothing. No matter what kind of life we create in the future, we arent pulling ourselves up from our own bootstraps, so to speak; we already have the idea to copy. And that cannot be duplicated again. The original life evolved from building blocks with no template and no original idea to copy. And the building blocks built up from smaller matter; which was itself created from pure energy. Where did the energy come from? When we get smart enough to figure that one out, will we be looking at God? Or is God even more elusive than that? Doesnt really matter, in the end; we can worship the creative force anyway we want to, and thank God that we are here, whatever face (or lack thereof) God has!
I think in one of Doaks books, or somewhere I read, God is defined as a verb and not a noun. I liked that!!! Same with worship; if you use it as a verb, it is more like the UUs, open to interpretation. If you define it as a noun, it has to have a set definition, like too many dogmatic churches.
Marilyn Warburton 8/16/2010
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Neale Donald Walsh
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"You must be willing to suspend what you imagine you know about God in order to know God as you never imagined. Open yourself to new ideas, new possibilities about God." (used by Jim High in his sermon Aug 28, 2011)
"You must be willing to suspend what you imagine you know about God in order to know God as you never imagined. Open yourself to new ideas, new possibilities about God." (used by Jim High in his sermon Aug 28, 2011)