Articles on Contemplation in Action
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Remaining Calm
Today’s post is by Bryan Berghoef I recently came across these words from Thich Nhat Hanh, which he wrote nearly thirty years ago: “Many of us worry about the situation of the world. We feel that we are on the edge of time. As individuals, we feel helpless, despairing. The situation is so dangerous, injustice is…
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Post Election Reflections from Shalem Leaders
In light of the dismay and fear many are sensing this week, we wanted to share a few brief remarks from Shalem leaders in the wake of Tuesday’s election results. Margaret Benefiel: In my wrestling with the election results, I sense we will certainly need to seek deep contemplative grounding to live faithfully through these next…
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Deep Interconnection in this Election Season
by Patience Robbins, excerpted from a Wednesday Election Guided Prayer Session (in November eNews) “Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the Earth is our mother, this we know. The Earth does not belong to us. We belong to the Earth. This we know. All things are connected, like the blood which unites…
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Life at the Pace of Walking
Today’s post is by Cordelia Burpee “Faith is not the clinging to a shrine but an endless pilgrimage of the heart.” ~Abraham Joshua Heschel I have been doing a lot of walking lately. I thought it might be boring—all that time alone with no one to talk to, nothing to listen to—but I have realized…
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Contemplative Grounding in the Midst of Overwhelming Challenges
Article by Margaret Benefiel (in the October eNews) In the face of bitter political division, environmental degradation, police shooting of black men and shooting of police, the refugee crisis, wars, world hunger, and international political tensions, I sometimes find myself feeling helpless and even hopeless. Over dinner with friends, when the topic turns to such…
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Sighing Through Song
Today’s post is by Jeff Nelson It’s different for everyone, yet all know this experience. A woman driving home after receiving good news at work finds an uplifting song on the radio that speaks to her newfound joy. A man back from a hard visit with his mother in the nursing home starts his Spotify…