INTERSPIRITUAL MEDITATION -- 25

This is the seventh post on Step Two of InterSpiritual Meditation: MAY WE BE GRATEFUL FOR LIFE'S MANY GIFTS. 

Here are six quotes offered by Brother David Steindl-Rast, one of the wonderful pioneers of InterSpiritual Wisdom & Practices. During his long life he has thoroughly focused on practicing Gratefulness. Scroll down to see resources for learning more about his work including the fantastic website he and his colleagues offer for growing in gratitude. 

· It is enough to be grateful for the next breath.

· Happiness is not what makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy.

· Gratitude celebrates life with a joyful "yes" at every knot of the great network in which everything is connected to everything.

· Our approach to gratefulness has to be big enough to embrace all the difficulties of the world.

· The quest of the human heart for meaning is the heartbeat of every religion.

· My religion is surprise.

· The smallest surprise, received gratefully, yields a harvest of delight. 

+ I recently reflected on that last wonderful quote and wrote the following:

I like this idea a lot because it offers a way to be delighted with the little things of life in the here and now, moment after moment, breath after breath. In the stillness of this moment, this breath, there are a million surprises, maybe more. They happen within us and beyond us. Our Greater Self is always aware of this “harvest of delight” so available in the stillness and silence beyond our ordinary small-self awareness.

BROTHER DAVID STEINDL-RAST RESOURCES

·        Grateful Living | Word for the Day | Brother David page | Practice Space | Content Library |

·        Spirituality & Practice Teachers project | Quotes | Books | Video Clips

·        Spirituality & Practice Search

·        Grateful Living Youtube Channel | Youtube Search for David Steindl-Rast

·        More Quotes > Goodreads | AZquotes 

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+ This is a series of posts on InterSpiritual Meditation: A Seven Step Process created by Dr. Edward Bastian. I am an InterSpiritual Mentor certified by SpiritualPaths Institute which Ed established. In these posts I am offer reflections of mine and others on each of the steps which are: 

 1.      Motivation: “May we be Happy and Healthy.”

2.      Gratitude: “May we be Grateful for Life’s Many Gifts.”

3.      Transformation: “May we be Transformed into Our Highest Being.”

4.      Compassion: “May we be Loving and Compassionate.”

5.      Mindfulness: “May we be Mindful through Our Breathing.”

6.      Wisdom: “May we Become Wise through our Meditation.”

7.      Service: “May we be in Service to All.”

+ I invite you to purchase and read Ed's wonderful books including InterSpiritual Meditation: A Seven Step Process Drawn from the World’s Spiritual Traditions and Mandala: Creating an Authentic Spiritual Path -- An InterSpiritual Process. 

+ I invite you to consider taking a comprehensive e-course on InterSpiritual Meditation offered by Spiritual Paths.  The course is always available but periodically it is taught via Zoom by Ed and other teachers as an 8-week course with group participation. Another wonderful Spiritual Paths course which is always available and periodically taught via Zoom is the InterSpiritual Mandala Course. It is designed to “Create your Spiritual Practice and Path by harnessing your Spiritual Styles to Find Answers to your Spiritual Questions.” 

+ I invite you to join The New Faith for the New Earth Facebook Group where I and group members post and comment on InterSpiritual Wisdom & Practices and other topics.