Archives

Sunday Homily: Remember Your Pride

Feb9
Spread A Smile

Smile When You Don’t Feel Like It

Carry Your Happiness With You

I meet people all the time in person, through email or messages, and they share their personal stories of struggle and challenge with me. They talk about feeling lost, feeling as though they’ve hit rock bottom, constantly sad and filled with anger. Not knowing where to turn or go to in order to find help or answers.

I’m blessed with seeing many, if not most of these people go through their “ah-ha” moments as they work forward through issues they never thought they could overcome. They start reading and learning. They begin turning their lives around and making significant changes not only up front in the beginning, but over the long haul with time and effort as well.

I shared something this morning with someone and a little voice said, there are others who need to hear this today. So if you’re one of those people who has had an “ah-ha” moment or you still face challenges and feel that you’re struggling with turning things around in your life, this is for you. Continue reading →

A Homily: Guilt By Association?

Jan4

wolfloveBigotry Cloaked In Religion Is Still Bigotry

When people learn you’re a minister, they make a lot of assumptions about you and what you believe.

Of course here in the U.S. the first assumption is that you’re Christian. Once you over come that and spend several minutes explaining that Christianity is not the only religion that employs a clergy based system, you’re spend the next several minutes explaining what Paganism is. Ok that one often takes much longer, after they’ve looked at you as if you’re speaking a foreign language. But if they’re still talking to you, the next set of assumptions come up. What ever you call it, if you’re religious, you must believe what “I” believe. Continue reading →

A Homily: Observing The Holiday

Dec26

TinyHouseLightsPagans Living Amongst The Christians

“I’m not Christian, I don’t celebrate Christmas”, “I’m pagan, why should I be forced to celebrate Christmas”, “It’s too hard to tell your extended family that you do not observe their bastardized holiday.”

I received several messages like these over the past few days. For those of us who do not celebrate the Christian Holiday, no matter what time of the year it is, there’s another way to look at spending time with your family members who do.

You go to parties that are given for your relatives and their birthdays. Moments to mark another year older, or an event for celebrating a milestone in their life, such as a graduation, a new job, retirement and so on. Why do you observe those days? It’s not your birthday or your achievement. So why do you participate in those events? Isn’t so you can share in the celebration of what’s important to those you care about? So you can be with your family and friends to create happy memories while they are here with you? Continue reading →

Sunday Homily: Mindfulness

Dec8

mindfulbellBeing Aware

Mindfulness, which, among other things, is an attentive awareness of the reality of things (especially of the present moment). Living in the now and being cognizant of the events you are engaged in at this moment in time.

It’s important to take a moment throughout the day to be Mindful of what you’re thing, how you’re allowing those thoughts to impact what you’re doing and how it resonates with your soul, spiritual mission and mental outlook. Both for a state of being and for a sense of living your beliefs and putting them into practice.

The thoughts you wake up with in the morning create your day. How you think through out the day, create your week. The patterns you develop throughout the month, create your year.

How you think, creates your reality, your health and your life.
Springwolf 🐾 © 2012

It is a state of being where balance and peace within the moment, within the self and being are the center of all things. It’s not just looking at your thoughts, but your present state of attitude and how that translates into the manifestation of actions and reactions.

If you are stressed, anxious or angry, those emotions will translate through you and into your actions. If you’re at peace and mindful of your thoughts, then the energy you create and express will be calm and enlightened. Do you want to yell at the person driving next to you on the highway? Or at the store clerk who’s taking to long to ring up your items? Or is there a way you can translate your spiritual awareness into calm peace and discover why you’re being held up in the first place? Continue reading →

A Sunday Homily – Believe In Yourself

Nov10
Believe In Yourself!

Believe In Yourself!

Learn To Handle The Pressure

It’s not just something ministers try to teach for spiritual enlightenment. It’s also a big part of any competitive sport or business management course. Believing in yourself is a practice that crosses all avenues of life and can provide strength, endurance and success over nearly every challenge we face.

Bob Rotella is a sports psychologist. I learned about him through a Nascar segment that looks at the inner workings of drivers and teams. Yeah, of all places? Yep..even Nascar teams face pressure and challenges to be successful. Bob helps people find their true potential in life, said many of these auto-sports professionals. Many people are “normal” and good at what they do. But many want to take it to the next level. Especially professional athletes. But they’re not the only people who are looking for the keys to success or to help them deal with the pressures of life and attaining the success of their dreams and goals. Continue reading →

Sunday Homily: Look In A Mirror

Oct6
Self Reflection

What you don’t like about someone else,
Look In A Mirror.

What Encounters Teach Us

Everyone one of us has had moments during a week, or in a single day when we feel like we’re wearing a sign around our neck that says “Piss me off”. Comments from complete strangers that push a button and cause us to feel hurt, attacked or self-conscious about something. And it could be about anything, even things that don’t even make sense later on.

Sometimes we say wave a hand and tell ourselves we’re being overly sensitive. Sometimes we actually let the comments get under our skin and truly get angry. Other times we pretend we didn’t hear the comment, ignore it, but play it over and over in our head.

As one of my very wise Shamanistic teachers once told me “It’s not all about you. You’re learning to be a Shaman, stop crying about your little hurt feelings and use your head and your heart to help those who are coming to you and screaming for compassion”. Yeah I didn’t like that comment much when he said it to me, but I’ve come to understand what he meant.

I’ve also learned that this perspective isn’t only for the “ministers” in the world. It’s for everyone walking a spiritual path. And maybe even those who aren’t. Continue reading →

Sunday Homily: Who is Santa Claus – A History

Dec2
Happy Holiday Howling!

Happy Holiday Howling!

The Origins Of The Winter Gift Giver
By SpringWolf, D.D., Ph.D.

It twas a blustery night as the snow fell heavily through the wintry barren trees. The land lay quiet, the fields are still from harvest and inside the hearth blazed warm with the burning yule log. But overhead in the storm laden clouds, a clash of hooves and metal thunder in the night. For Odin and his great horse Sleipnir are celebrating the Wild Hunt on this solstice eve with spear in hand and brethren by his side. Their windswept ride is long and filled with madness that shall not end till the twelfth night of Yule. But during their ride, in the fields below, there lies grain of plenty and piles of straw fit for the hordes of Odin’s steeds. His eight legged horse Sleipnir rests upon the ground and feasts on the meal left for the mounts of the Gods. And in return for this gift, Odin the All-Father leaves presents of gold. Quietly he fills the winter boots resting outside the door of the humble homes that lay quiet in the cold winter night. Continue reading →

Sunday Homily: What Is Spiritual Love?

Nov11
Wolf Respect & Love

Respect & Tolerance

The Love Of Tolerance

All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness. The important thing is they should be part of our daily lives. ~ Dalai Lama

Spiritual love is the exercise of love, compassion and respect for all things, seen and unseen throughout the Divine Universe.

It is taught in all religious and spiritual paths. It is shared as the utmost character to achieve. We know this, we hear it, we talk about it and perhaps even preach it. But do we practice it?

In times of disaster people don’t ask what religion do you practice, what sexual preference do you favor before they hold out a helping hand. We see the plight of others who have been devastated by storms or earthquakes and we rush to their aid out of compassion and care.

A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. … We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive. ~ Albert Einstein Continue reading →

Sunday’s Homily: How You Think, Creates How You Feel

Sep30

How You Think, Creates How You Feel

You Can Think Yourself Into Illness

“I’ve been worrying myself sick” an old wives tale that has a great deal of truth in its proverbial message. Sometimes we need to listen to the old wisdom of generations past. They didn’t have the medical achievements we have today and they had to pay a great deal of attention to what they did and said to keep from getting sick. And back then, getting a cold might mean the difference between living through it or dying.

From the Metaphysical perspective there are two potential approaches to understanding illness in the body. The first deals with karma and past life experiences that affect the current incarnation. Viewing an issue from a karmic perspective can sometimes answer the “why” did this have to happen question. But don’t assume that means negative karma is being worked out or that someone is being punished in some karmic fashion. We are all here to learn lessons and sometimes that means allowing someone to sacrifice their existence for the spiritual advancement of others. Continue reading →

Sunday Homily: If You Wrote A Letter To Your 16-Year Old Self

Sep23

 

Sharing Wisdom With Your Younger Self

What Would You Say?

All week I’ve heard about this letter that Dale Earnhardt Jr. professional Nascar driver, wrote to his 16 year old self. The letter was part of a CBS News project that aired September 12, 2012.

As reported by the media, other Nascar fans and friends who shared their thoughts on the letter, it’s a very moving insight from one of racing’s premier drivers. It reflects on relationships, worries, his career and it even has some humor tossed in for good measure.

It is indeed a very moving reflection from a man who is not comfortable with being in the limelight each and every time he steps through the door. And it made me wonder, if you wrote a letter to your 16 year old self, what would you say? Continue reading →