Tag Archive | sermon

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 →

10 Commandments To Live By

Sep16
Imitate Nature's Respect

Respect & Support The Self & Each Other

Keeping Your Perspectives Positive

My husband and I have recently faced some business challenges that brought a great deal of stress into your lives. I’m blessed with the partnership I have with him. When challenges come our way we seem to grow closer and face them as a united front. But we’re human like all couples and we do get annoyed with each other from time to time. Thankfully, our annoyances are pretty mild and don’t last a long time. We still end up pulling together and wading through the issues that fall on our plate and success with support and respect for each other.

Sometimes we all get into a rut and continue a fight that deep down we know maybe a loosing battle. We can refuse to see the inevitable out of fear of change, or the unknown. Or because the known “evil” is more secure than what maybe around the corner that we don’t know.

When we fall into that rut, the Divine has a way of pushing us along to help move our energy and to get us to something better. We may not always see what’s going on as it’s happening, but hindsight is always 20/20 and becomes clear when we have made it through the change. Continue reading →

Sunday’s Homily – It’s Nice To Have Dreams

Jul29

Dreams Inspire, Empower and Create Hope

Sleeping WolfIt’s always good to have dreams. They inspire your imagination, keep hope alive in your life and give you a goal or more to shoot for and manifest. No dream is too far out or outlandish. You may be the person who discovers how to create a time machine or the warp drive engine that allows people to travel at the speed of light.

Every day the human race is learning something new. CERN’s discovery of the Higgs Boson has opened the doors to a wide variety of possible things that 10 years ago no one would think possible. Including traveling at the speed of light.

For me, as a spiritual teacher, having dreams creates something more personal and down to earth; Hope. Take hope away from someone who has nothing but hope and you will destroy that person’s life. For some, Hope is all they have. A hope that tomorrow will be a better day. A dream of living a better life can be all the inspiration one needs to endure, overcome and persevere. In the economic struggles of this “Great Recession” there are many, all over the world who have already lost everything and only have hope left. It’s a simple dream that gets them through one more day. Continue reading →

Sunday’s Homliy – Don’t Let Worry Make You Weary

Jul8

Find Your Strength Within

The Challenges Of Faith and Adversity

Worry: to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.
Weariness – to make or become discontented or impatient, especially by the long continuance of something, draining

This homily was inspired by a sermon given by Joel Olsteen. I might be pagan, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the words of other ministers from other faiths. Open you mind and release the dislike, hate or negative perceptions of others in the world. You never know, you might find something that inspires you.

Everyone faces challenges in their life. Some challenges are greater than others, some face greater suffering by the standards of society, some are victims of circumstance and some have made choices of their own that create the struggle. Whatever your story is, there are three things to remember when facing the challenges of adversity in your life:

  1. Someone in the world does have it worse than you.
  2. You create, what you think.
  3. You are never alone.

If you can remember these three things, you have the strength to endure and face the challenges in your life. You can overcome adversity, learn from your experiences and grow toward enlightenment. You can become one with your own inner spirit and merge your thinking with the Divine Consciousness in your life and create what you desire. You can implement your beliefs into your daily life and begin Walking Your Talk© through: Continue reading →

Sunday’s Homily: Happy Mothers Day

May13

Or “Hail To The Domestic Goddess!”

MotherhoodOnce a year here in the west we honor our Mothers and celebrate the sacrifices they have made for us. Many say this is a modern holiday designed by greeting card, flower and chocolate manufacturing companies for the purpose of greed and commerce. I say so what; does that mean we shouldn’t honor the Domestic Goddess in our own homes?

Pagan Metaphysics has long been associated with Goddess ‘worship’ mainly because early pagans celebrated the feminine in matriarchal societies. Figurines such as the ‘Venus of Willendor’ are a perfect example of the early reverence for fertility of a woman and her ability to give new life. This miracle of life was seen just as that, a miracle given to a woman by a deity, or a Goddess specifically. If a woman was extremely fertile she was considered to be favored by the Goddess of the people and her position was elevated within her tribal structure. Often being designated as the priestess or high chieftain of that tribal society.

When the priestess grew older and less fertile, she often chose her successor. But her singular power shifted to that of a wise woman who was always consulted when it came to decisions. Her power never fell out of favor and her contribution was never dismissed. Continue reading →

Sunday’s Homily: Emotional Manipulation

Apr8

Sometimes people will go out of their way to bait you into an argument simply so they can feel superior. Don’t allow them to manipulate your emotions and control your reactions. ~ Springwolf

Passive Aggression

Control Your EmotionsBeing passive aggressive is a method of showing aggression in an indirect manner. Such as making negative comments in a general manner that is not specifically directed at someone, but is intended to put down or denounce what a specific person said. In other words, it a cowardly way of insulting someone and baiting them into an argument without doing so face to face.

This happened to me recently. In responding to a question on an IMM Ministers forum, I made mention of living in balance by implementing your spiritual beliefs upon your physical path. Walking Your Talk© so to speak. It’s not enough to believe you are spiritual if you don’t apply those beliefs in your every day life and respond to others accordingly. Another member responded to the same question and for some reason felt the need to say “it has nothing to do with balance” and continued to make his point which seemingly had nothing to do with what I had said.

So why add that statement to his response? Why put in a comment that was seemingly directed at my reply, since I was the only one who had, up to that moment, made a comment about balance? To me it had the purpose to bait me into a confrontation or to denounce my view because he doesn’t agree with anything I say on this forum. Being one of the very few, if not the only pagan minister on this forum, there are a few members who consistently attack my comments and perspectives. Not that this is unusual or uncommon in general. If you’re going to put your Pagan hat on and wear it in public, you’re going to get negative comments from time to time. I’m used to this. But it is disheartening to know that this kind of immediate bigotry toward  pagan perspectives can occur on a forum that’s designed for spiritual ministers and specifically fellow ministers in the same organization. To me, it’s a bit hypocritical. Continue reading →