Meditation For Starters. With Swami Kriyananda, 1998.

John Forte - God is Love, God is War

Beautiful song illustrating the point that life is what we make of it. In all things we Co-create with God. If we operate on a daily basis out of Love, we co-create harmony and order. If we operate on a daily basis out of fear and hate, we co-create chaos and destruction. How do we choose to live this day; out of Love or out of fear? The choice is ours.

Where Is The Love? Music by The Black Eyed Peas

The Politics Of Love. A Presentation by Leo Buscaglia

A beautiful presentation from the 1980's by Leo Buscaglia. Known in his hay day as "Dr. Love" and "Dr. Hug" Leo always presented the message of absolute, unconditional Love. Here he presents the same message in simple everyday language using real life examples to illustrate his point: Unconditional Love is possible and very beautiful to behold!!!

Some excepts:

"Be a great Lover, and people will think you are crazy. They thought St. Francis was crazy...They thought Jesus was crazy....They thought Buddha was crazy. Oh God, when will the world be ready for great Saints!"

"To be loving and forgiving you've got to be strong...you have got to have guts!"

"Don't wait for someone else to start the process...start Loving now!"

Thanks Dr. Love. We miss you!

Leo Buscaglia Short Clip on Love and war.

Don't wait to say "I love you."

Sacrifice Of Love

Brennan Manning: What It Means To Be Cool In Christ.

Richard Rohr On The Emerging Church and Emerging Conciousness.

The Parable Of The Life Saving Station



Jesus Scholarship



What Did Jesus Really Teach?



The Emerging Church



New Structures



The New Mind



Summary Of The Emerging Church

Inter-Faith Service of Forgiveness and Oneness.

The Bridge Of The Holy Spirit.

"You will know them by their fruits." -Jesus

What is the mark of Salvation? Christians have argued about this for centuries. Some say membership in one church or another, while others maintain that the mark of Salvation is some special ability or gift such as speaking in tongues. In the Gospel Jesus simply states, "You will know them by their fruits."

What fruits could Jesus be talking about? I believe the Apostle Paul hits the nail on the head when he speaks of the fruits of the Holy Spirit; among them being patience, Love, and understanding. I believe that when we see these qualities in another human being we see, in some small way, the Presence of the Holy Spirit. And when we see these qualities in another human being present in a very strong and powerful way, we see the Presence of the Holy Spirit made Manifest!

In the early Christian Church, when people faced hardship and persecution for the name of Christ, even the enemies of Christianity made mention of one fruit in particular, "See how they love one another!" It was this Love which set the Christian apart, a form of Love we have forgotten in the 21st Century. That Love is called in the Gospel Agape, the completely unmerited love of God which is freely given to all and then radiated back out by all who recieve and live in this Love. John wrote of Agape, "God is Love, and those who Love abide in God." This simple rule still holds today. Where ever we see Unconditional Love in action, we see God coming once more into this world. It matters not what a person calls themself, so long as they live by Love. In this Love the Holy Spirit makes known its Presence and God abides uniting all.

In the videos that follow our teachers and musicians speak of Love in the most radical form; the Love of enemies and the power to forgive those who have harmed us. It is a message we do not hear in the world today; not in the media nor even in most churchs. It is, however, a message we very much need to hear today. It challenges us all to live as God intended!

Blessings,
Ralph

Ajahn Brahm of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia. On Forgiveness and True Spirituality.



Peter asked Jesus, "How many times must I forgive my brother when he sins against me, seven times?" Jesus answered him, "Not seven times, but seventy times seven times."


Music by Larry Norman. If God Is My Father.



"This is how you should pray: Our Father in Heaven..." Matthew 6: 9-15


"I See Me In You, And You In Me." Discourse On Inter-Being With Thich Nhat Hanh.




"May all of them be One, Father. Just as You are in Me, and I am in You, may they also be One in Us..." John 17: 21


Music by Crux and Rev. B. Everything Under The Sun.



"Tell me when everyone under the sun will be One."


Meditation In Poetry. Please Call Me By My True Names by Thich Nhat Hanh.




Gospel For Today: Matthew Chapter 25: 31-46
"Whatever you do to the least of these, you do it to Me."


Closing Music. Prayer Of St. Francis. Music by Denis Sorenson.




Denis Sorenson was the Tenor in the "3Ds" a popular singing group of the 60's. He was so impressed by The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, that he put the words to music. This was performed at a concert commemorating their 25th aniversary. More can be learned about the 3Ds on the Phoenix Records website: phoenixrecords.org

The Ten Paradoxical Commandments Of Jesus.

Then there are the Three Commandments of Jesus which can be drawn out of the Gospels.

They are:

1) Love God Above all Things.

2) Love your neighbor as yourself.

3) Love your enemies.

These Three Commandments are all contained in the final Commandment Jesus gave to His disciples in the Gospel of John:

"Love One Another As I Have Loved You."

Mahatma Gandhi : God is Life, Truth, Light, Love and The supreme Good

One of the Principal Spiritual Inspirations here at St. Francis Place. Like St. Francis, Gandhi preached a message of Love and lived in simplicity. Through the course of his life he managed to build many bridges between the worlds Great Religions, such as Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. He taught a common Spirituality that could be grasped by all. Much of his message has been lost on the world today. None the less it is a message that needs to be heard, and one we are devoted to spread here at St. Francis Place. Be you Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Agnostic or Atheist or whatever you chose to call yourself, deep down we are all One, Children of a Common God. Let us live together in Peace as our Heavenly Father/Mother Intends!

Peace,

Ralph & Heydi

Excuses Be Gone! by Dr. Wayne Dyer

Excuses Be Gone! The New Self-Help Book by Dr. Wayne Dyer. To order simply click on the photo above. Buyers will also be registered to win a trip to Hawaii.

Blessings,

Ralph & Heydi

You and The Other.

God as seen as Being the Presence of Another who is always with us and Whom we can sense in moments of quite and solitude. By Fr. Thomas Keating.

Prayer Of Peace and Wholeness Update

To date the Prayers Of Peace and Wholeness practice here at St Francis Place in Wheatland Mo. have been a success. Even though there have been some tough times over the past few weeks, an atmosphere of Peace has prevailed. One man I work with has calmed down considerably. He has gone from primarily negative in attitude to positive, and has even recieved a job promotion he has been working at for the past several months. My own personal attitude has also improved. I do not worry about things which used to upset me, and no matter how bad things get I can always return to a state of Peace and Calm. So things have been going well by way of cultivating Peace and Wholeness here. And the work goes on!

I still do not have a firm idea of how many people are praying with us. So far only 3 people including myself have joined the online discussion group. But I know from responses recieved on UTube there are more participating with us in an informal fashion. If you would like to participate in a more formal way send an email to me so we can all keep in touch and keep one another informed and encouraged. Working together we can not only work to improve our own lives, but the lives of those around us, and yes...even the world at large. Remember, Peace and Wholeness begin at home, but spread out much further than that!!!

"I See You In Me, And Me In You" Discourse by Thich Nhat Hanh

Beautiful teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh on the Oneness of all things...Inter-Being.

Towards Understanding In A World Of Difference.

Saw this bumper sticker the other day. A Great little reminder!


An Explaination Of The Symbols is below:


And Another Point of View:


If you want Peace...Work towards Understanding all of God's Children!

Prayer Group Update: Personal Share Of The Week Of Hell. :-)

It has now been two weeks in which I have been involved in the St Francis Place Prayers of Peace and Wholeness prayer effort. Overall things have been going well, in spite of some rough times on the job. Work has been hard with new managers pushing our labor force to the maximum extreme. Due to people calling in sick, and others taking vacation leave, this past week our labor force has been cut in half with the same, or some days double, the work load. These have been the kind of conditions in which tempers flare, and people walk off the job. Yet through it all, calmness has prevailed, and days which started out bad have thus far ended well!

I have been observing the Prayers of Peace and Wholeness twice a day. My first Prayer Time is during my lunch hour at work; the second on the drive home. I have found the practice allows me to return to a state of calmness and God-Centeredness in spite of what the day throws my way. Also I have found it helpful to offer a Prayer of Peace whenever I feel tempted to say a cruel word, or experience thoughts of anger or ill will. The result has been Peacefulness within myself, as well as my co-workers. Even our bosses have shown a greater state of calmness then I would otherwise expect. All in all, in our own life here in Southern Missouri, the practice of this form of Prayer has been a success!

For those new to the Prayers of Peace and Wholeness practice, what we do is spend time each day focusing on feelings of Peace and Wholeness, feeling them as already present within our lives no matter what our circumstances, manifesting them within ourselves, and radiating these feelings to others. To that end we pray whenever necessary, as well as at the regular times of 8-9 PM CT (2-3 AM GMT), and 1-2 AM CT (7-8 AM GMT). I have also found that chanting quietly to myself while working has had a tremendously calming effect on myself and others. One of my co-workers, who is unaware of this prayer practice, smiled and bowed to me after I had gone out of my way to do her a favor. While this would not be worth mentioning in a place like India where bowing to one another is common practice, in Southern Missouri this is just about unheard of! Needless to say I will be continuing this practice for some time to come. :-)

If you would like to, please feel free to join us. Our Prayer group is Inter-Faith, and is open to all who wish to grow in Love, Peace, and Wholeness. You may even join us on our Discussion Board, the address of which is posted on the side bar of this site. Looking forward to your participation in this Prayer Fellowship!

Blessings,

Ralph Lindenberger
St Francis Place
Wheatland Mo. USA

Larry Norman | Only Visiting This Planet (1947 - 2008)

Wayne Dyer: Living The Wisdom Of The Tao

To order, click on link below.

Blessings,
Ralph

St Francis Place Prayer Group: Inclusive not Exclusive.

The Power of Intention with Wayne Dyer. Part 1.

The Power of Intention with Wayne Dyer. Part 2.

The Shift starring Wayne Dyer

St Francis Place Prayer Group Now On Google Groups.

(Planting Meditation Garden at St Francis Place Spring of 2009)

The St. Francis Place Prayer Group now has a Discussion Board running on Google Groups. This should allow those participating to keep in regular communications more easily, and help in coordination of Prayer Group Intentions and Activities. To access the Board, follow the link below:

http://groups.google.com/group/st-francis-place-prayer-group

If not already registered on the Discussion Board, you may register for free using the same link. If anyone has any problems getting on the Board, please let me know, and I can add you directly.

Thanks to all who have informed me of their participation so far. It has been just over a week, and I continue to hear from new people on a daily basis. There is a great need for Peace and Wholeness in our World, and together we can make a difference!

Blessings of Peace Be Upon You,

Ralph & Heydi
St Francis Place
Wheatland Mo. USA

(1/2) 7 Steps of Reconciliation - Thich Nhat Hanh

(2/2) 7 Steps of Reconciliation - Thich Nhat Hanh

Prayer of Manifestation: Similie Of The Farmer's Field.