Meditation Instructions for Sun., June 28, 2015

For this Sunday, June 28th, the focus for our meditation will be on Dignity.  On June 26, 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court finally issued a long-awaited ruling that decreed same-sex marriage was legal in all 50 states.  The victory must bring tremendous relief for those couples who have been walled off from full legal rights and benefits afforded to other married partners.  In the momentous ruling, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family.  In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.  As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death.  It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage.  Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves.  Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions.  They ask for equal Dignity in the eyes of the law.  The Constitution grants them that right.”  While today’s judgment was a legal decree, the principle of extending equal Dignity to others would solve so many of our nation’s problems.  If we actively thought about treating others who are different from us on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, physical or mental ability, and age with the same Dignity we would want to be afforded I’m sure our headlines would be much different than what we have seen in recent weeks.  This week in our prayer and meditation time let us seek to extend across this great land the desire to treat others with Dignity.  Let us fill this great nation with the light and energy of equal Dignity by embracing all despite any differences and offering them the respect we all deserve.

In our efforts this week let us also continue to use the energy of our prayers and meditation to amplify the light that covers and fills this nation.  As we perform our meditation this week let us begin by re-energizing the brilliance and power of the light we create.  Just as before, begin by forming a concentrated ball of light that is so bright it is almost impossible to look directly at it.  Raise this sphere of light up high over the nation and then let its rays cascade down to create a solid, impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of our country.  From shore to shore and border to border let the entire continent be filled with this brilliant, dense light that will serve to magnify the best and highest qualities of our country and the people who live across its vast lands.

Please follow the same practice as before: Get centered in your body, ask to bring in your guides and others who are there to assist us, and connect to the circle of others participating in this project.

Ask yourself how do I feel when I am filled with a sense of honor and respect for others that leads me to treat them with equal Dignity?  How does it feel in my body when I recognize I am worthy of being treated with Dignity by others who may be different from me?  Then send the energy and intention of those feelings to the nation.

Be sure to disconnect from the circle at the end and express thanks for those who have helped us in this effort.

If you have feedback or experiences you would like to share please let me know via e-mail to kmiritello@gmail.com

Meditation Instructions for Sun., June 21, 2015

For this Sunday, June 21^st, the focus for our meditation will be on Love.  At an impressionable young age I read a book titled, “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle.  The main character is an adolescent girl who has an adventure in which she has to confront an evil creature.  To win the fight she is counseled to use that which the creature does not have and eventually figures out the one thing it lacks is Love.  Armed with that knowledge she is able to be victorious.  The events of this past week in Charleston, South Carolina and particularly the forgiving response of the victims’ friends and family show us once again that Love is the most powerful weapon in the face of hatred.  I am not so naïve as to believe that Love completely eliminates the need for police officers or even standing armies for defense of a nation.  There will likely always be the presence of real evil in the world that sometimes requires the use of force for the protection of others.  But the greatest power capable of effecting lasting change in the world is Love.  This week in our prayer and meditation let us use that time to proliferate Love across the country beginning with our own communities.  Through the energy of our prayers may we fill this nation with light and Love and thus vanquish the influence of evil and hatred.

In our efforts this week let us also continue to use the energy of our prayers and meditation to amplify the light that covers and fills this nation.  As we perform our meditation this week let us begin by re-energizing the brilliance and power of the light we create.  Just as before, begin by forming a concentrated ball of light that is so bright it is almost impossible to look directly at it.  Raise this sphere of light up high over the nation and then let its rays cascade down to create a solid, impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of our country.  From shore to shore and border to border let the entire continent be filled with this brilliant, dense light that will serve to magnify the best and highest qualities of our country and the people who live across its vast lands.

Please follow the same practice as before: Get centered in your body, ask to bring in your guides and others who are there to assist us, and connect to the circle of others participating in this project.

Ask yourself how do I feel when I am so fully consumed with Love that nothing else can permeate me?  How does it feel in my body when the power of Love so fills me that I am buffered against harm?  Then send the energy and intention of those feelings to the nation.

Be sure to disconnect from the circle at the end and express thanks for those who have helped us in this effort.

If you have feedback or experiences you would like to share please let me know via e-mail to kmiritello@gmail.com

Meditation Instructions for Sun., June 14, 2015

For this Sunday, June 14th, the focus for our meditation will be on Invitation.  Father Theodore Hesburgh was the revered president of the University of Notre Dame for 35 years and passed away earlier this year at the age of 97.  He was beloved not only for his masterful leadership through a period of extraordinary growth but also the profound depth of his spiritual faith.  At an address given in 1979 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Father Hesburgh made this remark:  “My best daily prayer, apart from the Mass and Breviary, continues to be simply, ‘Come, Holy Spirit.’  No better prayer, no better results.”  I love the power contained in the simplicity of this perfect prayer.  It reminds us that Spirit is there for us at all times but does await our Invitation to intercede on our behalf.  Father Hesburgh’s faith was so great that he knew just by Inviting Spirit in he would receive the assistance needed.  There are times in our life when we may feel under trial and without help.  This prayer should encourage us to always respond to adversity by Inviting in Spirit, for without divine help we are truly on our own.  This week in our prayer and meditation time let us consider whether we readily offer an Invitation to Spirit to be a part of our life.  Under what circumstances do we remember to ask for Spirit’s assistance, and might we want to extend that Invitation more routinely?  Let us ask to be guided to Invite Spirit to be more integral to our everyday life and through that divine presence be shown how to achieve our highest potential.

In our efforts this week let us also continue to use the energy of our prayers and meditation to amplify the light that covers and fills this nation.  As we perform our meditation this week let us begin by re-energizing the brilliance and power of the light we create.  Just as before, begin by forming a concentrated ball of light that is so bright it is almost impossible to look directly at it.  Raise this sphere of light up high over the nation and then let its rays cascade down to create a solid, impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of our country.  From shore to shore and border to border let the entire continent be filled with this brilliant, dense light that will serve to magnify the best and highest qualities of our country and the people who live across its vast lands.

Please follow the same practice as before: Get centered in your body, ask to bring in your guides and others who are there to assist us, and connect to the circle of others participating in this project.

Ask yourself how do I feel when I remember to offer an Invitation to Spirit for assistance when needed?  How does it feel in my body when I recognize that Spirit is always present for me and simply awaits my Invitation to be a greater part of my life?  Then send the energy and intention of those feelings to the nation.

Be sure to disconnect from the circle at the end and express thanks for those who have helped us in this effort.

If you have feedback or experiences you would like to share please let me know via e-mail to kmiritello@gmail.com

Meditation Instructions for Sun., June 7, 2015

For this Sunday, June 7th, the focus for our meditation will be on Remembrance.  Yesterday, June 6^th, was the 71^st anniversary of D-Day, commemorating the landing of Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy.  It was the beginning of the end of the war in Europe, and because of its importance in turning the tide of the war it is marked as a special day of Remembrance.  The day is not set aside for chest-thumping pride in a hard-fought victory but instead for the sacrifices that were made.  I’ve visited Normandy and was stunned as I looked at the terrain – the wide open expanse of beaches, and particularly the incredibly sheer incline of cliffs – that our troops had to navigate at the cost of many lives.  A local veteran who landed on Normandy was interviewed and remarked, “If we don’t Remember the past, the same mistakes will keep happening.”  That is the reason we must never allow future generations to forget such tragedies as the Holocaust.  Recently I saw a posting on social media in which the author was apparently trying to make a case that the instigation of the Civil War to oppose slavery was unjustified owing to statistics that showed only a very small minority of the populace actually owned slaves.  They railed against the fact that an entire nation was drawn into a war as a result of the behavior of only a few.  It made me wonder what the proportion of Nazis who were actively involved in the Holocaust killings was in comparison to the much larger German populace.  Morality has nothing to do with weights and measures.  There is no “tipping point” that until reached abhorrent behavior is allowed to be tolerated.  This week in our prayer and meditation let us honor the Remembrance of our nation’s past sacrifices and in particular the lessons they have taught us.  Let us ask that future generations appreciate the lessons that come from Remembrance of past events and thereby avoid repeating our mistakes.

In our efforts this week let us also continue to use the energy of our prayers and meditation to amplify the light that covers and fills this nation.  As we perform our meditation this week let us begin by re-energizing the brilliance and power of the light we create.  Just as before, begin by forming a concentrated ball of light that is so bright it is almost impossible to look directly at it.  Raise this sphere of light up high over the nation and then let its rays cascade down to create a solid, impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of our country.  From shore to shore and border to border let the entire continent be filled with this brilliant, dense light that will serve to magnify the best and highest qualities of our country and the people who live across its vast lands.

Please follow the same practice as before: Get centered in your body, ask to bring in your guides and others who are there to assist us, and connect to the circle of others participating in this project.

Ask yourself how do I feel when I honor the Remembrance of the past to show me a better way for the future?  How does it feel in my body when I appreciate the lessons that come from Remembrance of past mistakes?  Then send the energy and intention of those feelings to the nation.

Be sure to disconnect from the circle at the end and express thanks for those who have helped us in this effort.

If you have feedback or experiences you would like to share please let me know via e-mail to kmiritello@gmail.com