 |
Meeting Life
- February 8, 2008
All life is meeting - Martin Buber. Let's hold Buber's four words in front of us
as we go through the day and seek out "meeting", seek out relationship. Because
in doing so we seek out life. |
|
Part of the Whole
- January 21, 2008
Einstein was apparently not much interested in a "personal" god. That didn't
stop him from believing in an underlying motivation for the universe or from
identifying the interconnectedness of all things. |
|
Freedom is Not Enough
- January 17, 2008
The principle of mutuality that we think of as "do (or do not do) unto
others" is concerned not only with avoiding harm but also with doing good. It's
not enough to simply end a war or release a captive. |
|
What We Say -
January 16, 2008
While he may take time to get to the point, this excerpt, his "thirty-first
resolution", certainly identifies John Edwards' application of the Golden Rule
in terms of what we say about others. |
|
The Case for Golden
Rule Employment - January 15, 2008
I am
always interested in finding references to the Golden Rule outside of
"religion". For me, the Golden Rule represents the tool for living out the
ethics and ideals of our individual faiths. That has to include our work
lives or it means nothing. |
|
A Contentious
Marriage - January 14, 2008
Peace is the marriage of the people and the planet, with all attendant vows -
Anonymous. This truly is, to borrow from a traditional wedding vow, a "til
death do us part" marriage. No matter how much we try, we cannot divorce
ourselves from the world. |
|
Oneness - January
7, 2008
The first peace is that which comes within the souls of people when they
realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe - Black Elk |
|
Making Spaces -
December 21, 2007
Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that
we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing
the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they
are. - Hafsat Abiola |
|
Understanding - December 17, 2007
I do not want the peace which passeth understanding. I want the understanding
which bringeth peace.
-
Helen Keller |
|
The Myth of
Redemptive Violence - November 25, 2007
It is blasphemous. It is idolatrous. And it is immensely popular. - Dr.
Walter Wink, |
|
Saints Who Struggle
- September 17, 2007
Indeed, give me a saint who belches occasionally, who lashes out occasionally,
who even doubts the wisdom of what they're doing occasionally. That saint is a
human being who I can aspire to emulate. |
|
Dreaming Reality
- Sept. 6, 2007
When you dream alone, it’s only a dream; when you dream together, it’s the
beginning of reality |
|
Metaphorical Gold -
Sept. 1, 2007
he limits of my metaphorical language for God are the limits of my experience
of God - Paul McKenna, creator of the Golden Rule Poster |
|
The Beginning of
Wisdom - August 26, 2007
Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the
beginning of wisdom -Theodore Isaac Rubin |
|
Golden Bikers -
August 25, 2007
if the only place that we're willing to apply the Golden Rule is in a
contemplative sanctuary free of the rough and tumble of real life then it seems
to me that we're not really willing to apply it at all. |
|
Mystical Loneliness
- July 16, 2007
if our disconnection from each other leads us to seek a closer connection with
God, we may also in time find a closer connection with each other. |
|
A Matter of Time
- May 21, 2007 - Why is it that history seems to take such a long time? - Or
put another way, all things come to those who wait. |
|
Solidarity - May 13, 2007
The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity
with other human beings. - Albert Schweitzer |
|
Unanswered Questions - May 7, 2007
I think that religion is at its best when it asks questions and at
its worst when it seeks to answer them. - Karen Armstrong |
|
The
Quality of Fruitfulness - April 12, 2007
there is a quality of "fruit-fulness" that characterizes them all and
out of which a "common ground" for shared conversation can be
established - Paul Knitter, dialogue theologian |
|
Athlete Haile Gebreselassie
Appointed Golden Rule Goodwill Ambassador - April 7, 2007
World
renowned, holders of many world records and superstar athlete Haile
Gebreselassie, was appointed Goodwill Ambassador of the Golden Rule by
the Interfaith Peace-building Initiative (IPI), |
|
Golden
Rule Day Proclaimed - April 5, 2007
The Ethiopia-based Interfaith Peace-building Initiative and its Board
Chair Mussie Hailu, have drafted a proclamation to encourage the
recognition of the Golden Rule as a universal governing principle. |
|
Into Ploughshares - April 3, 2007
They shall beat their swords
into ploughshares,... Neither shall they learn war any more Isaiah
2:4 |
|
The End
of All Our Exploring - March 27, 2007
We shall not
cease from exploration, And the end of all our exploring, Will be to
arrive where we started, And know the place for the first time - T.S.
Eliot |
|
For Their
Sake and For Ours - March 26, 2007
We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress
and prosperity for community - Cesar Chavez, US farm
migrant labour leader |
|
a
Relationship Meditation - March 23, 2007
Try this simple exercise at the end of the day, while relaxing in your
favorite chair or quiet place. |
|
Something
in Humanity - March 19, 2007
Only when we work together as a global family, instead of
concentrating on belonging to a particular race, religion or nation,
will peace and happiness prevail on this earth. - Sri Mata
Amritanandamayi Devi (Hindu teacher. 1953 - ) |
|
Are You
Listening - March 16, 2007
Listening. It sounds so simple. And yet it seems to be one of the
hardest of skills to learn, and even harder to practice. |
|
a Private
Fight - March 15, 2007
Is this a private fight or can anybody get involved? -
Irish saying When I read this quotation it struck me that it is
representative of the call to action implicit in the Golden Rule |
|
The Point
of View of the Universe - March 13, 2007
The basic principle on which the practice of non-violence rests is
that what holds good in respect of oneself equally applies to the whole
universe. In essence, all humankind is alike. – Gandhi |
|
The World
of Relation - March 7, 2007
Martin Buber described the "world of relation" as comparable to three
spheres. The first – life with nature; the second – life with humanity;
the third – life with spiritual beings. |
|
The Best
Name for God - March 5, 2007
You may call God love, you may call God goodness. But the best name for
God is compassion. - Meister Eckhart (1260-1327), Christian mystic and
theologian |
|
Golden
Rule Translations - February 27, 2007
Paul McKenna is a pioneer in raising awareness of the Golden Rule and is
the creator of the Golden Rule Poster, a wonderful concept that
highlights thirteen versions of the Golden Rule circling a
representation of the globe |
|
The
Secret History of our Enemies - February 20, 2007
If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find, in
each person’s life, suffering and sorrow enough to disarm all our
hostility. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). |
|
Committed
to Life - February 19, 2007
We have committed the golden rule to memory; let us now commit it
to life - Edwin Markham, 1852 – 1940 American poet |
|
The List
of Sacred Things - February 17, 2007
We have a long way to go before the Golden Rule is the guiding
principle of our societies and our institutions. One day soon, may our
list of sacred things include just one item - Creation. |
|
Wheat
From the Chaff - February 14, 2007
Anti-Semitism of course is still with us. And alongside it now is rising
a new anti-Islamism in the West, and perhaps an anti-Christianity, or
anti-Westism, in the Middle East. |
|
Keeping
our Eye on the Golden Goal - February 13, 2007
Okay, so Ford is more often quoted in entrepreneurial seminars than
spiritual reflections. But I think that what he says also applies to our
spiritual journey. |
|
No Matter
What They Call Us - February 12, 2007
When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I
ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist. - Dom
Helder Camara, Roman Catholic Archbishop in Brazil |
|
Because You
Are - February 8, 2007
Do good to those who are worthy of it and to those who are not;
if he is a good man, then because he is good, and if he is not, then
because you are. - An hadith of The Prophet Muhammad |
|
Optical
Delusions - February 7, 2007
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our
circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of
nature in its beauty - Albert Einstein |
|
Unique Manifestations
- February 6, 2007
Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you: they are unique
manifestations of the human spirit. - Wade Davis
|
|
In a Peaceful
and Helpful Way - February 5, 2007
If the human race wishes to have a prolonged and indefinite period of material
prosperity, they have only got to behave in a peaceful and helpful way toward
one another. - Winston Churchill
|
|
Don't Step on the
Caterpillar - February 4, 2007
Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the
child as it is to the caterpillar - Bradley Miller
|
|
Ahead of the
Politicians - February 1, 2007
The spirit of the Golden Rule compels us to act to address injustice, inequity
and exploitation, whether of individuals, groups, or Creation.
|
|
The Web of Life
- January 31, 2007
Whatever befalls the earth befalls
the sons and daughters of the earth. We did not weave the web of life, we are
merely a strand of it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves...
- Chief Seattle 1786 - 1866
|
|
On Being Spiritual
Beings - January 29, 2007
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings
having a human experience. - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Jesuit priest 1881 –
1955 |
|
Illusions -
January 28, 2007
Seeing the world as an "illusion" has always been a struggle for western
cultures. |
|
Love in
Return for
Hatred - January 25, 2007
A Golden Rule response to hatred prevents us from seeking revenge. It
requires us to seek justice.
|
|
The Mirror -
January 24, 2007
The heart of the person before you is a mirror, see there your own form
- Shinto version of Golden Rule |
|
Truth Has Many
Aspects - January 23, 2007
This idea, that truth has many aspects, seems to be so hard for some to accept. |
|
Open to All Faiths
- January 11, 2007
Once you truly find God, you are open to all faiths - Karen Armstrong |
|
Article 18 - Freedom
- January 10, 2007
Everyone has the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion - Article 18, Universal Declaration of Human
Rights |
|
Good at Heart -
January 9, 2007
In spite of everything that has happened, I still believe that people are
really good at heart - Anne Frank 1929-1945 Could I find the generosity of
spirit to make the statement that she does? I doubt it. |
|
Siblings - January 8, 2007
It seems to me that the world’s religions are like siblings separated at
birth. Richard Watts |
|
Cultural Conundrums
- January 7, 2007
It struck me as I read participants' contributions, that this is probably one of
the more challenging times of year in terms of applying the Golden Rule in an
interfaith setting.
|
|
Gerald Ford's Golden Rule
Comment - December 28, 2006
When he announced the pardon of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford said - let us restore
the Golden Rule to our political process and let brotherly love purge our hearts
of suspicion and of hate.
|
|
Golden Rule
Conversations - December 18, 2006
I thought that it might be interesting to collect a few of these references and
offer them for review. The following handful of links, have appeared online over
the last two weeks.
|
|
The
Way They Treated Me - December 12, 2006
Senate Majority leader, Harry Reid, commented: "I
think first of all you have to apply a very simple principle: It's called the
Golden Rule. I will not treat them like they treated me."
|
|
You be the Judge
- Dec. 7, 2006
If we pass a man sitting in the street, hat placed on the sidewalk in front
of him, how do we apply the principle of Do Unto Others?
|
|
World Peace - Nov.14,
2006
World peace is not a matter of giving up anything. It is a matter of embracing
the other thing we are most afraid of. Each other.
|
|
Enough Religion -
Nov.8, 2006
We have just enough religion to hate each other but not enough religion to love
each other --- Jonathan Swift (Irish writer)
|
|
Thoreau's Take on the
Golden Rule - Nov. 6, 2006
Thoreau lived at a time that might be considered a Golden Rule renaissance.
|
|
Order Out of Chaos
- Nov. 2, 2006
By accepting that we are all in relationship to one another and to all of
Creation, we too can begin to bring order out of chaos
|
|
Dying Tomorrow - Oct.
16, 2006
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. –
Gandhi
|
|
Hizkias Assefa Receives
Peace Award - Oct. 13, 2006
At a time when it seems as though the only way to
get in the news is to blow something to pieces, it's important to recognize the
efforts of those who work to put the pieces back together.
|
|
A Matter of Degree -
Oct. 12, 2006
Humanity is physically stronger for the diversity of climates to which we
have adapted, and we are spiritually stronger for the diversity of faiths in
which we find the Divin
|
|
Transformation -
Oct. 11, 2006
the fundamental concept is the transformation of the individual from a
self-centered way of thinking to one that is other-centered.
|
|
Gaia - The Golden Rule Writ Large
- Oct. 9, 2006
Gaia was, in Greek mythology, the original Earth Goddess. From Gaia sprang all
life.
|
|
On Universality -
Oct. 8, 2006
When we understand that the equal treatment of each other and indeed the planet
forms the essential underpinning for our conduct we cannot help but begin to
perceive our actions toward Creation differently
|
|
Golden Clarity - Oct.
7, 2006
The clarity of the Golden Rule can help
us to cut through politics and prejudice. And it can encourage us to extend an
open hand instead of a clenched fist
|
|
Paul McKenna Receives
Interfaith Award - Sept. 23, 2006
On Sept. 19, Paul McKenna and Raheel Raza received an interfaith award from the
National Muslim-Christian Liaison Committee of the
Canadian Council of Churches at their annual Recognition Dinner in Toronto.
|
|
Festival of Faiths
Highlights Golden Rule - Sept. 19, 2006
From September 25th to 28th, the Greenville, South Carolina, USA organization
Greenville Faith Communities United will offer its Festival of Faiths.
|
|
Why Can't We Make the
Connection? - Sept. 10, 2006
These idiots fail to recognize that as they do to others, they encourage others
to do to them. When they casually wreck a child's paddleboat, they create a
social climate in which $20,000 of accessories lavished on their Honda Civic
becomes equally vulnerable
|
|
Prominent Golden Rule
Advocates Speak Out - June 28, 2006
I recently asked Paul McKenna, creator of the Golden Rule Poster, and Jeffrey
Wattles, author of The Golden Rule, to offer their thoughts on the
potential of this universal principle to effect transformation in society
|
|
Is the Golden Rule Good
Advertising? - June 26, 2006
Indirect references to the Golden Rule are showing up increasingly in popular
media. Is advertising highjacking the spiritual message?
|
|
Recipient of Peace
Ambassador Award Champions Golden Rule, Unity in Diversity - June 23, 2006
Loving and caring relationships—that is what the Golden Rule is about. And how
can the Golden Rule become a symbol for this important goal of unity in
diversity?
|
|
Gold with a Drumbeat - June 22, 2006
Like the music of O Siem, Creation is vital and dynamic, a living expression of
the Creator and the Created. That life and that vitality call us to dance in the
burning flame.
|
|
Gold for the Workplace
- June 21, 2006
For the majority of us, our workplace is where we spend the most concentrated
portion of our day. Why would we think that we can park our beliefs at the door
and pick them up on our way out?
|
|
The Golden Rule at the Top of
the World - June 20, 2006
What more fitting symbol then, than this:
a handful of people, on the highest and most inhospitable point in the world,
enacting the most compelling of human dramas, the saving of life?
|
|
A Golden Rule for
Psychopaths - June 19, 2006
Living into the Golden Rule, far from providing an excuse to ignore the
perspectives of others, requires that we first consider them in all that we
undertake to do
|
|
Is Business Ethics an Oxymoron?
- June 17, 2006
The Golden Rule's emphasis on relationship does not allow us to isolate
ourselves from the world.
|
|
Ideas or Relationships? -
June
14, 2006
Which do we really need to change the world?
|
|
Opiate of the Masses
- June 10, 2006
by David Keating
A famous Marx quote right? So, would it surprise you to learn that in that same
speech, Marx also called religion the "heart of a heartless world"? |
