Sunday Service – November 8, 2020
with Cher Holton
AFFIRMATION: I remove the masks of perfection, fear, martyrdom, and anger and courageously discover and reveal my authentic self.
Buddies of Benevolence December 2020
Dear Friends,
During the Sunday Service on November 15th, I spoke about “The Universal Practice of Benevolence”. Benevolence is the desire to be an expression of goodwill and kindness to all beings. Robert Brumet, author of Living Originally, states that the practice of Universal Benevolence calls us into cultivating the intentions of appreciation, kindness, and generosity.
Appreciation is the recognition and realization of the sacred value of others, for all forms of life, and for all the circumstances of our lives. It is easy to feel appreciation for those who are kind and loving to us, but it is not so easy to cultivate when we encounter individuals and situations we find challenging. When we can value people and situations as they are, our hearts begin to soften.
Kindness springs forth from a consciousness of appreciation. Kindness is cultivating a consciousness of empathy and compassion. Kindness can be expressed in our words and actions like paying someone a compliment, offering someone a smile, or any other kind gesture of acknowledgement and support.
Generosity is the act of giving for the sake of giving and to give abundantly and often. There are limitless ways we can express the generosity of our open heart. We can give of our material resources, give of our time and undivided attention, and we can offer our gifts and talents in service to others.
As this year’s holidays approach and we are physically distanced, let us discover new ways to remain connected and supportive of one another. One way we can become more connected as a community is by becoming a Buddy of Benevolence. Please find the details below:
Dec 1st – Dec 30th
Directions
1. Sign up to become a Buddy of Benevolence by November 29, 2020.
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
2. You will be randomly assigned a buddy and emailed your buddy’s contact information by November 30th
3. Contact your buddy to arrange a day and time of the week for you to check in with one another to review the Buddies of Benevolence General Practices and to schedule a weekly check in time.
4. Each buddy agrees to practice one of the below aspects of Universal Benevolence each week.
General Practices
Week of Dec 1st
Make your first contact with your buddy to review the general practice of appreciation and to set up a day and time to connect the following week to share your experiences with the practice of appreciation delineated below:
Appreciation: Softens the Heart
Throughout each day:
* * Recognize what you value about all people you encounter even those whom you may find challenging.
* * Recognize the value of each experience/event even the ones that are uncomfortable.
* * Recognize what you genuinely value about yourself.
Week of Dec. 6th
Check in with your buddy to say hello and to share your experiences of appreciation from the previous week. Together review the practice of kindness below and set a day to connect the following week to share your experiences with the practice of kindness.
Kindness: Opens the Heart
Throughout each day:
* Recognize ways you can be an empathetic and compassionate listener and presence for another.
* Recognize ways that you can share kind words or perform small acts of kindness for another.
* Recognize ways you can be genuinely kind to yourself.
Week of Dec. 13th
Check in with your buddy to say hello and to share your experiences of kindness from the previous week. Together review the practice of generosity below and set a day to connect the following week to share your experiences with the practice of generosity.
Generosity: Gives from an Open Heart
Throughout each day:
* Recognize ways you can be generous.
* Give of your resources, time, undivided attention, and/or gifts and talent.
* Recognize ways you can be genuinely generous to yourself.
Weeks of Dec 20th – 30th
Check in with your buddy to say hello, to wish them a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and/or Happy Kwanzaa, and to share your experiences of generosity.
I hope you will choose to be a Buddy of Benevolence this holiday season and agree to bring Good Cheer and Universal Benevolence into the lives of others. Your presence has the power to uplift the spirits of your fellow community members and the world, In turn, you just may be transformed!
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
Heart Teachings of the Dharma Path – Sunday Talk
Sunday Service – November 1, 2020
with Will Tuttle
AFFIRMATION: The essence of spiritual practice is awakening to our original wisdom, beyond the confining delusions of our cultural conditioning.
Your love offering is greatly appreciated.
What’s Divine Love Got to Do with It? – Sunday Talk
Sunday Service – October 23, 2020
with Kris Ferraro
AFFIRMATION: Divine love is doing its perfect work in me and through me now. – Catherine Ponder
Your love offering is greatly appreciated.
Green Cleaning
by Ingrid Justick:
Vol. 26, No. 5
Green cleaning means using products that do not pollute our indoor air with toxic chemicals, release irritating fumes which affect our health. Green cleaning means keeping toxic chemicals out of our streams and groundwater. Green cleaning products should come in recyclable packaging, or be made with recycled materials. For example: Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soaps use only certified organic plant oils and the refillable bottles are made of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic. Seventh Generation and Shaklee companies provide complete ingredient lists on their products.
When you are shopping for cleaning products, look out for the general term “fragrance,” a catch-word for synthetic perfumes that use toxic asthma-provoking phthalates as a dispersing agent. Tests by the Center for Disease Control have shown that phthalates collect in the body causing common allergies. Check that labels specify plant essential oils rather than fragrance.
SOME NON-TOXIC CLEANING RECIPES: Clean your sink with baking soda. Salt mixed with flour is a good scrubber for pots and pans. To clean your over or roasting pans, mix one part baking soda and one part borax with water. To make a thick paste add a little vinegar, coat the surface and let stand overnight, then rinse. White vinegar, full strength, cleans mold, bathroom tiles, grout stains, glass and mirrors. Diluted it is a good wood floor cleaner.
EXPLAINING GREEN CLAIMS ON PRODUCT LABELS:
Biodegradable: this unregulated term is meaningful only if it specifies the amount of time it takes for the product to decompose, as most substances will eventually biodegrade over time given the right condition, such as sunlight.
Nontoxic: there is no official definition or third-party verification for this claim.
Organic: household cleaning products are not regulated by the Organic Foods Production Act, but some ingredients, such as plant oils, can be labeled certified organic.
CLEANING PRODUCT INGREDIENTS TO AVOID
Ammonia: extremely irritating to respiratory passages when inhaled; can harm skin on contact.
Chlorine Bleach: an all-purpose whitening agent, can irritate the lungs and eyes, and in waterways can become toxic organochlorines.
Phosphates: soften water for detergents, but contribute to algae blooms in our waterways, which can kill off fish populations.
Sodium Hydroxide: found in drain, metal and oven cleaners, is extremely irritating to eyes, nose and throat, and can burn those tissues on contact.
Sodium Laurel Sulfate: a common sudsing agent, can penetrate the skin and cause contact dermatitis.
Antibacterial cleansers: containing triclosan, may be contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant germs.
Your home is part of the environment; keep it pollution free.
Cleaning products are a personal choice, but for our health and the
health of our Earth, let our choice be truly green cleaning.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. – Chief Seattle
For environmentally friendly information call: 732-922-2935
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