Musings for Seekers of Truth
Podcasts, blogs, essays, and more
What I’m Enjoying: Week of 26 Nov. 2023
Thanksgiving has come and gone. I have a love/hate relationship with the holidays lately thanks largely in part to some family drama, but who doesn't have family drama? Our house is moving slowly, but we took advantage of some Black Friday deals and bought paint! I'm so excited! We're going with a deep green for most of the house, and a deep blueish/green for the master. God willing we'll have a liveable home by the first of the year. From my browser history this week: Tom Brittney is exiting...
What I’m Enjoying: Week of 19 Nov. 2023
Progress on the house is slow going. I've been deeply overwhelmed with work, and the state of the house. Add in the dogs, my health issues, and lack of sleep, and I am barely functional. Progress on the house has all but come to a halt. This week though I did manage to get a box of floor tiles laid, so I suppose that's something. Also this week I started reading Brenton's Septuagint. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament commissioned by Ptolemy II of Alexandria in the...
What I’m Enjoying: Week of 12 Nov. 2023
Things at home are a bit difficult, but in a way that is forcing me to grow as a spiritual being. We finally got internet access on Tuesday. Yay! And we finally have a kickass electrician who is resolving the problems from the previous one. By all accounts we are progressing through the chaos. But Nick is working a lot. And it's wearing on us both. I struggle to work on the house that's a construction zone, right the ship at the cafe in the wake of my manager's departure, and take care of our...
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the Earth.Psalm 46:11 In this modern world where our minds are going at 100 miles an hour, it's too easy to go at such a fast pace that we forget to make room for God. We forget to make time for God. But this is where the Quaker practice of sitting in stillness can be so helpful. When we sit in expectant waiting, we are making space for God. We are making time for God. Often, as Quakers, we forget that...
Why are my Psalms all jumbled up?
The Psalms are a collection of religious songs, poems, and prayers that are central to both Jewish and Christian liturgies. But the numbering of the Psalms varies from Bible translation to Bible translation. If you are reading a Bible and you see something like Psalm 9 (9,10) or Psalm 45 (46), what you're encountering is the divergence between the numbering systems. The reason you're getting the parenthetical is because the team who translated this particular Bible wanted to make sure the...
You are Light in the Lord
Life in the darkness is where we begin our journey of awakening to the Light.
What I’m Enjoying: Week of 5 Nov. 2023
What an interesting week. My business partner flew in from out west so we can sign the paperwork for the new building. Hopefully by the time I do this post next week, I'll finally own the building that my wine bar is going into! It's very exciting. The cafe is hampered by the small kitchen and not owning the building. Getting the new building gives us a lot of latitude to grow the business, while we simultaneously open a new business. I wanted to go to Mass yesterday. Even though I am a...
What I’m Enjoying: Week of 29 Oct. 2023
Another week in the chaos cabin! We are a little bit closer to having working electric in all rooms. I got the first batch of shiplap so I can start panelling the living room, and my fiancé and I have picked out flooring. We are making good progress. Unfortunately, I am still overwhelmed. The progress isn't fast enough. My fiancé isn't here a lot as he's working a ton to pay for the renovations. The natural consequence of that is the restaurant, plus the house, plus caring for the dogs has...
What I’m Enjoying: Week of 22 Oct. 2023
I had every intention of getting this post out on a weekly basis, but WOW, the last month has been absolute chaos. So here we are...4 weeks late. But, like everything going awry in my life right now, I have to trust in God's divine timing. My house is a complete construction zone. The kitchen was gutted, and then the contractor wasted three weeks of my life. We do not have a kitchen. We barely have electricity. Yet we have to live in this house with our six dogs. Then my manager at the cafe...
Bringing God Back Into Our Weddings
On the Equinox I attended a lovely wedding for two dear friends of mine. Their relationship was tried and tested over and over again, sometimes from internal forces, and sometimes from external forces.
Sometimes the Husband’s ego gets the best of him and he acts in a way that is less than divine. Sometimes the Wife’s emotions get the best of her and she lashes out when she doesn’t feel seen.
How Quaker Ministers Differ From Protestant Ministers
A Quaker minister is someone in the Meeting who's seen as having a special talent for ministry. How Quaker ministers look and what they do can be quite different between the various Quaker groups or yearly meetings. Some Quaker Meetings are programmed and these look a lot like Protestant or evangelical services. You might find singing, a sermon, and the minister giving guidance to the congregation. These meetings are most like the original Quaker meetings from the early days of the movement....
What I’m Enjoying: Week of 24 Sept. 2023
As this is a personal blog as much as it’s an educational one, I’ve decided to start doing these weekly roundups where I share things I have recently read, laughed at, or otherwise enjoyed. Perhaps you’ll get some enjoyment out of these as well.
Mary Dyer: A Quaker’s Life of Defiance
Mary Dyer, a name now synonymous with religious freedom and the price of conscience, was a Quaker woman who, in the face of oppression, stood tall against the theocratic regime of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Executed in 1660 by the Puritans for her religious beliefs, Dyer's legacy is one of conviction and fearlessness. ••• Born in England around 1611, Mary's early life remains somewhat shrouded in mystery. It wasn’t until she and her husband, William Dyer, migrated to the New World in the...
Meeting Quakers: An Overview of a Non-conformist Spiritual Movement
The Religious Society of Friends, more commonly known as Quakers, originated in the mid-17th century in England during a period of religious and political turmoil. The emergence can be seen as a reaction to the established Church and its practices, which many believed had strayed far from the teachings of Christ.
Our movement’s founder, George Fox, had a series of religious experiences in which he felt a direct communion with God, leading him to believe that each individual could have a personal relationship with the divine without the need for intermediaries such as clergy.
10 Minute Mindset Training to Release Automatic Thoughts
Letting your brain run wild is a recipe for misery. In this podcast episode I guide you through a training to help you release your automatic thoughts.
Those Pesky Expectations
In this episode I get personal. I discuss how life’s unpredictability has thrown me for a curveball, how I have to readjust my expectations, and how to better manage my mind for the trials ahead.
Expanded Awareness Meditation
In this bonus episode I teach you how to expand your mind by zooming out your awareness. Only by zooming out your awareness will you find the capacity to understand you’re not who you think you are; you’re so much more.
You Are Not Your Personality
On this day in history we’re talking about the Valais Witch Trials, and then I guide you through a meditation to expand your awareness.