The Bhagavad Gita

Humility by Tomas Valenta 8552204935_b545b274bc_b 6SjbwA-6f5k1z-8omsjU-83WYCG-7CrssT-6a6xit

Of Mother, Writer, and The Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas …

THE FEAST OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

“O God, grant that whatever good things I have,
I may share generously with those who have not,
and that whatever good things I do not have,
I may request humbly from those who do.

Plant deep in me, Lord, all the virtues,
that I might be devout in divine matters,
discerning in human affairs,
and burdensome to no one in fulfilling my own bodily needs.

Order me inwardly through a good life that I might do what
is right and what will be meritorious for me and a good example for others.”

~~Saint Thomas Aquinas

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I received this in an e-mail from the seminary I briefly attended, The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (DSPT,) located at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA.

Yes, I attended, did not graduate seminary, and yes this is a Catholic seminary, run and administrated by the Dominicans, no doubt, the Dominicans who ran the infamous Inquisition.

I learned much from the Dominican nun, Sister Barbara Greene, who taught all the classes in which the Hindu sacred texts, The Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads at The California Institute of Integral Studies where I earned my MA in Psychology.

The places where spiritual teachings converge, and reveal mutual agreement have always intrigued me.

An astrology teacher once said, when you hear the same thing from many unconnected

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Of Relationships, Dharma and That Mirror of Mirrors Which Sits At Our Core…

The decisive question for man is:
Is he related to something infinite or not?
That is the telling question of his life.

In the final analysis, we count for something only because of the essential we embody, and if we do not embody that, life is wasted.

In our relationships to other men, too, the crucial question is whether an element of boundlessness is expressed in the relationship.

–Carl Gustav Jung on Jung in “Memories, Dreams, Reflections” by Carl Jung

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I recently heard a podcast, Relationship Revelation, given by Deborah and Lyle Dukes on Chocolate Pages hosted by Pam Perry.

During the interview Deborah Dukes addressed the importance of relationships and how our interactions reveal not only who we are at the core and the essence of our personality, but also how we interact with God.

“You will [discover] what is inside you… [whether] you [have the capacity to] love… when relating to others. …Your relationships with others mirror your relationship with God. The way we treat other people is an indicator, is a guide, [to the nature of] our relationship how with God. [God said,] ‘It is not good for [an individual] to be alone.'”

We need others.

Man cannot live on bread alone. Nor can woman.

Much of what Deborah and Lyle discuss forms the cornerstone of Deborah’s assertions in her book,

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