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Be Closer to the Flowers
Dear Friend, As we wrap-up our contemplative read of The Book of Joy, I find myself feeling grateful for this experience, for this community, and for you. I suppose I would feel this way regardless of our reading selection this month, but it’s especially nice to stand in this place considering one of the eight…
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Step Firmly Forward into the Howling Wind
Dear Friend, “To choose hope is to step firmly forward into the howling wind, baring one’s chest to the elements, knowing that, in time, the storm will pass.” Days 2 and 3 of the meeting between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama are collectively titled, “The Obstacles to Joy,” and one of…
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The Elasticity of Love
Dear Friend, How do we expand our love so that it’s not only our children or immediate family and friends whom we cherish, but all people? This is the question that ends the first part of The Book of Joy, and what the editor, Douglas Abrams, means by “the elasticity of love.” He raises the…
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An Invitation to Joy
Dear Friend, I hope January finds you happy, healthy, and well. I’m pleased to officially introduce our first book of the new year and of this first winter season at The Contemplative Reading Project: The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, a conversation with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond…
Contemplative Reading Project 