MIDWEEK MESSAGE – October 22, 2025
Sometimes life can be difficult. It may seem like some people are lucky while others are not. But at some point, most people face challenges. I believe it’s not about luck but just a part of life. Still, I also think we are not defined by what happens to us but by how we respond.
I believe we exist from within, meaning the quality of our life relies not on external things but on what resides inside us. That is why some people allow life’s difficulties to shape who they are and how they respond, while others don’t let life’s challenges define them.
Such individuals can “walk through a storm,” yet they do so with dignity and grace. They continue to trust and believe in a loving God, keep serving anyone in need, and live life not filled with self-pity and anger but with a heart that consistently shows love and compassion despite their own pain.
I am blessed to know such people in my life. Even though it may seem they’ve been dealt a bad hand, they refuse to let it define them. They have been the greatest teachers, not by words but by how they live their lives.
Recently, a friend of mine lost her son. She had also previously lost her daughter. For many people, burying two children would be heartbreaking, yet my friend refuses to let life defeat her. Yes, she experiences moments of sadness, pain, and some anger, but what stands out to me is that she doesn’t allow those feelings to stop her from moving forward. She continues to trust in a loving and good God. When she faces dark times, her strength inspires everyone who knows her to do their best with their lives.
I believe these people are angels, and their challenges and how they handle them inspire others to believe they can do the same. What determines the quality of our lives is how we navigate life’s rough patches. We do not let our losses, injuries, or pain define us. We are more than that. We are created by a Creator who loves us, and by continuing to recognize that, even despite life’s setbacks, we too become an inspiration to others in our lives.
Quote of the Week
“Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
MIDWEEK MESSAGE – Ocober 15, 2025
When you hear the word “prosperity,” what comes to mind? The dictionary lists related words like wealth, success, profitability, affluence, and opulence. In Unity, we often see prosperity as being abundant.
So, what does abundance mean? It refers to a very large or overflowing amount of something, indicating plentifulness, sufficiency, or even excess. For me, abundance means so much more. It is a rich, fulfilling inner life characterized by peace, joy, love, and a deep connection to God or the universe, rather than material possessions.
It signifies the “abundant life” Jesus spoke of, characterized by gratitude, trust, and generosity, along with the understanding that one has everything necessary for spiritual and personal growth.
Using that to explain abundance, I have found that people who genuinely live from such abundance usually have fewer possessions. What they do have is a deep connection to God, gratitude for what they possess, trust that they will always be okay, and a generous spirit.
One of the biggest fears many people have is financial insecurity. That means that even if they have the things they need, they live in fear of not having enough. When we have that fear, we can never truly feel satisfied because the fear of future scarcity takes away our joy and gratitude in the present moment.
However, when we truly believe that the Source of all we need is God and trust that Source to provide us with what we need (not necessarily what we want), we live and breathe in an abundant Universe, and the fear of financial insecurity is never a barrier to our joy and freedom.
Quote of the Week
“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.”
Henry David Thoreau
MIDWEEK MESSAGE – October 8, 2025
Recently, I came across a simple method that predicts our destiny and the way our lives unfold, aiming to transform us into productive beings through our hopes, dreams, and desires.
A is for our attitude, how we perceive life. Years ago, a therapist told me that I had a choice in how I viewed life and that it shaped my experience because we see life from the inside out. I thought I had no choice, but through the spiritual path I have followed, I’ve realized I do have a choice.
We can choose to focus on the good in life and be happy, or dwell on the dark side and remain angry, sad, and overwhelmed by self-pity. To truly enjoy life and appreciate each day, we need to maintain a positive attitude.
B stands for behavior, which refers to how we act and what we do in our daily lives. We can choose to be kind and loving, serve others, and let gratitude be the main motivation behind our actions. In other words, it’s not just about saying we’re grateful while being driven by ego and consumed by selfishness. It is about gratitude in action—being kind, loving, nonjudgmental, and forgiving.
When we intentionally choose to live with A and B guided by the God within us, rather than our ego, we experience positive consequences (C).
These consequences can bring happiness, reward, and a carefree attitude. If our A and B are negative, we find ourselves living a negative life, never satisfied, and pushing others away through selfish actions.
Which road do you want to take in your life? Picking the right one is as simple as A, B, C.
Quote of the Week
“Our lives are fashioned by our choices. First, we make our choices. Then our choices make us.”
Anne Frank
MIDWEEK MESSAGE – October 1, 2025
I often say that I hope I never stop growing because if we are not growing and moving forward, then we become stagnant, and when that happens, we become like the Dead Sea because we have no inlet or outlet. I know I am growing when I am continually surprised by new insight into myself.
For years, I told the story that I had been an atheist before I started my spiritual journey. However, I recently realized that I had made a conscious decision not to believe because God was cruel and could not be trusted.
I believed that God would punish me for my wrongdoings, and it felt like I was always doing something wrong. It wasn’t until I reached a deep point of despair that I surrendered to “whatever” that I started to understand a God of love and compassion. That night, during my spiritual awakening, I discovered a God who was not judgmental, a God who cared about me, a God who only wanted my best, but led me toward my greater good.
The other day, I heard a speaker say that instead of inviting God into my life, I should invite myself into God. You see, when I ask for God’s will to be done in my life, what I’m often really asking is to get what I think I want.
Therefore, when I ask to align with God’s will, I open myself to accepting and appreciating whatever God’s plan for me is, knowing that ultimately it is for my highest and greatest good. It always surprises me that when I follow God’s will, I begin to see and acknowledge the good in my life rather than the negative.
I am grateful for an open mind and heart, which help me realize I do not know everything, allowing me to be teachable and grow in this school we call life.
Quote of the Week
“Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.”Ramana Maharshi
MIDWEEK MESSAGE – September 24, 2025
One of my favorite spiritual teachers is His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. When asked once about his religion, he replied, “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” Above all, he emphasized the importance of kindness and compassion toward others.
The Dalai Lama described compassion as “love, affection, kindness, gentleness, generosity of spirit and warm-heartedness….” He also said that “When someone possesses such traits, they do not go into a personal encounter seeking something for themselves. They go in with the intention of serving that person in some way, especially if that person is suffering.”
Those of us who know people like that are fortunate. People who live with such compassion make the world a better place for others.
I was blessed to have been married to such a person, and for the 30 years we spent together, I saw someone living a life of service, kindness, and love. Not only did he touch many lives, but every time I saw such compassion, I felt blessed as well.
When we serve not out of pity or superiority, but from a sincere desire to give love and kindness as equals, we practice compassion in the way the Dalai Lama describes.
Imagine a world where everyone treats others with authentic compassion. While we can’t change everyone, we can change ourselves. We can choose each day to treat others as we would like to be treated—with genuine kindness and service.
Quote of the Week
“Teach these three truths to all beings: a warm heart, kind words, a life of service, and compassion are the things that will renew humanity.”
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
MIDWEEK MESSAGE – September 17, 2025
This weekend, I stayed at a hotel out of town. It had a large TV, which was a novelty for me, so I started flipping through the channels. While doing so, I came across the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
This is one of my favorite movies, not because it’s a great film, but because it contains one of the most powerful spiritual truths I have seen in a movie. In the film, Indiana is trying to find the Holy Grail before the Nazis do. They aren’t having much luck, so they shoot Indiana’s father, forcing him to get them the chalice to save his father’s life.
After successfully overcoming the first two challenges, he faces the final obstacle blocking his path to save his father’s life. He emerges from a cave and finds himself at an abyss with seemingly no way across to the other side, where his father’s only hope lies.
The clue for this obstacle is that only someone with true faith in their heart can take the leap from the lion’s head. It seems impossible for him to survive such a jump, which would result in death for both him and his father.
He closes his eyes, places his hand on his heart, and steps forward in faith. As soon as his foot moves, an invisible bridge appears. He then walks across the crevice to reach the chalice.
Life closely resembles that scene. Often, to reach where Spirit calls us, we must take a leap of faith. We must step into the unknown despite fears and doubts, trusting that God is with us. God is the invisible bridge we cannot see, which carries us from our current position to where God’s will for us desires us to be.
Just like Indiana, it’s not easy to step into the unknown and face its possible dangers, but that’s often what we’re asked to do. All we need is strong faith and deep trust, and to step out knowing “God’s Will will not take us where God’s grace will not keep us.”
Quote of the Week
“Every great move forward in your life begins with a leap of faith, a step into the unknown.”
Brian Tracy
MIDWEEK MESSAGE – September 10, 2025
Yesterday on my meditation app, I received this quote by Epictetus, “Circumstances don’t make us, they only reveal us to ourselves.”
Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher who lived from approximately 50 to approximately 135 AD. This quote of his could easily have been stated by any modern-day mystic or philosopher, as well as a religious or spiritual teacher.
This was stated in more modern times by Viktor Frankl, who said, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
In Unity, we say, “Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind,” and in 12-step programs, it becomes the Serenity Prayer.
Truth is Truth. What makes it true is that if it is expressed by a Greek Stoic philosopher or a modern-day 12-step member, it essentially means the same thing: we live life from the inside out, not the other way around.
Yet, many of our challenges today are not caused by what is actually happening, but by unwarranted fears of the future or how we react to circumstances. My mother used to say, “It is taking a thread and knitting a sweater.”
How can we prevent ourselves from spinning out when the outside world challenges us and causes us concern or fear?
One thing we can ask ourselves is whether this is something I can change or not. If it’s beyond my control, I can let it go. Alternatively, we can ask ourselves, “How are we now?” One of my favorite lessons I learned from a friend is to “stop feeling our pain in advance.”
The point is that when we focus on living in the present and stop trying to control the future, we find more peace and happiness and life takes on a new meaning
Quote of the Week
“It is not things themselves that disturb us, but our opinions about them.”
Marcus Aurelius
MIDWEEK MESSAGE – September 3, 2025
I once saw a video of Dick Van Dyke dancing at 89 years young. What I loved about it wasn’t just how well he moved, but the youthful spirit that brightened the screen and my day.
We often judge people by their appearance. We notice age, race, accent, clothing, and more, then quickly form either a positive or negative judgment. Most people do this to some extent, including us.
We look in the mirror, and depending on what we see, we judge what we can and cannot do. Most people at Dick Van Dyke’s age would say, “I’m too old to dance like that,” or “I’m too old to get that job,” or “I’m too young to get that promotion.” Maybe our self-talk is that we are too fat or too thin, or it might relate to our race or sexual orientation. Whatever we judge others by, we often judge ourselves the same way.
This negative self-talk then becomes our true limitation. Imagine what we could achieve if we didn’t hold ourselves back with misconceptions about who we are. What if we stopped not only criticizing others but also ourselves?
I believe that what makes some people more successful than others is that they don’t let what others think of them limit their actions, and they maintain a positive self-image.
In my own life, I haven’t done something I wanted to because my negative inner voice told me I couldn’t. Conversely, every time I’ve ignored that voice and gone ahead anyway, the results were always positive and often amazing.
Just for today, try to go an entire day without judging anyone, including yourself. Wear a rubber band or some kind of bracelet on one wrist. Every time you catch yourself judging — of others or yourself — switch the bracelet to the other wrist. Please let me know how this works for you. It might lead to new opportunities, relationships, and adventures.
Quote of the Week
“How would your life be different if…you stopped making negative judgmental assumptions?”
Steve Maraboli
MIDWEEK MESSAGE – August 27, 2025
There are usually two or more ways to see the world. Some people are naturally negative, while others are positive, but I think most people fall somewhere in between. It’s not that some things are good and others are bad; instead, it is our perception of things that changes based on circumstances and how we view and judge those circumstances.
Someone once told me that since everything eventually dies, it seemed to them that our purpose in life was simply to be born and then die. I couldn’t help but say that the thought was one of the most depressing I’ve ever heard. I also mentioned that perhaps what’s important is that, although we all die, what really matters and defines the quality of our lives is how we spend our time.
The significance of lives like those of Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King Jr. wasn’t in their deaths, but in what they achieved during their lives. We might not leave a lasting impact on the world like they did, but we can still make a positive difference in the lives of those we know.
If we have improved others’ lives just by being part of them, then we have not lived in vain. The number of our years doesn’t matter as much as how we spend the time we have. Since we don’t know how many years that will be, we must live a life of integrity, kindness, understanding, compassion, and forgiveness.
We need to recognize the light of God in everyone around us, not just in those we like or love, but also in the people who challenge us. That may not be easy, but they are the true angels God has sent into our lives for our souls’ growth.
Quote of the Week
“The purpose of life is …to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and have lived well.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
MIDWEEK MESSAGE – August 20, 2026
Most people worry. On a positive note, worry can motivate you to plan and take action, leading to positive changes in your life. However, when most people worry, the opposite often happens. Because of the stress caused by worry, they often fail to take the necessary steps to achieve the positive changes they want. That is because worry often blocks our connection with God, disrupting our faith and stealing our peace and serenity.
Most of our worries never materialize. In fact, studies show that, on average, 91.4% of worries do not come true. So, if worry doesn’t produce the desired results, how can we stop worrying?
There are many ideas and methods to stop worrying; just search for them online and make sure you have enough time to explore all of them. Many have great suggestions, but for me, the best way to release worry is something I learned years ago from my spiritual mentor in Miami.
Whenever I would feel worried, which happened often, she would just ask me, “How is your now?” I hated that question because my now was always okay. Because, like most people, my worries were all about the future.
For me, worry drains my energy, peace, my connection with a higher power, and often distances me from others. Rarely does it lead to anything positive because it prevents me from taking action out of fear that it will be wrong; as a result, I worry even more. When I pause and ask myself how I am right now, and then think of things I am grateful for in this moment, the worry fades away.
Most religions aim to help people reduce their worries. While each religion approaches this from its own unique theological view, they share a common theme: trusting in a higher power or principles, being present, and accepting what is beyond our control. This often leads to less worry and more inner peace.
So, like the song from a few years ago said, “Don’t worry, be happy.”
Quote of the Week
“If a problem is fixable, then there is no need to worry. If it is not fixable, then there is no use in worrying. Either way, there is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.”
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
