Author Archives: Laura Dobson

“In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” Confucius, born on this day in 55 BC

“Many of us consider growing up as a kind of increasing, and getting old as a kind of decreasing. When we say that humans go from ashes to ashes and from dust to dust, it doesn’t sound very joyful, because none of us wants to return to dust. It is our mind of discrimination thatContinue reading “Thought for the day, Tuesday 27th September”

“I know a person who is convinced their deceased brother is in hell because of who they lovedI told them that if hell is real, I don’t think it is a destinationI believe hell is a campsite that gets formed in the hearts of people who judge others for living a life that they refuseContinue reading “Thought for the day, Monday 26th September”

“Our work for peace must begin within the private world of each of us. To build for humanity a world without fear, we must be without fear. To build a world of justice, we must be just.” Dag Hammarskjöld, UN Secretary-General and Unitarian, who died on this day in 1961

“Our heart is the altar. In whatever you do let a spark of the holy fire burn within you, so that you may fan it into a flame.” Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov (c.1698 – 1760)

The Cleric and the Cat – a Sufi parable: A well-known cleric was teaching in the desert, reciting the scriptures to a group of spellbound listeners. As he was speaking, a sick cat meandered into the camp, slid next to him, and went to sleep on the hem of his exquisite robe. Now the clericContinue reading “Thought for the day, Friday 16th September”

“Advaita is not a path. It is an experience. An experience of dropping the path. Those who have tried to turn non-duality into a “path” have created delusion and mental strain for many. I am discontented and I’d rather be somewhere else. I want to get to Oneness, I want to get “there,” so IContinue reading “Thought for the day, Thursday 15th September”

The Perfect Garden, a Zen parable A priest was in charge of the garden within a famous Zen temple. He had been given the job because he loved the flowers, shrubs, and trees. Next to the temple there was another, smaller temple where there lived a very old Taoist master. One day, when the priestContinue reading “Thought for the day, Wednesday 14th September”

“I have been practising meditation, I have been to workshops, I have read many books on spirituality, I try to be in a state of non-resistance – but if you ask me whether I have found true and lasting inner peace, my honest answer would have to be “no.”Why haven’t I found it? What elseContinue reading “Thought for the day, Tuesday 13th September”

Anniversary of the discovery of the cave paintings in Lascaux in 1940 “Storytelling is the oldest form of entertainment there is. From campfires and pictograms – the Lascaux cave paintings may be as much as twenty thousand years old – to tribal songs and epic ballads passed down from generation to generation, it is oneContinue reading “Thought for the day, Monday 12th September”