“Our mind is enriched by what we receive, our heart by what we give.”

Victor Hugo, born on this day in 1802

“The only thing we really have to work at in this life is how to manifest love.”

George Harrison, born on this day in 1943

Anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Prayer for the Peace of the World by Hazrat Inayat Khan

“O Thou, the Almighty Sun,
whose light cleareth away all clouds,
we take refuge in Thee,
King of men, God of all deities,
Lord of all angels.

We pray Thee
dispel the mists of illusion
from the hearts of the nations
and lift their lives
by Thy all-sufficient power.

Pour upon them
Thy limitless love
Thy everlasting life
Thy heavenly joy
and Thy perfect peace.”

“Fight the good fight; and always call to mind that it is not you who are mortal, but this body of ours. For your true being is not discerned by perceiving your physical appearance.”

Samuel Pepys, born on this day in 1633

“In the old fairy tales princes were always being turned into frogs, and princesses who wanted husbands were always being asked to kiss them. Maybe this is a Jungian parable about love – how it requires that you accept the animal within people if you want to enjoy their more “civilized” attributes as well.

Perhaps we should consider every frog a prince. Start to think in different terms – deem every dog a duke and every cat a countess, regard every rabbit as royalty and every mosquito a monarch. What if we stopped judging the earth as a place of untidy wildness in need of human dominion – and instead bowed to nature’s nobility?”

Brian Nelson

“Life is short. People are not easy to know. They’re not easy to know, so if you don’t tell them how you feel, you’re not going to get anywhere, I feel.”

Nina Simone, born on this day in 1933

“”If the doors of perception are cleansed, everything would appear as it is, infinite.” William Blake

The doors of perception are the senses – not only the physical senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, but also the subtle senses of inner vision, resonance instinct, discrimination, and empathy. Without the cooperation of these two sets of senses, we cannot perceive truly.

To be able to perceive everything as it really is means retraining and exercising senses that we have often neglected. Meditation can hone our subtle senses, as we reach beyond the physical for the unseen reality and its meaning…

When the doors of perception are cleansed, we receive earlier warning of matters that are likely to be dangerous or problematic for us; we are subsequently able to make better decisions, draft more accurate forecasts, and read the character of the universe in an altogether better way.

Practice using your subtle senses in combination with your physical senses today. Your eyes tell you one thing about a person, but what do your ears tell you? Is the message different? What do your deep instinct and discrimination have to say?”

Caitlin Matthews

“Every light has its shadow, and every shadow hath a succeeding morning.”

Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, born on this day in 1473

“The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence, the second listening, the third memory, the fourth practice, the fifth teaching others.”

Solomon Ibn Gabirol

“On this day in 1917, a street in Baltimore was the first anywhere to be lit with gas. This was the beginning of a curse for astronomers, who would come to revile city lights for interfering with their telescopes. Yet it had its advantages as well. It made the night a safer place and helped bring people together from their isolated hearths to a new appreciation of the evening.

Do the lights that we turn on at night separate us from nature or let us enjoy it in a new aspect? The answer will be different for everyone. Tonight, take a step outside and ask yourself how much light you really need. Soon the days will be longer, so savour the night now – by taking your light into your own hands.”

Brian Nelson