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February | 2009 | Practical Spirituality
https://chrisraymondcs.wordpress.com/2009/02
Archive for February, 2009. Surfing and Spiritual Lessons. OK, I have just finished my fourth surfing lesson. Definitely progress — not because I am getting better (likely, but hard to judge), but because the waves are getting tougher. Like life, no? But the real surfing is catching the green waves…these are the waves earlier in their formation where your objective is to catch the lip before it breaks. Faster, harder, way cooler. Stood up a few times….felt different and more like gliding. Today it was re...
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December | 2007 | Practical Spirituality
https://chrisraymondcs.wordpress.com/2007/12
Archive for December, 2007. The cause and the reformer. Can a cause live on when the reformer gives her life? Of Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007, devastated her countrymen in Pakistan and stunned the international community. Bhutto was a force for democratic change. The reformer and his enemy are inverted images: the reformer disregards the prospect of physical harm in the interest of the greater good, while the enemy looks to preserve his own power base, regardless of the pain and suffering of other...
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April | 2009 | Practical Spirituality
https://chrisraymondcs.wordpress.com/2009/04
Archive for April, 2009. OK, I am really amped up about a particularly virulent dimension of the Swine Flu situation throttling the globe right now. This is having to do with Mexico. “Everyone” is blaming Mexico for being ground zero of the outbreak. The US is not only the most vocal, one of the House Democrats from New York actually advocates shutting the border! People, people, people! Will quarantining an entire country actually make a difference? Doesnt this make you want to HELP not blame? I cant po...
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A time to be our better selves | Practical Spirituality
https://chrisraymondcs.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/a-time-to-be-our-better-selves
A time to be our better selves. January 13, 2010 at 12:21 pm. After I had witnessed a disastrous event, I blurted out to a good friend and spiritual thinker, “Why does this crap happen? 8221; And he responded with a sigh, “Because it is part of the human condition…and it is our job as spiritual thinkers to help lift ourselves and others out of the trauma and into a better place, mentally and practically.”. Is the present demand for all of us to do what is our best and highest concept of our better selves.
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January | 2010 | Practical Spirituality
https://chrisraymondcs.wordpress.com/2010/01
Archive for January, 2010. OMG, I love a parade. And, evidently, so do the Mexicans. There are lots of kinds of parades celebrating religious saints, cultural fiestas and political-social events. Some small and homey, others pretty big and organized. Yet another reason why I love living in Mexico! Today’s parade du jour celebrated the birthday of Ignacio Allende. And, geez louise, Mexico has had a long history of being invaded by foreign countries: Spain for 300 years, then soon thereafter the US (hey, h...
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A Birthday Parade | Practical Spirituality
https://chrisraymondcs.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/a-birthday-parade
January 22, 2010 at 8:04 am. OMG, I love a parade. And, evidently, so do the Mexicans. There are lots of kinds of parades celebrating religious saints, cultural fiestas and political-social events. Some small and homey, others pretty big and organized. Yet another reason why I love living in Mexico! Today’s parade du jour celebrated the birthday of Ignacio Allende. And, geez louise, Mexico has had a long history of being invaded by foreign countries: Spain for 300 years, then soon thereafter the US (hey,...
chrisraymondcs.wordpress.com
What happened to us? | Practical Spirituality
https://chrisraymondcs.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/what-happened-to-us
What happened to us? September 9, 2010 at 2:58 pm. There is so much I remember about that early September day nine years ago. interestingly, it always comes back to the weather: it was a beautiful early fall Boston day, the sky was so blue and cloudless, the temperature was warm but not sticky hot, my favorite kind of day where I think “This is gonna be a great day! 8221;…it was perfect. But that’s not how we climbed out of our pit of sadness, remember? It just came forth — it was as if a critical ...
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New Place, New View | Practical Spirituality
https://chrisraymondcs.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/new-place-new-view
New Place, New View. January 6, 2010 at 11:22 am. Okay, I am back. No point in describing all that has happened in the past 6 months or so since my last blog…yes, a lot has happened but I also have observed that many casual bloggers (like, non-commercial, blog-to-get-the-thoughts-out-of-my-head types) fade in and out of cyberspace. SOOOO, now I am feeling like getting the thoughts rattling around in my head out of there. For the time being. OK, 3 weeks turned into two more months. Why? Percentage-wise it...
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January | 2009 | Practical Spirituality
https://chrisraymondcs.wordpress.com/2009/01
Archive for January, 2009. Up close and personal. A few years ago, Ken and I spent a perfect afternoon with our good friends, Sue and Larry, on a pristine and empty beach in Mexico watching a pod of whales play in the ocean. It was the middle of February — 85 in Mexico (Boca de Naranja to be exact) and 35 in Santa Fe. And it became a “marker” day, one we would always refer to when we talked about why Mexico was so special to us. Well, gee, pick your place — having respect for your neighbors and liv...
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