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GRACE AND GRATITUDE
a moment to pause

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Home: July 30 - August 5
When Patrick and I married 25 years ago, we vowed to make our home a place of love and welcome. We try to keep that promise. Our dining...

danmcneil14
Jul 30, 20231 min read
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Joy: July 23 - 29
A joy shared is a joy doubled and a burden shared is a burden halved. When I was a novice with the Franciscans, Fr. James Cox, an elderly...

danmcneil14
Jul 23, 20231 min read
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Happy Place: July 16 - 22
It is no secret that the beach is my happy place. Maybe because some part of my subconscious remembers the first 9 months of life in my...

danmcneil14
Jul 16, 20231 min read
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Savor: July 9 - 15
Humans survived thanks to a negativity bias. This way of thinking helped our ancestors avoid being eaten by a lion, but today it can trap...

danmcneil14
Jul 9, 20231 min read
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Eat More Ice Cream: July 2 - 8
I'd dare to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer...

danmcneil14
Jul 2, 20231 min read
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Summer Day: June 25 - July 1
Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean— the one who has flung...

danmcneil14
Jun 25, 20231 min read
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Sky: June 18 - 24
Body like the mountain, Heart like the ocean, Mind like the sky. Master Dogen zenmasterdogen.com Let your mind be like the sky. The same...

danmcneil14
Jun 18, 20231 min read
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Ocean: June 11 - 17
Body like the mountain, Heart like the ocean, Mind like the sky. Master Dogen zenmasterdogen.com Often the beauty of nature lifts me up...

danmcneil14
Jun 11, 20231 min read
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Mountain: June 4 - 10
In June, we celebrate summer. I love these sunny days and spending time in nature. With that theme in mind, I’m drawing inspiration from...

danmcneil14
Jun 4, 20231 min read
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Teachers: May 28 - June 3
Good meditation teachers may inspire and move you but the best teachers don't actually teach anything at all. Rather, they show you the...

danmcneil14
May 28, 20231 min read
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The Body: May 21 - 27
As the body holds the breath, so the earth holds the body. Breath, body, and earth are three realms where I dwell. It is essentially a...

danmcneil14
May 21, 20232 min read
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Parents: May 14 - 20
The Inca believed that our soul waits before we are born at the center of the universe and that we pick the time and the place into which...

danmcneil14
May 13, 20231 min read
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Thank You: May 7 - 13
If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough. Meister Eckhart 13th century German mystic For me,...

danmcneil14
May 6, 20231 min read
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Beginner’s Mind: April 30 - May 6
If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything, it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities,...

danmcneil14
Apr 29, 20231 min read
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Intention: April 23 - 29
Over the last few weeks, you’ve constructed a framework for meditation. First, you set up an inviting space. Second, you focused the mind...

danmcneil14
Apr 22, 20231 min read
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Posture: April 16 - 22
You’ve created a welcoming space. You’ve arrived. Now pay attention to your physical posture. Be upright but not uptight. In other words,...

danmcneil14
Apr 15, 20231 min read
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Arriving: April 9 - 15
Do you ever dream of going on vacation, where you can leave behind the demands of work, show up in a relaxing location, and just be for a...

danmcneil14
Apr 8, 20231 min read
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On the Cushion: April 2 - 8
Meditation can be thought of as a formal practice as well as an informal practice. Sitting like a monk is formal practice while taking a...

danmcneil14
Apr 1, 20232 min read
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Photosynthesis: March 26 - April 1
As I enter into my quiet time, the tree in the front yard inspires me. I am struck not only by its beauty, but also by its continuous...

danmcneil14
Mar 25, 20231 min read
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Clearing: March 19 - 25
Do not try to save the whole world or do anything grandiose. Instead, create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there...

danmcneil14
Mar 18, 20231 min read
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