"Olympic Prayer", Episode 87, August 9, 2024

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Scott discusses the power and practice of prayer and reflects on how what we witness in the Olympics can help us deepen our understanding of prayer.  

"The Power of Rituals and Ceremonies," July 28, 2024

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The Olympics remind us of the power of ceremonies and rituals. In this episode, Scott discusses how ceremonies and rituals are equally important in our personal lives and in our families, friendships, and communities. 

"Walking Meditation: A Unique Prayer Practice"

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Walking meditation is a contemplative prayer practice that many people find works for them better than sitting meditation. Scott witnessed thousands of people doing walking meditation on his recent trip to Dharamsala, India, and shares how this practice has become important to his spiritual life.  

"Loving Kindness: A Prayer Practice & A Way of Being"

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Loving Kindness is both a form of prayer and a way of being. It is a practice that can be done as part of sitting prayer/meditation and/or walking prayer/meditation.  Scott recently experienced the power of this, both as prayer and action, from the Tibetan people he recently spent time with in Dharmsala, India.

"The Buddhist Concept of Spacious Minds, and How It Enhances Mental and Spiritual Wellbeing"

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Scott recently learned about the Tibetan Buddhist concept of Spacious Minds (seems pa chen po) on his trip to Dharamsala, India. This concept has a profound positive effect on our mental and spiritual wellbeing.  

"Lessons Learned from Dharamsala, Part 1"

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Scott has just returned from almost three weeks in India, including a "Mindful Medicine Conference" that he and his wife Holly were part of in Dharamsala, India, home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In this first of several episodes, he talks about what he learned from the Tibetan people that were his hosts, and how that learning can help all of us.  

"Wholly Listening, Part 4"

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Continuing the series on "Holy Listening," this week Scott talks about "Wholly Listening." This involves listening to God not just through prayer and meditation but also through our bodies, emotions, and relationships. It is a whole-person approach to listening, one where we listen with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.  

"Holy Listening, Part 3: Centering Prayer & Meditation"

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One expression of Holy Listening is contemplative prayer. In this form of prayer, our primary focus is to be still and listen to God. In this episode, Scott talks about how practices like centering prayer and meditation can help us listen more deeply to what theologian and civil rights activist Howard Thurman calls "the sound of the Genuine."

"Holy Listening, Part 2,"-- April 22, 2024

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Continuing the discussion on holy listening, Scott talks about how "believing is seeing," in that our filters can often interfere with our ability to truly hear one another, and to hear the presence of the Holy in one another.  

"Holy Listening, Part 1,"-- April 16, 2024

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In this episode, Scott makes the case that listening is at the heart of both a deeper spiritual life and a life of wellness.  He invites each listener to reflect on their own practice of listening--to themselves, others, and the presence of the Divine.   

"Happy Easter!"-- March 31, 2024

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There are many signs of Easter and Spring around us this time of year. In this episode, Scott talks about one sign that is especially meaningful to him and one that others may not have thought of before-- the image of the ground beginning to soften. 

"Holy Week and Forgiveness, Part 2"-- March 29, 2024

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In this episode, Scott explores the connection between Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and forgiveness.  

During Lent, Scott is releasing two weekly episodes that focus on the theme of our Lenten booklet, Practicing Forgiveness. If you don't have a booklet, you can receive the daily reflections via email, download a free PDF of the booklet, or purchase an e-book on Amazon for .99 cents. Visit www.livingcompass.org/lent to find out more. 

"Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Forgiveness"-- March 25, 2024

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In this episode for Palm Sunday and Holy Week, Scott reflects on two powerful images from Palm Sunday that speak to the theme of practicing forgiveness. The first is Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem, and the second is the crowd's response of "crucify him" when Pontius Pilot asks what he should do with Jesus. 

During Lent, Scott is releasing two weekly episodes that focus on the theme of our Lenten booklet, Practicing Forgiveness. If you don't have a booklet, you can receive the daily reflections via email, download a free PDF of the booklet, or purchase an e-book on Amazon for .99 cents. Visit www.livingcompass.org/lent to find out more. 

"May Our Words Be a Blessing"-- March 21, 2024

(Click the player above to listen to this 6:00 episode.) You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast app—Apple, Google, Spotify, etc. Search for Living Compass, and be sure to subscribe so you get new episodes automatically.

Scott continues a discussion of practicing forgiveness with family and friends. He offers some thought and application from these words from James 3: "How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire.... From the same mouth can come blessing and cursing."

During Lent, Scott is releasing two weekly episodes that focus on the theme of our Lenten booklet, Practicing Forgiveness. If you don't have a booklet, you can receive the daily reflections via email, download a free PDF of the booklet, or purchase an e-book on Amazon for .99 cents. Visit www.livingcompass.org/lent to find out more. 

"Forgiving Families and Friends"-- March 17, 2024

(Click the player above to listen to this 6:00 episode.) You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast app—Apple, Google, Spotify, etc. Search for Living Compass, and be sure to subscribe so you get new episodes automatically.

In our ongoing focus on forgiveness this week, Scott focuses on forgiving our family and friends. Sometimes, the people we are closest to provide both the most important and the most challenging opportunities to practice forgiveness. 

During Lent, Scott is releasing two weekly episodes that focus on the theme of our Lenten booklet, Practicing Forgiveness. If you don't have a booklet, you can receive the daily reflections via email, download a free PDF of the booklet, or purchase an e-book on Amazon for .99 cents. Visit www.livingcompass.org/lent to find out more. 

"Forgiving Others as We Forgive Ourselves"-- March 14, 2024

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“The reasons for forgiving ourselves are the same as for forgiving others. It is how we become free of the past. It is how we heal and grow. It is how we make meaning out of our suffering, restore our self-esteem, and tell a new story of who we are. If forgiving others leads to an external peace, forgiving ourselves leads to an internal peace.”

—Desmond and Mpho Tutu, The Book of Forgiving

The truth is we actually do love and forgive others as we love and forgive ourselves. If we are loving and forgiving of ourselves then we will be able to offer this same love and forgiveness to others.  We cannot give to others what we cannot give to ourselves. 

During Lent, Scott is releasing two weekly episodes that focus on the theme of our Lenten booklet, Practicing Forgiveness. If you don't have a booklet, you can receive the daily reflections via email, download a free PDF of the booklet, or purchase an e-book on Amazon for .99 cents. Visit www.livingcompass.org/lent to find out more. 

"Forgiving Ourselves"-- March 10, 2024

(Click the player above to listen to this 6:00 episode.) You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast app—Apple, Google, Spotify, etc. Search for Living Compass, and be sure to subscribe so you get new episodes automatically.

This week Scott focuses on what for some people is the hardest part of forgiveness and that's forgiving ourselves.  

During Lent, Scott is releasing two weekly episodes that focus on the theme of our Lenten booklet, Practicing Forgiveness. If you don't have a booklet, you can receive the daily reflections via email, download a free PDF of the booklet, or purchase an e-book on Amazon for .99 cents. Visit www.livingcompass.org/lent to find out more. 

"Why Forgive?"-- March 6, 2024

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In this episode, Scott continues to discuss the notion that forgiveness is a choice, a decision that we can make alone. He also discusses the many benefits of forgiveness as he reflects on the question, "Why Forgive?" 

During Lent, Scott is releasing two weekly episodes that focus on the theme of our Lenten booklet, Practicing Forgiveness. If you don't have a booklet, you can receive the daily reflections via email, download a free PDF of the booklet, or purchase an e-book on Amazon for .99 cents. Visit www.livingcompass.org/lent to find out more. 

"Forgiveness is a Choice, March 3, 2024"

(Click the player above to listen to this 6:00 episode.) You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast app—Apple, Google, Spotify, etc. Search for Living Compass, and be sure to subscribe so you get new episodes automatically.

In this episode, Scott talks about the idea of forgiveness as a choice. It is a choice that an individual can make without any need for the person they are choosing to forgive to have a part in the process or even know about it. It is important to remember that forgiveness is entirely separate from the process of reconciliation.  

During Lent, Scott is releasing two weekly episodes that focus on the theme of our Lenten booklet, Practicing Forgiveness. If you don't have a booklet, you can receive the daily reflections via email, download a free PDF of the booklet, or purchase an e-book on Amazon for .99 cents. Visit www.livingcompass.org/lent to find out more.