Sunday Talks
Spiritually-Inspired Democracy
This talk explores the inspired vision at the core of our nation’s democracy, and where we are now in that unfinished experiment. We examine how we can resurrect the common good, a shared value for truth vs. opinions, and how we might return to what Alexis De Tocqueville called “habits of the heart.” We explore the importance of choosing leaders we trust to serve the common good vs. self-serving, and the importance of civic education for all ages to return valuing and deep regard for democracy to our culture. We explore how the citizen is the most important member of government and how we the people — united, educated and inspired — CAN create a more perfect union.
The Power of Forgiveness
The Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield says, “the pains of our past cannot be released until we touch them with healing and forgiveness.” It helps soften our hearts towards forgiveness when we remember how important it was that we were forgiven, or that we forgave ourselves. Without compassion and mercy, we are exiled from love, and so in this talk we explore forgiveness, as one of the greatest expressions of Love.
The Power of Imagination
Einstein said imagination is even more important than knowledge, it is how we express our true nature as creative beings, it is how we evolve our life and our world. We create twice, first with thought, then in physical reality, and so that ‘image’, that divine idea, that possibility that we hold in our mind for our life and our world, has tremendous power. We explore how using our imagination, creativity and will can create a better life and a better world.
Joanne Lescher on Non Violent Communication
Know Thy Self
This talk explores how we seem to have two very different ‘points of view’ from which we experience ourselves. One is a body/mind/personality and the other is a Beingness that is felt when we go beyond the thinking mind. We explore how essential it is to know Thy Self in the ultimate dimension, how being still and experiencing being beyond thinking is what gives us peace, equanimity and freedom.
Gratitude & Joy
This talk explores the importance of cultivating joy and gratitude — and other elevated emotions — for our overall well-being. We often can get lost in taking our lives and ourselves too seriously too often and lose touch with a sense of light-heartedness. We also examine how energy gets stuck in our bodies and how we can open and clear blocked energy.
The Power of Hope
This talk explores how hope is a life-long spiritual discipline, an intentional practice. It is a journey, and it requires dedication. We cultivate hope by becoming aware of self-defeating thoughts and learn to replace self-doubt with self-affirmation. It’s important to define what we deeply value, and then learn to, step-by-step, create a daily life that marries our actions to our values.
Exploring Identities
Ahimsa and Kindness
Victim, Victor, Vessel and Verity Consciousness
Rev. Lynn Fritz on The Power of Affirmative Prayer
Enriching Our Spiritual Practices
Tribute to Amma
Finding Comfort with Impermanence
Reincarnation
This talk explores the case for reincarnation drawing from the Tibetan tradition, modern Physics, and personal experience in the recent loss of a loved one.
Identifying with Life Itself
To identify with Life itself is to free ourselves from the idea we are only a limited human being playing the myriad roles we play. Expanding ourselves to realize we are greater Life itself informing form for a time, we become less invested in who we think we are and need not defend it. This frees us from reactivity and allows us to become response able. This is our present work in evolution.
Gary Zukav on "How To Use Your New Consciousness"
Equanimity
In this talk, we explore how we cultivate and rest in equanimity, especially in a time of societal polarization. We examine the importance of using discernment to give our attention and energy to what we can change, often being our inner environment and response to life. We consider the importance of respect, deep listening, desire for understanding, and keeping at the forefront our deepest values.
Acceptance As A Path To Peace
This talk explores acceptance as finding peace with what is, peace with our present circumstances. It examines how we might move towards acceptance as a response that allows us to then act most consciously. We explore acceptance in relation to illness, grief, and suffering and see it as the beginning of growth, transformation and self-discovery.
Rev. Lynn Fritz on Native American Spirituality
Make Every Day Earth Day
The Gifts of Mindfulness
Karma & Grace
This talk offers a deeper look at the law of cause-and-effect as a necessary and benign mechanism for growth and evolution in the realm of matter. We explore cause-and-effect as a way that we learn, a physical and universal law that provides “guard rails”, so to speak, for our development. We also consider grace as a force that transcends physical laws.
Ana Ramana on Self-Love
The Easter Message of Renewal
This talk explores how renewal and resurrection are an essential part of our evolutionary journey, how all of nature mirrors a perennial re-birth, reflecting our own essential need for growth and change. We explore the question of what Jesus’ resurrection teaches us about our own physical mortality and spiritual immortality.
The Deeper Teachings of Holy Week
This talk explores how we make meaning of “holy week”; how we compassionately examine the shadow side of being human that can unconsciously sabotage our good. We examine the power of Love as the greatest power in the Universe, a power that puts death itself to death. And we explore these teachings from the heart of the Divine Feminine, specifically expressed in The Gospel of Mary Magdalene.
Honoring Our Ancestors, St. Patrick & Celtic Spirituality
This St. Patrick’s day talk explores the importance of understanding our ancestry, how we might heal not only for ourselves but for our past and future generations, and the wisdom teachings of the Celtic tradition that can offer healing of our family lineage, and our Mother Earth.
Dr. Jean Houston on "The New Emerging Human"
Jean Houston delights us with stories of some of the most fascinating humans she has met, including Helen Keller, Albert Einstein and Margaret Meade, and how it is they demonstrate the evolving human capacities. She describes how we navigate this evolutionary period she describes as “jump time”.
Rev. Kathy Zavada on Sufism
This talk explores the poetry of mystic Sufi poet Hafiz, who advised, “find out what actions of yours brings freedom and love.” It also explores some Sufi thoughts taught by Hazrat Inayat Kahn, in particular his view that the “One Holy Book” that can enlighten the reader is “the sacred manuscript of nature.”
Rabbi David Zaslow on Judaism
Rabbi David offers us some key and essential teachings on Judaism, along with sharing songs and chants from this ancient tradition
Unity's Metaphysical View of Christianity
This talk explores Unity’s metaphysical view of Christianity and the teachings of Jesus. In particular it explores Jesus as the great example vs. great exception, the view that we are inherently divine vs. sinful, and the view considers Jesus was saying he was not the ‘way to God’, but that the I AM was the way to know oneness with Father/Mother God.
The Illuminating Teachings of Buddhism
This talk explores the path of Buddhism and it’s core teachings as taught by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. We examine the Four Noble Truths and Taking Refuge in the Three Gems, and how we make our life, our message, a beautiful and inspiring message!
The Ancient Wisdom of Hinduism
This talk explores the spiritual path of Hinduism and in particular bhakti yoga, karma yoga, and jnana yoga. Rev. Kathy shares personal experiences with the revered Hindu saint Mata Amritanandamayi. Teachings from the sacred Hindu texts the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads are woven throughout this inspiring talk.
Expanding Possibilities in Quantum Creating
This talk explores how we co-create with the infinite quantum field through using our mind wisely, bringing greater possibilities and creations into our life and the world.
We explore the creative process of thinking a greater, affirmative thought, feeling that possibility in our body, feeling it in our chemistry, and thus changing our subconscious from a more limited belief to the embracing of this greater possibility.
Infinite, Creative Power
We examine the two principles of mastery that are ours to develop:
1) the receiving of universal consciousness regularly; and
2) the expressing and creating from this higher mind.
Our world is in need of us to bring the greatest creativity, sourced from Love itself, to create solutions to the challenges of life in the world today.
The Christmas Story in Music
This talk with music woven through-out is a beautiful telling of the Christmas story; told in a uniquely musical way to invoke the experience of the living holy presence in our hearts. Rev. Kathy shares her stylistic renditions of some of our most beloved Christmas songs.
The Importance of Light
This talk explores how all the winter holidays focus on the importance of the growing light, in particular in our own inner consciousness. We explore the most important teachings that Jesus offered for fully embodying the “astonishing light of our own being”. We consider that light and consciousness are synonymous for the eternal life that animates all beings.
Grief, Peace and the Holidays
This talk explores how we meet grief with openness and how we might be transformed by the exploration of life, death and eternity. We consider how part of evolution is developing the emotional intelligence to welcome the full gamut of experience both beautiful and painful, bitter and sweet, meeting it with a compassionate and tender heart.
Soul Awakening
This talk is an exploration of why we are here, what it is to evolve, and how challenging life experiences can be some of the most powerfully transformative and meaningful in our soul’s evolution. We consider the brief time humans have been on the planet, how far we’ve come, and how far we might go in becoming universal humans.
Communion, Communication, and Connection
This talk explores how we grow skillful means in communicating to create more fulfilling relationships, deeper connection and healing. It explores practices in deep listening and loving speech, and also the importance of communion with inner peace as an aspect of self-care and growth in awareness.
On Creating Unity Community of Ashland
Rev. Kathy Zavada, speaking at the inaugural service of Unity Community of Ashland, describes the importance of sangha in our world today. She shares personal examples of how the mind can get stuck in unhappiness stories and how we can free ourselves of habits that create suffering. She examines the importance of gratitude and how we can make the most of each day of our precious human life.