From Wedlok.com

Marriage is a union of body, mind and soul.
A lifetime journey into the depths of love ...
And into the challenges of growth and evolution.
You have already traveled this road for __ years.
Will you continue to be a tender, faithful husband/wife?
Will you continue to love and cherish this woman/man,
in sickness and in health,
during times of lack, and times of prosperity
when things are not so good, and when they are great.
No matter what season, or what is happening in your lives,
Will you continue to be her/his best friend, always and forever?
Answer: I will

-- Rev Laurie Sue Brockway

Posted July 22, 2008 6:49 PM by Editor | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

By Laurie Sue Brockway

Go directly to the Meditation for Stressed-Out Brides

Find out more about the Bridal Meditation Shawl

You have been blessed with the gift of love, and you are getting married. Congratulations!

There is nothing holier than two people uniting in the spirit of committed love. It increases the love that exists in the world. And it brings healing to our world.

So how is it that something so magnificent and meaningful can involve the planning of an event that can drive even the sanest and sweetest brides to be to the brink of despair?

It is not unusual to feel exhausted by the sheer amount of labor and emotional negotiating that goes on around planning a wedding. It’s supposed to be the happiest time of your life… and you want it to be … yet many brides and grooms feel confused and let down that they are not feeling happy all the time …

Sigh. Today’s wedding culture places the focus on the “event” rather than the “marriage “and many unsuspecting brides and grooms find themselves sucked into the vortex of wedding stress. You might find yourself buried in wedding tasks … overwhelmed rather than overjoyed!

The planning … the people-pleasing … the coordinating … the financing … the family dynamics … and then there are those very natural, yet ornery, fears and concerns about getting hitched. These can all become quite a challenge.

Continue reading "Meditation for Stressed Out Brides-To-Be" »

Posted July 19, 2008 10:05 AM by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

By Laurie Sue Brockway
From Wedlok.com

" I realize my purpose is to console - to personally wipe away tears through selfless love, compassion, and service." - Amma

Every year since 1999 I have made it a point to see Ammachi (Mata Amritanandamayi) the awesome Hindu Saint who gives "darshan" by hugging people. We all call her Amma.

You can read more about her in the recent New York Times article, Tour of Embrace Makes a Stop in Manhattan.

It is said she was "born with a smile." When you see her smile you truly know how she can reach out and touch -- and bring healing -- to so many.

She welcomes people of all faiths and beliefs, and truly believes we are all one. I suspect the reason she does not tire of her work, or feel drained by it, is that she considers that we are all the same, not separate from one another.

Amma, which means mother, is spiritual mother to millions. Her ministry of love is one of the most profound expressions of giving I have ever seen. Her humanitarian efforts -- disaster relief, feeding the poor, orphanages, helping women reclaim their power -- is wide-reaching and grows with each year. Her motto is "Love and Serve."

Now in her fifties, Amma has become a Mother Teresa like personage, devoted to doing good works and shining the light of love on the world's problems. Speaking in her native tongue, she has addressed the United Nations General Assembly to the Cannes Films Festival. From her native India, to the the United States, Canada, the world, she tours for the purpose of touching people's lives.

When you visit Amma for a healing hug, you literally kneel before her and she pulls you to her chest, chanting a sacred sound or prayer in your ear. Many of those who visit her believe she is able to take our burdens and worries because she has a heart big enough to embrace us and all our human woes.

Anthropologist Jane Goodall called Amma "God in human form."

Continue reading "Amma - The Hugging Saint in New York" »

Posted July 12, 2008 8:19 AM by Editor | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

George Carlin's Views on Aging have been circulating on the internet since 2002, according to Snopes.com, the site that tracks urban ledgends.

Since Carlin passed a way recently, a resurgence in interest brings this piece cirulating around the internet once again. Snopes says the material is more likely by comedian Larry Miller, who uses some of this in his act. Regardless, this is wisdom worth sharing.

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key!!

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back.

You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . you BECOME 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, youREACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE IT to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE IT to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime and it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

Continue reading "George Carlin on Aging - Written By Larry Miller?" »

Posted July 12, 2008 7:33 AM by Editor | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This