MSI Press Blog

  Today's meditation from  Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living   by Dr. Frederic Craigie. -14-   Throughout life, keep asking yourself, “What would I do right now, in this situation, if I were guided by my life purpose? What would I be doing differently at this moment?” The more mindful you are of your life purpose, the greater its impact will be on your life and the lives of those you care about.   Matthew McKay, John Forsyth, Georg Eifert   When I work with groups, I often begin with a mindful walking exercise. I give them Thich Nhat Hanh’s instructions for walking meditation;   Take short steps in complete relaxation; go slowly with a smile on your lips, with your heart open to an experience of peace.    … and invite them to get up from their seats, leave the room, and return to their seats in a spirit of mindful walking. The very first time I began a teaching session with a mindful walking exerci...

  Today's meditation from  Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living   by Dr. Frederic Craigie. -13-   Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.   Miles Davis   I am a self-taught fiddle player. I think of myself as “intermediate.” If you know traditional American music and heard me play Whiskey Before Breakfast, you’d probably at least recognize the tune, but you would not steer me in the direction of a recording contract. After many years of trying to find my own way, I decided to take some lessons. Perhaps learning some of the foundational aspects of fiddle playing—how to position and hold the instrument, how to grasp and move the bow—would help me take it to the next level. I knew I didn’t want violin lessons (yes, with some minor modifications: the “violin” and “fiddle” are the same instrument, but the approach to music is worlds apart), and I found a teacher who is a lover of old-time ...

  Today's meditation from  Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living   by Dr. Frederic Craigie. -12-   We don’t live for happiness; we live for holiness. Day to day, we seek out pleasure, but deep down, human beings are endowed with moral imagination. All human beings seek to lead lives, not just of pleasure, but of purpose, righteousness, and virtue. As John Stuart Mill put it, people have a responsibility to become more moral over time. The best life is oriented around the increasing excellence of the soul and is nourished by moral joy, the quiet sense of gratitude and tranquility that comes as a byproduct of successful moral struggle.   David Brooks   Michael Kent grew up among the few white people in a predominantly African-American neighborhood in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he was bullied by black children and his mother was assaulted by a black man. He became increasingly hateful of black people and eventually found ...