We all carry grief and gratitude through the holidays. Learning to be comfortable with fully feeling and expressing both is crucial to our emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

"The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them. How much sorrow can I hold? That's how much gratitude I can give. If I carry only grief, I'll bend toward cynicism and despair. If I have only gratitude, I'll become saccharine and won't develop much compassion for other people's suffering. Grief keeps the heart fluid and soft, which helps make compassion possible."

The Northern Lights reminded us this week of the power of looking up--the power of awe and the importance of taking a higher perspective on how the Divine infuses and enlightens every aspect of our lives.

The Wisdom of Indigenous spirituality is captured in this quote from Chief Seattle:

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

In this episode Scott explores how this is an expression of nondual consciousness, a topic he has been talking about in the last few episodes.

In response to several listeners' "so what?" questions regarding the previous podcast episode, Scott talks about a few practical applications of non-dual consciousness.

A short introduction to Non-Dual Consiousness as it applies to our spirituality and well-being.

Animals often provide a way for us to connect with the Divine. This is one reason so many churches this past week held Pet Blessings in celebration of St. Francis.

In a world beset by violence, the call to be peacemakers can feel daunting. Yet that's exactly what Jesus and other spiritual teachers ask of us. The key: don't go it alone. Work with and support other peacemakers.

In this episode, Scott shares how, in his journey of spirituality and wellbeing, he has sometimes used his faith as a place to hide behind a mask of self-righteousness. At other times, though, his faith has been what has taught him all that he knows about humility, growth, healing, forgiveness, and love.

This time of year, children ask one another, "Who's your teacher this year?" It's a good question for adults to ask as well, since we're all on a lifelong journey of emotional and spiritual growth.

There are many compasses that are competing to guide our lives. How will you and I choose to make Love our compass today?