Meditations For The Metro

Today’s meditation comes from The Book Of Isaiah in The Old Testament and from the writings of John Muir, with music by Setah.

Passage: You will go out in joy and be led back in peace. The land itself will break out in cheers; The mountains and the hills will erupt in song, and the trees of the field will clap to the rhythm of nature. —Isaiah 55:12

Perspective: Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn. ―John Muir

Music: “Piano Butterfly” by Setah

Narrator: Ryan Phipps

Today’s meditation comes from The Book Of Isaiah in The Old Testament and from the writings of Louisa Thomsen Brits, with music by Chelsea McGough.

Passage: I am the Lord who comforts you. —Isaiah 51:12

Perspective: Hygge offers space for both reverie and relatedness. The heat of an open fire draws us close. Its shadow gives us a place to hide and softens our gaze. ―Louisa Thomsen Brits

Music: “Reverie” by Chelsea McGough

Narrator: Ryan Phipps

Today’s meditation comes from The Book Of Genesis in The Old Testament and from the writings of Mary Oliver, with music by Cloud Wave.

Passage: In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was everywhere; and the Spirit of God was brooding over the face of the waters. —Genesis 1:1-2

Perspective: Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift. ―Mary Oliver

Music: “Stratosphere” by Cloud Wave

Narrator: Ryan Phipps

Today’s meditation comes from The Book Of Exodus in The Old Testament and from the writings of Stanley Hauerwas, with music by Kurtis Parks.

Passage: The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. —Exodus 33:11

Perspective: Friendship, if it is the friendship of God, is to be characterized by fidelity in which you are even willing to tell the friend the truth. Which may mean you will risk the friendship. You need to be in that kind of community to survive the loneliness that threatens all of our souls. —Stanley Hauerwas

Music: “Friendship And Enmity” by Kurtis Parks

Narrator: Ryan Phipps

Today’s meditation comes from The Book Of Romans in The New Testament and from the writings of Eknath Easwaran, with music by Stephen Keech.

Passage: To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. —Romans 8:6

Perspective: Unless we train it, the very nature of the mind is to keep on hopping from one thing to another, almost at random. The mind can be very usefully employed, but it has to be trained for its job. Too much of the time the mind is engaged in negative thinking, either about others or about ourselves – a destructive occupation. Training the mind means establishing and maintaining sound shop standards: good, creative, consistently kind thinking, and no around-the-clock activity, either. When the mind has nothing productive to do, we need to learn how to close up shop and let it rest. —Eknath Easwaran

Music: “For They Will Inherit The Earth” by Stephen Keech

Narrator: Ryan Phipps

Today’s meditation comes from The Book Of Isaiah in The Old Testament and from the writings of Julian of Norwich, with music by Wes Taylor.

Passage: “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you” says the Lord. —Isaiah 42:14

Perspective: God showed me this truth in all things, saying, “It is I. I am the power and the Goodness of the Father, I am the Wisdom of the Mother, I am the Light and the Grace which is blessed love, I am the Trinity, I am the Unity, I am the supreme Goodness of all kind of things, I am the One who makes you love, I am the One who makes you desire, I am the never-ending fulfilment of all true desires." …It is thus logical that God, being our Father, be also our Mother. ―Julian of Norwich

Music: “Ode To Mothers” by Wes Taylor

Narrator: Ryan Phipps

Today’s meditation comes from The Book Of First Peter in The New Testament and from the writings of Dean Koontz, with music by Lincoln Davis.

Passage: If Christ suffered, so will we. This has a purpose. For in our suffering, we learn to live for God’s will rather than for our own. —1 Peter 4:1-2

Perspective: Because God is never cruel, there is a reason for all things. We must know the pain of loss; because if we never knew it, we would have no compassion for others, and we would become monsters of self-regard, creatures of unalloyed self-interest. The terrible pain of loss teaches humility to our prideful kind, has the power to soften uncaring hearts, to make a better person of a good one. ―Dean Koontz

Music: “Afternoon” by Lincoln Davis

Narrator: Ryan Phipps

Today’s meditation comes from The Book Of Romans in The New Testament and from the writings of Kahlil Gibran, with music by Outside The Sky.

Passage: Suffering brings perseverance, which brings character, which brings hope. There is no shame in this, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. —Romans 5:3-5

Perspective: When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God." And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.―Kahlil Gibran

Music: “Columba” by Outside The Sky

Narrator: Ryan Phipps

Today’s meditation comes from The Book Of Proverbs in The Old Testament and from the writings of Brittin Oakman, with music by Kurtis Parks.

Passage: Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. —Proverbs 4:23

Perspective: I lied and said I was busy. I was busy; but not in a way most people understand. I was busy taking deeper breaths. I was busy silencing irrational thoughts. I was busy calming a racing heart. I was busy telling myself I am okay. Sometimes, this is my busy - and I will not apologize for it. ―Brittin Oakman

Music: “Promise Of Hope” by Kurtis Parks

Narrator: Ryan Phipps

Today’s meditation comes from The Book Of Ecclesiastes in The Old Testament and from the writings of Rumi, with music by Falls.

Passage: The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. —Ecclesiastes 1:6-7

Perspective: Your hand opens and closes, opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birds' wings. ―Rumi

Music: “Every Now And Zen” by Falls

Narrator: Ryan Phipps