John Renesch

June 2021 In the last several years I have written about half a dozen article/editorials on how we cause our own suffering and I thought it was time for a fresh inquiry into the subject since it remains a persistent malady for most people.  You’ve heard the quote “Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional”? While […]

May 2021 The following two paragraphs are excerpts from Thich Nhat Hanh’s (pictured right) closing remarks* to over two thousand people attending his Day of Mindfulness at Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California, in October 1993. The Buddha, Shakyamuni, our teacher, predicted that the next Buddha would be Maitreya, the Buddha of love. We desperately […]

April 2021 Through the ages there have been a multitude of references to how God, or Spirit, or Source, is within each one of us. Some have theorized that we all contain holographs of God. Gandhi is quoted as saying, “I know God is neither in heaven nor down below, but in everyone.” Some prefer […]

March 2021 [This article has been adapted in large part from an editorial in this newsletter published in February 2009; it seems even more pertinent now.] Many of the problems in the world are due to people acting less than consciously. This is not to say that there is a black-and-white, all-or-nothing state of mind […]

February 2021  Awe, which Webster describes as “an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime,” is brought on when the mind stops thinking or, at least, when thought is suspended temporarily. You could say when the mind is “blown.” In 2003, two academics published […]

January 2021 On a recent Zoom call with one of my communities the conveners suggested an inquiry into “what drives true belonging?” As I engaged the question my mind initially went where it has gone for many years, recalling Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and my belief that one of humanity’s basic needs is to belong. […]

December 2020 [Last month my editorial focused on “Loving Thy Enemies” and more has been revealed since. I suggest reading “part one” (see link above) if you haven’t done so; then read this follow-on piece] Several people who read last month’s editorial shared how difficult it was to think of an enemy as I defined […]

November 2020 Loving our enemies is no longer merely a nice idea advocated by Jesus Christ and other spiritual prophets throughout history. It no longer fits exclusively into Sunday School classes, catechism studies, or theology discussions.  Loving our enemies has become a requisite for our survival. Hate is killing us. Division and separation is destroying […]

October 2020 Recently one of my newsletter subscribers took issue with an editorial I wrote in which I was critical of people who were ignoring protocol for preventing the spread of COVID-19. The reader challenged the wisdom of wearing masks and admitted he wasn’t sure they didn’t add to the infection rate instead of minimizing […]

September 2020 The point I was making when I wrote The Great Growing Up book was that the human species needs to stop acting like adolescents and grow up into fully functioning adulthood, being responsible for our collective future. In my more recent delving into non-dualism, Advaita and unity consciousness I discovered a writer who […]