Spiritual Sunshine

We explore what it means to pursue true happiness and how that leads us to find Divinity empowering us toward social justice within and around us. Read the corresponding message here: SwedenborgianCommunity.org/blog/true-joy We are your loving, affirming interfaith spiritual community! The Swedenborgian spirituality, based on an open, mystical Christianity explored by Emanuel Swedenborg, has deepl...

Alyssa and Cory continue to explore the deeper meaning of scripture by tackling one of the most mysterious books of the Bible, Revelation, with the help of the 18th-century pluralistic-Christian mystic Emanuel Swedenborg. We are your loving, affirming interfaith spiritual community! The Swedenborgian spirituality, based on mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Car...

For the first Advent Sunday of 2019, we explore what it might mean to be empowered by Divine Hope, as we listen to beautiful music by Justine Lucas, and Laurie and Ken Turley. We are your loving, affirming interfaith spiritual community! The Swedenborgian spirituality, based on mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed...

We continue to explore Helen Keller's book on her spirituality called "My Religion" (free to download at the top of SwedenborgianCommunity. Org/worship). In this episode, we explore chapters 4, 5, and 6. We are your loving, affirming interfaith spiritual community! The Swedenborgian spirituality, based on mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Wald...

None of us are perfect, there’s always room to grow - indeed, we’re told that all have fallen short of the glory of God in all things. Despite this we tend to harshly judge ourselves and others, carrying the voice of our childhood critics, harsh rule-setters, and bullies as our own and often not giving it a second thought. The woman at the well is often criticized as living a blatantly sinful (mea...

We're interviewing entrepeneur and Swedenborgian minister, Rev. Carla Friedrich on her church, coffee shop efforts, and her spiritual journey to the ministry. We are your loving, affirming interfaith spiritual community! The Swedenborgian spirituality, based on mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), W...

Sometimes I get caught up in some of the trappings of the rat-race, I confess. I think we all do. It’s easy to care about riches and our beauty and togetherness for shallow reasons; for our image with our friends and strangers, on social media, at work, for our dating life, and on. We often want these things to feed our ego and to feel a somewhat hollow comfort. We can want the dressings of extrav...

We explore what near-death experiences, Emanuel Swedenborg, scripture, and books of the dead tell us about what happens when we die. We are your loving, affirming interfaith spiritual community! The Swedenborgian spirituality, based on mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James,...

Both Genesis of the Hebrew Bible and the book of John from the Christian New Testament start off by describing, "In the beginning..." Although seemingly very different, both accounts uplift a personable God that resembles humanity in God's ability to speak, see, and work to uplift us away from the void and into the light and warmth of his/her love. Let's explore these verses side-by-side and see w...

Rev. Susannah Currie is the Minister of the Bridgewater New Jerusalem Church, has been a chaplain in hospice care and nursing homes, and is working to support other Swedenborgian communities and leaders. She's also in charge of the religious programming at Fryeburg New Church Assembly, one of our amazing intergenerational camps! We are your loving, affirming interfaith spiritual community! The Swe...

Today we explore how all people share in the Lord's supper in their own way, as well as the meaning and roots of the Last Supper & the Eucharist / Communion. Read the corresponding Multimedia Message at http://swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog/lords-supper We are your loving, affirming interfaith spiritual community! The Swedenborgian spirituality, based on mystical Christianity, has deeply influenc...

Enjoy our second Mindfulness Meditation inspired by Jung, Swedenborg, and Zen Buddhism, shaped to magnify peace, psychological integration, and reducing judgment. We are your loving, affirming interfaith spiritual community! The Swedenborgian spirituality, based on mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman...

"What happens when we die?" It’s one of those questions that seems like an impossible task to even start to answer, and for some, a question not worth asking because they feel the answer is simple: we die, so all goes black. However, "near-death” (during cardiac arrest) and other transcendent experiences alike often speak toward something greater - something communal that goes beyond our differenc...

In this episode of What is the Word? Alyssa and Cory talk about Emanuel Swedenborg's approach to deciphering the mystical book of Revelation from the Bible. We also discuss Jordan Peterson, different ways to approach reading scripture, and how we are all influenced by our own or someone else's contextual lens when interpreting holy texts. We are your loving, affirming interfaith spiritual communit...

Join us for this guided mindfulness meditation! Mindfulness meditation has been shown to uplift many health benefits, as well as increasing our connectedness with ourselves, our Higher Power, and others. We are your affirming interfaith-Swedenborgian spiritual community! The Swedenborgian spirituality has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed...

Life, community, and connection are infused in everything within and around us and we should rejoice at that, while also working to surmount our own and society's destructiveness. Being present in the world today asks us to see and feel challenged by its habits as well as feel inspired and overjoyed by the diverse expressions of Divinity found in every detail. These are two things that are hard to...

Is there such thing as freewill? If so, how does that fit into the spiritual ideas of Divine Providence and God’s knowledge of all things? Sunday, we’ll reflect on how freewill and our power to choose between good and evil might be able to coexist with God’s might, as well as explore a simple question: why does the universe exist? Read the corresponding Multimedia Message at SwedenborgianCommunity...

Author of Rise Above It: Spiritual Direction for College Students, Ray Silverman, shares his thoughts about the deeper meaning of Thou Shalt Not Kill from his Swedenborgian perspective. We are your affirming interfaith-Swedenborgian spiritual community! The Swedenborgian spirituality has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Blake, George Inness, William Keith,...

“To be or not to be,” is that the question? I think so. We have the option of being faithful to life - the life of love and compassion in ourselves, in others, and in nature - or we can start to betray that life in all things as we’re seduced by our worldly selfishness and our affection for domination and hurtfulness. The second orientation doesn’t even serve us, but oh does it seem to feel so goo...

In this book discussion series we're talking about Helen Keller's book on her spirituality called My Religion - also called Light in My Darkness (free to download at SwedenborgianCommunity. Org/worship). In this episode we explore chapters 3 & (part of) 4.

Sometimes I think back to some of my old ways and cringe, and sometimes that’s true for my current habits too! In a way, this is a good sign, as it means I’m growing, I’m changing, and I’m hoping to continue to grow. In fact, scriptures repeatedly tell us that we must die to ourselves, and the Biblical Christ says that we must pick up our crosses daily and follow him. As we’re told, I think follow...

We explore what some of the deeper meanings of the 10 Commandments might be. Looking toward love, spiritual wisdom, and the Higher Power to inform our interpretation. The Commandments (from Exodus 20, Hebrew and Christian Bibles): Do Not Take the Name of the Lord God in Vain. Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it Holy. Honor Thy Father and Mother. This spirituality has deeply influenced the likes of...

Funny, did you know that there are two sets of 10 Commandments? Yep, there’s the first one that many people can almost entirely list – and there’s the one that replaced the first that I’m sure you haven’t heard twice! However, if we focus on the first set (as people typically do), I think we’ll find that the commandments aren’t exactly all that complicated – especially the deeper we go with them....

In this episode of What is the Word? Alyssa Cover and Cory Bradford-Watts talk about Emanuel Swedenborg's approach to deciphering the mystical book of Revelation from the Bible. We also discuss Tarot divination, how we see Providence in it, and we pull a card for the day! Chat with our community live during the broadcast at swedenborgiancommunity.org/worship and visit your affirming interfaith com...

Rev. Rich Tafel is the Managing Director of Raffa Social Capital, the Director of the American Project a new Democracy Fund, and the Pastor of Church of the Holy City in Washington DC. He discusses new approaches to interfaith spiritual work and business, including using our churches and organizations as incubators for spiritual entrepreneurs. Chat with our community live during the broadcast at s...