by Doug Hammack | Apr 5, 2015 | Easter, Message Audio
Death. That’s an ugly topic for a happy day like Easter! But don’t judge too quickly. Turns out that keeping our death ever before us is part of the ancient wisdom – and is in fact, a pathway into a deepened experience of life. Have a listen, Doug...
by Doug Hammack | Mar 29, 2015 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
Crushing disappointment. Who wants to celebrate that!? But if we reflect on what happens to us in the seasons of our lives when the inevitability of pain, suffering, and hopelessness washes over our lives. — we realize they often invite us into seasons of deep...
by Doug Hammack | Mar 22, 2015 | Message Audio, Prayer of Detachment
We’ve seen in this lesson, that the lives we live in the few years we get on this earth, are deeply affected by a simple pattern… Thoughts create desires. Desires create actions. Actions create habits. Habits create the very lives we live. We’ve seen...
by Doug Hammack | Mar 15, 2015 | Message Audio, Prayer of Detachment
People! Their voices are always in us. Their expectations. Their beliefs. Their values. And those voices run deep! We don’t usually recognize them for what they are. We usually just think they’re our own minds telling us “The Way Things Are.”...
by Doug Hammack | Mar 8, 2015 | Message Audio, Prayer of Detachment
We assign meaning to our possessions. They tell us who we are. They tell us about the value we assign to one another. How sick is that!? But we do it. Let’s think together about how this damages our lives, and what we might do about it. Have a listen, Doug...
by Doug Hammack | Feb 22, 2015 | Message Audio, Prayer of Detachment
Thoughts create desires. Desires create actions. Actions create habits. Habits create lives. Disrupting this cycle when it does not serve us well is at the center of the ancient practices we call “the prayers of detachment.” Have a listen, Doug ...
by Doug Hammack | Feb 15, 2015 | Message Audio, Prayer of Detachment
Prayers of detachment slip easily into a religious-masochist-or-martyr vibe. I do harsh things to myself — in the hope of showing God how serious – or devout — or pious, I am. God, in turn bestows favor on me. How sick is that!? (But it’s how...
by Doug Hammack | Feb 8, 2015 | Message Audio, Prayer of Detachment
Today, we start the first of three lessons on rethinking prayer. This is an introductory lesson addressing the “why” of the prayers of detachment. It goes to freedom. The false self is like a booster rocket. It gets us to where we are — but it has to...
by Doug Hammack | Feb 1, 2015 | Message Audio, Rethinking Prayer
Most people I know have given up on praying–at least given up on prayer the way most Christians have been taught to pray. We continue this pretty lengthy lesson, reframing prayer in our minds, hoping that we can once again access this ancient life-breath of the...
by Doug Hammack | Jan 25, 2015 | Message Audio, Rethinking Prayer
We continue introducing a focus that will take a while for us to go through – rethinking the story we tell ourselves about prayer. Perhaps if we can rethink our story, the many of us who have given up on praying, could pray again. Have a listen, Doug ...
by Doug Hammack | Jan 18, 2015 | Message Audio, Rethinking Prayer
Most people I know have given up on praying–at least given up on prayer the way most Christians have been taught to pray. I’m beginning a pretty lengthy lesson today, reframing prayer in our minds, hoping that we can once again access this ancient...
by Scott Shackleton | Jan 11, 2015 | Guest Speaker, Message Audio
Our natural tendency is to “other”, but this othering is not without cost, both to ourselves and to our world. Jesus wants us to move toward oneness, including with others. by Scott Shackleton ...
by Doug Hammack | Jan 4, 2015 | Message Audio, New Year
As we enter the new year, let’s spend a bit of time reflecting on the lives we want to live. Here is the video I refer to in the lesson: Have a listen, Doug ...
by Doug Hammack | Dec 28, 2014 | Message Audio, New Year
I hear people in their pessimistic moments say things like… “People don’t ever really change. They just don’t!” When you’ve been hurt by the same person, doing the same stupid thing, and doing it for the umpteenth time, I can...
by Doug Hammack | Dec 21, 2014 | Advent, Message Audio
Today we tell a story of the history of Haiti – how it got into the horrible state it is in. Love, our theme this Advent, extends beyond those who are nearby. It extends to faraway people. Our community has started a relationship with the village of Ferrier in...
by Doug Hammack | Dec 7, 2014 | Advent, Message Audio
Along with many spiritual communities around the earth, each year at NRCC, we cycle through the themes of Advent – Peace, Hope, Joy, and Love. This year’s theme is “Love.” We spoke last week of loving the tough people in our lives. This week we...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 30, 2014 | Advent, Message Audio
Along with many spiritual communities around the earth, each year at NRCC, we cycle through a triad of themes for Advent – Faith, Hope, and Love. This year’s theme is “Love.” And we begin this first week, thinking about loving the tough people...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 23, 2014 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
Each year we return to the theme of gratitude in some way. It’s a powerful construct. It’s not just something we do on a holiday. It change our lives, and as you’ll see in this lesson, has the capacity to change the world. Have a listen, Doug ...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 16, 2014 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
Each year we return to the theme of gratitude in some way. It’s a powerful construct. It’s not just something we do on a holiday. It change our lives, and as you’ll see in this lesson, has the capacity to change the world. Have a listen, Doug ...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 2, 2014 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
If you went to Sunday School, odds are you heard the story of Jonah being swallowed by the big fish and surviving to tell the tale. What you may not have heard is the historical and literary context around the story. It changes how we understand it. Turns out, its...
