Again this fall I will teach our SpiritualJourney.Yours class as part of our Wednesday Night Live experience.  We will be studying this book -
The Five Things We Cannot Change... and the Happiness We
Find by Embracing Them by David Richo.

David Richo, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist who works at the Esalen Institute.  Richo writes this book from a uniquely religious, Jungian, transpersonal, and spiritual perspective.  
     I've read the book a couple times, and I continue to get a lot from this work.  This book has helped me be even more aware of the living spirit of Christ at work in my life.
      Richo's basic question is this "“ why is it that despite our best efforts, many of us remain fundamentally unhappy and unfulfilled in our lives?  He draws upon his thirty years of experience as a therapist to explain the underlying roots of unhappiness "“ and the way to finding freedom and fulfillment.
     Richo presents the argument that there are certain facts of life that we cannot change.  These are the unavoidable "givens" of human existence.  These are "“
1)     Everything changes and ends
2)    Things do not always go according to plan
3)    Life is not always fair
4)    Pain is a part of life
5)    People are not loving and loyal all the time
           Richo shows us that by dropping our deep-seated resistance to these givens, we can find liberation and discover the true richness that life has to offer.  He blends Christianity and other religions with Western psychology and Eastern spirituality.
     He also includes practical spiritual exercises the reader can begin immediately.   Richo shows us how to open up and courageously embrace all aspects of our lives, including that which is frightening, painful or disappointing. In the process we can discover our greatest gifts.
      At the beginning of chapter two, Things Do Not Always Go According to Plan, Richo presents a Dag Hammarskjold prayer to God that I have shared with you from our historic pulpit many times "“
For all that has been: Thanks!  For all that shall be: Yes!
      Richo says the key to life is saying Yes! to that which every day has to offer, even that which is painful.  This is what Jesus did.
      I look forward to seeing you in class!

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