November 2025 Daily Guides by Rev. Dr. David Ault
The Daily Guides have always been a beloved section of this publication. Each month, new spiritual guidance is imparted by members of the Centers for Spiritual Living communities. It’s lifelong insight you can’t find anywhere but Guide for Spiritual Living: Science of Mind magazine.
Each day brings two quotes from various wisdom teachers, a personal guide from the author’s life and a powerful affirmation. This daily inspiration has impacted generations of readers.
In case you don’t subscribe, here’s an example for you to enjoy:
Fully Present
Affirmation: I live as an artist of presence, shaping each moment with my awareness.
Buddhist teacher Paul Weinfeld shared a story about American writer William Stafford, who wrote a poem every day for more than 40 years. When asked how he managed such artistic output, Stafford replied, “When I get stuck, I lower my standards.”
His is a startling answer in a culture obsessed with perfection. Our egos resist this notion, believing only flawless results matter. Yet, in that resistance, we deny ourselves not only the joy of creating but also the deeper invitation of life itself — to live fully, to embrace every part of who we are.
Perfectionism is rampant. We measure ourselves against imagined ideals. But doing something fully is not the same as doing it perfectly. Doing something fully is an act of love. It asks us to enter the moment with tenderness, even for the parts of us we usually reject — the anxious self, the uncertain self, the “not-enough” self.
Doing something fully invites presence over product. It calls us to notice the way we make coffee, the rhythm of our commute and the tone we use with others, as well as to inhabit those moments completely. It asks us to set down mental schedules, labels and the inherited standards that may filter creativity, build borders where boundlessness awaits and foster anxiety where joy longs to take root.
But when we soften, slow down, and let inspiration guide us, we begin to see the truth: In this moment, nothing is missing, nothing is unworthy, nothing is unlovable. Loving our whole selves — the brilliant and the blemished — is how we remember life’s true depth. It requires no standard but attention itself.
Quotes
Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life.
— Eckhart Tolle
To live by inspiration means to sense the divine touch in everything, to enter into the spirit of things, to enter into the joy of living.
— Ernest Holmes, “This Thing Called Life,” page 34
