Unitarian sermon looks at ways to heal loneliness

Rev. Brian J. Kiely, Unitarian Church of Edmonton writes a sermon, "Healing Loneliness", in which he discusses differences between being alone and lonely. Kiely mentions the writings of Thomas Moore throughout his piece while sharing his own observations.

He includes: "Thomas Moore writes, 'A person oppressed by loneliness can go out in the world and simply start belonging to it, not by joining organizations, but by living through feelings of relatedness ― to other people, to nature, to society, and to the world as a whole.'"

Kiely recommends: "There is one last alternative I would suggest, and it may sound strange coming from a Unitarian Universalist minister. You could try praying. I have spoken of this before. The act of praying might reach the ears of some external god, but that is not so important. The act of praying or meditating reaches deep inside us to a very deep source of strength and wisdom. It can sweep one up and bathe them in healing energy. That kind of activity is soul work, for it attends to the whole self instead of the symptoms. Meditation and prayer and embracing a healing practice are great gifts to our solitary selves. They can be a self-blessing, an act of acknowledging ourselves as hurting beings without being self-pitying about it. Try it. If you don’t know how, talk to me."