The Temple Bell

Remain faithful to the earth, my brothers and sisters,
with the power of your virtue.  Let your gift-giving love
and your knowledge serve the meaning of the earth.
Thus I beg and beseech you.  Do not let them fly away
from earthly things and beat  with their wings against
eternal walls.  Alas, there has always been so much
virtue that has flown away.  Lead back to the earth the
virtue that flew away ... back to the body, back to life,
that it may give the earth a meaning ...
     Verily, the earth shall yet become a site of recovery
and even now a new fragrance surrounds it, bringing
salvation - and a new hope.
                                    - FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

The temple bell

stops ringing

but the sound keeps

coming

out of the flowers.

- BASHO

Staying close to the earth is so healing ... breathing deeply the air, digging toes 

into the sand, running fingers through blades of fresh grass.

Life can be so busy, and this world so electronic!!

Mother Earth carries a deeper history,

a depth of connection,

a true Spirit of life ....

right there for the connection ....

if I so choose!

and, I do!!

cate

Wisdom

I hear Great Grandmother singing,

singing as she always has and always will

for she is the sound of all that lives;

she is the breath of the Earth.

She is the weeping of sadness, sorrow,

betrayal, treachery.

She is the voice of hope, joy, justice,

thunder of the ocean morning

of the river silence

of the cave wisdom

of the other shore.

I hear Great Grandmother singing,

singing through me.

 - FROM  Jewels on a string

Ah, the wisdom of the mother earth,

of the feminine images of God,

of the ages of female intuition and wisdom ...

passed down without our awareness .. and within.

How grateful I am for the many women who have shared

the gift of their love and wisdom with me ...

may I always pass it on!

Peace,

Cate

Resurrection

Resurrection.  The reversal of what was thought to be
absolute.  The turning of midnight into dawn, hatred
into love, dying into living anew.
     If we look more closely into life, we will find that
resurrection is more than hope, it is our experience.
The return from life to death is something we
understand at our innermost depths, something we feel
on the surface of our tender skin.  We have come back
to life, not only when we start to shake off a shroud of
sorrow that has bound us, but when we begin to
believe in all that is still, endlessly possible.
    We give thanks for all those times we have arisen
from the depths or simply taken a tiny step toward
something new.  May we be empowered by
extraordinary second chances. And as we enter the
world anew, let us turn the tides of despair into endless
waves of hope.  
                                               - Molly Fumia

It is always possible ... ALL can be new!!!

What a gift!

Cate

Words are not enough

The Tao that can be told is not the
     eternal Tao;
The name that can be named is not the
     eternal name;
The Nameless is the origin of Heaven
     and earth;
The Named is the mother of all things.
                    -LAO TU, Translated by
                     Wing-Tsit Chan

This reading reminds me of the wonder and the power of the spiritual experience ... and the inadequacy of words to describe it.  I suppose it is a part of each of us that is so personal that it simply can not be shared, and yet it is shared by each of us in a wordless wonder.  
The call of the Spirit is so fundamental, so  primary ... hardly a breath can be taken without touching into that invitation.  No wonder they say that people breathe too shallowly in our busy busy world....perhaps that is in order to keep moving and moving and not have to slow down and take the time to receive the invitation....the pause.
I find it really does not take that much time ... and it makes all the difference in my life!!  Meditation planned ... a pause here and there throughout the day ... practicing the presence of God ~ like Brother Lawrence!  (Have you ever read that  book?  It is remarkable!!)
Pause ... Breathe ... Be Here Now ..... .... ..... ..... Cate

Be Still

May God, like a mother eagle, spread the wings of Her
love and protection over us throughout this night, and
forever.  Amen
                    -  Marchiene Vroon Rienstra

Knowing that God is always with me, no matter what ... closer than my very breath ...

that makes all the difference!!

Daily meditation keeps me in contact with that truth ...

Be Still

it works!!!!

Cate

in The Light

...to be said while lighting candles

We begin by honoring the Light,

We light these candles for our families, our

beloveds, our friends, for our relations;

For those who are near and for those from whom

we feel unwanted distance;

For the newborn, for the elderly, and for the 

wounded children.

May the candles inspire us to use our powers

to heal and not to harm, to help and not to

hinder, to bless and not to curse.

May their radiance pour out upon our hearts, and

spread light into the darkened corners of our world.

-adapted from A PASSOVER HAGGADAH by

RACHEL ALTMAN AND MARY JANE RYAN

click the link below to hear song for today

Learning to be the light by Newworldson

Such a wonderful imagery springs from this reading ...the love,

the connection, the healing, the warmth.

It brings to my mind so many special memories of 

times softened by the glow of candle light.  Sometimes when I 

am feeling fragmented, I light a candle to help me remember I 

am truly connected to the light ~ a part of the light!

May we all be connected by the light,

warmed by the light,

melted into the light that shines forth from everyONE!

Cate

Shanti Shanti Shanti

May there be peace in the higher regions; may there

be peace in the firmament; may there be peace on earth.

May the waters flow peacefully; may the herbs and

plants grow peacefully; may all the divine powers bring

unto us peace.  the supreme Lord is peace.  May we all

 be in peace, peace, and only peace; and may that peace

come unto each of us.

Shanti (peace) - Shanti - Shanti

-THE VERDAS, TRANSLATED

BY RAIMUNDO PANNIKER

It is in the shelter of each other that we live.

I watched Ianyla Vanzant working with a young man who was carrying great pain and anger towards his father due to his abandonment.  He was miserable, and carried this burden within him.  As a part of his healing, she asked him to close his eyes and imagine his father sitting in the chair across from him.  She then asked him to see his father as a broken and wounded man, covered with bandages and splints and stitches.  She asked him to look at this broken man and to realize that he had not hurt him intentionally, but rather was broken himself and his own actions had come from his own brokenness.  Ianyla asked the boy to look at his own responsibilities regarding carrying the resentment, and to forgive himself.  She then asked him to forgive his father, and to know he did the best he could at that time.

I thought the picture of the bandaged man was so powerful ... so true. The image is a clear reminder that people harm others due to their own brokenness, and like the gossip line, each one of us can make the decision to stop passing it on, to forgive and heal.

None of us can be peace when we carry resentment towards others or incomplete  love for ourselves.  And ... it is in realizing our own peace that our world will eventually become peace!!!

Let peace extend from my hand to yours.

- from A Course in Miracles

Cate