Renewal: December 30, 2007

Living Spirits of Earth

Mother and father of us all

You who hold us to Your breath

You who bathe us in Your waters

Who feed us with Your fruits

Guardian of where we are going

of who we are becoming

Cradle our days and coffin our nights

You who carry us folded in Your arms

Sailing silently among the stars

Hear our Prayers –

The Terma Collective

Write it on your heart
that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day,

and no one owns the day
who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.

Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.
Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

This new day is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Everything -- absolutely everything -- that happens in our lives has a
spiritual cause. Mental, emotional and physical events are only effects.
When we are struggling with any challenge, whether it be ill health, a
lack of money, a lost job, relationships, an accident, whatever -- we
need to look for the spiritual learning. We can ask ourselves, "What
quality does my soul want me to live more fully?"
"I went to the root of things, and found nothing but Him alone." – Mira Bai

Empower me

to be a bold participant,

rather than a timid saint in waiting,

in the difficult ordinariness of now;

to exercise the authority of honesty,

rather than defer to power,

or deceive to get it;

to influence someone for justice,

rather than impress anyone for gain;

and, by grace, to find treasures

of joy, of friendship, of peace

hidden in the fields of the daily

you give me to plow.

Ted Loder

To expect to have faith before embarking on the disciplines of the spiritual life is like putting the cart before the horse. In all the great traditions, prophets, sages, and mystics spend very little time telling their disciples what they ought to believe.

…

All the great teachers of spirituality in all the major traditions have … insisted that before you can have faith, you must life a compassionate life, transcending the demands of the clamorous ego and recognizing the sacred in others; you must perform rituals … that make even the most mundane detail of our lives an encounter with the Ultimate; all traditions insist that you must also pray. Prayer is thus not born of belief and intellectual conviction; it is a practice that creates faith. Karen Armstrong

I Am the New Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bible Illustrator

I am the new year. I am an unspoiled page in your book of time.

I am your next chance at the art of living. I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned about life during the last twelve months.

All that you sought and didn’t find is hidden in me, waiting for you to search it but with more determination.

All the good that you tried for and didn’t achieve is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires.

All that you dreamed but didn’t dare to do, all that you hoped but did not will, all the faith that you claimed but did not have—these slumber lightly, waiting to be awakened by the touch of a strong purpose.

I am your opportunity to renew your allegiance to Him who said, "Behold, I make all things new."

Going deeper, releasing more.

Having less, feeling more.

Watching, waiting, feeling strength grow within me.

I challenge the old, the painful, the regrets.

I welcome the newborn, green shoots of awareness.

I open my center to light and love.

I let go in order to have.

No one can tell me where I must go, what I must do.

I follow the path of my opening heart to a place

where only joy and light are present.

Where peace and acceptance are constant.

Here it is never dark or cold.

Harsh words have no power.

The sun is always rising,

and every pore of my body opens to let it in. Copyright 2001 Ahna Cleveland

In the Beginning darkness covered the face of the deep

Then the rushing breath of life hovered over the waters.

Let us breathe together.

Let us catch our breaths from the need to make, to do

Let us become conscious of the breath of life.

We breathe out what the trees breathe in.

We breathe in what the trees breathe out.

Together we breathe each other into life.

Blessed is the One with the many.

Blessed are the many who make one.

Arthur Waskow

Christmas Eve 2007

Most Holy Mystery

As we celebrate this Christmas may we be reminded of our own divinity.

May we birth the light which is within us.

May we spread the Love of our deepest hearts

May we find Humility and Joy

As we celebrate this Christmas

May we remember to breathe and still our busy minds.

May we, our families, loved ones, and all beings know your Benevolence.

May we find the Peace of this moment, every moment.

As we celebrate this Christmas

May we find generosity of spirit

May we find ways to serve our fellow human beings

May we find ways to bring Peace to the earth

Amen

Sing my tongue; sing my hand;

sing my feet, sing my knee,

my loins, my whole body.

Indeed I am His

choir.

St. Thomas Aquinas

SONG: O Come All Ye Faithful

“Christmas” by Friedrich Buechner

from “Whistling in the Dark” (paraphrased)

The young parents do all the things you’re “supposed” to do on Christmas Eve. They tuck in the children, they scurry around trying to finish all of the things that they said they would do weeks ago. “This year is going to be different,” they proclaimed back in November…but it’s pretty much the same. The stockings are the same, the Egg Nogg’s the same, even the candles on the mantle are the same because they never actually burn them – they’re just for decoration.

Finally, everything is done. It’s 2 a.m. Just as they are about to fall exhausted into bed, she remembers the neighbor’s sheep. “You promised you’d feed them,” she tells him. In the rush they had forgotten all about them. So down the hill he goes through knee-deep snow. He gets two bales of hay from the barn and carries them into the shed. There’s a forty-watt bulb hanging by its cord from the low roof, and he turns it on. The sheep huddle in a corner watching as he snaps the bailing twine, shakes the squares of hay apart and starts scattering it. Then they come bumbling and shoving to get at it with their foolish, mild faces, their puffs of breath showing in the air. He is reaching to turn off the light and leave when suddenly he realizes where he is. The winter darkness. The glimmer of light. The smell of the hay and the sound of the animals eating. Where he is, of course, is the manger.

He only just saw it. On his best days he believes that everything that is most precious anywhere comes from that manger; yet he might easily have gone home to bed never knowing that he himself had just been in the manger. The world is the manger. It is only by grace that he happens to see part of the miracle.

Christmas itself is by grace. It could never have survived our own blindness and damage otherwise. It could never have happened otherwise. Perhaps it is the very wildness and strangeness of the grace that has led us to try to tame it. We have tried to make it habitable: The lovely old carols play and replay till their effect is like a dentist’s drill or a jackhammer; the sappy sentimentalism; the chilling commercialism; people spending money they can’t afford on presents we neither need nor want; “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer;” the plastic tree, the candy-coatedness of it all; the Hallmark Nativity Scene. Yet, for all of our efforts, we’ve never quite managed to ruin it. That in itself is part of the miracle, a part you can see. Most of the miracle we can’t see, or don’t.

We have roofed it in and furnished it. We have reduced it to an occasion we feel at home with, at best a touching and beautiful occasion, at worst a trite and ridiculous one. But if the Christmas event in itself is indeed—as a matter of cold, hard fact—all it’s cracked up to be, then even at best our efforts are misleading.

The Word became flesh. Ultimate mystery born within a body so small that it could be crushed in an instant. Incarnation. It is not tame. It is not touching. It is not beautiful. It is uncomfortable. It is unthinkable darkness torn apart by unbearable light. Agonized laboring led to it, space and time split apart, a wrenching and tearing of the very fibers of reality itself. You can only cover your eyes and shudder before it, before this: “Almighty God, Prince of Peace,” who was born, who is born – to us!

Only then do we dare uncover our eyes and see what we can see. It is the Resurrection and the Life she holds in her arms. It is the bitterness of death he takes at her breast. All wrapped up in one, tiny little baby – our hope, our life, our vulnerability, our end, our beginning, our light.

SONG: What Child is This?

All beings are words of God,

His music, His art.

Sacred books we are, for the infinite camps

in our

souls.

Every act reveals God and expands his Being.

I know that may be hard

to comprehend.

All creatures are doing their best

to help God in His birth

of Himself.

Enough talk for the night.

He is laboring in me;

I need to be silent

for awhile,

worlds are forming

in my heart.

Meister Eckhardt

Vulnerable we are, like an infant,

We need each other’s care

or we will

suffer.

St Catherine of Siena

The Crib Beneath the Christmas Tree - reading

I like this side of you I see

in the crib beneath the Christmas tree

I see a God who lets go of power

so I won’t be afraid of him

I see a God who lets go of riches

so I won’t be embarrassed to be his friend

I see a God who lets go of wisdom

so I won’t feel stupid when I talk to him

I see a God who lets go of being judge

so I feel free to be myself with him

I see a God who lets go of experience

so I can start from scratch with him

I see a God who lets go of expectations

and loves me as I am

I see a God who lets go of independence

and needs me to do for him

I see a God who lets go of maturity

and lets me sing a lullaby to him

I see a descending God

who moves downward to be with me

I see a humble God

who chooses to be on the same level with me

I see a poor God

who comes begging love from us

I see a newborn baby

in this crib

beneath the Christmas tree.

(Little Sisters of Jesus)

SONG: O Holy Night

I will start the lighting of our candles with a blessing then each person will pass the light on to the next. After the last reading and music, you may go into the night silently, carrying your light (or you can leave it at the door if your wish).

O Spirit, as light comes from this candle, may the blessing of Jesus Christ come to us, warming our hearts and brightening our way. May the spirit of Christ bring life into the darkness of this world, and to us, as we rejoice at his coming.

After all candles have been lit:

God has sent the Spirit of the Child dancing into our hearts.
The time has come for our birth.
Leap within the world’s womb!
Let us go forth into an expectant world.
Do not take with you a cry of pain, believing that you are
thrust into the midst of strangers.
May we take with us a cry of recognition, knowing that
we have entered the company of sisters and brothers.

SONG: Silent Night

May the Light of the Divine Shine upon us

May the Love of the Divine heal our struggling world

May the birth of the Divine take place again and again

In each of our Hearts

Beverly Lanzetta

Renewal: December 23, 2007

Most gracious Spirit

Mother, Master, Messiah, and Savior of humanity

We greet You in all humility.

You are the First Cause and the Last Effect

The Divine Light and the Spirit of guidance

Alpha and Omega

Your light in all forms

Your love in all beings

In a loving mother, in a kind father,

in an innocent child,

in a helpful friend,

and in an inspiring teacher.

Allow us to recognize You in all Your names and forms,

as Radha, Krishna, as Shiva, As Buddha

as the Goddess Durga, as Anu, as Persephone

Let us know You as Abraham, as Solomon, as Lilith

as Zarathustra, as Moses, as Sophia,

as Jesus and Mary,

as Mohammed and Khadijah,

as Rumi, as Rab’ia

and in many other names and forms known and

unknown to the world.

We adore Your past, Your Presence deeply enlightens our

being , and we look for Your blessing in the future.

O messenger, Christ, Eve, Nabi, the Rasul of God!

You whose heart constantly reaches upwards,

You come on earth with a message

as a dove from above when Dharma decays, and

speak the Word which is put into Your mouth as

the light fills the crescent moon.

Let the star of the Divine Light, shining in Your heart

be reflected in the hearts of Your devotees.

May the Message of the Divine reach far and wide,

illuminating and making whole humanity as

one single sister/brotherhood in the Mother/Fatherhood of God.

Amen Adapted by Neema from a Sufi Prayer

Reading from The Gospel According to Dawn –

“The Innkeeper’s Wife” – Dawn Annette Mills OSB

The angels dance in your wake
The sun rises for your glory
Stars illume in your light
Magnificent and eternal
My Lord Jesus
My timeless love

justina m. pernetter

My soul magnifies the Lord
and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he has regarded
the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty has magnified me
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him
throughout all generations.
He has showed strength with his arm
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their seat
and has exalted the humble and meek.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy has helped his servant Israel
as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed, for ever.

- song of mary - gospel of luke - 1:46-55

"The Magnificat,"- based on Mary's Song from the birth narrative of the Gospel of Luke. That song can be found in Luke 1:46-55

My soul sings in gratitude.
I'm dancing in the mystery of God.
The light of the Holy One is within me
and I am blessed, so truly blessed.

This goes deeper than human thinking.
I am filled with awe
at Love whose only condition
is to be received.

The gift is not for the proud,
for they have no room for it.

The strong and self-sufficient ones
don't have this awareness.

But those who know their emptiness
can rejoice in Love's fullness.

It's the Love that we are made for,
the reason for our being.

It fills our inmost heart space
and brings to birth in us, the Holy One.

Joy Cowley, Auckland, New Zealand

Renewal: December 16, 2007

So

Precious

is a person’s faith in God,

so precious

never should we harm

that.

Because

He gave birth

to all

religions.

St Francis of Assisi

first reading:

In striving to recognize the primacy of Fire and Light,
I feel kinship with my Zoroastrian brothers and sisters.
In striving to obey the Ten Commandments,
I feel kinship with my Jewish brothers and sisters.
In striving to be kind to neighbor and the needy,
I feel kinship with my Christian brothers and sisters.
In striving to be compassionate to creatures great and small,
I feel kinship with my Buddhist-Jaina brothers and sisters.
In striving to surrender myself completely to God Almighty,
I feel kinship with my Muslim brothers and sisters.
In the recognition that wisdom flows from enlightened masters,
I feel kinship with my Sikh brothers and sisters.
In remembering that serving people should be the goal of religion,
I feel kinship with my Baha'i brothers and sisters.
In my respect and reverence for Nature that sustains us,
I feel kinship with my Native American brothers and sisters.
In feeling that these and more are all paths to the same Divinity,
I feel kinship with my Hindu brothers and sisters.
In my love and laughter, joy and pain,
I feel kinship with all my fellow humans.
In my need for nourishment and instinct to live on,
I feel kinship with all beings on the planet.
In my spiritual ecstasy with this wondrous world,
I feel kinship with the Cosmic Whole.

universal reflection - v. v. raman - cape of good hope - 1999

I desire neither earthly kingdom,
nor even freedom from birth and death.
I desire only the deliverance from grief
of all those afflicted by misery.
Oh Lord, lead us from the unreal to the real;
from darkness to light;
from death to immortality.
May there be peace in celestial regions.
May there be peace on earth.
May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome and
may trees and plants bring peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring peace to us.
May thy wisdom spread peace all through the world.
May all things be a source of peace to all and to me.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

hindu peace prayer - mahatma gandhi

Vulnerable

we are,

like an infant,

we need each other’s care

or we will

suffer.

St Catherine of Siena

From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.

From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May * Christ return to Earth.

From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men --
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.

From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out.
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.

Let Light and Love and Power
restore the Plan on Earth.

the great invocation - maitreya

second reading:

Peace be to earth and to airy space!

Peace be to heaven, peace to the waters,

Peace to the plant, and peace to the trees!

May all the powers grant to me peace!

By this invocation of peace may peace be diffused!

By this invocation of peace may peace bring peace!

With this peace the dreadful I now appease,

With this peace the cruel I now appease,

With this peace all evil I now appease,

So that peace may prevail, happiness prevail!

May everything for us be peaceful!

(Atharva Veda XIX--Hindu Scriptures)

Great Spirit, Divine One, Creator
who is heaven earth rock wind insect tree fox
human of every size shape color

Holy are your infinite names chanted sung whispered
shouted in every language, tongue.

We will midwife the rebirth of Gaia
as best we can
restoring the Great Law of Peace.

Guide our hands to the soil and seed
honoring the alchemy of food.
Let us remember your abundance
and share the bread of life with any who hunger.

We are for giving
and giving and giving.
We trust in the give-away.
We give and receive.

Let us be humble before the darkness and the light
walking in harmony amidst them.
Give us courage to know them intimately
both within and without.

For you have breathed it all---
the behind, the above, the below, the beyond.
Your awesome power courses in our veins
and animates our hearts.
You are the Great Drum.

We thank you.

translation of the lord's prayer
from King James to Gaian - claudia l'amoreaux

Holy Mystery of Peace

(B.Lanzetta)

Holy Mystery draw us

to the dwelling place

of peace.

Silent Mystery still us

with the brilliance

of emptiness.

Fiery Mystery wound us

with the cautery

of an open heart.

Love’s Mystery inspire us

to embrace all creation

as family.

Mystery of Forgiveness

fill us with healing balm

throughout the year.

renewal: December 9, 2007

12-9-07 Renewal

God of grace, creation and renewal:

We are people who unwittingly take the many miracles of life for granted.

We thank you for you wondrous gifts of clean air,

clean water, wholesome food:

those simple things upon which our lives depend.

We thank you for your wondrous gifts of color, sound, taste, aroma, texture, that delight our senses and add a special beauty to our days.

We thank you for the gift of each other,

and pray that we may truly treat

each other a gifts from you.

Teach us to enjoy the wonder of life, O God.

Receive these gifts we return to you in token of our thanksgiving.

Use them and use us in love for your world.

amen

To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under the sun.
A time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal ...
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance ...
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to lose and a time to seek;
a time to rend and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The term advent connotes not only an arrival, but also that which is yet to come. The very word itself expresses a strange interpenetration of the present and the future of what now exists and what is yet to come, of possession and expectation. The incarnation of the Word of God took place in the past and still continues in the present . . . and yet is constantly at the point of coming. The expectation of this return and the memorial of [t]his entrance into the word are both celebrated in the advent liturgy.

Karl Rahner

Life is short and we have not too much time
for gladdening the hearts of those
who are traveling the dark way with us.
Oh, be swift to love! Make haste to be kind.

Henri-Frederic Amiel – 1885

There are four seasons of the heart. Several seasons can be present simultaneously in the heart, though usually, at any one time, one season is dominant in your life. . . . In the autumn time of your life your experience is harvested. . . . [This]invites you to become aware of the sacred circle that shelters your life. Within the harvest cycle you are able to gather lost moments and experiences, bring them together, and hold them as one.

. . .

In wintertime nature withdraws. A tree looses its leaves and retires inward. When it is wintertime in your life you are going through pain, difficulty or turbulence. At such times it is wise to follow your instinct and withdraw into yourself. . . you need sanctuary in the shelter of your own soul.

. . .

There is a lovely phrase in Gaelic that means there is a quivering life about to break forth. Spring is a youthful season; it comes forth in a rush of life and promise, hope, and possibility. At the heart of the spring there is a great inner longing. It is a time when desire an memory stir toward each other. Springtime in your soul is a wonderful time to undertake some new adventure. . . . then the rythmn, the energy, and the hidden ligt of your own clay works with you.

. . .

Summertime in your soul is a time of balance, a time of light, growth, arrival. You are in the flow of your own nature. You can take as many risks as you like and you will always land on your feet. There is enough shelter and depth of texture around you to compleely ground, balance , and mind you.

John O’Donohue

Many people regularly squander their time. They live under the
assumption that they'll live forever. As a result, they don't value the
present as a precious opportunity that will never come again.
Others continually race against time, trying to cram too many activities
into each hour, and suffering stress in the process.
In our view, we are more effective and most happy when we balance being
and doing. We continually ask ourselves what's most important to get
done. And we're learning to BE -- fully present -- when we do. We also
regularly give ourselves permission to relax.
Make today really matter. It's all you'll ever have.

Deepak Chopra
"Very few of us know how much we can put into life if we use it
properly, wisely, and economically. Let us economize our time --
lifetimes ebb away before we wake up, and that is why we do not realize
the value of the immortal time God has given us."
-- Paramahansa Yogananda

Awaken To a new dawn,
I stretch to Infinity 'n reach Beyond the Stars,
In an instant I return,
filling every tissue, sinew, with Joy,
I feed the nectar of life, into each molecule and cell,
The mind and body embrace Divine love
Through the eye of time I see eternity,
Life in life shine bright,
Shine the torch of majestic light,
Find the path to my universal frame,
So I may bask in the wisdom of pure potential,
Guide my hand to write your words.

the writers prayer - Michael levy

The sons of men are one
and I am one with them.
I seek to love not hate.
I seek to serve and not exact due service.
I seek to heal not hurt.
Let pain bring due reward of light and love.
Let the soul control the outer form
and life and all events,
and bring to light the love which underlies
the happenings of the time.
Let vision come and insight;
let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate
and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail.
Let all men love.

mantram of unification - maitreya

The angels dance in your wake
The sun rises for your glory
Stars illume in your light
Magnificent and eternal
My Lord Jesus
My timeless love

justina m. pernetter

Renewal: December 2, 2007

12-2-07

Create in me a pure heart, O my God,
and renew a tranquil conscience within me, O my Hope!
Through the spirit of power confirm your presence
O my Best-Beloved,
and by the light of your glory reveal to me your path,
You are the Goal of my desire!
Through the power of your transcendent might
lift me up unto the heaven of your holiness,
O Source of my being,
and by the breezes of your eternity gladden me,
O Thou Who art my God!
Let your everlasting melodies breathe tranquillity on me,
O my Companion,
and let the riches of your ancient countenance
deliver me from all except your presence,
O my Mother,
Let the tidings of the revelation of your
incorruptible Essence bring me joy,
O You Who is the most manifest of the manifest
and the most hidden of the hidden!

Adapted from Baha'i prayers - Bahá'u'lláh

It's hard for some of us to believe that the world is served when we
seek happiness. We've been taught that this is selfish. If we stop to reflect on how we are in the world when we are happy, we can see how this serves. We have more vitality. We're more loving and generous to others when our own needs are met. What activities bring you greatest joy? Your unique gift to the world will be found in those pastimes you love the most. How can you live your joy each day?

"Spiritual growth is not made in reaction against, for all striving
against imposed restrictions is imaginary. Spiritual growth is
accomplished by inclination toward. We grow like the sunflower,
following the light."
-- Joy Houghton

Our God, who celebrates who we are,
turns us from ourselves to a world in need.

We go out to share the patience of God
with those who usually exasperate us.

Christ appoints us to serve in difficult places,
challenging the false values of our world.

We go out to live what we profess
and to profess what we really believe.

God rejoices in the lost who are found
and strengthens us with overflowing mercy and grace.

We venture into new experiences
in the confidence that God cares for us.
Amen.

Basil Mathews was walking along the dusty streets of an Arabian village. He met a tall, young, Arab boy playing a flute. He asked to see the flute and it seemed surprisingly heavy. After examining it he discovered it was made out of an old gun barrel. The boy explained that he had picked up the gun in an area where there had been fierce fighting. He filed it down and drilled holes in it. From a weapon of destruction he had created an instrument of music. (from, Ride the Wild Horses, by J. Wallace Hamilton)

The great benefit of heightened awareness is that we have more choice in
how we live our lives. At any moment, we can purposefully choose a new
experience for ourselves. We can choose to pay attention, breathe more
deeply, laugh, rest, play, appreciate, do something different - the
possibilities are endless.

Whenever you remember, take yourself off auto-pilot and really examine
your situation. Take charge and make a choice that will enrich your
experience. At the end of the day, reflect on what happened and how you
felt when you chose a new line of thought, feeling or action.

"We cannot tell what may happen to us in the strange medley of life. But
we can decide what happens in us -- how we can take it, what we do with
it -- and that is what really counts in the end."
-- Joseph Fort Newton

I invite you to enter for a moment
into Sacred Time and Space,
into a way of seeing that is broad and spacious.
See this Day, from the time you arose this morning
until you sleep this evening, as one Ceremony,
divided into small and familiar rituals,
your Heart as the Altar.
You, part of the Cycles of Light and Darkness.

Now begin to see your Life,
from the moment of your Conception
until the time of your Death
as one long, continuous Ceremony,
filled with many rituals,
some familiar, some unknown and challenging.
Your Home and all Your Relations, the Altar.
You, part of many Seasons and Cycles.

Now see this Ceremony of your Life
as part of a much larger Ceremony that extends
Seven Generations into the Past and Seven into the Future,
made up of many Births and Deaths.
This beautiful spinning Earth the Altar.
You, part of the great Ebb and Flow.

Now, if You will, imagine this larger Ceremony
to be but one part of a Ceremony so grand,
so magnificent as to be hardly comprehensible,
a great, vast Ceremonial Circle, rich and vibrant
with millions upon millions of swirling
Circles of Dancing Light,
and You, one of those Dancing Circles,
a Dancer on the Altar that is the Universe,
where Time is Eternal.

May You Dance In Beauty.

circle wisdom - Sedonia Cahill

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

bible - psalm 51:10-12 - king david

Life is short and we have not too much time
for gladdening the hearts of those
who are traveling the dark way with us.
Oh, be swift to love! Make haste to be kind.

henri-frederic amiel – 1885

GRATITUDE: November 25, 2007

11/25/07

God of grace, creation and renewal:

We are people who unwittingly take the many miracles of life for granted.

We thank you for you wondrous gifts of clean air, clean water,

wholesome food:

those simple things upon which our lives depend.

We thank you for your wondrous gifts of color, sound, taste, aroma, texture, that delight our senses and add a special beauty to our days.

We thank you for the gift of each other,

and pray that we may truly treat each other as gifts from you.

Teach us to enjoy the wonder of life, O God.

Receive these gifts we return to you in token of our thanksgiving.

Use them and use us in love for your world.

The great sea

Has sent me adrift,

It moves me as a weed in a great river,

Earth and the great weather

Move me,

Have carried me away

And move my inward parts with joy.

Inuit

My work is loving the world.

Here are the sunflowers, there the hummingbird –

equal seekers of sweetness

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?

Am I no longer young, and still not half perfect? Let me

keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning g to be

astonished.

The phoebe the delphinium.

The sheep in the pasture and the pasture.

Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over, how it is

that we live forever.

Mary Oliver

Researchers find the virtues of gratitude include good health.

From Cicero to Buddha, many philosophers and spiritual teachers have celebrated gratitude. The world's major religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hindu, prize gratitude as a morally beneficial emotional state that encourages reciprocal kindness. Pastors, priests, parents and grandparents have long extolled the virtues of gratitude, but until recently, scholars have largely ignored it as a subject of scientific inquiry.

McCollough and Emmons report that the results of their study indicated that daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy. (3 groups: list of events of day, unpleasant experiences, things to be grateful for) Additionally, the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress, was more likely to help others, exercised more regularly and made more progress toward personal goals. According to the findings, people who feel grateful are also more likely to feel loved. McCollough and Emmons also noted that gratitude encouraged a positive cycle of reciprocal kindness among people since one act of gratitude encourages another.

McCullough says these results also seem to show that gratitude works independently of faith. Though gratitude is a substantial part of most religions, he says the benefits extend to the general population, regardless of faith or lack thereof. In light of his research, McCullough suggests that anyone can increase their sense of well-being and create positive social effects just from counting their blessings.
Michael McCullough: Professor of Psychology

Reading from Tom Cowan:

O Great Spirit

Oh Our God, wisdom through the ages

We are thankful for your spirit that permeates all that is

Help us grow in your knowledge

Because we long for you with our whole being

May we call on you intimately, like a friend

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence
during the hard and mean days.
For then we have you to lean upon.
Thank you for your presence
during the bright and sunny days,
for then we can share that which we have
with those who have less.
And thank you for your presence
during the Holy Days, for then we are able
to celebrate you and our families
and our friends.
For those who have no voice,
we ask you to speak.
For those who feel unworthy,
we ask you to pour your love out
in waterfalls of tenderness.
For those who live in pain,
we ask you to bathe them

in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask
you to keep them company.
For those who are depressed,
we ask you to shower upon them
the light of hope.

Oh, Our God, wisdom through the ages

We are thankful for your spirit that permeates all that is

Help us grow in your knowledge

Because we long for you with our whole being

May we call on you intimately, like a friend.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless
sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the
world that which we need most—Peace.

prayer - maya angelou

Gratitude: November 18, 2007

11/18/07

We are, O my God,
but tiny seeds which You have sown
in the soil of Your love,
and caused to spring forth by the hand of Your bounty.
This seed craves therefore,
in its inmost being,
for the waters of Your mercy
and the living fountain of Your grace.
Send down upon it,
from the heaven of Your loving-kindness,
that which will enable it to flourish beneath Your shadow
and within the borders of Your court.
Thou art That Who waters the hearts of all
Your plenteous stream
and the fountain of Your living waters.
Praised be to God,
the Glory of the worlds.

Adapted from Baha'i prayers - Bahá'u'lláh

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God;
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise;
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;
and his truth endureth to all generations.

Oludumare, oh Divine One! I give thanks
to You, the one who is as near as my
heartbeat, and more anticipated than my
next breath. Let Your wisdom become one
with this vessel as I lift my voice in
thanks for Your love.

african - yoruba

There is joy
in all:
in the hair I brush each morning,
in the Cannon towel, newly washed,
that I rub my body with each morning,
in the chapel of eggs I cook
each morning,
in the outcry from the kettle
that heats my coffee
each morning,
in the spoon and the chair
that cry "hello there, Anne,"
each morning,
in the godhead of the table
that I set my silver, plate, cup upon
each morning.

All this is God,
right here in my pea-green house
each morning
and I mean,
though often forget,
to give thanks,
to faint down by the kitchen table
in a prayer of rejoicing
as the holy birds at the kitchen window
peck into their marriage of seeds.

So while I think of it,
let me paint a thank-you on my palm
for this God, this laughter of the morning,
lest it go unspoken.

The joy that isn't shared, I've heard,
dies young.

welcome morning - anne sexton

You spoke to me today, my Beloved.
You blessed me by revealing an aspect of Your countenance.
From the bush by the side of the trail, You call out to me,
stopping my movement, stilling my legs, transfixing my gaze in awe.
I see jeweled beads of rain from the night's storm, lying sprinkled on leaves
Like translucent crystal gems arranged in unique patterns
on hundreds of oval green velvet carpets.

You draw my eye to embrace each one, from the very smallest -
smaller than a grain of salt - to the largest - fully ripe like round pearls.
Each one perfect and perfectly placed.
Some defy gravity as they cling to the edge of a leaf.
Others line up like the gemstones of a necklace strung along the leaf's center line.

And then you begin to speak so that I would understand.
And you lead me to know that each droplet, regardless of size or position,
is like a human soul, irreplaceably precious in Your eyes.
Though seemingly distinct, each is lovingly fashioned
from the same essence, the water of Life.

You whisper that though apparently separate, each is connected with all others
through the unified web of leaves, stems and branches that form a whole plant.

Each is nourished by the same roots and earth, air, water, and sun
all of which You sustain and nurture in Your resplendent heart.

Oh My Beloved, Oh ever Faithful One, thank you for Your blessing that
opens my eyes to see and understand the workings of Your love.

ronald bedrick - april 2004

Hazrat Inayat Khan: “It is a patient pursuit to bring water from the depth of the ground; one has to deal with much mud in digging before one reaches the water of life.”

Imagine that you find yourself walking on a woods trail, just before dawn after the first snow of the year. The oak leaves crunching beneath your feet let snow nestle in their crinkled bowls; the pines bow slightly in their new fleece. You reach up and pinch a little snow from their branches, and the freshness of its cool taste on your tongue startles you. Not far away you can hear a not-yet-frozen waterfall flowing with the full force of recent autumn rains. Everything else remains hushed, except for one sparrow who greets the snow with her own sweetness.

Where is water not to be found in this woods world? It adorns the branches and runs through their vessels. It forms fleeting clouds with each breath you exhale, and with each inhalation you can feel in your mouth how you yourself are made almost entirely of water. It runs through the streams that lead to the source of the water you drink. You could not live without its physical sustenance, but neither could you be truly alive without its beauty. As the goblet is passed and you are blessed with water and bless the person next to you – say a prayer of thanksgiving for the water that keeps us all alive.

WATER BLESSING

We call you ocean.

We call you sea, gulf, strait, bight,
bay, lagoon, river, falls, creek,
stream, lake, pond, spring.

We call you rain.

We call you pool, puddle, snowflake,
glacier, dew, mist, cove, channel, inlet,
cascade, brook, tributary, bayou, tarn,

H20.

We travel your powerful currents
to meet our relations.
We flood our rice fields.
We bathe our children.
We cleanse the dead.
We baptise, we purify, we do ablutions,
We immerse in the mikvah.
We heal with you - Holy Water.

We remember to protect you.
We remember to protect you.
We remember to protect you.
We remember to protect you.

prayer to protect water - claudia l'amoreaux

The sun shines down,
and its image reflects a thousand
different pots filled with water.

The reflections are many,
but they are each reflecting the same sun.

Similarly, when we come to know who we truly are,
we will see ourselves in all people.

amma

Cover my earth mother four times with many flowers.
Let the heavens be covered with the banked-up clouds.
Let the earth be covered with fog;
cover the earth with rains.
Great waters, rains, cover the earth.
Lightning cover the earth.
Let thunder be heard over the earth;
let thunder be heard;
Let thunder be heard over the six regions of the earth.

american indian - sia - invocation to the u'wannami

Gratitude: November 11, 2007

11/11/07

Lord make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is sadness, joy;

Where there is darkness, light.

O Divine Master, grant that I may

not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

not so much to be understood, but to understand;

not so much to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

St Francis of Assisi

Veterans Day - I want to give thanks to veterans by praying for peace today.

I want to give thanks especially for the very strong and courageous soldiers who are able to step out of their training to kill, which maims them, at least emotionally and spiritually. Both from Mylai in Vietnam:

As a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, Thompson was hovering his craft low over Mylai, trying to draw enemy fire. But there wasn’t any. Surveying the hamlet he saw not a battle but a massacre. “This wasn’t war.” He later recalled. Thompson landed his chopper between the marauding GIs and cowering Vietnamese villagers confronted the GIs and ordered them to stand off. Then he and his crew rescued 4 adults and six children, including one badly wounded boy, and flew them to safety.

The other in his own words reading from War and the Soul by Ed Tick

Oh Lord, once I was smart enough to know a just war when I saw it, the kind of war you would approve of. I am not so smart anymore. Every war looks evil to me now. And even the war well begun becomes evil before it is over. So let us have no more just wars; they are the worst kind. Now, at last, give us a just peace.

Time for Shalom. Shalom for our breaking hearts. It’s time. Past time.

Lewis Smedes

To confront evil successfully, we as a nation must confront our own darkness; we must act not as a messiah, filled with undue majesty and certainty, but rather as a healer, filled with compassion, empathy and humility.

David Spangler

READING:

Assailed by afflictions, we discover Dharma
And find the way to liberation.

Thank-you, evil forces!

When sorrows invade the mind, we discover Dharma
And find lasting happiness.

Thank-you, sorrows!

Through harm caused by spirits we discover Dharma
And find fearlessness.

Thank-you, ghosts and demons!

Through people's hate we discover Dharma
And find benefits and happiness.

Thank-you, those who hate us!

Through cruel adversity, we discover Dharma
And find the unchanging way.

Thank-you, adversity!

Through being impelled to by others, we discover Dharma
And find the essential meaning.

Thank-you, all who drive us on!

We dedicate our merit to you all, to repay your kindness.

- Gyalwa Longchenpa

Whatever God does, the first outburst is always compassion.

Meister Echhardt

The Messenger

My work is loving the world.

Here are the sunflowers, there the hummingbird –

equal seekers of sweetness

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?

Am I no longer young, and still not half perfect? Let me

keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning g to be

astonished.

The phoebe the delphinium.

The sheep in the pasture and the pasture.

Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over, how it is

that we live forever. Mary Oliver

How then can we argue?

Having lunch in a field one day,

I troubled an ant with a question. I asked of him humbly,

“Have you ever been to Paris?”

And he replied, “No, but I wouldn’t mind going.” And then he asked me

if I had ever been to a famous ant city. And I regretted that I hadn’t,

and was quick to add, “I wouldn’t mind, too.”

This led to a conclusion: There is life that we do not know of.

How aware are we of all consciousness

in this universe?

What percent of space is this earth in the infinite realm?

What percent of time is one second

in eternity?

Less than that is our

knowledge of

God.

How then can we ever argue about

Him?

Meister Eckhart

We are one, after all, you and I: together we suffer, together exist,

And forever will recreate each other.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

I know a cure for sadness:

Let your hands touch something

that makes you smile.

I bet there are a hundred objects close by

that can do that.

Look at

beauty’s gift to us –

her power is so great she enlivens

the earth, the sky, our

soul.

MiraBai 16^th century Hindu Mystic