tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84168252024-03-07T17:04:03.335-08:00Graceful PresenceShared wisdom, reflections, and blessingsMeredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.comBlogger459125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-47734407722655583122017-01-01T18:51:00.002-08:002017-01-01T18:51:56.682-08:00<h2 style="color: #333333;">
<strong>The Place Where You Are Now</strong></h2>
<h3 style="color: #333333;">
<strong>by Hafiz</strong></h3>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
This place where you are right now<br />
God circled on a map for you.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
Wherever your eyes and arms and heart can move<br />
Against the earth and the sky,<br />
The Beloved has bowed there—</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
Our Beloved has bowed there knowing<br />
You were coming.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
I could tell you a priceless secret about<br />
Your real worth, dear pilgrim,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
But any unkindness to yourself,<br />
Any confusion about others,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
Will keep one<br />
From accepting the grace, the love,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
The sublime freedom<br />
Divine knowledge always offers to you.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
Never mind, Hafiz, about<br />
The great requirements this path demands<br />
Of the wayfarers,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span class="contextualExtensionHighlight ms-font-color-themePrimary ms-border-color-themePrimary ident_1524_1565" role="button" tabindex="0">For your soul is too full of wine tonight</span><br />
To withhold the wondrous Truth from this world.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
But because I am so clever and generous,<br />
I have already clearly woven a resplendent lock<br />
Of his tresses</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
As a remarkable truth and gift<br />
In this poem for you.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
//</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em;">
Translated by Daniel Ladinsky, in the book, <em><a href="http://el2.convertkit-mail.com/c/0vu6epor2a9hooz3l/x1e516/aHR0cDovL2Ftem4udG8vMmhEMDZLQQ==" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #0875c1; color: #0875c1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Subject Tonight Is Love: <span class="x_a-size-extra-large" id="x_ebooksProductTitle">60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz</span></a></em></div>
Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-977911561920233712015-04-20T12:26:00.001-07:002015-04-20T12:26:42.029-07:00For Presence<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">Awaken to the mystery of being here<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">and enter the quiet immensity of your own
presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">Have joy and peace in the temple of your
senses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">Receive encouragement when new frontiers
beckon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">Respond to the call of your gift and the
courage to<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">follow its path.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">Let the flame of anger free you of all
falsity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">May anxiety never linger about you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity
of<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">soul.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that
seek<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">no attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your
soul.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">May you experience each day as a sacred gift
woven<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">around the heart of wonder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">~ John O'Donohue ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">(<i>To Bless the Space Between Us</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-71289212092460241232014-09-23T12:03:00.002-07:002014-09-23T12:03:21.609-07:00The Secret<div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even if you consume </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">as many books as the sands of the Ganges<br />If you want the secret of Buddhism, here it is:<br />Everything is in the Heart.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ryokan</span></span></div>
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<br />Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-66763274461378354612014-08-17T06:25:00.001-07:002014-08-17T06:25:51.080-07:00Our Birth<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:<br />
The soul that rises with us, our life’s star,<br />
Hath had elsewhere its setting,<br />
And cometh from afar;<br />
Not in entire forgetfulness,<br />
And not in utter nakedness,<br />
But trailing clouds of glory do we come<br />
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William Wordsworth,<br />
from “Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood”</span>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-59612566263893797972014-08-17T06:25:00.000-07:002014-08-17T06:25:22.226-07:00THE OPENING OF EYES<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i><u></u></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br />
</span> </u></i><span style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">That day I saw beneath dark clouds</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the passing light over the water</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and I heard the voice of the world speak out,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I knew then, as I had before</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">life is no passing memory of what has been</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">nor the remaining pages in a great book</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">waiting to be read.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is the opening of eyes long closed.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is the vision of far off things</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">seen for the silence they hold.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is the heart after years</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">of secret conversing</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">speaking out loud in the clean air.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is Moses in the desert</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">fallen to his knees before the lit bush.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is the man throwing away his shoes</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">as if to enter heaven</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and finding himself astonished,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">opened at last,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">fallen in love with solid ground.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">— David Whyte</span></i></span>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-37382828133327703952013-11-08T10:55:00.000-08:002013-11-08T10:55:14.594-08:00The Blessing of the Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15px;"><div style="font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">
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To be blessed<br />said the old woman<br />is to live and work<br />so hard<br />God’s love<br />washes right through you<br />like milk through a cow</div>
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To be blessed<br />said the dark red tulip<br />is to knock their eyes out<br />with the slug of lust<br />implied by<br />your up-ended skirt</div>
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To be blessed<br />said the dog<br />is to have a pinch<br />of God<br />inside you<br />and all the other dogs<br />can smell it</div>
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By Alicia Suskin Ostriker</div>
</span><br />Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-87007622752628094392013-09-01T22:51:00.001-07:002013-09-01T22:51:22.695-07:00The Perfection of All<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Shared joy with you here at the Nameless Cafe. Enjoying the hint of Autumn, the still sunny days, the fullness of Summer's backside... </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Quote I read this morning: “Enlightenment is the realization of completeness. It’s the seeing of God equally in all, seeing the perfection of all, the completeness of all, and therefore the nonseparation of all. Dare you see it?” ~ Adyashanti</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This completeness graces our lives. </span></div>
Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-2645829493829219652013-08-19T19:06:00.002-07:002013-08-19T19:06:38.210-07:00Our Job<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #141823; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“Our job is to love people. When it hurts. When it’s awkward. When it’s uncool and embarrassing. Our job is to stand together, to carry the burdens of one another and to meet each other in our questions.” -- Jamie Tworkowski</span>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-87625254085272182232013-07-14T14:17:00.000-07:002013-07-14T23:25:05.183-07:00Limiting Who you Are?<br />
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A teacher once asked me a profound question: "Why do you limit who you are?"<br />
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It is possible that your idea of truth, whether theist or atheist, is like a handle that you are hanging onto as your answer to the big questions in life?<br />
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What if you were willing to be open, and gave up depending on your books of faith, or your ability to reason in a rational - "give me some proof" sense.<br />
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What if you just allowed the truth of the present moment to penetrate you.<br />
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What do you think you might find?</div>
Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-61353193626019034152013-06-07T10:07:00.001-07:002013-06-07T10:07:06.076-07:00Deep Love is FlowingMoving deeply in love, we might notice a sense of incompleteness, that something is missing. Love flows. The paradox is while it's flowing it's always in the now. It's a process, not a state. We can't grasp and hold it. It emerges from our being, flowing like fragrance floats on a warm summer's day; just out of the blue, unsusceptible to manipulation of any kind. It is never complete, always flowing but with no purpose, no goal. It just is. It's insubstantiality is what gives it it's sweetness.<br /><br />Deep love is flowing, always passing like a river. It has both joy and heartbreak in it. That's what gives it depth and richness. It is like a real rose as opposed to a plastic one. We can make a plastic rose but no one can make a real rose, nor can anyone keep one in a static state. A rose is an uncontainable miracle, a process that cannot be held on to. It moves on despite our efforts to hold it in place, keep it as it is, keep the tender petals from withering and returning to the source. When we return to the source, when we dissolve in the presence of the rose, we don't know who we are and we don't know what this miracle is filling the view. When we dissolve in the presence of love, we don't know what this bliss is filling our heart. <br /><br />In the presence of a flower we realize our own fleeting nature as form -- just a few hours dancing in the breeze, in the sunlight, releasing our fragrance, our song. We can learn from the rose, opening its petals with a primordial courage, not trying to hold them closed out of fear of what may come after blossoming, not anxious about an imaginary future. The rose embodies wisdom. When it's time to fall, it falls willingly, with an exquisite grace and nobility. In full flower, dancing in the sun, we share its happiness. When it falls, we're sad. Through this being, we're shown our own impermanence and the impermanence of love. It's a process. We want to hold onto the peak, thinking that this fragrant blossom is the ultimate, and we cling, trying to hold on to the moment: the light, the dazzling beauty, the lovely dance, the sweet fragrance in the air. We want to preserve the moment, perhaps capture this flower in a block of clear plastic. But what we end up with is a dead, preserved flower. <br /><br />Let the flowers in life flow. Celebrate these blossoms when they emerge and when they fall. They are showering on us now. Do not hold on to them and more will come. Holding on, they dry up anyway; the aliveness, the freshness dries up. Reading Meredith's passage we can feel the river of love, the flowing to ever higher peaks of love. Releasing our love brings these higher peaks. And the process is endless, never complete. Our living, our love is always incomplete and imperfect. Just like the rose in the garden, yes? Allowing love to move and flow has it go on and on. Love is inherent in who we are already. <br /><br />When we find ourselves in the presence of this love, this divine fragrance Meredith is pointing at, we can remember the space. We can allow ourselves to move in the direction of that fragrance, to move in the vicinity of that sweet music. The music of love is playing softly, subtly, right at this moment. It is just covered over with a lot of noise. Letting that extraneous noise subside, we hear the sweet music of love in the air all around us.<br />
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AkiMeredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-46819866163652185562013-04-24T07:13:00.002-07:002013-04-24T07:13:28.282-07:00The Compassion of Kwan Yin<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #7d633b;"><span style="color: #292929; font-family: inherit;">This past week our country was in mourning for the people in Boston where a tragic bombing incident occurred. I was uplifted by this poem revealing the compassion of Kwan Yin.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #292929; font-family: inherit;">Yin (also spelled Kwan Yin or Quan Yin and known as Kuan Shih Yin), is known as the Goddess of Compassion & Healing. She is one of the most popular deities in all of Asia. Her name in Chinese roughly translates as "The One who Hears the Cries of the World". She is the most beloved and revered of the Chinese dieties. Kuan Yin is the Divine Mother we all long for: merciful, tender, compassionate, loving, protecting, caring, healing, and wise. She quietly comes to the aid of her children everywhere. Her mantra is 'Om Mani Padme Hum.' (that is, 'Hail the Jewel -or pearl- in the Lotus.') </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><b>Kuan Yin’s Prayer for the Abuser</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">To those who withhold refuge,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I cradle you in safety at the core of my Being.<br />To those that cause a child to cry out,<br />I grant you the freedom to express your own choked agony. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">To those that inflict terror,<br />I remind you that you shine with the purity of a thousand suns.<br />To those who would confine, suppress, or deny,<br />I offer the limitless expanse of the sky.<br />To those who need to cut, slash, or burn,<br />I remind you of the invincibility of Spring.<br />To those who cling and grasp,<br />I promise more abundance than you could ever hold onto. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">To those who vent their rage on small children,<br />I return to you your deepest innocence.<br />To those who must frighten into submission,<br />I hold you in the bosom of your original mother.<br />To those who cause agony to others,<br />I give the gift of free flowing tears.<br />To those that deny another's right to be,<br />I remind you that the angels sang in celebration of you on the day of your birth.<br />To those who see only division and separateness,<br />I remind you that a part is born only by bisecting a whole. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For those who have forgotten the tender mercy of a mother's embrace,<br />I send a gentle breeze to caress your brow.<br />To those who still feel somehow incomplete,<br />I offer the perfect sanctity of this very moment.</span></span></span>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-74551297782824466702013-02-26T17:09:00.000-08:002013-02-26T17:12:56.102-08:00A Journey of One Inch<div style="text-align: center;">
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<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A Spiritual Journey</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">no matter how long, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but only by a spiritual journey, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a journey of one inch, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">very arduous and humbling and joyful, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by which we arrive at the ground at our feet, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and learn to be at home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~ Wendell Berry ~</span></div>
Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-83364614878679890842012-12-18T20:59:00.000-08:002012-12-18T20:59:10.211-08:00Metta Prayer<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May you be at ease</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May you be peaceful</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May you be happy<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May you be safe<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May you awaken to the light of your true nature<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May you be free.</span></span></div>
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Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-71008967321087621452012-11-08T20:47:00.000-08:002012-11-08T20:47:02.477-08:00Deeper Way<br />
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Walking, I am listening to a<br />deeper way. Suddenly all my<br />ancestors are behind me.<br />Be still, they say. Watch<br />and listen. You are the result<br />of the love of thousands.<br /><br />Linda Hogan (b. 1947)<br />Native American writer<div>
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Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-34813931702171628712012-09-02T12:26:00.000-07:002012-09-02T12:26:21.684-07:0010,000 Things<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We asked for a table in the sun at the Nameless. "Good morning, my dearest." </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The morning is </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">oh-so-lovely with a whisper breeze, warm sun on our shoulders, and a hint of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">autumn in the air. I love mornings like this one. Especially when I'm </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">with you, a dear friend smiling at me from across the table, sunbeams </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">in his hair.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I was thinking more about intimacy. I think there is more yet to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">explore here. Especially there is more when we consider that line by </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Dogen that says "to study the self is to lose or forget the self. And </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">to lose or forget the self is to become awakened by, or intimate with, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">the 10,000 things." The 10,000 things is Zen short-hand for all </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">things, all phenomena. Nothing is left out.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">How can we be intimate with 10,000 things? Among its definitions, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">intimacy" is a state of "complete intermixture, fusion, thoroughly </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">interconnected, interrelated, interwoven" and of having "depth of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">detailed knowledge and understanding and broadness of information </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">from, or as if from, long association, near contact, or thorough study</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and observation." One teacher says that to forget the wall we place between ourselves and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">life is to see our complete interbeing with all things, and this </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">direct seeing can only happen through the constant inquiry into all </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">that arises -- all "10,000 things" -- and not walling off those </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">aspects of our life we do not prefer.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I'm also reminded of a simple teaching my elderly Swiss friend passed along to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">me. She said when mediating in the garden, for example, invite the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">garden to come to you. How sweet is that? Do you think it's possible </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">to invite the red-tail, and cedar bark, and the effortless cloud to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">come to us? What would it mean? Would we grok it when it arrived? And </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">can we also invite the bereft and furious</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> client</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> or the child who angrily throws a toy at our face, to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"come closer, I want to know you."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Loving you, a glowing sunbeam in the 10,000 things,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">~M</span><br />
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Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-65833484666127684572012-02-03T07:08:00.001-08:002012-02-03T07:08:58.886-08:00The Spirit in Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRoMnB-OTe0kg6p8HGm-P2OtnuQKqGdmPzK8LRlRKAxwOICAO070K7WyGNSnrqKs8oADZ2s9GGFrDmmKgpZVsMnVyEtb1z4QT9t8ArvxXhJ3J_pczv0RgR-obKrLv9HldgLvk/s1600/423859_10150648670381934_184934446933_11311635_1202797851_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRoMnB-OTe0kg6p8HGm-P2OtnuQKqGdmPzK8LRlRKAxwOICAO070K7WyGNSnrqKs8oADZ2s9GGFrDmmKgpZVsMnVyEtb1z4QT9t8ArvxXhJ3J_pczv0RgR-obKrLv9HldgLvk/s1600/423859_10150648670381934_184934446933_11311635_1202797851_n.jpg" /></a></div>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-69095245623943988772011-12-04T21:36:00.000-08:002011-12-04T21:36:07.236-08:00For Presence<div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Awaken to the mystery of being here<br />
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to<br />
follow its path.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May anxiety never linger about you.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of<br />
soul.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek<br />
no attention.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven<br />
around the heart of wonder.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">~ John O'Donohue ~</span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(<em>To Bless the Space Between Us</em>)</span></div>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-65020217186806801972011-10-23T12:08:00.001-07:002011-10-23T12:09:20.758-07:00Signs of LifeSerenity reflections. <div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOw77MWnZMLDr8iqGERcfzGwD1mXgYnI4GUVcvHj5dxN3ytE9vLt7oeS4snIEdE0f0v2G8rPkFpyMekHyaSZH9BKwyYcpjcq6Gyxj2P35k4gdow3CkhDEtrKrxpYWK6nBxZbU/s640/blogger-image--1451910856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOw77MWnZMLDr8iqGERcfzGwD1mXgYnI4GUVcvHj5dxN3ytE9vLt7oeS4snIEdE0f0v2G8rPkFpyMekHyaSZH9BKwyYcpjcq6Gyxj2P35k4gdow3CkhDEtrKrxpYWK6nBxZbU/s640/blogger-image--1451910856.jpg" /></a></div>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com2Roseburg (null)43.282541 -123.500218tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-7617223308152952252011-10-11T21:55:00.001-07:002011-10-11T21:55:53.329-07:00Apache Blessing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8f3Cl8eqZ91HQBXv-0D9bfEFKrBTcF3sUz0NPMaGPCo_RmSeTai5Cfu5ulsKqNRAP_f_FgbKKGZP9YTkM2ARQFLAYx5OduhCzZi68XPRyUjTZjFHezEmaAC7x7OkVurTIgwI5/s1600/Apache+Blessing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8f3Cl8eqZ91HQBXv-0D9bfEFKrBTcF3sUz0NPMaGPCo_RmSeTai5Cfu5ulsKqNRAP_f_FgbKKGZP9YTkM2ARQFLAYx5OduhCzZi68XPRyUjTZjFHezEmaAC7x7OkVurTIgwI5/s320/Apache+Blessing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-11599323546978528682011-08-23T20:13:00.000-07:002011-08-23T20:14:24.824-07:00The Friend on the Journey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_gOiq0kfCzlEcd6fNuKwZaQ8iAeYeOWRxzVpjc3aW2oN9jkCqNCt6cSvAJm-weqAVO2dmX2qYxwC-PNUs0Nj4JCHafFgzSVYnlmpfpyOWTGKkI2ecim8-Y27oHcfrpc2gZFK/s1600/Friend+on+walk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_gOiq0kfCzlEcd6fNuKwZaQ8iAeYeOWRxzVpjc3aW2oN9jkCqNCt6cSvAJm-weqAVO2dmX2qYxwC-PNUs0Nj4JCHafFgzSVYnlmpfpyOWTGKkI2ecim8-Y27oHcfrpc2gZFK/s320/Friend+on+walk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have been preparing for a pilgrimage these past weeks of summer. In September I am going on the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 24px;"><span class="drop_cap">T</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 24px;">he Camino de Santiago de Compostela, also known as The Way of St James, which is a collection of old pilgrimage routes which cover all Europe. I shall be going only on the final leg of the trail which begins in Sarria Spain and ends in Santiago de Compostela. I am really looking forward to walking this spiritual path. As I have been preparing by walking ever longer distances, I often note some friend along my way. This day it was this black bird on the rock beside the river. I see this Graceful Presence here, watching me, and I know I am not alone, and I also sense I am keenly held in the manner of all things. </span></span>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-56732751382634499082011-07-30T21:08:00.000-07:002011-07-30T21:14:09.831-07:00The Power of SpiritAuthor and lecturer Paula D'Arcy spent time each week with Morrie (of <i>Tuesdays with Morrie</i>) in his final year when he knew he was dying. They had many wonderful conversations, deepening inquiry and communion between them. At one point Morrie asked Paula to tell him anything she knew about the power of Christ. Paula responded thus:<br />
<br />
"I didn't know, but I told him that I suspected: that the Spirit hidden deep within us recognizes truths our minds do not consciously know. And in spite of the barriers and limitations we impose, in spite of our fears and our refusals, in spite of our determination to limit Spirit to certain names or beliefs... there is nevertheless a level of awareness within us that exceeds all names and definitions. And this awareness responds from a knowledge the mind does not possess."<br />
<br />
Later, reflecting on this conversation D'Arcy writes, "More than anything else, Morrie and I were sharing what it means to be a human being, just as he'd requested. We were exploring meaning. We were asking: What does it mean to be alive? Is this human nature our only nature? Is something else trying to emerge? What will we do with the life we were given? How will we live? What limits are we willing to push? How much are we willing to see?"<br />
<br />
From <i>Sacred Threshold: Crossing the Inner Barrier to a Deeper Love</i> by Paula D'Arcy<br />
<br />
I love these questions Paula and Morrie were asking. I love the question Morrie asks Paula, and I love the answer Paula gave Morrie about the power of Christ Spirit within us. Can you feel the loving communion here - deeper than deep?Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-30434333891379140592011-07-26T09:52:00.000-07:002011-07-26T09:56:17.191-07:00Contrasts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-JVrRcG3SFIVP26EM7-KCO0RUHdcGmwnb0x86yofrcOyAdCXYOSqII7WeWS6ymffgS5K6n0JV5ZFYJu3NWVITsGUHbvh3SIicSWVlkwEZakVRihuoVDN_oV-PnejKSjeV9lar/s1600/baby+feet+on+trunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-JVrRcG3SFIVP26EM7-KCO0RUHdcGmwnb0x86yofrcOyAdCXYOSqII7WeWS6ymffgS5K6n0JV5ZFYJu3NWVITsGUHbvh3SIicSWVlkwEZakVRihuoVDN_oV-PnejKSjeV9lar/s320/baby+feet+on+trunk.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love this photo a friend took of her niece. To me it portrays so many contrasts - hard and soft, young an old, living and dying, earth and body. And most especially, I see Graceful Presence here. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What do you see?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/">My World Tuesday</a></div>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-31083827008694254222011-07-23T08:28:00.000-07:002011-07-23T08:28:07.526-07:00What's Possible?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiZ8S06zPlXo6YBthjV0UP5Jtl3VuCLGRtQXsuRlIQNqxY6Z13bNRuJIIpV2pcYVpUsTNTWvjyj7ndPY7IhZdE0Zeeg4Lckt2TAPN9lecpaHRmDqSz6d192QCj1LM6Fkl9p6Z/s1600/Light+inside+the+dark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiZ8S06zPlXo6YBthjV0UP5Jtl3VuCLGRtQXsuRlIQNqxY6Z13bNRuJIIpV2pcYVpUsTNTWvjyj7ndPY7IhZdE0Zeeg4Lckt2TAPN9lecpaHRmDqSz6d192QCj1LM6Fkl9p6Z/s320/Light+inside+the+dark.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;">Before you can do something that you’ve never done before, </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;">you have to imagine it’s possible. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;">Jean Shinoda Bolen</span></div>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-72607767235577683062011-07-22T20:03:00.000-07:002011-07-22T20:03:39.048-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3om6yoIwjvHY92v89vLu4cpIQlhLSaoGM9PMFgtKatXnlpE8_CHJBYdEBoGz7w4n5-t0POqtZu62vSO037cr0Qe75600NbnrMQ4ihiJEIxt7VeHSlVZE8Ohin6FmRgYFAFf-n/s1600/269867_1941598376863_1149545478_31766323_3000420_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3om6yoIwjvHY92v89vLu4cpIQlhLSaoGM9PMFgtKatXnlpE8_CHJBYdEBoGz7w4n5-t0POqtZu62vSO037cr0Qe75600NbnrMQ4ihiJEIxt7VeHSlVZE8Ohin6FmRgYFAFf-n/s400/269867_1941598376863_1149545478_31766323_3000420_n.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8416825.post-46455060098092361612011-07-18T19:50:00.000-07:002011-07-18T19:57:00.254-07:00Serene<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh90VWxE9k2KQ3kAHzTRr2KpzPPsmYYrIItaNhrEeyFki2N5RFg6aS56rey0Vgz7-bZ29NRtVBuPU8cpEcS3Rek5MTmA7GopagygMaJtoxrDcZsJWF-PWOGk9V8m8QggQuKrGy_/s1600/IMG_1365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh90VWxE9k2KQ3kAHzTRr2KpzPPsmYYrIItaNhrEeyFki2N5RFg6aS56rey0Vgz7-bZ29NRtVBuPU8cpEcS3Rek5MTmA7GopagygMaJtoxrDcZsJWF-PWOGk9V8m8QggQuKrGy_/s320/IMG_1365.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><br />
My room at the Ralston White Retreat Center - where I attended a retreat and kept noble silence for four days. It was deeply quieting. <a href="http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/">My World Tuesday</a>Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09432640322896933989noreply@blogger.com4