Make Room for the Unimaginable

"Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable."
~ Mary Oliver

This week, many of us tuned in to Oprah's last show - which spanned - practically my son's entire life to date. I remember watching the show during its humble beginnings while he toddled around the family room. So, in many ways, Oprah, my son and I "grew" up together, and she and I are also about the same age...

Oprah's last show focused on the lessons she had learned throughout the years, which was my original title for this entry. But then, I came across this quote by Mary Oliver, and it was evident to me, that if we truly implemented all that Oprah suggested, we would give birth to a life and world that is, in many ways, unimaginable, but fully possible...

Some parting words from Oprah:

"You are not alone...

We are all called. Everybody has a calling, and your real job in life is to figure out what that is and get about the business of doing it...And that is what I want for all of you... To live from the heart of yourself...Wherever you are, that is your platform, your stage, your circle of influence...You will receive in direct proportion to how you give in whatever platform you have...

Nobody but you is responsible for your life... You are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself, and you're responsible for the energy you bring to others...

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction... It is the Golden Rule to the 10th power...

There is a common thread that runs through all of our pain, and all of our suffering, and that is unworthiness...We often block our blessings because we don't feel inherently good or smart enough or pretty enough or worthy enough...Your being here, your being alive makes you worthiness your birthright. You alone are enough.

Every single person you will ever meet shares that common desire. They want to know: Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you? Validate them: I see you. I hear you. And what you say matters to me.

I have felt the presence of God my whole life...Be still and know it... I wait and I listen. I'm still - I wait and listen for the guidance that is greater than my meager mind... The only time I've ever made a mistake is when I didn't listen...

Whispers are always messages, and if you don't hear them, they turn into a problem. And if you don't handle the problem, it turns into a crisis, and then into a disaster...

I understand the manifestation of grace and God, so I know that there are no coincidences. There is only divine order here..."

There is a complete transcript of this last show that is available on Oprah.com which is worth reading in its entirety...

In the last couple of days, I have come across other brief inspirational messages, and I am blessed to have received so many profound insights. I will share just a few of them:

"Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find all the barriers
within yourself that you have built against it."
~ A Course in Miracles

"Every happiness is the child of a separation
it did not think it could survive."
~ Rilke

"We have what we seek,
it is there all the time,
and if we give it time,
it will make itself known to us."
~ Thomas Merton

"If you accept a limiting belief,
then it will become a truth for you."
~ Louise Hay

And finally, a song from the early 90's which was featured in a movie I saw today, reminded me of the importance and the incredible power we have to change our lives and make a difference, so I share a portion of it:

Hold On
By Wilson Phillips

I know this pain
Why do lock yourself up in these chains?
No one can change your life except for you
Don't ever let anyone step all over you
Just open your heart and your mind
Is it really fair to feel this way inside?

Some day somebody's gonna make you want to
Turn around and say goodbye
Until then baby are you going to let them
Hold you down and make you cry
Don't you know?
Don't you know things can change
If you hold on for one more day...

You could sustain
Or are you comfortable with the pain?
You've got no one to blame for your unhappiness
You've got yourself into your own mess
Lettin' your worries pass you by
Don't you think it's worth your time
To change your mind?

I know that there is pain
But you hold on for one day and
Break free the chains...

So yes - break free of whatever chains hold you back. As a friend once told me, during a very trying time in my life - believe that this river of life is taking you to the ocean of the unimaginable, and be - the unique manifestation of the Divine that your are. Do not deprive the world of that light!

Awakening to What Is

Sometimes messages hit you over the head. Hard.

Sometimes messages come from unexpected places - like "cyberspace" or the "cloud" - wherever that is!

Yesterday, I wrote about Adyashanti's book, Emptiness Dancing. And I included this quote toward the end of the entry:

"What is born in awakening -
is a love of what is."

I must have repeated this to myself dozens of times yesterday. Such a simple statement. And so hard to embody. It reminded me of Byron Katie's book, Loving What Is. This is truly a practice that demands everything - and one that cannot be simply "intellectualized," try as one might.

Today, I came across a couple of reminders of the role that grace plays in our life:

"You cannot be bitter and unforgiving
and be a conduit for grace."
~ Carolyn Myss

And then, in the new SoundsTrue catalogue I received last night, I read this excerpt from Adyanshanti's newest book, Falling into Grace:

"Grace is something that comes to us when we somehow find ourselves completely available - when we become open-hearted and open-minded, and are willing to entertain the possibility that we may not know what we think we know. In this gap of not knowing, in the suspension of any conclusion, a whole other element of life and reality can rush in."

Am I getting the message now?

Because, if I am not fully grasping the importance of what is being disclosed, Pema Chodron's newsletter arrives, with this little nugget of wisdom, titled, "Open Up to Life as It Is":

"When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dying nature of your being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love and care about other people and your capacity to not be afraid. You're able to keep your eyes open, your heart open, and your mind open. And you notice when you get caught up in prejudice, bias, and aggression. You develop an enthusiasm for no longer watering those negative seeds, from now until the day you die. And you begin to think of your life as offering endless opportunities to start doing things differently."

Did I get it yet? No? Because, here's one more message, arriving through a friend on Facebook, who sends me a link to a retreat being offered by Adyashanti, titled - are you ready for this one? "Fierce Grace!" And Adya says,

"There are many fierce moments in any one life span: times of turmoil, upheaval, challenge, and change. These fierce moments of grace are in many ways the most spiritually important moments of our lives, because they call to us to awaken from our old patterns of conditioned existence and embrace the insecurity of living life from a place beyond our habitual fears and conditioned responses.

Life calls each one of us to find a way, both personally and collectively, to allow life's fierce grace to open our hearts and minds to a new state of consciousness from which to act and relate to the world within us."

Someone definitely has my number somewhere. I've not only received an accurate description of my life's current situation - one characterized by transition and endings - that have not begun to yield into new beginnings. These messages tell me in a very simple manner, what to do and how to handle everything I am facing - situations, changes, and challenges...

Messages come in many ways - in unexpected places - from all sorts of connections - if we have the eyes to see - and ears to hear...

And as I quoted Adya recently:

"Let go. And then, let go of letting go."

And so, it is...What other choice is there?

Awakening

The last few days, I've been marinating various ideas and insights that have emerged from my reading of Emptiness Dancing, by Adyashanti, who is a very amazing, and contemporary spiritual teacher.

As often happens, a particular book falls in my lap at precisely the right moment - not one too soon or too late...

I had previously stumbled across interviews in several publications over the years with Adyashanti, who is known as "Adya" to his devoted followers. But, I had never felt particularly drawn to him in any way. However, because of the illuminating experiences of a dear friend who has attended many retreats and "satsangs" with him, I was finally led to explore his writings and recordings on my own.

The book I am reading, addresses the process of awakening, which is essential to the spiritual life, in a manner that is very accessible. I will share some brief excerpts from Adya's wisdom, in hopes that it might "awaken" some small insight within you, or might even awaken you to your true nature in a more profound manner. Whatever your experience, I wholeheartedly suggest you give Adya's works a consideration of your time:

"Wake up! You are the divine emptiness, the infinite nothing...

Awakening is the end of seeking; the end of the seeker, but it is the beginning of a life lived in your true nature...

...Are you a conscious expression of the One?

Trying to hold on to your identities...is like trying to shove a camel through the eye of a needle...

'Who am I...?' without any script or role, without the story about who you are... Truth is who you are without your story or script, right now...

Awakening is to have no script, to know that...a script is just a script...

What is born in awakening is a love of what is - of everything that is...

When the awakening is very deep, we no longer operate from a place of the personal self... Awakening reveals that there is no personal self...and that everything is myself.

If you want to wake up, you need to hang around awakened beings..."

Yes, there is so much more I would like to share here. I am hardly halfway through the book, and this is just one page of quotes that I typed out for myself to review and further reflect on! Perhaps another entry may follow...

Surrendering

Yesterday, in the midst of life's busyness, I nearly stopped in my tracks when I read this post by Marianne Williamson...

"Don't try to get your life together and then surrender it to God.
Surrender your life now and that's when it comes together!
Is there a part of your life you're holding onto,
thinking you can best run it yourself?
Simply think about it in your heart and surrender it to God.
This movement in your spirit will make all the difference."

It seemed so simple. Surrender. Do not resist. Surrender your need to have things be a certain way. Surrender your need to be in control. Surrender your wants. Surrender your desires. Surrender your goals. Surrender the outcomes. Surrender even your needs...

Byron Katie, in "The Work", speaks of loving what we have, and accepting what is, as being essential to our awakening, and our spiritual evolution and growth.

The Bhagavad Gita teaches, that we are only entitled to our actions, but never to the fruit of our actions, for those belong only to God. So, we should act in accordance to Divine Will, with no regard for our benefit, and without any sense of expectation. Neither should we seek attention, or recompense in any way...

I thought of true enlightened spiritual teachers, such as Mother Meera, who shine their light, giving darshan, without any monetary exchange or transaction occurring for that sharing. Their work is pure gift of the Divine to us. It is an act of surrendering to the Divine in every way...

In Reiki, my teacher Frans Stiene, always instructs that as practitioners, we should ask that our clients receive what is most needed in a treatment. We should ask those who come to us - to ask this of themselves, and as practitioners, we too, should ask this for ourselves as well...

I thought of the meaning of surrender again this morning, as I went down to survey the Potomac River, that is flooded all the way up to the parking lot by the boat ramp, and nearly to where the park benches are. I watched strong currents swiftly carry a huge tree trunk downstream, and reflected on the extensive damage the swollen Mississippi River has caused across several states in a way that has not been seen in generations. So many people have lost everything. And they can do nothing else but surrender...

It all comes down to surrender...

Surrender is a practice that unveils the true meaning of life and the heart of the Divine...

And so, I was moved to surrender everything in meditation as an added practice. Instead of asking for specific things for myself and loved ones during prayer, I chose to lay it all at the feet of the Beloved, and simply surrender it. May each and everyone be given what they most need in this moment, and all moments, according to their capacities. After all, who am I to ascertain what is best for anyone and ask for that?

To surrender...It is so simple, and yet so hard...

To surrender our desires, inclinations - all that we have been asking and praying for...To surrender our attachments to everything and everyone, and ultimately, even to our own ego...

Why should we do this?

Because...

"In the end you reach a state of non-grasping,
of joyful non-attachment,
of inner ease and freedom -
yet so wonderfully real."
~ Nisargadatta

"You will receive everything you need
when you stop asking
for what you do not need."
~ Sri Maharaj

Surrender...It is essential to the path of Spirit. It is required to know and embody only Oneness and Union with the Divine. It is the price. And it is the treasure. It is the Way. There is no other...

Simply surrender...Again, and again, and again...

The Path of Love

I had both the pleasure and honor to meet, and be able to speak to Sally Kempton, a respected meditation teacher, this past weekend, during a workshop she gave at Willow Street Yoga Center. If I had to summarize the workshop, I would simply say that it was about "Bhakti," the path of love - and deepening our relationship to the Divine...

Today, I finished transcribing and typing nearly 33 pages of notes, and as I often do, I research or review references made, and include them in my notes. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am the "official" scribe for my local yoga community, and my notes usually circumnavigate the world. Or, so I often find out!

As I reviewed my notes, and quotations from the workshop, I could not help but see, that truly, everything that matters, circles and comes back to love.

Why are we here?

We are here for love...

What are we to do?

We are here to love...

And really, what else is there?

In the 14th century, Julian of Norwich, an English mystic, had a series of visions, revelations - or "showings" as she described them. For a long time she pondered the meaning of these visions that she believed were granted to her by God. Over the course of fifteen years of reflecting on those showings, she was finally given an insight as to why she received them, and so she recorded, very simply:

"Know it well. Love was his meaning.
Who showed it to you? Love.
What did he show you? Love.
Why did he show it? For love...
You shall never know or understand
any other thing, forever."

That is what I came away with from the weekend. Love. It is truly the only thing that matters. It is the only lesson we need to learn. It is what unites us all...

And so I leave you, with some brief quotations and insights recorded in my notes, to give you a mere taste and sampling of the delicious banquet I feasted on:

"You can find the Divine in your longing."
~ Kabir

"Awakening is a shift in perspective.
And if you shift your perspective,
it can help you awaken."
~ Sally Kempton

"Love is the sea where the intellect drowns."
~Rumi

"On the path of love, we are always beginners.
We never really know the depths of Love."
~ Sally Kempton

"O Lord, lead me to the state of undying awareness -
that is nectar. Lead me from the death of "in-awareness"
and from being "non-present" to the Nectar of Presence."
~ Sally Kempton

"Adore and love God with your whole being,
and He will reveal to you that everything
in the universe is a vessel to be filled to the brim
with wisdom and beauty. Each thing He will show you
is one drop from the boundless river of His
infinite beauty. He will take away the veil that hides
the splendor of each thing that exists, and you
will see that each thing is a hidden treasure
because of its divine fullness."
~ Rumi

And finally, some other delicious quotes by Rumi, I came across in the last couple of days:

"Because of Love, I am a giver of Light."

"Only from the heart, can you touch the sky."

"This Divine Love, beckons us to a world
beyond only lovers can see,
with their eyes of fiery passion."

"Oh, my friend, all that you see of me,
is just a shell, and the rest belongs to love."

"Love rests on no foundation.
It is an endless ocean,
with no beginning or end."

"The way you make love,
is the way God will be with you."

"There is some kiss we want with our whole lives,
the touch of spirit on the body."

If you have the opportunity to study with Sally, either online or in person - do so! Give yourself a treat and nourish your heart and soul!

Gardeners of the Soul

We are all gardeners. Perhaps not of actual gardens, but certainly of our souls...

We must til the fertile soil within our hearts and plant seeds that will blossom into those traits and characteristics that we want.

There are many ways to do this. Through deep inner work. By reading. And sometimes, by attending a lecture, a workshop, or some kind of training. I am off to do this today. I am looking forward to spending a weekend with the wonderful meditation teacher and practitioner, Sally Kempton, whom I have quoted here so many times.

Last night, I finished reading - Inheriting Paradise: Meditations on Gardening, by Vigen Guroian, and began The Fragrance of God, also by this same author - two exquisite tomes, filled with delicious imagery and beautiful insights.

In Inheriting Paradise, Guroian writes:

"...Everything comes from God and without God's constant nurture, nothing would be and nothing could grow. 'It is not the gardeners with their planting and watering who count,' writes St. Paul, 'but God who makes it grow.' Indeed, we are not only 'fellow workers,' in God's great garden; we ourselves are God's garden (1 Corinthians 3: 7-9). This is the ground of our humility as mere creatures among all other creatures loved by God."

These books are so filled with references from scripture and spiritual writings that are so rich and wonderful, like this one, by St. Simeon the New Theologian:

"...Being God, the Divine Spirit refashions
completely those whom
He receives within Himself.
He makes them completely anew.
He renews them in an amazing manner.

Being immortal, He gives immortality.
Because He is light that never sets,
He transforms all of them into light in whom He
comes down and dwells.
And because He is life, he bestows life to all."

Today, be a gardener of your soul, in any way that you can, because as Gerard Manley Hopkins acknowledged, we are charged with the grandeur of God, and yes:

"The seed is in the ground.
Now may we rest in hope
While darkness does its work."
~ Wendell Berry

For truly,

"God created human beings with the capacity to resonate with the pulse of Divine Life." (Guroian)

Mother's Day Blessing

I had not intended to make an entry today. After a morning meditation enjoyed to the backdrop of a choir of birds singing very joyously, and after watering my thirsty plants, I settled down to clear out my inbox...

But sometimes, when we least expect it, a gift arrives, from someone we have not met perhaps in the physical realm, but after all, we are all one, and wherever the Presence of God is - which is everywhere - there is no separation. The Dalai Lama has often said, he has never met a stranger.

The following poetic reflection was posted as a comment to my last entry, by a wonderful soul named Lisa. I wanted to make sure everyone had an opportunity to read this, and so I make this entry on this magnificent and beautiful spring morning, here in the Northern Virginia area. The author wrote it to her own mother, and I was moved to share it with my own, and with some dear friends as well. But lest we leave anyone out who might benefit or be touched by these words, I share them here as an "official" entry.

For all of you mothers - who have birthed - or not - for motherhood is expressed in many ways - this is for you. There are children who claim other women as their birth mothers, but whom I feel are just as much mine, in the depths of my heart, as they are to their own. For those of you remembering grandmothers, or aunts, or mentors, or friends today - who have touched your heart with the all embracing and "feminine" power of God - however you envision that to be - this is for you for as well.

Julian of Norwich, the 14th century English mystic and "First English Woman of Letters," once wrote - that "God is as much Mother as God is Father," and she is known for ascribing feminine attributes and particularly maternal ones to the Divine, so it need not be a foreign concept...

From "Lisa"...

At conception
a mother gives her life
to her child
not knowing what will become
offering her nurturing
praying with God
that all will be given
in the time it needs to be given
but never knowing what will become
what of love?
It is limitless

In childhood
a mother gives her time
to her child
not knowing what will become
offering her values
praying with God
that all will be taught
in the time it needs to be taught
but never knowing what will become
what of teaching?
It is limitless

In adolescence
a mother gives her lessons
to her child
not knowing what will become
offering her discipline
praying with God
that all will be disciplined
in the time it needs to be disciplined
but never knowing what will become
what of forgiveness?
It is limitless

In young adulthood
a mother gives her experience
to her child
not knowing what will become
offering her voice
praying with God
that all will be heard
in the time it needs to be heard
but never knowing what will become
what of surrender?
It is limitless

In adulthood
a mother gives her friendship
to her child
not knowing what will become
offering her ear
praying with God
that all will be understood
in the time it needs to be understood
but never knowing what will become
what of devotion?
It is limitless

For sever days God nurtured life...
In the Garden of Eden God taught...
For many years we were disciplined...
God voiced the Ten Commandments...
God gave Her son in a sign of friendship...
And God has given me all my mother gave me.
Love, Teaching, Forgiveness, Surrender and Devotion!

Thanks be to God for bestowing on me my beautiful mother.
May Mother God be blessed on this day!

And may all you readers be as well!

Live Each Day With Awareness

One of the benefits of being "plugged in," is that we often come across many inspirational readings we might have never encountered otherwise...

On this day - the eve of Mother's Day - when many will be remembering and celebrating their mothers, and/or significant women in their lives, I thought I would share this beautiful piece by Joyce Rupp, that truly, speaks for itself - and reminds us all, to live our lives with more awareness. As often happens, it comes near the conclusion of a week when I have reflected on what it means to live as fully present as it is possible. And of course, it is often easier said than done!

Live Each Day With Awareness

Eternal Dwelling Place,
I know all things are passing.
My final home is not here.
Yet I zoom mindlessly through my days
missing the passionate gift of life.
How differently I would enter each day
if I embraced the shortness of my life span.
The things I consider inconveniences
would have a different colored hue.
The work I feel driven to accomplish
would pale beside relationships I cherish.
The irritations and the angers would dissolve
as I inhaled the preciousness of life.

Joyful Journeyer,
I hear you call to me this day:
"Behold! Enjoy! Appreciate!
Welcome all who enter this new day.
Live wild with rapturous wonder.

Look with awe and smile with elation.
Forgive those who stand at a distance.
Thank those who have settled in your heart.
Be tender with the rough edges of yourself.
Taste each morsel of life with fullness."

May I live each day with heartiness,
keeping things in clear perspective,
Recognizing that this day before me might truly be my last.

"For she is a breath of power of God."
~ Wisdom 7:25

Prayer Reflection:
How would you life today if you knew it was your last?
Whom would you thank?
Whom would you forgive or ask forgiveness?
What would you say to those who are significant in your life?

Uniting Hearts in Prayer

I am emerging from a few days, filled with the special graces of solitude, silence, and fruitful meditation, and it has once more, made me very keenly aware of how at our essence, we are truly all one.

What happens to one of us - affects ALL of us. We sometimes forget that. But truly, there cannot be any separation between souls, because Grace is everywhere, and separation is simply incompatible with a Presence that is all pervading...

It is just that simple! The Presence of the Divine is everywhere, in everyone, in every moment, in every situation, encounter, and perceived division...

After meditation and teaching this morning, I spontaneously remembered that on this day, in 1963, I made my First Communion, and made a conscious choice, even then, to align myself always with the Divine. And while at times, I have strayed a little from the path here and there, I always choose to return Home, into the embrace of God.

A wonderful soul reminded me that tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer for 2011. And so, it seems fitting to remind all you readers to align your prayers and vibrations for this special occasion.

It also seems fitting, in light of all the tragedies and natural disasters we have witnessed so far this year, to come together and unite our hearts in prayer.

I offer you, this wonderful prayer by Paramahansa Yogananda, for your own reflection and spiritual edification, for it is as relevant today, as it was when he wrote it:

Prayer for a United World

"May the heads of all countries and races be guided to understand that men of all nations are physically and spiritually one: physically one, because we are descendants of common parents - the symbolic Adam and Eve; and spiritual one, because we are the immortal children of our Father, bound by eternal links of brotherhood.

Let us pray in our hearts for a League of Souls and United World. Though we may seem divided by race, creed, color, class, and political prejudices, still, as children of the one God we are able in our souls to feel brotherhood and world unity. May we work for the creation of a United World in which every nation will be a useful part, guided by God through man's enlightened consciousness.

In our hearts we can all learn to be free from hate and selfishness. Let us pray for harmony among the nations, that they march hand in hand through the gate of a fair new civilization."

~ From Metaphysical Meditations, by Paramahansa Yoganada, Reprinted with permission of Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles

May you be moved to give voice to the prayers of unity that rise within the depths of your heart. And may all of our prayers come together and merge as one - as we work to transform ourselves and each other, now and forever, thus making this world, a better place!

This is the Day the Lord Has Made

I listen over and over again, to the anthem, "This is the Day the Lord Has Made," by John Rutter, especially composed for the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton.

And even though, those in attendance at the wedding may have thought, that the day the Lord made was for this union - I think to myself - that truly - every day is a day the Lord has made...

I tell this to my students - it is my theme. This IS the day the Lord has made, because every day is a miracle. Every day comes bearing gifts and gives us the opportunity to start anew, and release what does not serve us mentally and spiritually. This becomes especially relevant as we move through deep twists and revolved poses of every kind. This is a physically and spiritually cleansing practice and it is so appropriate to do it as we move more deeply into the heart of spring...

We do our work to a background of the choral music by John Rutter. As my students begin to generate more heat in their bodies, I ask them to visualize a furnace in their hearts where they transmute what they wish to let go of. I ask them to toss into that furnace all they want to release and what no longer serves them in any capacity...

Yes, this is the day...There is no other!

I tell my students, that when I studied scripture in graduate school, one of my professors reminded us - that if we lost both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures and we only had the Book of the Psalms - we would possess the entirety of the essence of the scriptures and its teachings in that one book.

"This is the day the Lord has made" - is a verse from Psalm 118, and the psalms have always spoken to me and moved me deeply. In my early days as a classical guitarist and liturgical musician, I sought to set all the psalms to music. I only made it part way, and have unfortunately, lost the music. Still, some memory of it must surely reside in my heart...

I watch my students, inspired by the centering, the music, the season, and one another - unfold beautifully - and open more deeply in some of the more challenging poses than they ever had before.

The week begins anew, after a weekend filled with many blessings for me. As I noted yesterday, on Saturday evening, I attended a play where a dear friend's daughter had the lead in the Wizard of OZ. As I wrote my friend about my joy and delight in watching her child, I quoted a memorable line from the play, and added my own insights, which I also shared in class:

"'A heart is not judged by how much you love,
but how you are loved by others.'
I say - in the eyes of God -
how we Love - IS all that matters.
How much we Love is what God sees."

On a day when many are rejoicing in the capture and death of an elusive criminal, I choose instead, to remember that we are all children of God. I choose to focus on what we have in common, instead of what divides us. I think of another song commissioned for the Royal Wedding - "Ubi Caritas" - and it's message: "Where charity and love prevail, there God is ever found."

Yes - I choose - to the best of my ability - to exercise charity and love. For truly it is there that I encounter the presence of God - often in the places and experiences I least expect.

A week ago, just before Easter, as I was entering a department store, a woman I do not know, passed me by and met my eyes and smiled, and then wished me a Happy Easter. She had no way of knowing whether I celebrated Easter or not, or whether I was observant or not. It did not matter. In that moment, we were both one. In that moment, nothing separated us - because that day - was a day the Lord had made.

Let us remember that this day is the day the Lord has made. It is no less special than a day made for royal weddings, or our own...

This is the Day the Lord Has Made
(John Rutter)

This is the day, the day which the Lord has made
We will rejoice and be glad in it
This is the day, the day which the Lord has made
We will rejoice and be glad in it
This is the day

O praise the Lord of Heaven
Praise him in the highest,
Praise him all ye angels of his
Praise him all ye souls
Praise him sun and moon
Praise him all ye stars of light
Let them praise the name of the Lord

For he shall give his angels charge over thee
To keep thee in all thy ways
The Lord is my keeper
The Lord is my defense upon my right hand
So that the sun shall not hurt thee by day
Neither the moon by night

The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil
Yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in
From this I know
From this I know forever more

He shall defend thee
He shall defend thee under his wings...
Be strong
And he shall comfort thine heart
Shall comfort thine heart
And who shall I trust?
I trust in the Lord,
Whose power I trust in the Lord.
In the Lord

I Believe in Springtime

The cloak of the night brings closure upon a wonderful weekend - that was magical at times - and on this first day of May...

The day is spent in solitude, periods of silence, contemplation, gardening, meditation, reading, listening to music, and checking in with loved ones...

The weekend was filled with visiting friends, live music, and attending a play, where I delighted in a dear friend's daughter playing the leading role...

This is a child who is very special to me, and it has been a blessing and honor to watch her grow from a child into a gifted young woman...

I enjoy a glass of wine, and choral music by John Rutter, one of my favorite Anglican liturgical composers. His music stirs the depths of my soul - bordering on ecstasy - making the presence of God so very real and tangible. I can taste the oneness in all things as I bask in the Light and Radiance of the Divine...

Truly, the Divine is in all things and in every drop of life there is...

I take a moment to enjoy my work in the garden as the last remnant of April showers, spills into the verdant offerings of May - blooms of many colors now gracing my landscape. Every springtime life emerges, reminding us that all life - physical and spiritual - springs eternal.

I step forth into a new month, wondering what it will hold. I wait with bated breath at the gifts that will be revealed...

I listen to this magnificent piece by John Rutter, so appropriate for this day and season...

I Believe in Springtime

"I believe in springtime: fresh and new and bright;
I believe in morning dew and shining morning light.
I believe in sunbeams melting all the snow.
And I believe when winters done, the streams will run and rivers flow.

I believe in eagles soaring up so high.
I believe in trees and mountains reaching to the sky.
I believe in green things; all the gifts of earth;
Growing up from tiny seeds that spring has brought to birth.

I believe in summer; I believe in fall;
But most of all I believe in God who made it and blessed it all.
I believe in people living all as one;
Sharing all their songs and laughter, happiness, and fun;

I believe in friendship: taking time to care;
And feeling sure of someone else, and someone feeling glad you're there.
Then I start to wonder how it all might be if the world
could live together just like you and me.

I believe in hoping; I believe in prayer;
I believe in trying hard, and learning how to share.
I believe in dreaming, and when dreams are through
Then I believe in trusting God to help me make dreams come true."

Yes, God - I believe!

I believe in life, and goodness, and most of all, in the fruits of love, and kindness, and compassion...

What do you believe in? May it ignite your heart passionately!