Aligning with Grace

Recently, a friend suggested placing my intentions in a special container - a prayer box, or jar, or whatever I might find suitable. It is a practice that I've turned to time and time again, but it seemed to once more draw me, in this moment, in our world, where there is so much need on so many levels. I had a prayer jar I have used in the past, but wanted something different, so I re-appropriated a small box with dancing Sufis, or "Rumis," as I like to think of them, which I had gotten in Istanbul. I wrote my intentions, and put them into this box and lit a candle, and sat down to meditate. I have done this many times before. But this time, I added the practice of surrendering my intentions. This does not come easily to me. Yes, like many, I ask for things often. But I also seem to have a roadmap for how things should go - how they should be solved. The notion of asking and surrendering, and trusting that all would be resolved in its own time, in the best possi...

"All shall be well. And all shall be well. And all manner of things shall be well!" ~ Julian of Norwich This wonderful saying by J ulian of Norwich has been buzzing around in my brain this last week. A dear friend often quotes it to me, and did so before my surgery, and in its aftermath as well... Many years ago, in 1988, I traveled to Norwich, England, to sit in the cell of Dame Juliana, as she is often referred to. We actually, do not know "Julian's" real name. All we know is that she was an anchoress, and was literally walled in, almost as if buried alive, in the Church of St. Julian. Unfortunately, the original church was destroyed during World War II. But it has been reconstructed, and I enjoyed the time I spent in Julian's sacred space. In the 14th century, an era nearly as tumultuous as our own, Julian had a series of visions which she called her "showings." These were written down, and her writings are regarded as the first writings of any...