Aligning with Grace

ADVENT - A Season for Forgiveness (A Repost) Today, I send out a few Christmas cards, and in many of them, I simply wrote: "May the blessings of this Sacred Season inviting Stillness and Silence be yours. I am grateful for the gift of you!" Advent, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali - all more or less intersect - and echo and invite the celebration of light - and at heart are joyous occasions. It is also a time to set right things that aren't, and I found myself reflecting on this yesterday, as I read through the readings for the day. This weekend, I went down to the basement to retrieve and dust off my Lectionary - a remnant of the days I was a liturgist and responsible for worship services. I was moved to add the liturgical readings of the day to my morning reflections. Today, for example, is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception... In my morning meditations, I read from the booklet "Walk With Me," that I picked up at St. Mary...

"Forgiveness is really not about someone's harmful behavior: it's about our own relationship with our past. When we begin the work of forgiveness, it is primarily a practice for ourselves." ~ Gina Sharpe, The Power of Forgiveness Forgiveness is a spiritual practice. It is a very powerful practice. And perhaps the most difficult. It is not for the faint of heart. But as the quote above notes, it is primarily something we do for ourselves - for our own inner growth and well-being, and research bears this up. Today, Jews all over the world commemorate the " Day of Atonement ," which has always been one of my favorite spiritual days. I often put my own spin on the traditional practice of Tashlich . I go down to the river not far from my house, and I meditate and pray. I think of all of those who have hurt me - and those that I have in turn hurt. And I say whatever arises in my heart, but it often goes something like this: " I ask ...

"We do not see the world as it is,  we see it as we are." This sacred insight, or something similar to it, has been attributed to several sources, including the Talmud. I cannot verify its origins offhand without delving into some research. But it's source is not pertinent - the essence and reality of its message, is. Earlier this week, I reflected on a recent conversation I had had, during my walk. It was evident that my friend and I saw a series of events quite differently. I asked my Guides on the Other Side to help enlighten me. How was it possible that I could be so wrong? In the quiet stillness of an early morning, the answer came, gently, but clearly... "We do not see the world as it is, we see it as we are." Yes. True. I knew that. But there must be more to it all... Then the Thoughts and Words continued... "We see through different glasses..." How so? "Think of your eyesight and how it has changed over the years. ...

"Judge less. Forgive more." Here is a difficult assignment. It is the one that I was given. Recently, I found myself very upset by the state of the world. I ventured out into the fray and posted some articles of current events, which I don't often do. After all, it often invites vitriol and invectives of some sort. But I had to. I could not keep silent. And, I was insulted. Bear in mind, that I am the daughter, granddaughter, niece, and cousin to former and current diplomats. I was taught the arts of compromise, consensus, and behaving politely. And the rest I absorbed through osmosis and simple modeling. But that is not the world we live in today.  People who don't know you will insult you in a way they would never do face to face. That is one of the real failures of social media: It empowers people to hurl insults behind a screen. I could be angry. And hurt. And indeed I was - at what was happening in our culture and all over the planet - and...

A new year has commenced with a super moon, bearing better tidings, I hope. I chose to dispense with my preferred rituals for ushering in a new year and instead record my theme for the coming year in my journal, which came to me from an unexpected gift. Several friends set out to do the Camino in Spain this year. One, brought me a beautiful pendant from the region from where my family originated. It had a beautiful Celtic inscription on one side, with the the following words inscribed in Spanish on the other side: "Renacimiento Entusiasmo Salud" The moment I received it, sometime last fall, I knew that these words would comprise my theme for the coming year. Renacimiento, can be translated literally as "rebirth," or as "renewal." Both of these seem appropriate for this juncture in my life. This word is followed by "enthusiasm," and finally by "health." I noticed that many people chose a word this year as their own th...

"We clasp the hands of those who go before us." ~ Wendell Berry I am somewhat jolted out of my dream state, that is both vivid and lucid - having been visited by two wise beings that have passed on - one over a half century ago and a relative, and the other, a nun I worked with, thirty-some years ago. I feel their presence - their eyes fixed upon me. It all seems so real, and then I am awake. In response I am moved to make a special post on social media: "Today, let us create a circle of healing energy. Receive if needed, Put some into the circle - If you can give. Let's Light up the world!" I sit quietly in church, reflecting on my dream, receiving many insights about my visitation at this moment in time, and am moved profoundly. I also send healing energy to my healing circle, filling it up for all those who may need of it. The chosen readings of the day stun me, and I see the connection between my dream and the messages received, an...

This time of year is often referred to as the High Holy Days by my Jewish sisters and brothers. Though I am not Jewish, I love many of the traditions and rituals of this season, especially those dealing with atonement, reconciliation, and forgiveness. It reminds me of the Sacrament of Reconciliation which I grew up with in my own tradition. Recently, I was reminded in a reading, that the Talmud calls for the expression and offering of no less than 100 blessings a day! So many traditional Jewish prayers are in fact blessings of one sort or another. To offer 100 prayers in a day may seem daunting. But if we considered blessing everything that we laid our eyes on during the course of our day, it might become easier than we thought possible... Bless every person you come across in a day. Take it one step further, and bless every sentient creature and being. Bless the bees for their function and how they contribute to the pollination of our food. Ble...

"The awakened mind has two attributes.  One is compassion, what some would call love. The other is clarity, what some would call sight. They are not really two things.  Each is a function of the other. When you see, really see, you just love. When you love, really love, you just see. You see things as they are, not as you expect, and in that wide open space is love." ~ Karen Maezen Miller In the book "Paradise in Plain Sight," the author, Karen Miller, dedicates nearly two decades of her life to restoring a Zen garden to its former glory. This is no small feat. Along the way, she also seeks out a Zen teacher because she deems that her life is lost. "Your life is your practice." This is the message he entrusts her with. How simple is this? How pure? How unique? And yet how challenging? "Your life is your practice." Your life is the medium and the message.  Your life is the vehicle for the manifestation and the embo...

I awaken drained and exhausted, after several days of sadness and heaviness for the state of affairs in this world, and the perception of my own. Everything in the news seems to consist of a blockage - an impediment for communication, compromise and collegiality - a challenge that is seemingly insurmountable, and yet in my heart of hearts, I know it is not true... Did not Gandhi once exhort us to be the change we wanted to see? Messages come from so many different places, and I receive two that are particularly notable, one as I finish the book that I am reading, "Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy," by Anne Lamott: "...Things that grow are what change everything.  Moments of compassion, giving, grief, and wonder  shift our behavior, get inside us and change realms  we might not have agreed to change...  The world keeps going on.  You can have another cup of coffee  and keep working on your plans.  Or you can take t...

The world needs your kindness... And it needs mine as well... It needs ALL of our kind acts, if we are to survive as a nation and as a planet... I have been reflecting on this a lot of late, wanting so desperately to withdraw further from the world, and I've already done a good job of that. Yet, I cannot ignore so much of what I read that brings to mind the urgency of needing to change our directions - as peoples, as nations, as religious traditions, as leaders, and as the trampled and abused earth that we live on.  I am forced to weigh the impact of my actions, of my thoughts, of my words... The Dalai Lama has often written that kindness is his religion. He has taught that we do not need complicated philosophies or religions to abide by - we just simply need more kindness. We just need to exercise more kindness overall... The story of the Good Samaritan especially comes to mind here. A man of a different tradition and nation - chooses to make a difference - h...

Recently I responded to an article/blog post by a former colleague on her views about forgiveness, which were fundamentally different than my own. After reflecting on this entry for three days, I chose to respond to it, and today, I realized, after connecting with an old friend who had been sent my response - that perhaps others might find it insightful as well. I feel my comments stand on their own merit and that it is not necessary to link it to the original blog or the discussions it engendered. But since I did receive messages from a few persons who let me know it also spoke to them, I "reprise" my insights here, slightly edited and expanded for greater clarity. May you receive them in any way that is meant for you... "After reflecting on your well written and thought provoking piece on forgiveness for several days, let me be a lone voice offering another perspective, which is derived and offered from my own experience... I do believe in the power of forgi...

I sit in meditation, mindful of all my Jewish friends, commemorating Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, on this beautiful and sunny fall day... I contemplate my sins - and give intent to cast them away - intending to do so with a ritual of Tashlich by the river, to follow my morning yoga class... I consider all the things within my soul that lay unforgiven. I consider all those that I need to forgive, and all those I need to be forgiven by as well... I even consider forgiving the unforgivable - unspeakable crimes such as those of the Holocaust, and those perpetrated in the Killing Fields of Cambodia, just to note a couple... I consider other examples of genocide and still other unspeakable crimes such as the rape of a child. There are others I do not wish to dwell on... After my class, I head down to the river with cracker crumbs in my pockets and empty them into the river where a swirling legion of tiny tadpoles circle around the crackers. I step into the river in my crocs as car...

Today, I send out a few Christmas cards, and in many of them, I simply wrote: "May the blessings of this Sacred Season inviting Stillness and Silence be yours. I am grateful for the gift of you!" Advent, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali - all more or less intersect - and echo and invite the celebration of light - and at heart are joyous occasions. It is also a time to set right things that aren't, and I found myself reflecting on this yesterday, as I read through the readings for the day. This weekend, I went down to the basement to retrieve and dust off my Lectionary - a remnant of the days I was a liturgist and responsible for worship services. I was moved to add the liturgical readings of the day to my morning reflections. Today, for example, is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception... In my morning meditations, I read from the booklet "Walk With Me," that I picked up at St. Mary's Catholic Church, in London, and reflected on these words: "Forgi...