Aligning with Grace

"Choose joy." No matter the question or the situation - choose joy... This is the message I received, just a week ago today, when I experienced darshan with Mother Meera for the fourth time in the last few years. The moment I looked into her infinite eyes, it was like gazing deeply into the cosmos and into Eternity. Time stood perfectly still. I sat in my seat and meditated afterwards, feeling her hands still placed on my head, as she continued to purify my soul. Every opportunity I have darshan with Mother, I receive exactly what I need... The first two times, my life was tumultuous and I was in such a state of need, but by the third time I had navigated rough waters and left it behind, and so my experience was lighter, more blissful, and joyous... This time, it was all about joy - feeling joy - embodying joy - becoming joy - and most importantly - I was prompted to share joy... Everything I read or came across during the course of the week was a reminder to exp...

This week, for the first time in almost three years, I went back into the river... Yes, this same river that for several years, beginning in '08, first invited me in, and then beckoned... And so, I obediently responded to its calling, bought a kayak, and without any experience, launched myself off from the shore into a Great Unknown, relinquishing all control over where it would take me - both inwardly and outwardly... For the next few years, in stillness and silence, the River taught me all I needed to know. It yielded up its secrets, as I was companioned by blue herons and the bass fish that occasionally jumped out of the water to give me the once over... I forded into the waters and mists in the fog, performed penitential rituals during the High Holy Days, and chanted mantras in various sacred languages, over and over again. And in my ear the River whispered over and over again - "Let it go. Do not fight the current. Just flow"... and many more such sayings. I ...

A gentle snow falls, on this day of triple plays - of the Vernal Equinox, a New Moon, and a Solar Eclipse. A powerful confluence of energies conspires to shift things within us and catapult us into transformation! I am excited to see the breathtaking beauty of what will perhaps be the last snowflakes until winter dawns once again... I head down to the river and am blessed to have it all to myself. The graying sky for a moment reminds of The Mists of Avalon - and I half expect the mists to be parted, revealing a hidden magical kingdom! Out in the gentle snow fall, with an occasional cardinal hopping from one snow laden branch to the other, and geese flocking in formation, I speak my prayers, my affirmations, and my Lovingkindness recitations - offered up like a Litany of saints... I speak my prayers and intentions out loud in hopes that they will move mountains and shift energy, for indeed it is right and just - and necessary - as proclaimed in the Catholic liturgy. I ref...

Have you ever had one of those days that didn't quite go as you had expected? Have you ever allowed your mind to run wild when things don't quite go your way, conjuring up a myriad of reasons why it may be so? And how many times have reality and your thoughts not aligned? I had one of those evenings last night... Through a series of misfirings, miscommunications, assumptions, expectations - call it what you will - I did not connect with a friend at a recital last night. One of the churches that I attend was dedicating it's new organ for the first time, and a master organist had been invited to give a recital that was part worship, part dedication, and part concert. I later reflected on what had happened - what I thought had happened - what I thought the reasons were, and then found myself thinking of a passage in scripture, where Sarah - the wife of Abraham the patriarch - is told that she would bear a son. She was quite past child bearing age - and she laughed in...

I heard two very similar homilies during the first Week of Lent - one by an Episcopal priest - and the other by a Catholic lay deacon.  Both acknowledged that a common question asked during this season is: "What are you giving up for Lent?" To which, both answered, "Nothing." In the first case, the priest is a woman who is presently burdened by many situations - and very much part of the "sandwich generation," and all which that label entails and demands. In the latter case, the person in question is both father and grandfather to several. The first homilist focused on letting go of control during Lent - and letting God take the reigns of her life, which she had tried so hard to steer, to no avail. And of course, we all know, that outcomes don't often yield the results we planned or imagined. The second, spoke of a time for seeding and growing, and fostering new practices and traits to enrich our lives, such as the cultivation of grea...

I am poised to begin the Lenten journey once again, ready to commence it with a seal of ashes tomorrow on Ash Wednesday. Such an ancient ritual - but for the past few years it has been a time of personal growth and recommitment for me... A few years ago, I gathered my Lenten entries from over the years and forged them into a collection I titled, Everything in God and God in Everything... I repeat those words today, as a mantra... "Everything in God and God in Everything." As in other years, Maha Shivaratri, the Great Night of Shiva, observed by many friends, also coincides with this journey... Years ago, a friend gave me a photo with this quote: "I do not know what it calls me to, but I recognize the Voice." I truly do not know what - or where that Voice calls me to - but I know I must respond and go where I am led. It has become more insistent and persistent over the years... The Voice speaks. It beacons. It invites me to a journey. It will be lon...

Recently, a dear friend from my graduate school days, sent me this quote, on a day when things were out of sorts: "Whatever is happening in your life, don't pre-occupy yourself with the question WHY? But rather ponder more on to  WHERE these events will be bringing you. Know you are being led to somewhere beautiful, beyond your present harsh reality. Once you get to the WHERE, then you'll know the WHY." ~ Unknown In a week or two filled with infinite requests for prayers by many in need, and in such dire circumstances, I round out this week by reflecting on these words and the comfort they bring me. I share them with you, in hopes that you may find solace in them as well!