Magdalene Community

Sunday, July 12, 2009

2009-07-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation

From the deepest part of yourself, let love be born for the rays of the One that shine around you...

Let this come from your whole heart -
the center of your life: your passion, courage, and audacity -
and touch your whole subconscious self -
that instinctive soul within which scatters and gathers.

From this self liberate your whole animal energy and
life force to flood your entire grasping mind with love.

Prayers of the Cosmos: Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus.
Neil Douglas Klotz, HarperSanFrancisco, 1990, pg.80.

Readings from the Lost Gospel of Q (edited by Marcus Borg, Berkeley: Seastone, 1996)

Love Your enemies,
do good to those who hate you.
Bless those who curse you.
Pray for those who treat you badly.*

(*the idea of loving your enemies rather than retaliating against them was as radical in Jesus' time as it is today. As one ancient Greek thinker put it, 'I consider it established that one should do harm to one's enemies and be of service to one's friends.'"

When someone strikes you on the right cheek, offer them the other cheek, too.
When someone takes your coat from you, let them have your shirt as well.
Give to everyone who asks. And if someone robs you, don't demand your property back.*

(*To strike someone on the right cheek usually meant striking them with the back of the hand. In Middle Eastern culture, this was twice as insulting as a slap delivered with the palm of the hand.)

Treat people as you would like them to treat you.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you do good only to those who do good to you, what merit is there in that? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what reward is there in that? Even sinners lend to sinners.

Instead, love your enemies and do good, expecting nothing in return. You will have a great reward, and you will be children of your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on the bad and the good.
He sends rain to fall on both the just and the unjust.*

(*The original Hebrew word translated as "to sin" in the Bible actually meant "to miss the mark," the way an arrow misses its target.)

Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Give, and there will be gifts for you. A full measure of grain, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap;
Because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary

"What is matter? Will it last forever?"

The Teacher answered: "All that is born, all that is created, all the elements of nature are interwoven and united with each other. All that is composed shall be decomposed; everything returns to its roots; matter returns to the origins of matter. Those who have ears, let them hear.:

Call to Conversation:

Closing Meditation:

From a hidden place,
unite with your enemies from the inside,
fill the inner void that makes them swell outwardly and fall
out of rhythm:" instead of progressing, step by step,
they stop and start harshly,
out of time with you.

Bring yourself back into rhythm within,
Find the movement that mates with theirs -
like two lovers creating life from dust.
Do this work in secret, so they don't know.
This kind of love creates, it doesn't emote.

Prayers of the Cosmos: Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus.
Neil Douglas Klotz, HarperSanFrancisco, 1990, pg.84

Sunday, July 27, 2008

2008-09-09T06:42:00.000-07:00

CALL TO SILENCE :

OPENING DIALOGUE

SOLO: Peace Be With You.
UNISON: Acquire My Peace Within you.

Solo: Where are you from?
Unison: We have come from the place where Light is produced from itself.

Solo: Where is that place?
Unison: It’s a mystery.

Solo: But can you say you image the light?
Unison: Yes, indeed. We carry the light within.

Solo: And the peace?
Unison: Yes, also the peace.

Solo: How do you know of such light and such peace?
Unison: The sign is the feeling.
The sign is the movement from within.
The sign is the passion for the well-being of all.

Solo: What are your other signs?
Unison: Our recognitions of injustice and hatred and oppression
Throughout the globe, of power struggles and violence
That seem unending.

Solo: Can we turn those around?
Unison: We must seek to do so.

Solo: Are you willing to spread your light and your peace?
Unison: We are eager to spread them.
They spread just as love spreads.

: Solo: The kingdom spreads out on the earth, just as love spreads.
Union: But some people are not aware of it.

Solo: Yet you are aware.
Unison: Yes, indeed.
We are aware of the light and the movement and the peace.
And we cannot stand back.
We will step forward.
We will overcome the violence, the domination, the hatred,
And spread love.

Readings:

Genesis 1:1-5

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Blessed Be The Wind

Without the wind, most of Earth would be uninhabitable. The tropics would grow so unbearably hot that nothing could live there, and the rest of the planet would freeze. Moisture, if any existed, would be confined to the oceans, and all but the fringe of the great continents…would be desert. There would be no erosion, no soil, and for any community that managed to evolve despite these rigors, no relief from suffocation by their own waste products.
But with the wind, Earth comes truly alive. Winds provide the circulatory and nervous systems of the planet, sharing out energy and information, distributing both warmth and awareness, making something out of nothing.
All wind’s properties are borrowed. Our knowledge of it comes at secondhand, but it comes strongly. And this combination of a force that cannot be apprehended, but nevertheless has an undeniable existence was our first experience of the spiritual. A crack in the cosmos that widened to let the tide of consciousness flow through.
We are the fruits of the wind---and have been seeded, irrigated, and cultivated by its craft.

Lyall Watson

With every breath, I am grounded in the awareness of the one life that lives, breathes and has its being through all things, both seen and unseen. I know that I am an individuation of this universal creative intelligence and a perfect conduit for the divine energy flow that explicitly manifests as right action toward the fulfillment of highest good for all life. Through this sublime realization I claim for myself and for the entire planet: a healing from any imbalances born of separation consciousness, environmental reclamation, good stewardship of natural resources and the restoration of balance with respect to greenhouse gases in our planet’s atmosphere. It is with an open and most grateful heart that I accept this good as my divine inheritance, that I bless this opportunity to know and experience the Godhood that is the truth of my being, that I joyfully accept my place on this planet at this time by divine appointment, and that I rejoice in the ecstatic fulfillment of these words as they impress upon the law. I blissfully release this prayer and surrender these words to the immutable process that is God and simply let it be. And so it is.
Science of Mind

Nature’s Beauty

A priest was in charge of the garden within a famous Zen temple. He had been given the job because he loved the flowers, shrubs, and trees. Next to the temple there was another, smaller temple where there lived a very old Zen master. One day, when the priest was expecting some special guests, he took extra care in tending to the garden. He pulled the weeds, trimmed the shrubs, combed the moss, and spent a long time meticulously raking up and carefully arranging all the dry autumn leaves. As he worked, the old master watched him with interest from across the wall that separated the temples.
When he had finished, the priest stood back to admire his work. “Isn’t it beautiful,” he called out to the old master. “Yes,” replied the old man, “but there is something missing. Help me over this wall and I’ll put it right for you.”
After hesitating, the priest lifted the old fellow over and set him down. Slowly, the master waked to the tree near the center of the garden, grabbed it by the trunk, and shook it. Leaves showered down all over the garden. “There,” said the old man, “you can put me back now.”

Zen tale

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene

And she began to speak to them these words: I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to Him, Lord I saw you today in a vision. He answered and said to me, Blessed are you that you did not waver at the sight of Me. For where the mind is there is the treasure.

Prayer:

It is lovely indeed, it is lovely indeed.
I, I am the spirit within the earth.
The feet of the earth are my feat;
The legs of the earth are my legs.
The strength of the earth is my strength;
The thoughts of the earth are my; thoughts;
The voice of the earth is my voice.
The feather of the earth is my feather
All that belongs to the earth belongs to me;
All that surrounds the earth surrounds me.
I, I am the sacred works of the earth
It is lovely indeed, it is lovely indeed.

Son of the Earth Spirit. Navajo Origin legend

Closing Dialogue:

Solo: Are you aware of the light and the peace within you?
Unison: We have the feeling and the movement..
The passion for the well-being of all.

Solo: Light spreads, just as love spreads.
Are you willing to speak your feeling of light?

Unison: Yes, indeed, we must speak the feeling.
We must act the peace.

Solo: Let us practice the feeling.
Let us practice the peace.
Unison: Let us dance the feeling.
Let us dance the peace.
Let us dance from the light.

Solo: Let us move together
In the light and the peace.
Unison: Let us go forth in the power of the Spirit.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

2008-07-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation

"Once you experience [God's] presence in all beings, all debate comes to naught!"

from the Indian mystic Kabir quoted from One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths, by Matthew Fox (New York:Jeremy P.Tarcher/Penguin,2000),17

"The worship of the different religions,
which are like so many small streams
move together to meet God, who is like the ocean"

from the Indian mystic Rajjab, quoted as above from Matthew Fox,page 18.

Readings from the Gospel of Philip

(trans. from the Coptic by Jean-Yves Leloup, The Gospel of Philip, Rochester,Vermont:Inner Traditions, 2003)

Light and darkness, life and death, right and left, are brothers and sisters. They are inseparable. This is why goodness is not always good, violence not always violent, life not always enlivening, death not always deadly. (logion 10:1-5)

The Truth makes use of words in the world because without these words, it would remain totally unknowable. The Truth is one and many, so as to teach us the innumerable One of Love. (logion 12:7-10)

It is impossible for anyone to see the everlasting reality and not become like it.

The Truth is not realized in the world:
Those who see the sun do not become the sun; Those who see the sky, the earth, or anything that exists, do not become what they see.

But when you see something in this other space, you become it. If you know the Breath, you are the Breath. If you know the Christ, you become the Christ. If you see the Father, you are the Father.

Those who say that the Lord first died, and then was resurrected, are wrong; for he was first resurrected, and then died. If someone has not first been resurrected, they can only die. If they have already been resurrected, they are alive, as God is Alive. (logion 21)

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary (Leloup trans.)

Peter said to him: "Since you have become the interpreter of the elements and the events of the world, tell us: what is the sin of the world?"

The Teacher answered: "There is no sin. It is you who made sin exist, when you act according to the habits of your corrupted nature; this is where sin lies. This is why; the Good has come into your midst. It acts together with the elements of your nature so as to reunite it with its roots." Then he continued: "This is why you become sick, and why you die; it is the result of your actions; what you do takes you further away.

Those who have ears, let them hear."

Call to Conversation:

We ask for your comments/thoughts to continue our Sunday conversation. Thank you.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

2008-07-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation

Readings

A Reading from Parker Palmer

When my first grandchild was born, I saw something in her that I had missed in my own children some twenty-five years earlier, when I was too young and self-absorbed to see anyone, including myself, very well. What I saw was clear and simple: my granddaughter arrived on earth as this kind of person, rather than that, or that, or that.

As an infant, for example, she was almost always calm and focused, quietly absorbing whatever was happening around her. She looked as if she "got" everything-enduring life's tragedies, enjoying its comedies, and patiently awaiting the day she could comment on all of it. Today, with her verbal skills well honed, this description still fits the teenager who is one of my best friends and seems like an "old soul."

In my granddaughter I actually observed something I could once take only on faith; we are born with a seed of selfhood that contains the spiritual DNA of our uniqueness-an encoded birthright knowledge of who we are, why we are here, and how we are related to others.

We may abandon that knowledge as the years go by, but it never abandons us. I find it fascinating that the very old, who often forget a great deal, may recover vivid memories of childhood, of that time in their lives when they were most like themselves. They are brought back to their birthright nature by the abiding core of selfhood they carry within- a core made more visible, perhaps, by the way aging can strip away whatever is not truly us.

Philosophers haggle about what to call this core of our humanity, but I am no stickler for precision. Thomas Merton called it true self. Buddhists call it original nature or big self, Quakers call it the inner teacher or the inner light. Hasidic Jews call it a spark of the divine. Humanists call it identity and integrity. In popular parlance, people often call it soul...

What we name it matters little to me, since the origins, nature and destiny of call-it-what-you-will are forever hidden from us, and no one can credibly claim to know its true name. But that we name it matters a great deal. For "it" is the objective, ontological realty of selfhood that keeps us from reducing ourselves, or each other, to biological mechanisms, psychological projections, sociological constructs, or raw material to be manufactured into whatever society needs-diminishments of our humanity that constantly threaten the quality of our lives.

"Nobody knows what the soul is" says Mary Oliver; "it comes and goes/like the wind over the water." But just as we can name the functions of the wind, so we can name some of the functions of the soul without presuming to penetrate its mystery:
The soul wants to keep us rooted in the ground of our own being, resisting the tendency of other faculties, like the intellect and ego, to uproot us from who we are.
The soul wants to keep us connected to the community in which we find life, for it understands that relationships are necessary if we are to thrive.
The soul wants to tell us the truth about ourselves, our world, and the relation between the two, whether that truth is easy or hard to hear.
The soul wants to give us life and wants us to pass that gift along, to become life-givers in a world that deals too much death.

All of us arrive on earth with souls in perfect form. But from the moment of birth onward, the soul or true self is assailed by deforming forces from without and within; bu racism, sexism, economic injustice, and other social cancers; by jealousy, resentment, self-doubt, fear, and other demons of the inner life.

Most of us can make a long list of the external enemies of the soul, in the absence of which we are sure we would be better people! Because we so quickly blame our problems on forces 'out there,' we need to see h ow often we conspire on our own deformation: for every external power bent on twisting us out of shape, there is a potential collaborator within us. When our impulse to tell the truth is thwarted by threats of punishment, it is because we value security over being truthful. When our impulse to side with the weak is thwarted by threats of lost social standing, it is because we value popularity over being a pariah.

The power and principalities would hold less sway over our lives if we refused to collaborate with them. But refusal is risky, so we deny our own truth, take up lives of 'self-impersonation,' and betray our identities. And yet the soul persistently calls us back to our birthright form, back to lives that are grounded, connected, and whole.

From A Hidden Wholeness (Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint, San Francisco, 2004)pages 32-34

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary

"Then I said to him:'Lord, when someone meets you in a Moment of vision, is it through the soul[psyche]that they see, or is it through the Spirit[Pneuma]?' The Teacher answered:'It is neither through the soul or the spirit, but the nous between the two which sees the vision..."

"And Craving said:'I did not see you descent, but now I see you rising. Why do you lie, since you belong to me? The soul answered: 'I saw you, though you did not see me, nor recognize me, I was with you as with a garment, and you never felt me." Having said this, the soul left, rejoicing greatly.

(LeLoup translation as quoted in The Magdalene Mystique)

Call to Conversation

Sunday, June 22, 2008

2008-07-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation
Readings

A Reading from One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springs from Global Faiths, Two Quotations

Nicolas of Cusa:

"Humanity will find that it is not a diversity of creeds, but the very same creed which is everywhere proposed...Even though you are designated in terms of different religions yet you presuppose in all this diversity one religion which you call wisdom."

(Nicolas of Cusa was a fifteenth century theologian and scientist and cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church)

The Dalai Lama:

"I believe deeply that we must find, all of us together a new spirituality. [Interviewer: Which wouldn't be religious'?] Certainly not. This new concept out to be elaborated alongside the religions, in such a way that all people of good will could adhere to it. [Interviewer: Even if they have no religion or are against religion?] Absolutely. We need a new concept of lay spirituality. We ought to promote this concept with the help of scientists...[but] everything starts with us, with each of us. The indispensable qualities are peace of mind and compassion. Without them its useless even to try. Those qualities are indispensable; they are also inevitable. I've told you: We will surely find them in ourselves, if we take the trouble to search for them. We can reject every form of religion but we can't reject and cast off compassion and peace of mind."
Both quotations from One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Spring from Global Faiths, Matthew Fox, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguine, New York, 2000, page 3.

Readings from A Conversation on Science and Theology

[from Belonging to the Universe: Explorations on the Frontiers of Science and Spirituality (HarperSanFrancisco, 1991)pages 46-49. The conversationalists are David Steindl-Rast, Thomas Matus, both members of the Benedictine Community in Big Sur, California, and Fritjof Capra, physicist and systems theorist and founder of Elmwood Institute, an ecological think tank in Berkeley, California.]

David: Do we agree then that there is a paradigm shift in theology that is comparable to that in science?

Thomas: I certainly agree that there's a paradigm shift in theology today, but whether and to what extent it is really comparable to the one in science is still not clear to m e.

Fritjof: In science, in order to sustain the development, whether its the gradual development in the periods of normal science or the revolutionary development in periods of paradigm shifts, you have to continually do this systematic observation that is part of the scientific method. It would seem that in theology, if you want to refine your dogmas and your understanding of faith, the reflection on religious experience, you would also have to rely on continual religious experience. Now, as far as a I can see, this is not the case today. ;And maybe I could even make a stronger statement and say that in Christianity this was never a strong point. ;The mystic were always soft of marginalized and often persecuted.

Thomas: I think you have to nuance this with regard to the different epochs of what we're calling paradigms in Christian theology.

Fritjof: Could you give us a short summary of these paradigms?

Thomas: During the first thousand years of Christianity, it was generally recognized that theology had to be the fruit not only of a profound intellectual conviction but above all of an intense personal experience of faith. This as the epoch of the "Fathers" of the Church - excuse the sexist language, but practically all the early Christian writers were men! There is hardly one of these Fathers whom you wouldn't also call a mystic: think of Origen and Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory Nazianzen in the East, Ambrose and Augustine and Pope Gregory the Great in the West.

The crisis of mysticism and deep religious experience in Christianity coincides with the emergence of the great scholastic paradigm. This as the period of Thomas Aquinas adn Bonaventure in the thirteenth ceantury, and the energy, you might say, of the Scholastic paradigm continued on into the sixteenth century...[since] that time there has been a constant tension between the theologian as the professional scholar of the contents of Christian teaching and the spiritual person who is trying to life this teaching on a deep level of practice and experience.

David: Are you saying that, roughly, before the thirteenth century, the mystic were the theologians, and vice versa?

Thomas: Certainly, in principle at least, it was axiomatic that the two were inseparable. And the attitude of the theologian was first of all that of a listener, a person of faith who is searching for adequate ways to explain the Christian experience and connect it with other knowledge...What is basically the same view of theology's purpose: to initiate the believer into a genuine gnosis, an experimental knowledge of God. Not a purely intellectual knowledge, but one that totally transforms and, as many early writers say, 'divinizes' the believer.

Fritjof: And from the thirteenth century on, you were saying, there was this tension between the theologians on the one hand and the mystic on the other.

Thomas: It was the paradigm itself that imposed this division and almost forbade the theologian to become too mystical. He had to remain on the intellectual level. Let me add, though, that the crisis of mysticism was something that happened largely in the West. The Eastern Church continued, for the most part, in the lime of holistic theology. But by then the two churches had excommunicated each other.

Fritjof: This makes it, of course, very difficult for this whole parallel between science and theology. If religious experience has not been the ground of theology in the theological establishment for the past seven centuries, how do we expect new-paradigm thinking to emerge if it does not come with a renaissance of religious experience?

David: It must come with a renaissance of religious experience, and it does come today with a new explicit appreciation of religious experience. The sense of a deep inner communion with God was thought not long ago to be the privilege of 'mystics.' Today this sense of inner communion is widespread. Today we recognize that every human being can be a mystic of sorts. Of course, we should not forget that countless Christian throughout the ages were living in the strength of the divine life at the core of their being. Thus they were truly mystics. People like Meister Eckhart of Jakob Bohme of Julian of Norwich or John of the Cross, people whom we label mystics, were often those who gained notoriety by getting in trouble with the establishment. Countless others were nourished by sources of mystical life within their hearts and may have never even reflected on it. What keeps faith alive is always experiential knowledge of God's spirit within us.

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary

"...This is why I tell you 'Be in harmony...'If you are out of balance, take inspiration from manifestations of your true nature.

Those who have ears, let them hear."
After saying this, the Blessed One greeted them all, saying:"Peace be with you-may my Peace arise and be fulfilled within you!

Be vigilant, and allow no one to mislead you by saying:"Here it is!" or "There it is!" For it is within you that the Son of Man dwells.

Go to him, for those who seek him, find him.

Call to Conversation

Sunday, June 22, 2008

2008-06-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation

"In the Beginning," The Magdalene Mystique: Songs from Within, c2005 Anita Kruse, track 6

"In the beginning was the word...and the world was...God"
word...logos...light of the world...creative force...living presence...ordering principle...underlying harmonic pattern of creation...universal vibration sound?
Is everything connected by the threads of sound
Intertwining interweaving here and now?
Is every cell and every pulse
Every heart in each of us
Vibrantly connected by the waves of sound?
Is everything connected in the here and now
Intertwining interweaving threads of sound?
Is every breath and every thought
Every found and every lost
Perfectly connected by the light of sound?
Is everything connected some way some how
Intertwining interweaving here and now?
Is every spark and every beam
All the dark and all the dreams
Vividly connected by the ways of sound?
Is everything connected in the here and now
Intertwining interweaving lost and found
Is every tear and every being
Every single living thing
Harmonically connected by the God of sound?
"In the beginning was the world..and the world was...God"
word...logos...light of the world...creative force...living presence...ordering principle...underlying harmonica pattern of creation...universal vibration sound?

Readings

A Reading from I Remember Union

In the beginning was the word. And the word was god. And all was one.
And all of the knowledge of all time was held within the core of the source, called god.
And there were no people
The people were but a vision of a time which had no dimension and no form.
And god brought forth the vision, and the people rose to bring the word to the land and to
the generation of people which would follow.
And so the journey into form began.
The form became separate from the vision and from the source of the word, called god.
With the separation fear was born. And the separation was the breaking apart
of the vision into soul: male and female.
The separation created the need to reunite--to return to the vision and to the source.
So the people traveled through time and space to approach a land where
the form could be used to bring forth the link to the source and to their
essence, called "soul."
Planted into the memory of man and woman was the knowledge of the source called spirit,
called, in a word, GOD.
God planted within the souls of men and women a seed,
which housed the memory of their divinity and of their birth into form.
And within the seed is the image of God, and man and woman, and all manner of life
belonging to the same family, and to the same soul, and to the same way of the word.
And there was instilled a memory of a time when all were one and when all would be one again.
ALLWOULDBEONEAGAIN
When all is one, there is a marriage of God and man and woman and the word
and the people and the vision and the form and the essence and the spirit.
And there is order created from this marriage within and without which reflects the same
reality, and is called "the truth."
Now is the time for the calling to be remembered.
Now is the time for the truth to be remembered.
And in the remembering is the vision accomplished.
The form and the source are then one again.
And the journey is finished.
The vision and the form and the people and god are again
One
Now is the time.

"The Word," I remember Union: The Story of Mary Magdalena, Flo Aeveia Magdalena, All Words Publishing, Putney, VT, 2005, pp21-25

A Reading from The Dialogue of the Savior

He took Judas, Matthews, and Mary to show them the final consummation of heaven and earth, and when he placed his hand on them, they hoped they might see it. Judas gazed up and saw a region of great height, and he saw the abyss below.
Judas said to Matthew, "Brother, who can ascend to such a height or descend to the abyss below? For there is great fire there, and great terror.
At that moment a word issued from the height. As Judas was standing there, he saw how the word came down. He asked the word, "Why have you come down?" The child of humanity greeted them and said to them, "A seed from a power was deficient, and ti descended to the earth's abyss. The majesty remembered it, and sent the word to it. The word brought the seed up into the presence of the majesty, so that the first work might not be lost."
His disciples marveled at everything he told them, and they accepted all of it in faith. And they understood that there is no need to keep wickedness before one's eyes.

"The Dialogue of the Savior," The Gospels of Mary: The Secret Tradition of Mary Magdalene
the Companion of Jesus, Marvin Meyer, HarperCollins, 2004, pg.57

A Reading from Pistis Sophia

When Jesus finished saying these things, Mary Magdalene stepped forward and said, "My master, my enlightened person has ears, and I accept all the words you speak. Now, my master, this is what you said: 'All souls of the human race who will receive the mysteries of the light will be first in the inheritance of the light, before all the rulers who have repented, before the entire place on the right, before the entire place of the treasury of light.' Concerning this saying, my Master, you once said to us, 'The first will be last and the last will be first.' That is to say, the last is the whole human race that will be first within the kingdom of light, before the inhabitants of the places on high, which are first. For this reason, my master, you have said to us, 'Whoever has ears to her should hear.' In other words, you wanted to know whether we have grasped all the sayings you spoke. My master, this is the word."
When Mary finished saying these things, the savior marveled greatly at the answers she gave, for she had become entirely pure spirit. Jesus answered and said to her, "Well done, Mary, pure spiritual woman. This is the interpretation of the world."

"Pistis Sophia," The Gospels of Mary: The Secret Tradition of Mary Magdalene the Companion of Jesus, Marvin Meyer, HarperCollins, 2004, pp 68-69

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary (Karen King translation)

When the Blessed One had said these things, he greeted them all. "Peace be with you!" he said. "Acquire my peace arise within yourselves! Be on your guard so that no one deceives you by saying: 'Look over here!' or 'Look over there!' For the child of true humanity exists within you. Follow it! Those who search for it will find it.

Call to Conversation

We ask for your thoughts/comments to continue our Sunday conversation. Thank you.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

2008-06-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation

On Mother's Day, we explored love in many of its facets in honor of the first person from whom we learn love. A father's love is no less important. In order for us to become "fully human," it is important that we embrace the masculine aspect of ourselves, just as we must embrace the feminine, as embodied in father and mother. For some, this also means seeking a more balanced view of the divine, one that is both/neither father-god/mother-god.
The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonor's Father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.
In 1926, a National Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City. Father's Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956. In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. Father's Day was born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with a special day just like we honor our mothers on Mother's Day.

Readings

What Makes A Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The Patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ...Dad

Author unknown, http://www.morningglow.com/holidays/father/father.html

Quotations about Fathers

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at h ow much he had learned in seven years. Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi," Atlantic Monthly, 1874

Dad, you're someone to look up to no matter how tall I've grown. -Author unknown

There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself. -John Gregory Brown, Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery, 1994

Never raise your hand to your kids. It leave your groin unprotected. -Red Buttons
http://www.quotegarden.com/dad-day.html

Readings from the Gospels

Matthews 5: 16, 45, 48

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
...so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 12: 50

For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.

John 20: 17, 21

Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father , to my God, and your God."

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you."

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary (LeLoup translation)

After saying this, the Blessed One greeted them all, saying: "Peace be with you-may my Peace arise and be fulfilled within you!

Be vigilant, and allow no one to mislead you by saying: "Here it is!' or 'There it is!' For it is within you that the Son of Man dwells. Go to him, for those who seek him, find him. Walk forth, and announce the gospel of the Kingdom."

Call to Conversation

Sunday, June 15, 2008

2008-06-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday June 8, 2008

2008-06-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation

"There is a spirit that pervades everything, that is capable of powerful song and radiant movement, and that moves in and out of the mind. The colors of this spirit are multitudinous, a glowing, pulsing rainbow...

This spirit, this power of intelligence, has many names and many emblems.

She appears on the plains, in the forests, in the great canyons, on the mesas, beneath the seas."

"Grandmother of the Son" by Paula Gunn Allen

Readings

A Reading from the Dalai Lama

To feel true compassion for all beings, we must remove any partiality from our attitude toward them. Our normal view of others is dominated by fluctuating and discriminating emotions. We feel a sense of closeness toward loved ones. Toward strangers or acquaintances we feel distant. And then for those individuals whom we perceive as hostile, unfriendly, or aloof, we feel aversion or contempt. The criterion for our classifying people as friends or enemies seems straightforward. If a person is close to us or has been kind to us, he or she is a friend. If a person has caused us difficulty or harm, he or she is a foe. Mixed with our fondness of our loved ones are emotions such as attachment and desire that inspire passionate intimacy. Similarly, we view those whom we dislike with negative emotions such as anger or hatred. Consequently, our compassion toward others is limited, partial, prejudicial, and conditioned by whether we feel close to them.

Genuine compassion must be unconditional. We must cultivate equanimity in order to transcend any feelings of discrimination and partiality...

A way of cultivating equanimity and transcending our feelings of partiality and discrimination is to reflect upon how we are all equal in our aspiration to be happy and overcome suffering. Additionally, we all feel that we have a basic right to fulfill this aspiration. Who do we justify this right? Very simply, it is part of our fundamental nature. ..my aspiration to be happy and overcome suffering is part of my fundamental nature, as is it part of yours. If this is so, then just as we do, all others have the right to be happy and overcome suffering simply because they share this fundamental nature. It is on the basis of this equality that we develop equanimity toward all. In our meditation we must work at cultivating the attitude that "just as I myself have the desire to be happy and overcome suffering, so do all others, and just as I have the natural right to fulfill this aspiration, so do all others. We should repeat this thought as we meditate and as we go about our lives, until it sinks deep into our awareness.

It is best to cultivate the feeling of equanimity by first focusing on relative strangers or acquaintances, those for whom you have no strong feeling one way or other. From there you should meditate impartially, moving onto friends and then enemies. Upon achieving an impartial attitude toward all sentient beings, you should meditate on love, the wish that they find the happiness they seek. The seed of compassion will grow if you plant it in fertile soil, a consciousness moistened with love. When you have watered your mind with love, you can begin to meditate upon compassion. Compassion, here, is simply the wish that all sentient beings be free of suffering.

from An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life. (109-114)

A Reading from Alice Walker's The Color Purple

Here's the thing, say Shug. The thing I believe. God is inside you and inside everybody else. You come into the world with God. But only them that search for it inside find it. And some times it just manifest itself even if you are not looking, or don't know what you looking for. Trouble do it for most folks, I think.

A Reading from Matthews 9: 9-13, 18-26

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this mean, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

While he was thus speaking to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment; for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I shall be made well." Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughters, your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler's house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd making a tumult, he said, "Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district.

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary

Peter said to him: "Since you have become the interpreter of the elements and the events of the world, tell us: What is the sin of the world?" The Teacher answered: "There is no sin. It is you who make sin exist, when you act according to the habits of your corrupted nature; this is where sin lies. This is why the Good has come into your midst. It acts together with the elements of your nature so as to reunite it with its roots." Then he continued: "This is why you become sick, and why you die: it is the result of your actions; what you do takes you further away. Those who have ears, let them hear."

Call to Conversation"

2008-06-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

2008-06-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 1, 2008

2008-06-03T08:14:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation

“Who looks outside dreams. Who looks inside awakens.”
Carl Jung, as quoted by Glynda-Lee Hoffmann, page 7
The Secret Dowry of Eve: Women’s Role in the Development of Consciousness

Readings

Mythologically, Genesis is about our neurology, not our history, and its depiction of human neurology can now be verified by solid scientific fact. Rather than depicting outer events, the imagery of Genesis depicts the inner realm of neurological structure and function. What is more, it may be telling us that the power of our own awareness can affect, alter, and even enlarge our neurology.
This is the power of personal transformation. It is determined not by events observed in a laboratory, but by events observed within one’s own mind. It is quantum mechanics at the personal level, because it involves observing the behavior of light – inner light – in the processing of information. “Man, know thyself: were the words chiseled into the Delphic Oracle. How can we know ourselves if we do not observe our inner world? Ironically, for “man,” the inner world is the realm of the feminine, and it is the woman in Genesis who imitates the journey into this inner world. On our own journeys we must not allow ourselves to be put off, diverted, or deluded by interpretations from various authorities. Remember: There is no better authority on your inner world than you.

The Secret Dowry of Eve, page 26

A reading from Genesis, 1:1-3

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light –
and there was light,
And God saw the light, that it was good:
and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And the evening and the morning were the first day.

As quoted in The Secret Dowry of Eve, page 36

A Reading from Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

The woman and the man ate of the tree: While the man is passive, the woman actively seeks knowledge and tests the limits.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it you shall die.”
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

As quoted in Remembering the Women, page 33

A Reading form the Gospel of Mary – (Karen King translation, as quoted in The Magdalene Mystique)

When the Blessed One had said these things, he greeted them all, “Peace be with you!” he said. “Acquire my peace within yourselves! Be on your guard so that no one deceives you by saying, ‘Look over here!’ or ‘Look over there!’ for the child of true humanity exists within you. Follow it! Those who search for it will find it.

A Reading form the Gospel of Mary – (Esther de Boer translation, as quoted in The Magdalene Mystique)

Mary answered and said, “What is hidden from you I shall tell you.” And she began to say to them these words: “I”, she said, “I have seen the Lord in a vision and I said to him, ‘Lord, I have seen you today in a vision.’ He answered, he said to me, ‘Blessed are you, because you are not wavering when you see me. For where the mind is, there is the treasure.’

Call to Conversation

Closing Meditation

The secret dowry that is buried within each of us is the psyche’s germ that has the potential to grow indefinitely until we discover all of life’s riches, especially happiness, healing love, and wisdom. This germ is the power to see and recognize the integrative pattern of life as the interplay between opposites. Like Adam and Eve, each of us must eat and digest the fruit of the tree of knowledge …, transforming its misbegotten interpretation of good and evil. In that transformation we discover that it is actually the fruit of the tree of knowledge of sacred opposites, the basis of wholeness. This is the truth that opens our eyes and sets us free to view life in a whole new way.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

2008-06-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation

“We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are.”
from The Talmud, as quoted by Elizabeth Lesser, page 130

“No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it.”
Albert Einstein, as quoted by Elizabeth Lesser, p 131

Readings

“The ego wants to be a ‘Republican’ or a ‘liberal,’ a ‘New Yorker’ or a ‘Midwesterner.’ It wants to judge things as right or wrong. It wants to be ‘for’ something or ‘against’ something. It does not want to delve more deeply into the full picture of reality.” (page 146)

“If we regard spirituality as a fearless investigation of reality, then we’ll find that all of our experiences is within its boundaries.” (43)

“... my meditation practice is simple. While it is surely informed by all of my study and experiences, I would be mocking the real meaning of meditation if I represented it as an exotic journey. Immersion into so many forms of meditation has led me deeper and deeper into the most essential core of all of them: mindfulness – a nondenominational form of practice that teaches moment-to-moment awareness, a kind of falling in love with naked reality.” (93)

“I have found that no matter where my searching has taken me, it always leads me back to my need to face my own true nature, and since I am a human being, my human nature. We may choose a beautiful and moral way to know God, replete with an interesting theology, an engaging community, and a well-conceived set of practices. We may look far from our own culture and adopt a path that includes ancient wisdom, meditation, and foreign mantras and dress. Perhaps we look closer to home, and embrace a religious tradition that teaches more familiar prayers and concepts. It doesn’t matter what path we take toward spiritual realization. If we by pass our humanness, each path leads back to the same question: What are we hiding from in ourselves and in each other?” (37)

“Opening up the secret of our human nature, revealing to ourselves and to each other our deep and soulful longings, our fear and sadness, our joy and wonder, is the critical step on the spiritual path. It is the step that makes the difference between living our own, real spirituality and just acquiring someone else’s beliefs…Thus a critical step on the spiritual path, and one that we will take over and over, is to let ourselves experience spiritual hunger long enough and deep enough to follow it to its source…the Source of our spiritual hunger resides in a place deep within us. It is a quiet and faithful place and if we learn how to access its powerful wisdom, it can become our most dependable friend.” (37-38)

A Reading form the Gospel of Mary – (Karen King translation)

When the Blessed One had said these things, he greeted them all, “Peace be with you!” he said. “Acquire my peace within yourselves! Be on your guard so that no one deceives you by saying, ‘Look over here!’ or ‘Look over there!’ for the child of true humanity exists within you. Follow it! Those who search for it will find it.

Call to Conversation

The Opening Meditation is inspired by Elizabeth Lesser, co founder and senior adviser of the Omega Institue in Rhinebeck, New York.

The Readings are found in Lesser's The Seeker's Guide: Making Your Life a Spiritual Adventure (New York: Villard) 1999.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

2008-06-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation

You must close the eyes and waken in yourself that other power of vision, the birthright of all, but which few turn to use. (a saying from Plotinus)

“I saw my Lord with the eye of my heart, and I said: who art Thou? He said: Thou.” (al-Hallaj, Persian Sufi at Baghdad, d. 922)

The Yogi, whose intellect is perfect, contemplates all things as abiding in himself [herself] and thus, by the eye of Knowledge (Jana-chakshus) s/he perceives that everything is Atma. (Sri Sankaracharya, Hindu metaphysician, leading exponent of the doctrine of non-duality, 800 AD)

Readings

Luke 4: 42-43

At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.’ So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea. [Galilee]

Luke 8: 1

Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Johanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.

Luke 9: 1-2

Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God, and to heal. He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money – not even an extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

Luke 10: 1-9

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go....Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

Luke 11: 20

[Jesus said] If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

Luke 12: 32

[Jesus said] Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Fathers’ good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Luke 17:20

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact the kingdom of God is among [within] you.

Gospel of Mary

After saying this, the Blessed One greeted them all, saying: “Peace be with you – may my Peace arise and be fulfilled within you! Be vigilant, and allow no one to mislead you by saying: ‘Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For it is within you that the son of Man [child of true humanity] dwells. Go to him, for those who seek him, find him. Walk forth, and announce the gospel of the Kingdom.

Call to Conversation

Closing Meditation

Sunday, May 11, 2008

2008-06-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

Opening Music –

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation – Manifesting Love

Last week we explored belonging. It seems that the natural progression is to manifest our belonging with love. For most of us, the first love we learn about … and learn from … is that of our mother. The readings for this Mother’s Day are about love in all its forms.

Opening Prayer – Invocation to the Cosmic Mother, by Judy Sion

Oh, Great Mother, divine feminine, birther of the cosmos, lover unto Spirit, Creatrix of all matter and queen of all worlds within worlds and those without, we call you to us in this hour.

We are your children; hear our call.

We are the daughters and the sons of your divine union, the flesh of your passion for life. You, who lay with Spirit, our Father, in the beginning of time, and brought us forth from the blessed union of Spirit and Matter, we are your children, the sons and daughters of your flesh and your heart, and we remember your touch and the fragrance of your essence, and we long for you.

Come to our hearts and gift us the remembering. Come to our minds and open our genius.

Enlighten us with your presence.

Draw back the veils that we might see, and harken the doors to open, that beauty and ecstasy may live in our homes and hearts more fully.

This is our hour of greatest need. We call you through fire and water, through earth and wind, through all that bears your name. We call all your lineages and all your names. Come unto us. Come into us. So be it.

The Magdalen Manuscript, by Tom Kenyon and Judi Sion.©2002, Sounds True, Inc., Boulder, Co.

Readings on Love

Love by Tagore

Love adorns itself;
it seeks to prove inward joy by outward beauty.
~
Love does not claim possession,
but gives freedom.
~
Love is an endless mystery,
for it has nothing else to explain it.

- Rabindranath Tagore
Love by Tagore

The Love Religion, Ibn Arabi

The inner space inside
That we call the heart
Has become many different
Living scenes and stories.

A pasture for sleek gazelles,
A monastery for Christian monks,
A time with Shiva dancing,
A kaaba for pilgrimage.

The tablets of Moses are there,
The Qua’an, the Vedas,
The sutras, and the gospels.

Love is the religion in me.
Whichever way love’s camel goes,
That way becomes my faith,
The source of beauty, and a light
Of sacredness over everything.

Divine Love: Looking For Your Face, Rumi

From the beginning of my life I have been looking for your face but today I have seen it.Today I have seen the charm, the beauty,the unfathomable grace of the face that I was looking for.Today I have found you and those that laughed and scorned me yesterday are sorry that they were not looking as I did.I am bewildered by the magnificence of your beauty and wish to see you with a hundred eyes.My heart has burned with passion and has searched forever for this wondrous beauty that I now behold.

I am ashamed to call this love human and afraid of God to call it divine.
Your fragrant breath like the morning breeze has come to the stillness of the gardenYou have breathed new life into me I have become your sunshine and also your shadow.My soul is screaming in ecstasy. Every fiber of my being is in love with you. Your effulgence has lit a fire in my heart and you have made radiant for me the earth and sky.My arrow of love has arrived at the target I am in the house of mercy and my heart is a place of prayer.

From Rumi, Hidden Music (translated by Azima Melita Kolin & Maryam Mafi, 59.)

With love you cannot bargain
There, the choice is not yours.
Love is a mirror, it reflects
only your essence,
if you have the courage
to look in its face.

A Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love:
for it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

1 Corinthians, 13

1) If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2) And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3) If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4) Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful;
5) it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6) it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.
7) Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8) Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
9) For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect;
10) but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.
11) When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
12) For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.
13) So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Call to Conversation

Closing Meditation & Music:

Sunday, May 3, 2008

2008-05-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation – Theme: “Exploring Belonging”.

Music: We All Belong ©2008 Ann S. Bugh

Where do I belong?... What do I belong to?... What belongs to me?
When the rhythm’s wrong, what can I do to bring back harmony?
Open your eyes. Open your mind, with a grateful heart.
You will see the web of life and how to play your part.

There’s a place where we all belong--we were called to life by LOVE.
There’s a point where the picture forms if we step back far enough.
Like a million threads in a tapestry of interwoven destinies—
You… and you… and you…and me—we all belong.
You… and you… and you…and me—we all belong.
You… and you… and you…and me—we all belong.

Ripples from a stone, spread across a pool to reach the farthest shore.
Every single thought, every single word--actions even more—
Leave their tiny marks (be they light or dark); no one walks alone.
Each of us must make his way, but we walk each other home.

There’s a truth that includes us all when judgment fades away.
There’s a love deep in every heart nothing can betray.
Like a million notes in a symphony that’s echoed since eternity—
You… and you… and you…and me—we all belong.
You…and you…and you…and me—part of everything we see--
You…and you…and you…and me—we all belong…we all belong…we all belong.

Readings:

MYSTIC BELONGINGS

“The Perfect Way is only difficult for those who pick and choose;
Do not like, do not dislike, then all will be clear.
Make a hairbreadth difference—and heaven and earth are set apart.”
–Seng-ts’an (600AD, Chinese Buddhist)

“Jesus struck the ground with his hand and took up some of it and spread it out and behold, he had gold in one of his hands and clay in the other. Then he said to his companions, ‘Which is sweeter to our hearts?’ They said, ‘The gold.’ He said, ‘They are both alike to me.’ “
--Christ in Islam by James Robson (citations in Muslim literature)

”’Who is my mother and who are my brothers?’ he replied. And stretching out his hand toward his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister and mother.’”
- Matthew 12:46-50

The “Divine Love” in every person lives not as a part, but in the whole—as a universal spirit of love, a spirit of the whole. Thus, divine love—though indivisible--shares its life in each person. In the unity of the whole, that spirit comprehends all things and, with strictest tenderness embraces each self as itself, as one self.
–paraphrased from Peter Sterry, Platonist (1613-1672)

“To whom God is dearer in one thing than another, that man is still a child. He to whom God is the same in everything has come to man’s estate…Every creature has a stake in the eternal….We love ‘God’ with his own love…Awareness of that deifies us.”
–Eckhart (German Dominican theologian & contemplative of Christian Gnosis)

TRIBAL BELONGINGS

Humans are programmed with a deep need to belong. It drives us to form and join groups. While some species live alone, humans have learned that if we form a tribe, we can share work and live more safely. Living in a tribe has its costs. We have to abide by shared rules and cannot do whatever we want; however, evolution has shown that survival benefits outweigh the costs.
–summarized from Changingminds.org

SOCIAL BELONGINGS

Abraham Maslow outlined 5 fundamental, hierarchical human needs: survival; safety; belonging; esteem; and self-actualization. Belonging is one of the more basic, just above health and safety. Humans are social creatures. We crave connection with others. Once our survival needs are met, we become aware of a need for love, affection, and belonging. In the absence of other humans, we feel loneliness. We long for a partner or children. We strive for acceptance among groups we value. Our “love” need requires both giving and receiving in order to be fulfilled. Our “esteem” needs are also tied to others. We require a healthy degree of self-confidence and self-esteem, but we are also emotionally nurtured by respect and recognition from others.
--summarized from Lifescript.com

PSYCHOLOGICAL BELONGINGS

In the psychology of Carl Gustav Jung, the “collective unconscious” belongs to us all. It is present in and accessible to each of us. It contains symbols for the shared experiences of mankind, the content of “archetype”. Archetypes are like frames that remain constant, while the image that appears inside the frame depends on the individual in which the archetype is triggered. Archetypes by themselves are neutral, without value judgments attached to them, but they can be interpreted positive, negative or neutral ways.

Jung’s concept of “Individuation” describes a process of self realization during which each of us must integrate the contents of our own psyches as we become conscious. While the process is universal, each man’s journey is a unique search for the totality of Self. Yet the person who accepts the contents of his unconsciousness and reaches the goal of the individuation process, becomes conscious of his relationship with everything that lives, with the entire cosmos.

Individuation is a natural, inherent process in man that grows from the inside. The first step is integration of all aspects of the personality; the second phase--what Jung called the transcendental function—involves realizing the unity of the archetype of the Self. The process of individuation is not easy for Westerners because we have difficulty with paradoxes. It requires us to accept both the superior and the inferior, the rational and the irrational, order and chaos, light and darkness, yin and yang. The Self, according to Jung, is not “universal consciousness”. It is rather an awareness of our unique nature and our intimate connection with all life--not only human but also animal, plant, mineral, and the entire cosmos. Completing this process gives us a sense of ‘unity’ and acceptance of life as it is.
--Summarized from www.soul-guidance.com/houseofthesun/individuationprocess

EXPLORING BELONGING

Most people spend much time and energy balancing the various “external” groups to which they belong. They may put a family group first, then a work group, then a larger community, then a country, then the human race, the planet earth, etc. This external balancing act is never simple. Many belongings “overlap”;others “conflict”. Inherent in 99% of “external belongings” is a degree of separation—i.e. each group includes something while excluding something (or someone) else.

In synchronicity with all these external belongings, each of us is continuously challenged to balance and rebalance on our inner journey toward “where we belong”. This inner search for integration happens at a deep level, ever flowing and changing like the energy of an underground stream. What is important on the inner search for belonging is conscious presence and awareness. Caroline Myss, in The Anatomy of the Spirit traces spiritual growth as a series of spirals. She describes how we evolve, level by level, physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually as we realize the potential, the full power of who and what we are. Energetically we expand like an intuitive blue print that unfolds as it directs what we manifest and feel connected to. This inner journey is often reflected in the external belongings that support or challenge us along our way. Exploring belonging teaches us lessons about control, surrender, attachment, connection, harmony. Ultimately, the belonging of “coming home to ourSelves” brings us full circle to the certain knowledge that “there’s a place for us here”. It comes with the recognition that we belong wherever we are in every moment (in the words of Anita Kruse and Sandy Stewart) in the “peace that passes all human understanding” and the “love that holds us all.”

Call to Conversation

Closing Meditation & Music:

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour. --William Blake

There’s a Peace © 2006 by Anita Kruse & Sandy Stewart , from the CD The Magdalene Mystique

there’s a peace that passes all human understanding
there’s a hope that offers a hand in the dark
there’s a light that’s shining with grace inside me
and I think it’s riding the wings of my heart

there’s a love that leads me
there’s a love that frees me
there’s a love that heals me when I fall

there’s a peace that passes all human understanding
there’s a love that holds us all

when the world seems shattered and faith unraveled
when the ground is shaking and lives torn apart
there’s a light still shining with grace inside me
and I know it’s riding the wings of my heart

there’s a love that leads me
there’s a love that frees me
there’s a love that heals me when I fall

there’s a peace that passes all human understanding
there’s a love that holds us all

2008-05-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday 3-30-08

2008-05-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

A Reading from Genesis 1:1-5, Tanakh

When God began to create heaven and earth--the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind (spirit) from God sweeping over the water--God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. god called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day

.CALL TO SILENCE AND OPENING MEDITATION
A Reading from the Gospel of Philip 53:14-23, NHL

Light and darkness, life and death, right and left, are brothers of one another. They are inseparable.Because of this neither are the good good, nor the evil evil; nor is life life, nor death death.For this reason each will dissolve into its original nature. But those who are exalted above the world are indissoluble, eternal.
(from An Uncommon Lectionary by John B. Butcher, pg 81, 2002)

Ode 8: 1-12 (read responsively)
Open your hearts to the exultation of the Lord And flow your love from your heart to your lips in a holy life. Carry fruit to the Lord. Talk and look in his light.Stand up with your shoulders back, You who sank low.Your who were silent, speak, Your mouth has been opened.You were despised. Now feel uplifted. Your goodness is high.The right hand of the Lord is with you. The Lord will help you.[Christ begins speaking ]"Hear the Word of truth Drink knowledge I offer from the Most High. Your flesh cannot know what I say to you, Nor your garments what I show you.Keep my Mystery. It keeps you. Keep my faith. It keeps you.Know my knowledge, you who know me in truth. Love me tenderly, you who love.I do not turn my face from my own.. I know them."
(from An Uncommon Lectionary by John B. Butcher, pg 81-2, 2002)

A Reading from Julian of Norwich

All shall be well, And all shall be well, And all manner of things Shall be well.

(as quoted in The Seeker's Guide, by Elizabeth Lesser, pg. 387, 1999)

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary, pages VIII (11-24) and IX (1-20)

...The Blessed One ... greeted them all saying, 'Peace be with you-- may my Peace arise and be fulfilled within you! "Be vigilant, and allow no one to mislead you by saying, 'Here it is!' or "There it is!'"For it is within you that the Son of Man dwells. Go to him, for those who seek him, will find him.""Walk forth, and announce the gospel of the Kingdom. Impose no law other than that which I have witnessed."Do not add more laws to those given in the Torah, lest you become bound by them."Having said all this, he departed.The disciples were in sorrow, shedding many tears, and saying: "How are we going to go among the unbelievers and announce the gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man?"They did not spare his life, so why should they spare ours?" Then Mary arose, embraced them all and began to speak to her brothers:. "Do not remain in sorrow and doubt, for his Grace will guide you and comfort you. Instead let us praise his greatness, for he has prepared us for this. He is calling upon us to become fully human." Thus Mary turned their hearts toward the Good, and they began to discuss the meaning of the Teacher's words.
(from The Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Jean-Yves Leloup, pg. 27-9, 2002)

CALL TO CONVERSATION

CLOSING PRAYER AND MEDITATION (in unison)

Dear Divine One:May there come over the earth a great and glorious light. May we remember Heaven.May all who suffer feel pain no more.May sorrow depart, may disease end, may war stop, may doubts cease, and all hearts gladden.May we remember Heaven.May every child and every man and every woman now, this instant, feel sure release from the bondage of their past. Amen

(Adapted from Illuminated Prayers by Marianne Williamson, 1997)

Sunday, February 21, 2008

2008-05-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation
Song Hiney Mah Tov u-Mah Nayim Shevet Achim Gam Yachad (How good and lovely it is for us to be together as brothers and sisters.)

Reader:
Before the gate has been closed,
Before the last question is posed,
Before I am transposed.
Before the weeds fill the gardens,
Before there are no pardons,
Before the concrete hardens.
Before all the flute-holes are covered,
Before things are locked in the cupboard,
Before the rules are discovered.
Before the conclusion is planned,
Before the closing of God’s hand,
Before we have nowhere to stand.
Bless us with peace.

Reader:
Grant peace, goodness and blessing, grace, kindness and mercy,
to us and to all Your people Israel, and to all who dwell on earth.
Bless us, our Creator, all of us together
through the light of Your Presence.

Truly through the light of Your Presence, Adonai our God,
You gave us a Torah of life—
the love of kindness, justice and blessing, mercy, life, and peace.

May You see fit to bless your people Israel
at all times, at every hour, with Your peace.

Praised are You, God, who blesses Your people with peace.

Song (“Sim Shalom,” by Julie Silver, text Jewish Liturgy):

Sim shalom, tovah, uv’racha, sim shalom, tovah uv’racha. (2x)
Chein va-chesed, chein va-chesed v’rachamim (2x) v’rachamim

Sim shalom, tovah, uv’racha, Sim shalom, tovah uv’racha. (2x)
Aleinu v’al kol Yisrael, Yisrael amecha, v’al kol yosh-vei tevel

Sim shalom, tovah, uv’racha, Sim shalom, tovah uv’racha. (2x)

(Grant peace and happiness, blessing and mercy, to all Israel, your people, and to all who dwell on earth.)

SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT
Two or more Readers:

Words there are and prayers, but justice there is not, nor yet peace.

The prophet said:
In the end of days, God shall judge between the nations;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruninghooks.

Although we must wait for judgment,
we may not wait for peace to fall like rain upon us.

The teacher said:
Those who have made peace in their house,
It is as though they have brought peace to all the world.

Peace will remain a distant vision until we do the work of peace ourselves.
If peace is to be brought into the world,
we must bring it first to our families and communities.

The psalmist said: See peace and pursue it.

Be not content to make peace only in your own household;
Go forth and work for peace wherever men and women are struggling in its cause.
Reader:
God gave us
the power of speech, that magic gift
by which each soul, unique and separate,
yet shares its life with others.
Though each individual,
unaided and alone, is weak and helpless,
God’s gift of love brings us strength:
Not by might nor by power,
but by God’s spirit—
the thirst for knowledge,
the urge to create,
the passion for justice,
the will to give love and loyalty.
Sometimes we have lived at peace with one another,
but all too often we are deaf
to the divine wisdom within us,
preferring the law of the jungle,
preferring war to peace,
preferring evil to good.

Reader:
May we find peace with those we love,
growing together over time.

May we be at peace with ourselves
And with the labors that fill our days.

May we fashion peace in our world
With wisdom and gentle patience.

Song: (“Shalom Rav,” music by J. Klepper and D. Freelander, text Jewish liturgy)

Shalom rav al Yisrael am-cha tasim l’olam. (2x)
Ki Atah hu Melech Adon l’chol ha-shalom. 2x)
Shalom rav al Yisrael am-cha tasim l’olam. (2x)
V’tov b’einecha l’vareich et amcha Yisrael,
B’chol eit u-v’chol sha-ah bishlomecha.
Shalom rav al Yisrael am-cha tasim l’olam. (2x)

(O grant abundant peace to Your people forever, for You are the Sovereign of peace. May it please You to bless us and to bless all Your people with Your peace at all times and at all hours.)

Reader:
Let there be love and understanding among us. Let peace and friendship be our shelter from life’s storms. May God help us to walk with good companions, to live with hope in our hearts and eternity in our thoughts, that we may lie down in peace and rise up wanting to do God’s will.

Reader:
Give me no gift of weapons
nor feelings of victory.
I want no triumph.
Let me fight, but lose!

Give me heroic stubbornness in love,
unending heart,
to give friendship without measure,
to forgive without end.

Only grant me strong bright senses
to bring happiness, to help, to hear the needs
of even a pulse-beat,
the call of any person.

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary

(INSERT)

******
Song: (“Oseh Shalom,” music by Nurit Hirsch, text: Jewish liturgy.)

Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya-aseh shalom aleinu v’al kol Yisrael, v’im’ru Amen.
Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya-aseh shalom aleinu v’al kol yoshvei teiveil, v’im’ru Amen.
(May the One who causes peace to reign in the high heavens make peace for us, all Israel and all who inhabit the earth.)

Call to Conversation: (World poetry on peace)
“LET PEACE PREVAIL IN THIS WORLD” Ravi Sathasivam/Sri Lanka
When you look for peace
then the peace lies within you.
When you search for peace
then it is not hard to find.
When you want to keep peace alive
then you allow white doves to fly over you.
When you make peace with others
then the whole world lives in your heart.
When you let peace be in the world
then you live in a wonderful world.
When you allow peace to flow around the world
then your hateness will go and love will flow.
When you open the door for peace
then peace is welcome to your lives.
Let the peace prevail in our wonderful world.

“ALL TORAH’S PATHS ARE PATHS OF PEACE—PRAYER REFLECTION” Lewis Eron
True peace cannot be found on a one-way street.
It’s a bit more real on single-line rail tracks
If there are turn-asides to let trains pass.
Four-way intersections train us to take turns.
Stop signs and traffic lights and turning lanes and rest stops promote real peace.
Good rules and good feelings and a little sense
Make for safe driving.
But true peace can only be found when traffic moves smoothly
Through a crowded city,
Or quickly down an eight-lane freeway.
No grid jams, no fender benders, no blasting of horns
Granting the right of way, being alert, forgiving others,
Both hands on the wheel and not riding the brakes
Moving together, not bumping each other on our different journeys
To the same final goal.
That’s peace.
That’s coming home.

“IF THERE IS TO BE PEACE” Lao-Tse

If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

CLOSING SONG:
YIH’YEH SHALOM (There will be Peace) (by Rick Recht)

1) When we hear one another there will be peace in the world.
When we understand one another there will be peace in the world.
When we love one another there will be peace in the world.

Yih’yeh shalom, yih’yeh shalom ba-olam.
Yih’yeh shalom, yih’yeh shalom.

2) When we believe one another there will be peace in the world.
When we learn from one another there will be peace in the world.
When we work with one another there will be peace in the world. (CHORUS)

3) When we believe that peace will come, we can see the beauty in everyone
When we believe that peace can be, we are children of one family. (CHORUS)

Sunday, February 17, 2008

2008-05-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

Opening Monologue

The story goes that, after his enlightenment, Siddhartha Gautama-the historical Buddhawas walking down the road when he met a fellow traveler. The other man perceived a great radiance emanating from Siddhartha, so instead of asking,
“Who are you,” he asked, “Are you a god or a divine being? “No,” answered the Buddha. “Are you a shaman or a sorcerer?” “No,” answered the Buddha. “Are you a man?”
Again the Buddha answered, “No.” “Well, then,” the man said. “what are you?” The Buddha answered, “I am awake.” And, indeed, this is what “Buddha” means: one who is awakened.

Jesus told his followers that the answer was within themselves: “If those who lead you say the Kingdom of heaven is in the sky, then the birds of the sky will get there before
you do. If they say it is in the sea, then the fish will beat you there. Rather, the kingdom is within you… Every teaching, every word - no matter how profound - is only a guidepost along the way. Every seeker is a pilgrim, and every pilgrim travels alone.

If the words of certain teachers move us, and if we were to examine our thoughts while reading them, what often strikes us most is not that these teachers are telling us something new, but that they are reminding us of something we already knew but, perhaps, had forgotten! It is as if we had always known these truths at some deep level, so we respond with, “Aha!” “Yes, of course! I knew that all along!” These teachers
reveal the truth that has always been within us.

The Words of the Teachers

Jesus

The Kingdom is not coming with signs to be observed. The Kingdom of God is within you.
-The Gospel of Luke
Krishna

Those who seek oneness ceaselessly find the Lord
dwelling in their own hearts.
-The Bagavad Gita

Buddha

To begin the journey in the Way…First, set yourself straight. You are the only Master.
-The Dhhammapada

Lao Tsu

The Way is empty, yet contains all. Words cannot describe it. Better that one should look for it within.
-The Tao Te Ching

Second Monologue

The Way spoken of by the world’s great teachers is not one single path, yet all paths lead to the same destination. Traveled by the pilgrim, the Way is the path to Life. It is the quest for our own personal holy grail. The Way stretches out before us, endless. It leads beyond the horizon, yet it begins with a single step.

Once the Way is chosen, there is no turning back. We may stop and rest awhile. We may tarry here and there for as long as necessary. We may even fall asleep by the side of the road. But we will eventually awaken no matter how long we sleep. Then, recognizing that the day’s shadows are falling long across the path, we stir ourselves, cinch up our belts, and continue on.

The Words of the Teachers

Jesus

I am the way, the truth, and the life.
- The Gospel of John

Krishna

Many are the paths of men, though all those paths end in Me for those who love Me.
- The Bagavad Gita

Jesus

I am a beacon to those who see Me. I am a mirror to those who look at Me. I am a door to those who knock on Me. I am a Way to you the traveler.
- The Hymn of Jesus from the Acts of John

Krishna

I am the Way, and the Master who watches in silence – your friend, your shelter, your dwelling of peace. I am the beginning and the end of all things – the seed of eternity, and the treasure supreme.
- The Bagavad Gita

Buddha

The most supreme among humanity are those who have eyes to see. This is the Way, and there is no other that leads to purifying the intellect. Take that path!
- The Dhammapada

Lao Tzu

When the wise man hears of the Way, he works hard to apply it. When the mediocre person hears of it, he keeps it then loses it. But when the ignorant hear of it, they laugh. If they did not laugh, it would not be the Way.
- The Tao Te Ching

Jesus

The kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say: “Here it is” or “There it is!” Because the kingdom is within you.
- The Gospel of Luke

Buddha

The Way is not in the sky. The Way is in the heart.
- The Buddha

All readings and sayings are from Richard Hooper, ed. Jesus Buddha Krishna Lao Tzu:
The Parallel Sayings (Sedona, AZ: Sanctuary Publications, 2007)

A reading from the Gospel of Mary (trans. Karen King)

When the Blessed One had said these things, he greeted them all. “Peace be with you!” he said. “Acquire my peace within yourselves! “Be on your guard so that no one deceives you by saying, ‘Look over here!’ or ‘Look over there!’ For the child of true Humanity exists within you. Follow it! Those who search for it will find it.

Call to Conversation

Sunday, February 10, 2008

2008-05-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

Opening Music

In the Beginning

"In the beginning was the word…and the word was…God”

word…logos…light of the world…creative force…living presence…ordering principle…underlying harmonic pattern of creation…universal vibration…sound?

Is everything connected by the threads of sound
Intertwining interweaving here and now?

Is every cell and every pulse
Every heart in each of us

Vibrantly connected by the waves of sound?

Is everything connected in the here and now
Intertwining interweaving threads of sound?

Is every breath and every thought
Every found and every lost

Perfectly connected by the light of sound?

Is everything connected some way some how
Intertwining interweaving here and now?

Is every spark and every beam
All the dark and all the dreams

Vividly connected by the ways of sound?

Is everything connected in the here and now
Intertwining interweaving lost and found

Is every tear and every being
Every single living thing

Harmonically connected by the God of sound?

“In the beginning was the word…and the word was…God”

word…logos…light of the world…creative force…living presence…ordering principle…underlying harmonic pattern of creation…universal vibration…sound?

Anita Kruse © 2005

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

O God of Life and Creation,
Hear our Prayers of Silence, Sound, and Word.
And We Continue to Pray:
For the Peace of the World
And a Spirit of Respect Among All Nations
That our Divisions May Cease
That We All May Be One
That We All May Be One
That We All May Be One. Amen.

Readings

A Reading from The Wall Street Journal, Friday, February 8, 2008

Mitt Romney's campaign for the presidency brought more attention to the Mormon Church than it has had in years. What the church discovered was not heartening.

Critics of its doctrines and culture launched frequent public attacks. Polling data showed that far more Americans say they'd never vote for a Mormon than those who admitted they wouldn't choose a woman or an African-American.

A Wall Street Journal/N C News poll in late January revealed that 50% of Americans said they would have reservations or be “very uncomfortable about a Mormon as president. That same poll found that 81% would be “enthusiastic” or “comfortable” with an African-American and 76% with a woman.”

The Mormon religion “was the silent factor in a lot of the decision making by evangelicals and others,” says Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducted the poll. The Romney campaign ran into a “religious bias head wind,” Mr. Hart and his Republican polling partner, Bill McInurff, wrote late last month.

A Reading from Luke 10:29-37

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”

He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.”

And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

A Reading From the “New Testament of the Tao Te Ching”

“Love your neighbor as yourself,” said the Way.

Through love of neighbor do we enter into love of the Way:
For our neighbor is the image of the Way;
And thus the Way accepts what we do for our neighbor as if it were done for Him[Her].

When this realization is kept constantly in mind,
It become the source of the purest love for our neighbor.

“And who is my neighbor?” the Way was asked.
Our neighbor is whomever the Way puts before us:
Insider or outcast,
Faithful or unfaithful,
Friend or foe,
Help or burden,
Encourager or reviler,
Rescuer or murderer.
Therefore, said the Ancient Sage,
“Even if people be bad, why should they be rejected?
The holy man takes care of all people,
And in consequence there is no rejected person.”

Love for neighbor, then, is love for all equally,
And equally with ourselves.
Perfect love is the summit of detachment;
It knows no distinction between one's own and another's,
Between male and female,
Between black and white.
Such single, simple love has a single cause:
The Way Who is honored and loved in every neighbor.

Through love of neighbor do we enter into love of the Way:
And as the former grows in us, so does the latter,
Until at last the Way is all in all,
And we forget ourselves.
Then love becomes a depth of illumination,
A fountain of fire inflaming the thirsty soul.
Growth is added to growth.
Love is the progression of eternity.

Hieromonk Damascene's Christ The Eternal Tao (Valaam Books, 2004) 174-175

Call to Conversation

upcoming services

2008-04-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

Beloved Community,

April 20 -- Labyrinth Walk at University of St. Thomas, weather permitting (it's supposed to be nice). Attached is a map showing the location of the Labyrinth in relation to the Rothko. We will meet at the Rothko at 10:00 a.m. and walk over, or you can meet us there around 10:15. If you don't think you'd be interested in walking the labyrinth, according to what I've read and experienced, watching others walk can be a rewarding experience, too. I will have the same information that I gave you when we walked in November.

April 27 -- Passover service with Cyd Baron

May 4 -- "Exploring Belonging" with Ann Bugh

Sunday, April 6, 2008

2008-04-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

Opening Meditation

Will we ever know who s/he is? And can we ever feel what was done to her/him? Can we feel it in a way that goes deeper than guilt? We can begin by looking more closely, albeit from outside, at the culture of the American Indian.

Inevitably, the first thing that strikes us is the American Indian's relationship to nature. We know now that there was nothing "primitive" about it; we are beginning to be aware of the subtlety and sophistication of American Indian religion, its symbolism, ritual and mythology which altogether embody a vision of the universal world as profound as anything offered by the Judeo-Christian tradition. And, with this awareness, we are all the more struck by the fact that this religion is immersed in the realities of the nature world. For us in modern society it is only in special moments that we directly sense meaning in nature. Experientially and psychologically, nature, virgin nature, is only part of our world. For the Indian, nature is the world. How is it that a people who lived directly in nature also exhibited extraordinary qualities of wisdom, generosity and deep social intelligence? ...We do not understand the Indian's relationship to nature, perhaps because - even with all the knowledge that science brings us - we simply do not understand nature itself. Perhaps it is from the Indian that we can confront the fact that we do not understand the earth - and what the earth really needs from us.

Readings from Jacob Needleman: "The Culture of the American Indian"

Off all the features that characterize the Indian's vision of nature and reality, perhaps none is more mysterious and frequently overlooked or set apart than the emphasis he puts on what we translate by the word "peace."

Speaking from my own past experience, which I am sure is quite common, I was never able to grasp the importance of that word, neither as a boy enthralled by the Indian's way of living, nor as I grew older and became a student of philosophy and the world's religions. I remember looking at pictures of Indians: the dark, stone-strong face of a chief or warrior, his body dynamic and still, his costume intricately and mystically wild, his eyes direct and unwavering. This is a man: why should he desire "peace"? Surely, it was power that he represented, the power of the storm and sky; and wisdom, the secrets of the animal and the forest; and freedom - from all the social artifice; and solitude, his mysterious capacity to be with himself and with the powers of the wild; and courage, his capacity to withstand pain and suffering; and silent force, the power to move through nature without making a mark, to disappear into the forest beyond all the discovery; and cunning, and fighting skill and physical prowess that could often defeat the heavy-handed genius of the white man. What could "peace" mean to such a man?

For many of us, the world "peace" evokes something static or dull, or some fantasy of endless pleasure or rest or safety. On a societal scale, it often means nothing more than political conditions that permit the unhindered pursuit of material good and psychological satisfaction, which are certainly normal human goals when understood in a normal way. But in the conditions of the modern world these goals are not understood clearly at all. They are taken as ends in themselves, as the main source of human well-being. The condition of our lives in the modern world shows us that this perception is illusory. When an individual or a community or a nation stakes personal gain of one sort or another as the basis of value, the end result is despair. Such is the teaching of the ancient wisdom: man [the human] is built to serve, consciously serve a purpose beyond himself, greater, higher than himself. It is not a question of morality in its conventional sense; it is actually or precise to call it a question of our physiology, our very neurological makeup: man [the human] is built to serve. Our well-being and our happiness depend on our capacity to become conscious individuals who are at the same time conscious instruments of a greater universal purpose.

Seen from this point of view, our usual conceptions of peace appear puerile, and what we call peace has very little relation to what was so valued under the name by the American Indian. For the Indian peace is hugely dynamic and includes all the forces of life - in nature and in man [the human]. It includes, it does not exclude, what we often call "evil"; it includes, it does not exclude, struggle, suffering and sorrow; it includes the whole range of error and foolishness; it includes passion, tenderness, but also anger and defeat. And paradoxically enough, it includes even war - a certain kind and with a certain intent.

But what is it that includes all these things, and whatever it is, why call it peace? The answer to t his question will help us see m ore clearly an essential aspect of the American Indian culture and will help us see what our nations killed when it killed the culture of the American Indian. We may perhaps feel guilt - even unbearable guilt - when we contemplate the death and destruction that were brought upon the Indian. But something in us that is deeper than guilt may be touched when we try to understand more completely what and who the American Indian was.

For the American Indian - and this idea lies at the hidden root of every great spiritual teaching of the world - to be at peace means to be at peace with one's conscience. And to be at peace within the community or to live in peace with other nations is to submit to a rule of law that is the communal expression of conscience and that provides conditions within which an individual is free to listen for that voice within himself. The establishment of such conditions, the establishment of such law, requires an intelligence of a very high order - what is called "the intelligence of the heart." And to find such intelligence requires, in turn an effort of exceptional people working together to respect each individuals fragment of truth until an objective, all-inclusive truth descends into the community from "above", that is, from the Great Spirit. Such an objective moral truth may be linked with the word "justice"...

The question is...How to think and live according to conscience, which is the voice of the universe within each man or woman? How to think and live in a manner that allows a relationship between the greatness of the cosmos and the need of the earth and all that lives and happens on earth? It is the ancient and eternal question of man [the human] as the bridge between heaven and earth, between levels of being in the universe--man [the human], the being of two worlds, two natures, two directions. Man [the human] the contradiction and man [the human] the reconciliation. The religion and culture of the American Indian rests on this perennial concept of the meaning of human life on earth. To live at peace is to embrace life in all its aspects, all "four directions", all the winds' all the creatures outside and within. This is the basis of peace and the basis of the Indian's understanding of justice in nature and society...it was this understanding of justice and its necessary expression in human life that brought forward the great law of the Iroquois nations, which many observers now see in certain key respects as markedly similar to the American Constitution. Could it be that just as our sense of the land and nature is bone deep in us because of the Indian, so equally is our sense of freedom and justice, which we rightly think of as intrinsically American? What is going on here? What did we destroy when we destroyed the Indian? And who are we that destroyed it? To what extend did the Indian form our nature deep down even as we destroyed his culture?

The opposite of this sense of peace and justice is that which divides and separates parts of reality and keeps these parts away from each other. Morality becomes "moralism" when it imposes a sense of good and evil that diminishes the interconnectedness of life.

Call to Conversation

Closing Meditation

"Attachment to matter gives rise to passion against nature. Thus trouble arises in the whole body; This is why I tell you 'Be in harmony...'If you are out of balance, take inspiration from manifestations of your true nature. Those who have ears, let them hear."

After saying this, the Blessed One greeted them all, saying: "Peace be with you-may my Peace arise and be fulfilled within you! Be vigilant and allow no one to mislead you by saying: "Here it is!" or "There it is! For it is within you that the Son of Man dwells. Go to him, for those who seek him, find him."

We ask for your thoughts/comments to continue our Sunday conversation. THank you.

Sunday, March 23,2008

2008-03-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

Opening Music – “Spring,” Allegro 1, from The Four Seasons. Vivaldi. (Northsound, NorthWord Press, 1996)

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

The Spring Equinox has been celebrated by cultures and religions since antiquity. For the ancient Saxons, Eostre was the Germanic lunar goddess, Ostara. Her feast day was held on the full moon following the vernal equinox – almost the identical calculation as for the Christian Easter in the west. The Venerable Bede (672-735 CE), a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (or Eastre). Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 20, the nominal date of the Spring Equinox. All of these Spring festivals celebrate rebirth and renewal. One of the most widespread symbols of renewal is the egg. In Mexico and the Southwestern United States, cascarones, confetti-filled eggs, are typically used during Easter as well as other special occasions. Having a cascaron broken (gently) over your head is said to bring good luck. There is even a legend concerning Mary Magdalene which says that she was a woman of some wealth and social status. Following Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, she used her position to gain an invitation to a banquet given by Emperor Tiberius Caesar. When she met him, she held a plain egg in her hand and exclaimed “Christ is risen!” Caesar laughed, and said that Christ rising from the dead was as likely as the egg in her hand turning red while she held it. Before he finished speaking, the egg in her hand turned a bright red, and she continued proclaiming the Gospel to the entire imperial house. Today, many Eastern Orthodox Christians end the Easter service by sharing bright red eggs and proclaiming to each other, “Christ is risen!” The Christian celebration of Christ’s resurrection is synonymous with rebirth, rejuvenation, and renewal.

(Various sources)

Readings on Spring and Renewal

A Reading from Spring – Concerto in E Major , Vivaldi

Allegro
Springtime is upon us.
The birds celebrate her return with festive song,
and murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes.
Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring, roar, casting their dark mantle over heaven,
Then they die away to silence, and the birds take up their charming songs once more.

Largo
On the flower-strewn meadow, with leafy branches rustling overhead, the goat-herd sleeps, his faithful dog beside him.

Allegro
Led by the festive sound of rustic bagpipes, nymphs and shepherds lightly dance beneath the brilliant canopy of spring.

(http://www.baroque-music-club.com/vivaldiseasons.html)

A Reading from Robert Frost, “ A Prayer in Spring”

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

(http://www.shortpoems.org/poem/2008/03/11/a-prayer-in-spring-robert-frost/)

A Reading from the Tanakh, Job 14:1-2, 7014a (from An Uncommon Lectionary, John Beverly Butcher, pg. 75)

A mortal, born of woman is short-lived and sated with trouble,
blossoms like a flower and withers,
vanishes like a shadow and does not endure . . .
There is hope for a tree;
If it is cut down, it will renew itself;
Its shoots will not cease.
If its roots are old in the earth,
And its stump dies in the ground,
At the scent of water it will bud
And produce branches like a sapling.
But mortals languish and die;
Humans expire; where are they?
The eaters of the sea fail,
And the river dries up and is parched.
So mortals lie down never to rise;
they will awake only when the heavens are no more,
Only then be aroused from sleep.
O that you would hide me in Sheol,*
conceal me until Your anger passes,
Set me a fixed time to attend to me.
If a person dies, can that person live again?

*(Sheol [pronounced “Sheh-ole”] in Hebrew is the “abode of the dead”)

A Reading from The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran, “On Death”

Then Almitra spoke, saying, We would ask now of Death.
And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart drams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose
hand is to be laid upon him in honor.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of this trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may
rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountaintop, than you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

A Reading from Sri Chinmoy, “My Secret and Sacred Bird”

My secret and sacred bird now flies
To meet the Spirit's vacancy.
All chaos of life today dissolved;
In me a surge of ecstasy.
Gold flames within my longing heart
Invoke the cosmos’ Parent-Sun.
A tapestry of Truth unseen
Bursts forth within; the Play is begun.

(http://www.poetseers.org/the_poetseers/sri_chinmoy/index_html)

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary

. . . Will matter then be destroyed or not?

The Savior said, All nature, all formations, all creatures exist in and with one another, and they will be resolved again into their own roots. For the nature of matter is resolved into the roots of its own nature alone. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Peter said to him, Since you have explained everything to us, tell us this also: What is the sin of the world?

The Savior said There is no sin, but it is you who make sin when you do the things that are like the nature of adultery, which is called sin. That is why the Good came into your midst, to the essence of every nature in order to restore it to its root. Then He continued and said, That is why you become sick and die, for you are deprived of the one who can heal you. He who has a mind to understand, let him understand.

Matter gave birth to a passion that has no equal, which proceeded from something contrary to nature. Then there arises a disturbance in its whole body. That is why I said to you, Be of good courage, and if you are discouraged be encouraged in the presence of the different forms of nature. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

When the Blessed One had said this, He greeted them all, saying, Peace be with you. Receive my peace unto yourselves. Beware that no one lead you astray saying Lo here or lo there! For the Son of Man is within you. Follow after Him! Those who seek Him will find Him. Go then and preach the gospel of the Kingdom. Do not lay down any rules beyond what I appointed you, and do not give a law like the lawgiver lest you be constrained by it. When He said this He departed.

(http://www.gnosis.org/library/marygosp.htm)

Call to Conversation

Closing Meditation

There is a delightful legend associated with Eostre. She found an injured bird on the ground one winter. To save its life, she transformed it into a hare. But the transformation was not a complete one. The bird took the appearance of a hare but retained the ability to lay eggs. The hare would decorate these eggs and leave them as gifts to Eostre. With the gift of this egg, may we go forth in peace and hope and renewal.

We ask for your comments/thoughts to continue our Sunday conversation. Thank you.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

2008-03-17T17:49:00.001-07:00

Opening Meditations

What struck me most was the silence. It was a great silence, unlike any I have encountered on earth, so vast and deep that I began to hear my own body; my heart beating, my blood vessels pulsing, even the rustle of my muscles moving over each other seemed audible. There were more stars in the sky than I had expected. The sky was deep black, yet at the same time bright with sunlight. The Earth was small, light blue, and so touchingly alone, our home that must be defended like a holy relic. The Earth was absolutely round. I believe I never knew what the word "round" meant until I saw Earth from space.

Russian Astronaut Aleksie Leonov (quoted in Elizabeth Lesser, The Seeker's Guide)

Beloved Lord, Almighty God!
Through the rays of the sun,
Through the waves of the air,
Through the All-pervading Life in space,
Purify and revivify me, and, I pray,
Heal my body, heart, and soul.

Attributed to Hazrat Inayat Khan, by Elizabeth Lesser in The Seeker's Guide

Readings and Conversation: Psalm 118: 1,24,26

O give thanks to the Lord, for s/he is good;
Her/His steadfast love endures forever!

This is the day which the Lord hath made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord:
We bless you from the house of the Lord.

A Reading from Matthews 21: 1-11

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 'Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, "The Lord needs them." And he will send them immediately.' This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet saying, 'Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, ';Hosanna to the Son of David!'
Blessed is the one who comes int he name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!'
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking,'Who is this?' The crowds were saying, 'This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.'

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary

Then Mary stood up and greeted them; she tenderly kissed them all and said, 'Brothers and sisters, do not weep, do not be distressed nor be in doubt. For his grace will be with you sheltering you. Rather we should praise his greatness, for he has united us and made us true Human Beings.

A quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of prophets. He saw with open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history he estimated the greatness of man[woman]. One man was true to what is in you and me. He saw that God incarnates himself[herself] and evermore goes forth anew to take possession of his[her] World. He said in this jubilee of sublime emotion, "I am divine, Through me, God acts; through me, speaks. Would you see God, see me; or see thee, when thou also thinkest as I now think.

From An Address, The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sunday, March 16, 2008

2008-03-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

Opening Meditations

What struck me most was the silence. It was a great silence, unlike any I have encountered onearth, so vast and deep that I began to hear my own body; my hearat beating, my blood vessels pulsing, even the rustle of my muscles moving over each other seemed audible. There were more stars in the sky than I had expected. The sky was deep black, yet at the same time bright with sunlight. The Earth was small, light blue, and so touchingly aloen, our home that must be defended like a holy relic. The Earth was absolutely round. I believe I never knew whatthe word "round" meant until I saw Earth from space.

Russian Astronaut Aleksie Leonov (quoted i

Sunday, March 9, 2008

2008-03-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

Opening Meditation

Why?

"Why,---what are you?"
"I am the cry of the hungry mind."
"Why,---what do you signify?"
"I am the knocker on a closed door."
"Why,---What do you represent?"
"The owl which cannot see during the day."
"Why,---what is your complaint?"
"The irritation of the mind."
"Why,---what is your life condition?"
"I am shut up in a dark room."
"Why,---how long will your captivity last?"
"All night long."
"Why,---what are you so early waiting for?"
"The day-break."
"Why,---you are yourself the cover over the answer you want."
Hazrat Inayat Kham

Readings and Conversation

A Reading from Ezekiel 37:1-14

1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
2And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and lo, they were very dry.
3And he said unto me, Son of Man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
4.Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and y;e shall know that I am the Lord.
7So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to h is bone.
8 And when I beheld, Lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, Son of man, and say to the wind. Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10 So I prophesied as he commanded m e, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves.
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary

After saying this, the Blessed One greeted them all, saying "Peace be with you-may my Peace arise and be fulfilled within you! Be vigilant, and allow no one to mislead you by saying: "Here it is!" or "There it is!' for it is within you that the Son of Man [child of true humanity] dwells. Go to him, for those who seek him. find him. Walk forth, and announce the gospel of the Kingdom. Impose no law other than that which I have witnessed."

Closing Meditation:

"God is the partner of your most intimate soliloquies"
Victor Frankl

We ask for your comments to continue our Sunday conversation. Thank you.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

2008-03-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

Opening Meditation
Readings and Conversation:
A Reading from Elizabeth A. Johnson in She Who Is (New York: Crossroad,1994)13-14

A hardening of the mind against unwanted wisdom can be called a scotosis and the resulting blind spot a scotoma, in Bernard' Lonegran's pointed terminology. Scotosis results when the intellectual censorship function, which usually operates in a good and constructive manner to select elements to give us insight, goes awry. In aberrant fashion this censorship function works to repress new questions in order to prevent the emergence of unwanted insight. This happens not only to an individual in isolation but more especially to communities as a whole. Within a given community, different clusters of people are implicitly defined by patterns of relationship to each other. Any particular group is prone to have a blind spot for insight that would reveal its well-being to be excessive or founded on distorted assumptions. The powerful tendency of such group bias is to exclude some fruitful ideas and to mutilate others by compromise. Scotosis is present when group interest limits intelligence.

A Reading from His Holiness The Dali Lama, The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living (New York: Riverhead Books.1998),55-56

"Although aggression can occur, I believe that conflicts aren't necessarily because of human nature but rather a result of the human intellect---unbalanced human intelligence, misuse of our intelligence, our imaginative faculty......but it's important to recognize that if human conflicts are created by misuse of human intelligence, we can also utilize our intelligence to find ways and means to overcome these conflicts. When human intelligence and human goodness or affection are used together, all human actions become constructive. When we combine a warm heart with knowledge and education, we can learn to respect other's views and other's rights. This becomes the basis of a spirit of reconciliation that can be used to overcome aggression and resolve our conflicts."

A Reading from John 9

1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 1His disciples asked him. "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. &"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

8His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?
" 9Some claimed that he was.
Others said, "No, he only looks like him." But he himself insisted, "I am the man."

10"How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.

11He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."

12"Where is this man?" they asked him.
"I don't know," he said.

13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. 15Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, " and I washed, and now I see."

16Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others asked,
how can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" Sop they were divided.

17Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened." The man replied, "He is a prophet."

18The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. 19"Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"

20"We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. 21But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is or age; hi will speak for himself." 22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

24A second time they summoned the man who had been blind.
Give glory to God," they said. "we know this man is a sinner."

25He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

26They they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"

27He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"

28Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."

30The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32Nobody has even heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

34To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.

35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

36"Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."

37Jesus said, "You have now seen him; ion fact, he is the one speaking with you."

38Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

39Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

40Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"

41Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin' but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary

Jesus said: "Be in harmony...If you are out of balance, take inspiration from manifestations of your true nature. Those who have ears, let them hear."

Concluding meditation

Sunday, January 20,2008

2008-01-24T15:12:00.000-08:00

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation
Readings
A Reading from Thich Nhat Hahn
Looking For Each Other

I have been looking for you, World Honored One,
since I was a little child.
With my first breath, I heard your call,
and began to look for you, Blessed One.
I've walked so many perilous paths,
confronted so many dangers,
endured despair, fear, hopes, and memories.
I've trekked to the farthest regions, immense and wild,
sailed the vast oceans,
traversed the highest summits, lost among the clouds.
I've lain dead, utterly alone,
on the sands of ancient deserts.
I've held in my heart so many tears of stone.

Blessed One, I've dreamed of drinking dewdrops
that sparkle with the light of far-off galaxies.
I've left footprints on celestial mountains
and screamed from the depths of Avici Hell, exhausted, crazed with despair
because I was so hungry, so thirsty.
For millions of lifetimes,
I've longed to see you,
but didn’t know where to look.
Yet, I’ve always felt your presence with a mysterious certainty.

I know that for thousands of lifetimes,
you and I have been one,
and the distance between us is only a flash of though.
Just yesterday while walking alone,
I saw the old path strewn with Autumn leaves,
and the brilliant moon, hanging over the gate,
suddenly appeared like the image of an old friend.
And all the stars confirmed that you were there!
All night, the rain of compassion continued to fall,
while lightning flashed through my window
and a great storm arose,
as if Earth and Sky were in battle.
Finally in me the rain stopped, the clouds parted.
The moon returned,
shining peacefully, calming Earth and Sky.
Looking into the mirror of the moon, suddenly
I saw myself,
and I saw you smiling, Blessed One.
How strange!

The moon of freedom has returned to me,
everything I thought I had lost.
From that moment on,
and in each moment that followed,
I saw that nothing had gone.
There is nothing that should be restored.
Every flower, every stone, and every leaf recognize me.
Wherever I turn, I see you smiling
the smile of no-birth and no-death.
The smile I received while looking at the mirror of the moon.
I see you sitting there, solid as Mount Meru,
calm as my own breath,
sitting as though no raging fire storm ever occurred,
sitting in complete peace and freedom.
At last I have found you, Blessed One,
and I have found myself.
There I sit.

The deep blue sky,
the snow-capped mountains painted against the horizon,
and the shining red sun sing with joy.
You, Blessed One, are my first love.
The love that is always present, always pure, and freshly new.
I shall never need a love that will be called “last.”
You are the source of well-being flowing through numberless troubled lives,
the water from you spiritual stream always pure, as it was in the beginning.
You are the source of peace,And
solidity, and inner freedom.
You are the Buddha, the Tathagata.
With my one-pointed mind
I vow to nourish your solidity and freedom in myself
so I can offer solidity and freedom to countless others,
now and forever.

http://www.poetseers.org/spiritual_and_devotional_poets/buddhist/thich_nhat__hahn/thichp/looking

A Reading From Christ the Eternal Tao

In modern Western society, many people turn away from the Christianity of their formative years because they find its truths smothered under an unreal kind of religiosity. They see that the people in the churches are not changing and becoming better, but rather are comforting themselves and each other in their unregenerate state. They find that the spirit of the Western churches is, at its core, little different from that of the world around them... these churches have replaced a direct, intuitive apprehension of Reality and a true experience of God with intellectualism on the one hand and emotionalism on the other.

In the first case, Christianity becomes something that is acquired through rote learning, based on the idea that if you just get the words right -- if you just memorize the key Scripture verses, intellectually grasp the concepts and repeat them, know how to act and to speak in the religious dialect of your particular sect --- you will be saved. Christianity then becomes a dry, word-based religion, a legalistic system, as set of ideas and behaviors, and a political institution that operates on the same principles as the institutions of this world. In the second case, the Western churches add the element of emotionalism and enthusiasm in order to add life to your systems, but this becomes just as grossly material as religious legalism. People become hypnotized by their self-induced emotional states, seeing a mirage of spiritual ascent while remaining bound to the material world.

This is not direct perception of Reality; it is not the Ultimate...The only way to get past a merely external apprehension of religious words and concepts is to seek, without compromise and self-pity, the Reality behind them. If our rapidly diminishing Western Christendom has become too jaded by intellectualized or emotionalized religion to see the essence of Christianity, then we must, as it were, start over.

Foreword from Hieromonk Damascene's Christ the Eternal Tao (Valaam Books, 2004) 21-24.

A reading from the Gospel of Mary (trans. Karen King)

“Will matter be utterly destroyed or not?”

The Savior replied, “Every nature, every modeled form, every creature, exits in and with each other. They will dissolve again into their own proper root. For the nature of matter is dissolved into what belongs to its nature. Anyone with two ears able to hear should listen!”

Then Peter said to him, “You have been explaining every topic to us; tell us one other thing. What is the sin of the world?”

The Savior replied, “There is no such thing as sin; rather you yourselves are what produces sin when you act in accordance with the nature of adultery, which is called ‘sin.’ For this reason, the Good came among you, pursuing the good which belongs to every nature. It will set it within its root.”

Then he continued. He said “This is why you get sick and die: because you love what deceives you. Anyone who thinks should consider these matters!”

Matter gave birth to a passion which has no Image because it derives from what is contrary to nature. A disturbing confusion then occurred in the whole body. That is why I told you, ‘Become content at heart, while also remaining discontent and disobedient; indeed become contented and agreeable only in the presence of that other image of nature.’ Anyone with two ears capable of hearing should listen!”

When the Blessed One had said these things, he greeted them all. “Peace be with you!” he said. “Acquire my peace within yourselves! Be on your guard so that no one deceives you by saying, ‘Look over here!’ or ‘Look over there!’ For the child of true Humanity exists within you. Follow it! Those who search for it will find it.

Call to Conversation

2008-01-13T19:30:00.000-08:00

**The study on The Gospel of Mary is meeting once again.
1St & 3rd Thursdays of each month.
12:30pm
Brigit's Place Meeting Room, McGeehee Bldg.
Christ Church Cathedral
Free of Charge
Free parking in garage
We are studying the Secrets of Mary Magdalene by Dan Burstein & Arne J. DeKeijzer, chapter 3.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

2008-01-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

Gathering and Introduction of John Butler

This morning we welcome the Rev. John Beverly Butcher from California. Rev. Butcher is a student of Jesus of Nazareth, Mary of Magdala, and Lao Tsu of China. An Associate Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, Butcher is author of several books, including Telling the Untold Stories and The Tao of Jesus. Butcher is a priest of the Episcopal Diocese of California and a minister of the Pescadero Community Church on the Pacific Coast near San Francisco.

A Reading of Thunder, Perfect Mind
Sophia is communicating with us, inviting us to come into Union with her and experience Perfect Mind.

I was sent forth from the power,and I have come to those who reflect upon me, and I have been found among those who seek after me. Look upon me, you who reflect upon me, and you hearers, hear me.
You who are waiting for me, take me to yourselves. Do not banish me from your sight.
Do not make your voice hate me, nor your hearing. Do not be ignorant of me anywhere or anytime. Be on your guard! Do not be ignorant of me.
(The chanting begins:)
For I am the first and the last.
I am the honored one and the scorned one. I am the whore and the holy one.
I am the wife and the virgin.
I am the mother and the daughter.
I am the barren one and many are my sons. I am she whose wedding is great, and I have not taken a husband. I am the midwife, and I am she who does not bear. I am the solace, and I am the labor pains. I am the bride, and I am the bridegroom. I am begotten by my husband, and I am the mother of my father. I am the sister of my husband,and his my offspring. I am the slave of him who prepared me, and I am the ruler of my offspring. I am the staff of his power in his youth, and he is my rod of my old age.
I amt he Silence that is incomprehensible. I am the Idea whose remembrance is frequent. I am the Voice whose sound is manifold.
I am the Word whose appearance is multiple. I am the Utterance of my name.
For I am knowledge and I am ignorance.
I am shame and I am boldness.
I am shameless and I am ashamed.
I am strength and I am fear.
I am war and I am peace.
I am she who is weak and I am well in a pleasant place. I am senseless and I am wise.
I am the one who has been hated everywhere and I am the one who has been loved everywhere. I am the one whom they call Life, and you have called Death. I am the one whom they call Law and you have called Lawlessness. I am the one whom you have pursued, and I am the one whom you have seized. I am the one whom you have scattered, and you have gathered me together. I am the one before whom you have been ashamed, and you have been shameless to me.
I am she who does not keep festival, and I am she whose festivals are many.
I, I am godless, and I am the one whose God is great.
I am the one whom you have are refected upon, and you have scorned me.
I am unlearned, and you learn from me.
I am the one whom you have despised, and you reflect upon me
I am the one whom you have hidden from, and you appear to me.
I am an alien and I am a citizen.
I am the substance and I am the one who has no substance.
I am control and I am uncontrollable.
I am the union and I am the dissolution.
I am the abiding and I am the dissolving.
I am the below, and they come up to me.
I am the judgment and I am the acquittal.
I am sinless, and the root of sin derives from me.
I am lust in outward appearance, and I am interior self-control.
I am the hearing which is attainable to everyone and I am the speech which cannot be grasped. I am a mute who does not speak, and great is the multitude of my words.
I am she who cries out, and I am cast off upon the face of the earth. I prepare the bread and my mind within.
I am knowledge of my name.
I am the one who cries out, and I am the one who listens.
I am the Name of the Sound, and the Sound of the Name.

The Thunder, Perfect Mind (teaching portions omitted), George W. MacRae translation in the Nag Hammadi Library, third edition.
As to the place and date of coomposition of Thunder, we are left with no positive indications. The mention of Egypt in the text points toward an Egyptian milieu, perhaps Alexandria, but this remains hypothetical...The Greek original of Thunder might have been composed around the end of the second century or the beginning of the third.
Nag Hammadi Scriptures, Marvin Meyer, ed., HarperSan Francisco, 2007,page 370

Seminar Dialogue

Closing Prayer.

How Do You Pray?

Your eyes need to be closed or open
Or closed to go within and open to see with fresh perspective.
Your hands need to be held together or raised high and spread apart,
or simply raise one hand.
In your hands hold prayer beads, a rosary, someone else's hands,
or let your hands be empty.
Be connected
or detached.
Be sure you are standing, kneeling, squatting, touching your head to the floor,
or fully prostrate.
Follow a sequence of postures
or do not move at all.
Make sure you pray aloud
or in deep Silence
Use a language you know or an unknown tongue
or no language at all.
Stay very still
or move in rhythmic dancing.
Make sure you wear a veil or a camp,
or make sure your head in uncovered.
Be sure to wear shoes or sandals
or go barefoot.
Wear ordinary clothing, your Sunday best, special clothing, sacred vestments,
or nothing at all.
Pray when you are alone or with one or two other people.
or in a small group, or a large congregation
Pray in one place or while you are walking, signifying your sacred Journey,
or part of a pilgrimage with thousands of pilgrims.
Take holy food, share a symbolic meal,
or go fasting for awhile.
Pray when you are working, when you are making love,
and when you are doing Nothing at all.
Your mood should be filled with curiosity, thankfulness, and joy
or doubts, questions, penitence, and sorrow, or move beyond all feeling.
Let your praying open up all your senses
or shut them down completely.
Use strict celibacy to concentrate your energies
or release your full sexuality to express your soul.
Pray inside a building rich with symbolism
or one that is starkly plain,
Pray somewhere out in nature
or in the midst of heavy traffic.
Go up to the top of a mountain
or down into a deep canyon
Be out in the open where you can see for a long distance
or enter a cave,
Pray at a river bank or in the water
or into a desert place where there is no water for as far as you can see.
Make sure your body is very clean or covered with ashes.
Immerse yourself in water or in mud.
Follow the prayers in a book,
or let your prayers be on flags waving in the wind.
Pray in an orderly manner,
or spontaneously in your own words.
Pray whenever you have the impulse,
and when praying is the last thing you want to do.
Meditate on a story, a symbol, a mantra,
or empty your mind of all thought.
Make sure you believe there is a God
or that there is no God.
Be a theist, atheist, pantheist, panenetheist, agnostic,
or that the question of God makes no sense to you.
Allow yourself to say that you are uncertain
or resist all definitions of who you are and what you believe.
The point is pray to Something
or to Nothing at all.
Pray during war or during peace.
Pray in sickness and in health.
Pray when you have money or are deeply in debt or are barely breaking even.
Pray when you are very certain of your convictions.
Pray when you think the whole thing is just a bad joke.
Follow any or all of these practices with great care
or come to the conclusion that it is a total sham.
Do whatever it takes for you to know
that the natural state of human beings is Ecstatic Wonder.

John Beverley Butcher, Nov. 2006
inspired by the book Talking to God, Portrait of a World at Prayer, edited by John Battuso, Stone Creek Publications, 2006

We ask for your thoughts/comments to continue our Sunday conversation. Thank you.

NAG HAMMADI'S HIDDEN TREASURES

2008-01-07T16:29:00.000-08:00

Beloved Community,
---This weekend, January 11-13, 2008, John Butcher, Episcopal priest and Associate Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, will be presenting a program about the Nag Hammadi documents. There is a Friday lecture, a Saturday workshop, and on Sunday, he will be with us at the Rothko for conversation. Please see the following link for further information, times, and costs (the Sunday event is free). http://www.brigidsplace.org/events/Hidden-Treasures.asp

--- There will be a major labyrinth event with Lauren Artress February 2-3, 2008. A flyer with all information (including fees) about the event as well as a registration form is attached. Also attached is an application form for an advanced teaching workshop on Sunday, February 3, with Dr. Artress. There is limited enrollment for this workshop. The weekend event will include the feast day celebration of St. Brigid. The feast day celebration is free, however, the lecture, reception, and book signing following the celebration is $20. More information may also be found at the link below: http://www.brigidsplace.org/events/Brigids-Feast-Day-with-Lauren-Artress.asp

--- In order for those who wish to participate in any or all of the Artress events, the Magdalene Community will not be meeting at the Rothko on Sunday, February 3, 2008. Do please join us for this amazing opportunity.

Peace and Love,
Bridgitt --
: bdickey@rice.edu

Sunday, Jan. 6,2008

2008-01-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

Opening Music – Preghiera (Ave Verum) from “Mozartiana” Suite,
Tchaikovsky/Mozart. (Meditation – Classical Relaxation Vol. 4, track 3, Delta Music,
1991)

Readings from Thomas Merton, The Inner Experience (HarperSanFrancisco: 2003)

“The inner self is precisely that self which cannot be tricked or manipulated by anyone... S/He is like a very
shy wild animal that never appears at all whenever an alien presence is at hand, and comes out only when all is perfectly peaceful, in silence, when s/he is untroubled and alone. S/He cannot be lured by anyone or anything, because s/he responds to no lure except that of the divine freedom.”

Music and Meditation – “Open Air”, (Peaceful Playground, Track 4,Incentive Media, 1999)

“There is no special planned technique for discovering and awakening one’s inner self, because the inner self is, first of all, a spontaneity that is nothing if not free. Therefore there is no use in trying to start a definition of the inner self, and then deducing from its essential properties some appropriate and infallible
means of submitting it to control -- as if the essence could give us some clue to that which is vulnerable in it, something we can lay hold of in order to gain power over it... the inner self is not part of our being, like a motor in a car. It is our entire substantial reality itself, on its highest and most personal and most
existential level. It is like life, and it is life: it our spiritual life when it is most alive. It is the life by which everything else in us lives and moves. It is in and through and beyond everything that we are. If it is awakened, it communicates a new life to the intelligence in which it lives, so that it becomes a living awareness of itself: and this awareness is not so much something that we ourselves have, as something that we are. It is a new and indefinable quality of our living being.”

Music and Meditation – “Berceuse”, (25 All Time Favorite Classics, Track 7, Distribution Madacy)

“The inner self is as secret as God... and it evades every concept that tries to seize hold of it with full possession...It is not reached and coaxed forth from hiding by any process under the sun, including meditation. All that we can do with any spiritual disciple is produce within ourselves something of the
silence, the humility, the detachment, the purity of heart, and the indifference which are required if the inner self is to make some shy, unpredictable manifestation of his/her presence.”

Music and Meditation – “The Memory of Trees”, (The Memory of Trees, Track 1, Enya, Warner Records,
1995)

“Nevertheless a certain cultural and spiritual atmosphere favors the secret and spontaneous development of the inner self. The ancient cultural traditions, both of the East and of the West, having a religious and sapiential nature, favored the interior life, indeed transmitted certain common materials in the form of
archetypal symbols, liturgical notes, art, poetry, philosophy, and myth which nourished the inner self from childhood to maturity. In such a cultural setting no one needs to be self-conscious about this interior life, and subjectivity does not run the risk of being deviated into morbidity and excess. Unfortunately such a cultural setting no longer exists in the West or is no longer common property. It is something that has to be laboriously recovered by an educated and enlightened minority.”

Music and Meditation – “A World Within”, (The Magdalene Mystique: Songs From Within, Track 2, Anita
Kruse, Church Publishing, 2006)

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary

This is why I tell you “Be in harmony. . .’ If you are out of balance, take inspiration from manifestations of your true nature. Those who have ears, let them hear.”
After saying this, the Blessed One greeted them all, saying: “Peace be with you-may my Peace arise and be fulfilled within you! Be vigilant, and allow no one to mislead you by saying: ‘Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For it is within you that the Son of Man dwells. Go to him, for those who seek him, find him.”

Call to Conversation

Closing Music “Tales from the Vienna Woods”, (25 All Time Favorite Classics, Track 5,
Distribution Madacy)

2008-01-04T08:21:00.001-08:00

The Magdalen Community is a connective community seeking conversation and dialogue with other spirituality's and religious traditions. This Community takes its inspiration from The Gospel of Mary, where Jesus encourages the assembled community to find the divine nature within.

Sunday, Dec. 30, 2007

2008-01-04T08:14:00.000-08:00

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

“How shall I grasp it? Do not grasp it. That which remains when there is no more grasping is the Self.”

---Panchandasi, from Richard Hooper, ed. Jesus Buddha Krishna Lao Tzu: The Parallel Sayings (Sedona, AZ: Sanctuary Publications, 2007)

Introductory Reading

When most of us use the word, “self,” we are usually referring to our ego identity---that persona, or mask, we wear to maintain our illusion of individuality. This small self includes our subconscious mind, our intuitive mind, and virtually everything else our brains produce that make us believe that we are separate and apart from every other thing in the Universe.

Krishna, Plato and Jesus, however, meant something entirely different when they used this word “self.” Self, to them refers to what lies beneath individuality. This Self is the core essence of what (not who) we really are: God, the Tao, Universal Mind. Self is what remains when the little self dies. Self is what discover when we are “born again.” Self is what appears when we cleanse our windows of perception. Self is what we recognize when we “wake up.” Self, really, is all that exists.

---from Richard Hooper, ed. Jesus Buddha Krishna Lao Tzu: The Parallel Sayings (Sedona, AZ: Sanctuary Publications, 2007)

Readings

Jesus: He who sees himself only on the outside, not within, becomes small and makes others small.
---Gospel of Mani

Krishna: The Self is hidden in all beings, but it is manifest only to those who have the intuitive ability to recognize it.
---The Upanishads

Lao Tzu: Some see the Self as wondrous. Others speak of it as marvelous. Others hear it and wonder. Still others hear it, but do not understand it at all.
---The Tao Te Ching

Buddha: He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.
---The Buddha

Jesus: You recognized Spirit, and became Spirit. You saw Christ, and became Christ. You saw the Father, and you became the Father. And yet, if you do not recognize these things as your Self, you will not become what you see. But if you recognize your Self, that which you see you will become.
---The Gospel of Philip

Lao Tzu: He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.
---The Tao Te Ching

Jesus: That which you have will save you, if you bring it forth from within yourself. That which you do not have within you will kill you, if you do not recognize it within you.
---The Gospel of Thomas

Krishna: When one sees all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings, he hates no one.
---Isha Upanishad

Lao Tzu: The man of Tao remains unknown. In perfect virtue he produces nothing. “No Self” is “true self.” And the greatest man is Nobody.
---Chuang Tzu

Jesus: I Am that which cannot be measured or known, but I reveal Myself as I wish . . . I am the All, since I exist in everyone.
---Trimorphic Protennoia

(Readings above from Richard Hooper, ed. Jesus Buddha Krishna Lao Tzu: The Parallel Sayings)

A reading from the Gospel of Mary (trans. Karen King)

When the Blessed One had said these things, he greeted them all. "Peace be with you!" he said. "Acquire my peace within yourselves! "Be on your guard so that no one deceives you by saying, 'Look over here!' or 'Look over there!' For the child of true Humanity exists within you. Follow it! Those who search for it will find it.

Call to Conversation

Closing Reading

But what precipitates the ego’s disappearance? What causes the thinking mind to cease its thinking? Lao Tzu might say that any attempt to answer such questions would require too much activity of the discriminating mind. Better to just shrug one’s shoulders and laugh.

---from Richard Hooper, ed. Jesus Buddha Krishna Lao Tzu: The Parallel Sayings (Sedona, AZ: Sanctuary Publications, 2007)

This service is offered in Thanksgiving for the love and prayers of Sr. Phyllis Horne, C.S.J.

Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007

2008-01-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

Music: “Winter Bourne,” A Winter’s Solstice IV, Windham Hill Artists, 1994 (track 4)

Readings

The History of Yule

Most cultures celebrate winter holidays, whether they are called Christmas, Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Ta Chiu, Winter Solstice, or Yule. It is a time for reflection, resolution, and renewal. Each tradition has rituals to celebrate the balance of light and dark and the welcoming of the healing powers of warmth back into the world.

The winter holidays originated four thousand years ago in Egypt with the celebration of the rebirth of the sun god Horus. The Babylonians took up the festival, celebrating their own Creator/Sun God, Morduck. Next the Persians, then the Greeks began celebrating the rebirth of the sun. Finally, the Romans began honoring Saturn, the god of agriculture, fairness and peaceable living. Saturn was honored until the Sun regained power in the sky and Jupiter defeated Saturn. Celebrations of winter festivals spread throughout Europe.

With the rise of Christianity came the problem of converting the “pagans.” Churches were built on pagan worship sites; pagan symbols were incorporated into church decoration; and gods and goddesses were slightly renamed and made into saints. Many pagans still resisted. A large part of the pagan belief system was the birth-death-rebirth cycle, an element that was missing from Christianity, which concentrated on the death and rebirth of Jesus.

In order to truly convert the Pagans, a Mother Goddess needed to be adopted. Thus, Mary, Jesus’ mother, became “the Mother of God” and the “Queen of Heaven,” linking her to Isis, the Egyptian Queen of Heaven. Finally, December 25 was set as the Christ-child’s birthday, a date that fell in the middle of winter holidays and festivals. The festival was called the “Birth of the Son.” Son/Sun – the new festival was now acceptable to the Pagans.

(Yule: A Celebration of Light & Warmth, Dorothy Morrison, Llewellyn Publications, 2000)

A Reading – Charge of the Sun God

I am the Light that bursts through the Darkness
And the smile on the young child’s face
I am the warmth that melts the winter chill
And the sparks that dance from the old fireplace
I am the smell of oranges and apples
And the Scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove
I am the holly, the ivy, the mistletoe ball,
And the jocularity of the Great God, Jove
I am found in the twinkling of an aged eye
And in the hope of children Everywhere
Yes, joy and love and warmth am I
Where kindness abounds, I, too, am there
I am your brother, your father, the wise one
And I warm you gently in the light of my love.
I lighten your worries, bring good health and speed growth
By shedding my rays down on you from above
But remember, my children, be grateful
For my brother, the Darkness, and winter’s deep chill
For without them, there would be little reason
For this holiday season of peace and good will.

(Dorothy Morrison, Yule: A Celebration of Light & Warmth , Llewellyn Publications, 2000)

Yule Song - Glory to the New Born King, Ellen Reed

Brothers, sisters, come to sing
Glory to the new-born King!
Gardens peaceful, forests wild
Celebrate the Winter Child!

Now the time of glowing starts!
Joyful hands and joyful hearts!
Cheer the Yule log as it burns!
For once again the Sun returns!
Brothers, sisters, come and sing!
Glory to the new-born King!

Brothers, sisters, singing come
Glory to the newborn Sun
Through the wind and dark of night
Celebrate the coming light.
Suns glad rays through fear's cold burns
Life through death the Wheel now turns
Gather round the Yule log and tree
Celebrate Life's mystery
Brothers, sisters, singing come
Glory to the new-born Sun.
(http://www.sacred-texts.com/bos/bos509.htm)

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene

25) Peter said to him, Since you have explained everything to us, tell us this also: What is the sin of the world?
26) The Savior said There is no sin, but it is you who make sin when you do the things that are like the nature of adultery, which is called sin.
27) That is why the Good came into your midst, to the essence of every nature in order to restore it to its root.
28) Then He continued and said, That is why you become sick and die, for you are deprived of the one who can heal you.
29) He who has a mind to understand, let him understand.

(http://www.gnosis.org/library/marygosp.htm)

Call to Conversation

Candles are one of the most important symbols in all of the celebrations of winter festivals. Fire melts the winter’s chill and was thought to encourage the Sun to shine. The candle’s brightness was thought to chase away dark winter demons. The light “warms our spirits, rejuvenates our bodies, and shows us the way on our personal paths.”
Closing

Music: “Love Came Down at Christmas,” Christmas in the King’s Court, Ann Hayman, Harpist, 1992

Sunday, Dec. 16, 2007

2008-01-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

Sunday, December 9, 2007

2007-12-10T12:04:00.000-08:00

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

Song ("I'll Tell You A Story," by Judith Beckman and Rose Engel):

I'll tell you a story that's old and yet new, A story that each generation finds true;
A tale of our fight against tyranny,
A tale of our fight for our right to be free...with dignity.

Antiochus, King on the Syrian throne; He ordered the people:
"No god of y0ur own; to Greek idols bow!"
Against Syria's might, the Jews were despondent, no spirit to fight (to fight)

From Mod'in came Judah and his Macabees: brothers courageous against Epiphanes.
Though small was their band, though long was their fight,
Their victory at last rekindled God's light (eternal light).

Reader: Chanukah is a festival of light. Each day another candle glows: one becomes two, two become three, until the Menorah is full of candles and the room is full of light. On Chanukah we learn that light can grow, if we do our part. It is we who must kindle a light for ourselves and others.

Reader: "My Thread" by David Hofstein

Travel-stained with my wanderer's stick and ancient pain,
O world, I have brought a white linen thread
dipped in red wine for the new wick of freedom's torch.
To that new wick of freedom's torch, thick-woven, with threads of many colors,
I too bring a thread.
When it burns and the red is black with smoke,
I shall not know the one I brought
Enough to know that I too brought my thread
for freedom's torch!

Reader" With joy and gratitude we greet this season of our freedom. Not by might was it won, not be power was it gained, but through strength of spirit, the spirit of God within us. (from Zechariah 4:6)

Reader: Since that day when the land was re won, and the Temple restored to the worship of the Holy One of Israel, we have won and we have lost, we have suffered and rejoiced. We have struggled to keep our faith alive. For all our deliverance's, we give thanks.

Reader: May all who are not free go forth from bondage; may all who suffer find healing and peace.

Song: ("Dona Dona" words by Aaron Zeitlin, music be Shalom Secunda)
On a wagon bound for market, there's a calf with a mournful eye.
High above him flies a swallow, winging swiftly through the sky.

How the winds are laughing; they laugh with all their might.
Laugh and laugh the whole day through and half the summer's night.
Dona dona, dona dona dona dona, dona dona dona dai,
Dona dona dona dona, dona dona dona dai.

"Stop complaining," said the farmer. "Who told you a calf to be?"
Why don't you have wings to fly with, like the swallow, so proud and free?"
(chorus)
Calves are easily bound and slaughtered, never knowing the reason why,
But whoever treasure freedom, like the swallow must learn to fly.
(chorus)

Reader:

We pray for all who live in darkness: let light shine upon them.
We pray for the hungry, the poor, the weak; let the sun of a better day shine on them.
We pray: may we be among those who bring this day to pass.

A reading from the Gospel of Mary

...the Blessed One greeted them all, saying: "Peace be with you-may my Peace arise and be fulfilled within you! Be vigilant, and allow no one to mislead you by saying: "Here it is!" or "
There it is!" For it is within you that the Son of Man dwells. Go to him, for those who seek him, find him. Walk forth and announce the gospel of the Kingdom.

Reader: Let the lights we kindle shine forth for the world to see. May they illumine our lives and fill us with gratitude for those who came before us, whose will and courage, time and again, kept the flame of faith from extinction.

("LIGHTING OF CHANUKAH CANDLES, with blessing and Ma-oz Tzur.)

Call to Conversation:

(except from "The Four Zoas" by William Blake"

Reader: It is an easy thing to triumph in the summer's sun, and in the vintage, and to sing on the wagon loaded with corn. It is an easy thing to talk of patience to the afflicted, to speak the laws of prudence to the homeless wanderer, to listen to the hungry raven's cry in wint'ry season, when the red blood is fill'd with wine and the marrow of lambs.

Reader: It is an easy thing to laugh at wrathful elements, to hear the dog howl at the wint'ry door, the ox in the slaughterhouse moan; to see a god on every wind and a blessing on every blast; to hear sounds of love in the thunder storm that destroys our enemies' house; to rejoice in the blight that covers his field and the sickness that cuts off his children, while our olive and vine sing and laugh 'round our door, and our children bring fruits and flowers.

Reader: Then the groan and the dolor are quite forgotten, and the slave grinding at the mill, and the captive in chains, and the poor in the prison, and the soldier in the field, when the shatter'd bone has laid him groaning among the happier dead.

It is an easy thing to rejoice in the tents of prosperity.

Closing Song: "Light One Candle"

Light one candle for the Maccabee children, give thanks that their light didn't die.
Light one candle for the pain they endured when their right to exist was denied.
Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice justice and freedom demand.
Light one candle for the wisdom to know when the peacemakers' time is at hand.

Don't let the light go out, it's lasted for so many years.
Don't let the light go out, let it shine through our love and our tears.

Light one candle for the strength that we need to never become our own foe
Light one candle for those who are suffering the pain we learned so log ago.
Light one candle for all we believe in, let anger not tear us apart.
Light one candle to bind us together with peace as the song in our heart.
Chorus
What is the memory that's valued so highly that we keep alive in that flame?
What's the commitment to those who have died when we cry out, "They've not died in vain?"
We have come this far always believing that justice will somehow prevail.
This is the burden and this is the promise and this is why we will not fail!
Chorus
Don't let the light go out, don't let the light go out, don't let the light go out!

We ask for your coments/thoughts to continue our Sunday conversation. Thank you.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

2007-12-03T11:04:00.000-08:00

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

Om Namah Shivaya is known as the great redeeming mantra also known as five-syllable mantra. It means “I bow to Shiva.” Shiva is the supreme reality, the inner Self. It is the name given to consciousness that dwells in all. Shiva is the name of your true identity, your self. According to Hindu mythology there are three Gods who run this creation: the Brahma, who creates the universe, the Vishnu, who preserves the Universe and the Shiva, who in the end destroys the universe. Among the three deities, Shiva, though considered as destroyer, also symbolizes the inner self which remains intact even after everything ends. In this mantra the chanter (one who repeats the mantra) bows to Shiva: his or her true self. Om Namah Shivaya.

(http://www.meditationiseasy.com/mCorner/techniques/Om_namah_shivaya.htm)

Introductory Reading

Kirtan--chanting the many names or mantras of the Gods and Goddesses--is perhaps the most important technique in Bhakti yoga. Although the practice itself is very simple, the internal process that it stimulates is vast and mysterious. Externally, we’re just singing repetitive songs with simple melodies and a few Sanskrit words. We’re asked to try to put our analytical minds to the side (easier said than done), and sing from our hearts. We’re told that whatever emotion we’re feeling, even anger, can be passionately channeled into the song. We’re told that it doesn’t matter the slightest bit what our voices sound like. Then the magic happens. Walls constructed long ago come crumbling down. Wounds that we never knew were there begin to heal. Long submerged emotions, both joy and sorrow, come to the surface to be offered up into the chant. And somehow, effortlessly, we move into a meditative state that creates a safe, calm haven for the flower of the heart to unfold. Whether or not we understand the meanings of the words, these chants become vessels to carry our deepest unspoken prayers to the infinite soul of God.

One of the amazing things about Kirtan as a practice is that it welcomes any mood or emotional condition. We can sing softly, like a mother to her baby. We can sing sensually, as if to a lover. And we can sing with the powerful energy of an angry warrior. Our whole being is offered. Whoever we are at any given time, whether happy or sad, shining with light or hidden in darkness, our prayers are perfect in the eyes of unconditional love. Finally, one who embraces the path of Bhakti very quickly stops doing these practices to get anything or feel anything. Rather, the Kirtan becomes an outpouring of love and emotion to the beloved, an unburdening, an offering . . . Truly, the essence of Bhakti is surrender, offering our individual selves to the great ocean of pure consciousness, gently resting in the loving embrace of the Divine Mother, saying, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”

The Songs: The Sanskrit words that we sing in these Kirtans are mantras, or divine names. A mantra can be thought of as a sonic embodiment of the supreme being who, through grace, takes infinite recognizable forms. When touched by the blessings of an enlightened master or the longing of a pure heart, these mantras become fully alive and have the power to carry us back to the One, the universal heart. These ancient words hold within them the very presence of the deity; they are prayers, they are vessels for our prayers, and they are that One to whom we are praying. The chants don’t tell stories and aren’t actual sentences. Rather, they are like simple road maps to help the mind leap from mental remembrance into the deepest heart essence, where we actually meet and commune with that being who is the source of all. And, really, it’s okay if we don't fully understand the translations or pronunciations. Through these simple Kirtans, we can communicate with our hearts, with our souls; we can cry, we can laugh, we can dance.

(Jai Uttal, “Kirtan! The Art and Practice of Ecstatic Chant,” Sounds True, 2003)

First Kirtan

“Sita Ram Sita Ram Sita Ram Jay Sita Ram”
Sita is the infinite Goddess, the Divine Mother, the embodiment of devotion and loyalty, the bestower of all blessings, the daughter of the earth in eternal union with Ram. Sita is an incarnation of Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity and abundance. She is thought of as the Kundalini Shakti, or power of God, residing within and all around us. Ram is the infinite, all-pervading supreme being, an embodiment of dharma, truth, the protector of the earth. Ram is an avatar of Vishnu, Lord and protector of the created universe, the one who preserves the stability of the worldly and heavenly realms, the supreme consciousness. . . Jay is translated as glory to, victory to. Sita and Ram are recognized as the divine couple, the union of male and female, lord and devotee, microcosm and macrocosm, Atma and Paramatma, Kundalini and Shiva (consciousness).
Approximate translation: Glory to Sita and Ram.

Second Kirtan

“Nataraj Nataraja Jay Shiva Shankara Nataraja Shivaraj Shivaraja Shambho Shankara Shivaraja Om Namah Shivaya Namah Shivaya”
Lord Shiva is the cosmic energy of change and transformation, the fire that burns away all that stands between us and freedom. He is the absolute pure consciousness, the embodiment of auspiciousness. He is known as the Lord of time, of dreams, of the unconscious mind, of ghosts, of death. He is the exhale that creates room for the inhale. He is destruction that opens up the way for rebirth. Creation, preservation, and destruction happening every moment. When we sing to Shiva, we offer ourselves to Him to be cleansed, purified, transformed, liberated. We offer our sense of separateness, our ego-driven self-will to the will of the divine. Nataraja means Lord or King (raja) of the dance (nata). This is an epithet of Shiva, referring to his tandava, his ferocious dance of fury which causes the entire world to crumble into dust. This is the auspicious and sometimes frightening clearing away of the old to make way for the creation of the new. Shivaraja means Lord or King Shiva. Shankara is an epithet of Shiva, meaning “the annihilator.” Shambho is another epithet of Shiva. Om is the cosmic sound, the sacred syllable, the core sound of creation, preservation, and destruction. Namah Shivaya is translated as: I bow to, I surrender to, I honor, I offer myself unto Shiva, the great Lord of yogis and of transformation, the indwelling higher self.
Approximate translation: Lord of the dance, Lord of the dance, glory to Shiva, glory to the annihilator, the Lord of the dance, Lord Shiva, Shambho, Shankara. Lord Shiva please perform your tandava dance of annihiliation upon the demons of ignorance and ego within me! Please grant me liberation. Om, I bow to Shiva. Thy will be done.

(Jai Uttal, “Kirtan! The Art and Practice of Ecstatic Chant,” Sounds True, 2003)

Call to Conversation

Closing Reading

A reading from the Gospel of Mary (trans. Karen King)

The soul replied, saying, “What binds me has been slain, and what surrounds me has been destroyed, and my desire has been brought to an end, and ignorance has died. In a [wor]ld, I was set loose from a world [an]d in a type, from a type which is above, and (from) the chain of forgetfulness which exists in time. From this hour on, for the time of the due season of the aeon, I will receive rest i[n] silence.”

We ask for your thoughts/comments to continue our Sunday conversation. Thank you.

Sunday, Nov. 28,2007

2007-11-27T18:43:00.000-08:00

Opening

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues,
but the parent of all the others."
--Cicero

Gratitude Theory, The Osgood File
In recent years, many scientists have begun examining the links between religion and good health, both physical and mental. Now two psychologists are working to unlock the puzzle of how faith might promote happiness. Dr. Michael McCollough, of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Dr. Robert Emmons, of the University of California at Davis, say their initial scientific study indicates that gratitude plays a significant role in a person's sense of well-being.

McCollough and Emmons were curious about why people involved in their faith seem to have more happiness and a greater sense of well-being than those who aren't and decided to study the connections. After making initial observations and compiling all the previous research on gratitude, they conducted the Research Project on Gratitude and Thanksgiving. The study required several hundred people in three different groups to keep daily diaries. The first group kept a diary of the events that occurred during the day, while the second group recorded their unpleasant experiences. The last group made a daily list of things for which they were grateful.

The results of the study indicated that daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy. Additionally, the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress, was more likely to help others, exercised more regularly and made more progress toward personal goals. According to the findings, people who feel grateful are also more likely to feel loved. McCollough and Emmons also noted that gratitude encouraged a positive cycle of reciprocal kindness among people since one act of gratitude encourages another.

McCullough says these results also seem to show that gratitude works independently of faith. Though gratitude is a substantial part of most religions, he says the benefits extend to the general population, regardless of faith or lack thereof. In light of his research, McCullough suggests that anyone can increase their sense of well-being and create positive social effects just from counting their blessings.

Rumi
The night's departed; yet, my friend,Our story's not yet at an end.

The Hidden Messages in Water, Masaru Emoto
Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto is known for his fascinating pictures of water crystals before and after being exposed to certain words.What he found was water that was labeled with harsh and negative words resulted in deformed crystals (if they could form at all). The most perfect crystals developed when the words "love and gratitude" were pasted onto the bottle. After seeing water react to different environmental conditions, pollution and music, Mr. Emoto and colleagues decided to see how thoughts and words affected the formation of untreated, distilled, water crystals, using words typed onto paper by a word processor and taped on glass bottles overnight..

The Astonishing Power of Emotions, Ester and Jerry Hicks
Excerpt
… And as you come to understand this powerful Stream of Life that we are explaining, and as you get a glimpse of the larger picture of who-you-really-are, and, most important, as you become convinced that your true work is to simply realign with who-you really-are, the Art of Allowing will become second nature to you. The most common misunderstanding that prevents people from getting control of a situation and gaining their personal balance is the belief that I need to get to where I want to be right now or as quickly as possible. We certainly understand your desire to find the answers to your questions quickly or to solve your problems as fast as you can, but still, that urge works against you. When you feel an urgency to be somewhere else, you are pushing hard against where you are. That is upstream. But an even more important flaw in the premise you are beginning from is this: In your belief that you must hurry to an improved place, you are discounting the power of the Stream, its speed, its direction, and its promise. And in the forgetting of those things, you are definitely pointed in the opposite direction of who you-truly-are and all that you have become.

So now, turn your attention once again to the upstream/downstream analogy, and feel for a moment the sensation of relief that you would experience if you had been paddling against the Current in an upstream direction and then suddenly just stopped paddling, in an attitude of giving in to the Stream and letting it just turn you and take you downstream. Let this picture soothe you even further as you try now to remember that this Stream is benevolent and wise, and it is actually taking you toward the things that you want. In your mind’s eye, lie back in your boat, feel it turn naturally downstream, and relax into the idea that this Stream will carry you to your inevitable Well-Being and to a fulfillment of your desires. You Are Adding Power to the Stream.

Dialogue
Closing

On gratitude and aging
Rumi

Why does a date-palm lose its leaves in autumn?
Why does every beautiful face grow in old age
Wrinkled like the back of a Libyan lizard?
Why does a full head of hair get bald?
Why is it that the Lion's strength weakens to nothing?The wrestler who could hold anyone down Is led out with two people supporting him,Their shoulders under his arms?
God answers,“They put on borrowed robes And pretended they were theirs.I take the beautiful clothes back,So that you will learn the robe Of appearance is only a loan.”Your lamp was lit from another lamp.All God wants is your gratitude for that

The Gospel According to Mary
And desire said, I did not see you descending, but now I see you ascending. Why do you lie since you belong to me?
The soul answered and said, I saw you. You did not see me nor recognize me. I served you as a garment and you did not know me.
When it said this, it (the soul) went away rejoicing greatly.

We ask for your comments/thoughts to continue our Sunday conversation. Thank you.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

2007-11-12T18:59:00.000-08:00

Guidelines to Walking the Labyrinth

The labyrinth is not a maze. There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. It has a single circuitous path that winds its way into the center. The person walking it uses the same path to return from the center and the entrance then becomes the exit. The path is in full view, which allows a person to be quiet and focus internally.

Generally there are three stages to the walk: releasing on the way in, receiving in the center and returning when you follow the return path back out of the labyrinth. Symbolically, and sometimes actually, you are taking back out into the world that which you have received.

There is no right way or wrong way to walk a labyrinth. Use the labyrinth in any way that meets what you need while being respectful of others walking. You may go directly to center to sit quietly -- whatever meets your needs.

To prepare, you may want to sit quietly to reflect before walking the labyrinth. Some people come with questions, others just to slow down and take time out from a busy life. Some come to find strength to take the next step. Many come during times of grief and loss.

There are many ways to describe a labyrinth. It is a path of prayer, a walking meditation, a crucible of change, a watering hole for the spirit and a mirror of the soul.

(http://www.veriditas.org/about/guidelines.shtml)

Entering…Centering…Turning…Returning
University of St. Thomas Labyrinth

Sunday, November 4, 2007

2007-11-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

Opening Music

A World Within, from The Magdalene Mystique: Songs from Within, © 2007, Anita Kruse

There's a world within
every human heart
where a river flows
with no end or start

There's a world within
where creation blooms
with each rising sun
with each waxing moon

There’s a world within
wherever I may roam
It’s a world within
Where I find my home
There's a world within
where a wisdom flows
with a love that heals
and a peace that grows

There's a world within
where a quiet sings
with the voice of the soul
remembering

There’s a world within
wherever I may roam
It’s a world within
Where I find my home

There's a world within
where the pure light glows
with the truth we seek
and the truth we know

There's a world within
where we find ourselves
it's a quiet place
where the spirit dwells.....

There’s a world within
wherever I may roam
It’s a world within
Where I find my home

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary Magdalen

What is matter?
Will it last forever?

The Teacher answered:
“All that is born, all that is created,
are interwoven and united with each other.
All that is composed shall be decomposed;
everything returns to its roots; matter returns to
the origins of matter. Those who have ears, let
them hear."

Readings

A Reading from Rumi's Kolliyaat-e Shams-e Tabrizi, #84, Edited by Badiozzaman Forouzanfar (Tehran, Amir Kabir, 1988)

Don't even think, just let yourself dream.
Thoughts are veils that hide the moon's bright face.
The heart's a moon, where thinking has no place.
Toss these thoughts away into the stream.

A Reading from the Wisdom of Solomon, Chapter 7

For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;
Because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.
For she is the breath of the power of God
And a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty
For she is a reflection of eternal light
A spotless mirror of the working of God
An image of his goodness.
Although she is but one, she can do all things,
And while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
In every generation she passes into holy souls
And makes them friends of God, and prophets
For God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.

A Reading from Colossians 3

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves
With compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
Above all, cloth yourselves with love, which binds everything
Together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule
In your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body.
And be thankful.

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary Magdalen

Levi said, “We should clothe ourselves with the perfect Human
Acquire it for ourselves as he commanded us, and announce
The good news, not laying down any other rule or law
That differs from what the Savior said.”

Call to Conversation

Closing Music

There’s a Peace, from The Magdalene Mystique: Songs from Within, © 2007, Anita Kruse

there’s a peace that passes all human understanding
there’s a hope that offers a hand in the dark
there’s a light that’s shining with grace inside me
and I think it’s riding the wings of my heart

there’s a love that leads me
there’s a love that frees me
there’s a love that heals me when I fall

there’s a peace that passes all human understanding
there’s a love that holds us all

when the world seems shattered and faith unraveled
when the ground is shaking and lives torn apart
there’s a light still shining with grace inside me
and I know it’s riding the wings of my heart
there’s a love that leads me
there’s a love that frees me
there’s a love that heals me when I fall

there’s a peace that passes all human understanding
there’s a love that holds us all

©2006 Anita Kruse/Sandy Stewart

We ask for your thoughts/comments to continue our conversation. Thank you.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

2007-10-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

The Magdalen Community is a connective community seeking conversation and dialogue
with other spiritualities and religious traditions. This Community takes
its inspiration from The Gospel of Mary, where Jesus encourages
the assembled community to find the divine nature within.

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

What is Halloween?
What does it mean?
Beware gentle readers.
Things are not what they seem.

There was a time
There was no Halloween
There wasn’t a ghost
Or a ghoul to be seen
There wasn’t a howl
Or the hiss of black cats
There wasn’t a pumpkin
A witch or a bat

Not a creak of a door
Not a bump in the night
Not a scream
Not a scare
Not a freak
Not a fright

Then the ghosts and the goblins
Sat up and said “hey”
It’s not fair that the living
have all the holidays
They have Christmas
And Easter
And Thanksgiving too.
Yet we’ve no reason to scare
Nor cause to say “boo”.

And on that fateful day
On the last of October
They vowed that the living
Would wish this day OVER.

So stick around with us
And you’ll get to scream
During this Halloween’s
Spooky spooky dream.

Readings

Celebrating Halloween Around the World

The modern holiday of Halloween has it’s origins as The Festival of Samhain, a celebration of the end of the harvest season, and is regarded as ‘The Celtic New Year’. Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The Ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.

In Western Christianity, All Souls' Day commemorates the faithful departed. This day is observed especially in the Roman Catholic Church but also in Anglicanism and to some extent also among Protestants. The Western celebration of the feast falls on November 2 and follows All Saints Day, which commemorates the departed who have attained the beatific vision. the souls of the faithful which at death have not been cleansed from venial sin, or have not fully atoned for mortal sins, cannot attain the beatific vision (God) yet, and that they may be helped to do so by prayer and by the sacrifice of the Mass.

In many countries, during these holidays, people take the day off work, go to cemeteries with candles and flowers, and give presents to children, usually sweets and toys.

Ireland

On Halloween night in present-day Ireland, adults and children dress up as creatures from the underworld (e.g., ghosts, ghouls, zombies, witches and goblins), light bonfires, and enjoy spectacular fireworks displays (despite the fact that such displays are usually illegal). Halloween was perceived as the night during which the division between the world of the living and the otherworld was blurred so spirits of the dead and inhabitants from the underworld were able to walk free on the earth. It was necessary to dress as a spirit or otherworldly creature when venturing outdoors to blend in. The children knock on the neighbors’ doors in order to gather fruit, nuts, and sweets for the Halloween festival. Salt was once sprinkled in the hair of the children to protect against evil spirits.

England and Wales

All Saints Day (All Hallows Day) became fixed in 835, and All Souls Day in 998. On All Souls Eve, families stayed up late, and little “soul cakes” were eaten by everyone. At the stroke of midnight, there was solemn silence among households, which had candles burning in every room to guide the souls back to visit their earthly homes, and a glass of wine on the table to refresh them. The tradition continued in areas of northern England as late as the 1930s, with children going from door-to-door “souling” (i.e., singing songs) for cakes or money.

Scotland

Scotland, having a shared Gaelic culture and language with Ireland, has celebrated the festival of Samhain robustly for centuries. Robert Burns portrayed the varied customs in his poem “Hallowe’en” (1785).
In Scotland, a lot of folklore, including that of Halloween, revolves around the belief in fairies. Children dress up in costumes and carry around a “Neepy Candle” a devil face carved into a hollowed out neep (Rutabaga), lit from inside, to frighten away the evil faeries.

United States

Halloween did not become a holiday in the United States until the 19th century, where lingering Puritan tradition restricted even the observance of Christmas prior to the 1800s. Mass-produced Halloween costumes did not appear in stores until the 1930s, and trick-or-treating did not become a fixture of the holiday until the 1950s. In the United States, Halloween has become the sixth most profitable holiday. Halloween is now the United States’ second most popular holiday (after Christmas) for decorating and the sale of candy

Mexico

During the last 40 years, Halloween celebrations have been influenced by American traditions. Halloween in Mexico begins three days of consecutive holidays; it is followed by All Saints’ Day, which also marks the beginning of the two day celebration of the Day of the Dead or the Día de los Muertos.

A Reading from The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (Leloup translation)

“And Craving said: ‘I did not see you descend, but now I see you rising. Why do you lie,
since you belong to me?’ The soul answered: ‘I saw you, though you did not see me, nor recognize me, I was with you as with a garment, and you never felt me.’ Having said this, the soul left, rejoicing greatly. Then it entered into the third climate, known as Ignorance. Ignorance inquired of the soul: ‘Where are you going? You are dominated by wicked inclinations. Indeed, you lack discrimination, and you are enslaved.’ The soul answered: ‘Why do you judge me, since I have made no judgment? I have been dominated, but I myself have not dominated. I have not been recognized, but I myself have recognized that all things which are composed shall be decomposed, on earth and in heaven.’ Freed from this third climate, the soul continued its ascent, and found itself in the fourth climate. This has seven manifestations: the first manifestation is Darkness; the second, Craving; the third, Ignorance; the fourth, Lethal Jealousy; the fifth, Enslavement to the Body; the sixth, Intoxicated Wisdom; the seventh, Guileful Wisdom. These are the seven manifestations of Wrath and they oppressed the soul with questions: ‘Where do you come from, murderer?’ and ‘Where are you going, vagabond?’ The soul answered: ‘That which has oppressed me has been slain; that which encircled me has vanished; my craving has faded, and I am freed from my ignorance. I left the world with the aid of another world; a design was erased, by virtue of a higher design. Henceforth I travel toward Repose, where time rests in the Eternity of Time; I go now into Silence.’”

I get to Soul Walk!

Call to Conversation

Closing Meditation

As an expression of appreciation to The Rothko Chapel for use of this sacred space,your love offering in the box marked “Magdalen Community” will be
gratefully received. Checks may be written to “Brigid’s Place”
with ‘Magdalene Community’ in the memo line.

For more information about the Magdalen Community, please contact bdickey@rice.edu
or bridgittdickey@sbcglobal.net. Please include “Magdalen Community” in the subject line.
OR:
http://magdalenecommunity.blogspot.com/
http://www.magdalenemystique.com/

Sunday, October 21, 2007

2007-10-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

Today we offer the community music and meditation. The chants will be led by Linda Larkin and the meditative thoughts are drawn from various religious traditions.

Meditation Thoughts

From Rumi, Hidden Music, translated by Azima Melita Kolin & Maryam Mafi, 59

With love you cannot bargain
There, the choice is not yours.
Love is a mirror, it reflects
only your essence,
if you have the courage
to look in its face.

Revelations from the Blessed One from The Gospel of Mary:
(read together)
"Peace be with you!
Acquire my peace within yourselves!

Be on your guard so that no one deceives you by saying,
'Look over here!' or 'Look over there!' For the child of
true humanity exists within you.

Follow it! Those who search for it will find it."

(translation by Karen King, in The Gospel of Mary of Magdala and cited in The Magdalene Mystique, 138)

From Being Still: Reflections on an Ancient Mystical Tradition, by Jean-Yves LeLoup, translated by M.S. Laird, O.S.A.

When Mr. X, a young French philosopher, arrived on Mount Athos he had already read a number of books on Orthodox spirituality, including Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart and The Way of a Pilgrim. He had been seduced without really being convinced. A single liturgy at rue Daru in Paris had inspired him to spend a few days on Mount Athos when he was on holiday in Greece. He hoped to learn a bit more about prayer and, in particular, the method of prayer practiced by those silent men in search of hesychasm, or interior peace.

This young man had read many books on meditation and prayer, but he had never really prayed or meditated before. He was looking for not only m ore lecture on prayer or meditation, but an initiation which would allow him to live prayer and to know it from within, by experience and not just be hearsay.

It would take too long to tell how h e came to meet Fr. Seraphim, a monk who lived in a hermitage near Saint Panteleimon (which the Greeks call the Roussikon). Suffice it to say that on Mount Athos the young philosopher was a little wary. He did not find the monks up to the level of his books.

Fr. Seraphim had an ambiguous reputation among his circle of monks. Some accused him of levitating, others of barking. Some considered him an ignorant peasant, others a true startez, inspired by the Holy Spirit and capable of giving profound advice and reading the secrets of the heart.

When anyone arrived at the door of his hermitage, Fr. Seraphim had the custom of observing the visitor in a most insolent way from head to foot, for five long minutes, without saying a word. Those who were not put off by this sort of examination would then undergo the monk's biting evaluation. 'You! She/He hasn't descended beneath your chin.' 'You! Let's not talk about it, She/He hasn't even come into you.' 'You! How marvelous! She/He's got right down to your knees!'

Of course he was speaking of the Holy Spirit's descent. In this way, he assessed the holiness of a visitor according to the degree of incarnation of the Spirit. The perfect person, the transfigured person, was inhabited by the Holy Spirit from head to toe. "I've only seen that once. That was staretz Silouan. He was truly a man [human] of God, full of humility and majesty."

The young philosopher was not quite there yet. The Holy Spirit had stopped at his chin. When he asked Fr. Seraphim to tell him something about prayer of the heart and about pure prayer according to Evagrius Ponticus, the old monk began to shout. This did not discourage the young man. He insisted. So Fr. Seraphim said, "Before I talk about prayer of the heart, first learn how to meditate like a mountain." And he showed him an enormous rock. "Ask it how it goes about prayer, then come back to me."

We ask for your comments/thoughts to continue our Sunday conversation. Thank you.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

2007-10-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence & Opening Meditation

Reflection on what brings you joy.

Music: "Be Present" Anita Kruse

Be present
Act as the living presence dwells in you.

"You Are Love" @2005 Ann Bugh (Ann, Anita, All)

You are Love...Under some darkness, Nothing but brightness.
You Are Love...And...You are Loved.

Readings

Excerpted from As Above, So Below (Paths to Spiritual Renewal in Daily Life) by Ronald S. Miller and the editors of New Age Journal, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, and The Well of Creativity, A book of interviews with Michael Toms.

Great artists, in their passionate and single minded devotion to their disciplines, are similar to practicing mystics. Their works bring us into direct touch with truths at the very structure of life. Their art drives them to explore their inner worlds more deeply, while at the same time forcing them to connect and expand in ways that express shared meaning.

"True art is not an indulgence of the little self, but a manifestation of the Self." - Frederick Franck, painter

Artists have more than a special way of "seeing"; it is a way of "being". Artists must practice being open, trusting, present, attuned. Their world is a flow of images, intuitions and connections. They continually practice abandoning expectations, while surrendering to the unknown with gratitude and wonder.

"I sometimes...become conscious, realize I am surrounded by people and things,...and have the impression that I'm seeing it all for the first time." Eugene Ionesco, Dramatist

"We disappear and become a carrier wave, a vehicle for the music that plays us...and our music becomes a message about bit Self." Stephen Nachmanovitch, Musician

"Straightway the ideas flow in upon me, directly from God, and not only do I see distinct themes.. but they are clothed in the right forms, harmonies, and orchestration. Measure by measure the finished product is revealed to me when I am in those rare, inspired moods." Johannes Brahms, Composer

The notion that creativity is only for artists, however, is just that--a false notion. The creative process is the process of life--asking, surrendering, receiving. The British author Graham Wallas, in his book The Art of Thought, discerned four phases to the creative process that are similar to mystic experiences on the way to enlightenment: preparation, incubation, illumination and verification.

- In the preparation phase we ask a question or seek an answer, directing it to our unconscious.
- During incubation phase, we let it go, sleep on it, surrender it. We trust it to percolate down
into the intuitive depths, knowing what we need will come to us at the right time.
- In the illuminated stage, an answer appears like a miracle, a synchronicity, a flash of insight or
the subtlest of hints. While we recognize its significance, it may or may not look like what we
expected.
- In the final stage, verification, we have the courage to act on what we've been given.
Typically--looking back--we recognize its perfection. It was exactly what we needed.

"There's something about creativity that every human being gets an equal share." Ornette Coleman

"The news from the deeps is very good. It suggests that creative and expression are the natural activities of the human being who is able to release, at least temporarily, the inhibitions of habituation." Jean Houston, Author

"Creativity is a spiritual practice. It is not something that can be "finished'. Just when we "get there' there disappears. This unfinished quality is a requirement of a sustained creative life. It's open ended and ongoing. It asks us to constantly be willing to have the humility to begin again. It asks us to keep opening our heart to, and meeting the inner demands of our own growth. We are not dependent on any external knowledge to be 'creative'. Rather, it is our natural birthright. We are the only ones who can release it or hold it back. No matter what your age or life path, it is never too late to work on your 'creativity'". (Paraphrased from The Artist's Way - by Julia Cameron)

Our usual way to acquire knowledge is to separate ourselves from objects, observe, and analyze them. This is a dualistic process of knowing that yields knowledge "about" things we are studying. By contrast, philosophers and mystics use intuition as a way of knowing. Intuition involves a fusion of the observer and the observed that transcends separation. In becoming what we would know, we understand it in ways impossible from the dualistic perspective. Western culture tends to discredit the use of intuition over sensory-based experience. Yet, even great pioneers of science (Newton, Einstein) trusted their intuition-often following intuitive leaps with scientific observation and verification.

To make intuitive knowing central to our lives typically requires 3 practices: stilling the mind long enough to cut through to awareness; concentration on the ideal or problem we want understanding about; and finally, cultivation a receptive, non-judgmental attitude that welcomes intuition to the surface. Intuition, when cultivated like any other practice in our lives, can elevate the quality of all our experiences. Most people adopt a belief early on in their lives that "only some people are creative", yet it's that belief that keeps us from nurturing our individual creativity and embracing its daily practice as essential to a balanced life.

So take time to play, to listen within, and to be inspired. This time is as essential as taking time to eat, sleep and work. Creativity is a powerful tool of personal and communal transformation. It feeds our souls and enhances our feeling of connection. And endorphin-induced natural high is one of the by-products of daily creative exercise. Whether we consciously own it or not, we are the creators of our experience. When we create consciously in the direction of joy...

"I think of the word 'inspiration'. It comes from the word 'inspirare' in Latin (to breathe) and 'spiritus' or spirit--so we are breathing forth, bringing forth spirit. We are honoring our deepest selves. That's a beautiful way to look at it." - (Paraphrased from The Well of Creativity, Creativity as a Spiritual Practice by Michael Toms)

Call to Conversation

Music - "We all Come to the Well to be Filled" @2007 Ann Bugh (Ann, Anita, All)

We all come to the well to be filled.
Praise for the water that flows from the sea, to the river, the well, to you and me.

Closing Meditation & Music: "Simple Song" @2005 Ann Bugh (Ann, Anita, All)

Though your song be simple, let it play.
Though your song be simple, let it play.
Though your song be simple, so simple-though it be simple, let it play.

Leave your heart wide open, it will sing.
Leave your heart wide open, it will sing.
A song so simple and so open, other hearts will open up and sing.

Let the past rest easy on your mind.
Leave the future for another time.
With an open heart, and a simple song,
Fear-like yesterday-will gently face away..Leaving only love behind.

Though your song be simple, let it play.
Nothings quite so simple as they say.
With your heart wide open, and your song so simple
-soft and simple-let it play.
(ALL - REPEAT)
Though your song be simple, let it play.
Though your song be simple, let it play.
Though your song be simple, so simple--though it be simple, let it play.

We ask for your thoughts/comments to continue our Sunday conversation.
Thank you.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

2007-10-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

Hiney Mah Tov U-Mah Na-Im Shevet Achim Gam Yachad
(How good and pleasant it is for everyone to live together as one)

What is Torah? The Torah is the most important document in Judaism, revered as the inspired word of God, traditionally said to have been revealed to Moses. The word Torah means "teaching", "instruction", "scribe", or "law" in Hebrew. It is also known as the Five Books of Moses, the Law of Moses, or Sefer Torah, which refers to the scroll cases in which the books are kept.

A Sefer Torah is a formal written scroll of the five books, hand-written on parchment by a trained Torah scribe under exceptionally strict requirements. The term is sometimes also used in the general sense encompassing the entire spectrum of authoritative Jewish religious teachings throughout history, including the Mishnah, the Talmud, the Midrash, and more.

The Torah comprises the first five books of the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, known as the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. To Jews, there is no "Old Testament", as the books that Christians call the New Testament are not part of Jewish scripture. The five books, and their names in Hebrew (the Hebrew names are taken from the initial words within the first verse of each book), with translations, are:

* GENESIS: B'reshit ("In the beginning...")
* EXODUS: Shemot ("Names")
* LEVITICUS: V'ayikra ("And he called...")
* NUMBERS: Bamidbar ("In the desert...")
* DEUTERONOMY: D'varim ("The words" or "The discourses")

Readings:

Why are the words of Torah like fire?
As fire from a single flame kindles many flames, so each word of
Torah kindles many minds, illumines many hearts. The Torah gives
light to all who make use of its bright and shining flame.

The Torah is God's great gift to the House of Israel.
The People of Israel without Torah is like a body without a soul.
Like water, it cleanses and is refreshing.
Like wine, it gladdens the heart.
Like a crown, it raises us high-
Higher than the throne of kings and queens.
When Torah entered the world, freedom entered it.
The whole Torah exists only to establish peace.
Its highest teaching is love and kindness.
What is hateful to you, do not do to another person.
That is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary; go and learn it.
Those who study Torah sustain the world.
Honoring one another, doing acts of kindness, and making peace; these
are our highest duties.
And the study of Torah leads to them all.
We rejoice in Torah: it is our life, the length of our days. Praised
be the God who teaches Torah to our people Israel.

Song

Torat Emet Natan L'amo Eyl. Al Yad N'vi-O Ne-E-Man Beyto.
Lo Yachalif Ha-Eyl, V'lo Yamir Dat.
L'olamim, L'olamim, L'zulato.
(Through the hands of Moses, God's faithful prophet, we received the Torah of truth.)

Readings

"Meditation Before Reading Torah" (a poem by Marge Piercy)

We are the people of the word
and the breath of the word fills our minds with light.
We are the people of the word
and the breath of life sings through us
playing on the pipes of our bones
and the strings of our sinews
an ancient song carved in the Laurentian granite
and new as a spring azure butterfly just drying her wings
in a moment's splash of sun.
We must life the word and make it real.

We are the people of the book
and the letters march busy as ants
carrying the work of the ages through our minds.

We are the people of the book.
through fire and mud and dust we have borne
our scrolls tenderly as a baby swaddled in a blanket,
traveling with our words sewn in our clothes
and carried on our backs.

Let us take up the scroll of Torah
and dance with it and touch it
and read it out, for the mind
touches the word and makes it light.
So does light enter us, and we shine.

Keep your father's wisdom; do not forget your mother's teachings.
Bind them always to your heart, seal them into your mind.
When you walk, they shall lead you; when you lie down, they shall keep you safe. The shall be with you when you wake up.
For the commandment is a lamp and the Torah is light.
Torah is light. In the House of Bondage it gave us hope, and showed us the way to freedom.
Torah is light; the light of our prophets, the light of our teachers.e
Torah is light. It showed us our way in the wilderness, and led us to the Land of Promise.
Torah is light: the light of our poets, the wisdom of our people. We inscribe its words on parchment, for all the people to learn.
We take it into our hearts, to do as we have learned!

Song

Al Sh'losha D'varim, Al Sh'losha D'varim,
Al Sh'losha, Sh'losha D'varim Ha-Olam Ha-Olam Omed (2x)
Al A Torah, V'al Ha-Avodah, V'al G'milut Chasadim (2x)
(The world depends on three things: on TOrah, on worship and on acts of loving kindness.)

Readings

As You taught Torah to those whose names I bear, teach me TOrah, too.
Its mystery beckons, yet I struggle with its truth.
You meant Torah for me: did You mean the struggle for me, too?
Don't let me struggle alone; help me to understand, to be wise, to
listen, to know...
Lead me into the mystery.

From "Bringing Heaven Down to Earth" by Tzvi Freeman:

Before the experience at Mount Sinai, there was earth and there was heaven. If you wanted one, you were obliged to abandon the other.

At Mount Sinai, the boundaries of heaven and earth were broken and humankind was empowered to fuse the two: To raise the earthly into the realm of the spirit, and to bring heaven down to earth.

Before the experience of Mount Sinai, the coarse material of which the world is made could not be elevated. It could be used as a medium, an aid in achieving enlightenment, but itself could not be enlightened.

Jacob used sticks for meditation, Isaac dug wells. But neither the sticks nor the wells became imbued with Godliness.

All that changed at Mount Sinai. When you take a piece of leather and write upon a Torah scroll, you have transformed the material into spiritual. And the same with flour used for matzah for Passover night, and branches used to cover a succah, and even the earnings which you tithe for good causes. And so you may do in every aspect of your life.

Our ancestors' task was to enlighten the souls of men and women.
Ours is to transform the material darkness into light.
What is Torah?
Love your neighbor as yourself.
What is mitzvah?
Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.
What is Torah?
Depart from evil and do good; be just and do what is right; do not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling-block before the blind. The world is sustained by three things: the truth, by justice, and be peace.
The world depends on three things: on Torah, on service, and on loving deeds.
What is Torah?
The Torah is a tree of life to those who hold it fast, and all who cling to it find happiness.
What is the way of Torah?
Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace.

Song

Eytz Chayim Hi, Lamachazikim Bah V'to-M' cheha, M'u-Shar.
D'ra-Cheha, Darchey No-=Am, V'kol N'tivotecha Shalom.
Hashiveynu Adonai Eylecha V 'nashuvah.
Chadeysh, Chadeysh Yameynu,
Chadeysh Yameynu K'kedem.
( It is a tree of life to those who hold it fast. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. Help us to return to You, O God, then truly shall we return. Renew our days as in the past.)

Call to Conversation

"The Silent Sound of Alef" (a story about the giving of the Ten Commandments)

No one really knows for sure what happened on Mount Sinai. Some people imagine that God dictated the whole Torah, word by word. Others believe that the Ten Commandments were carved in stone with the finger of God. The Torah itself tells different stories. Some think that, in addition to the Torah, God also whispered the Talmud (additional ancient writings) to Moses. Some believe that God did not speak or write; rather, God inspired Moses. And there are even those who think that Moses imaged the whole thing.

At different times, different people may have believed one or another explanation. That is the Jewish way. Something as important as how God talks to people and what God says has been a constant source of Jewish debate. All agree, however, that what happened on Mount Sinai was a turning point in Jewish history.

Once, several people were having just such as argument. The first one claimed that God gave the whole Torah, word by word. A second one said that God gave only the ten sayings, commonly called the Ten Commandments. A third person remembered the old legend that tells that God didn't give ten, but only the first two Commandments, ("I am the Lord your God..." and "You shall not have any other gods beside Me..."). "After tall," that person suggested," the first two sayings are the basis for all of Judaism. One who remembers that there is a God who frees people and that there are no other gods will probably be pious." A fourth person said that God uttered only the first saying, "I am the Lord our God". The four agreed that, if God had given only one saying, it would have been the most important one-that there is a God.

"No, God didn't even say that much!", insisted a fifth person. "All God said was the first word of the first saying, "I" (in Hebrew, Anochi)." All five then agreed that, if God had said only one word, it would have been Anochi, because it affirms the importance of the self.

Then Rabbi Mendl Torum ofRymanov, who had been listening to all of this, came forward and said, "Not even the first word., All God said was the first letter of the first word of the saying-which, in Hebrew, is also the first letter of the alphabet, Alef." "But we thought that the Alef was a silent letter" replied the others. "Almost, but not perfectly silent," answerd Rabbi Mendl. "You see, Alef makes a tiny, little sound that is the beginning of every sound. Open your mouth and begin to make a sound. Stop! That is Alef. God made the voice of Alef so quiet that, if you made any other noise, you wouldn't be able to hear it. At Sinai, all the people of Israel needed to hear was the sound of Alef. It meant that God and the Jewish people could have a conversation."

The Jewish mystical books teach that Alef-the "almost" sound of the first letter of the first word of the first Commandment-contains the entire Torah. But not everyone hears the gentle sound of Alef. People are able to hear only what they are aready to hear. God speaks to each of us in a personal way, taking into consideration our strength, wisdom, and preparation.

Closing Song

V'ha-Eyr Eyneynu, B'torateacha V'da-Beyk Libeynu, B'mitzvotecha.
V'yacheyd, L'vaveynu, L'ahava, U'L-Yira Et Sh'mecha.
V'lo Neivosh, V'lo Nikalem, V'lo Nikashel, L'olam Va-Ed (2x)
(Open our eyes with your Torah, consecrate our hearts to Your mitzvoth (Commandments); and let the love and awe of Your name make us whole. Then we shall never be shamed; then we shall not ever stumble)

Sunday, September 23, 2007

2007-10-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

Opening Music - Autumn Leaves

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

"To Autumn" William Blake

O Autumn. Laden with fruit, and stained
With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
Beneath my shady roof, there thou may'st rest,
And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe;
And all the daughters of the year shall dance,
Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.

Readings

The Feast of the August Moon, Fall Equinox, Second Harvest Festival, Chusok or 'Moon Festival', Festival of Dionysus, Wine Harvest, Cornucopia, Feast of Avalon, Harvest Home, Festival of Greenery - Every agrarian culture I've read about, past or present, has a way of celebrating the year's harvest. Today's celebrations are the descendants of ancient ones. They mostly happen between Autumn Equinox (Sept. 23 this year) and Halloween or Samhain (pronounced sow-wen), October 31; some a bit earlier. They often link the cycles of death and life, honouring the dead as well as the harvest. In many cultures, these things are intertwined. Harvest is over, winter is coming, and people have both the time and the reason to celebrate and relax. It's a time to enjoy plentiful food while it lasts: winter can be a time of scarcity or at least monotony when it comes to food. First Nations peoples have held harvest festivals in North America for thousands of years. In the United States and Canada, holidays like Thanksgiving came to the New World along with the first Europeans. European harvest festivals originated from pagan celebrations like Mabon, the pagan Celtic festival held on the Equinox.

Fall fairs, another tradition in North America, began in Europe as trading meets held in the days after the harvest. Today's' celebrations find a place for many cops that are historical symbols of autumn: sheaves of corn and wheat, grapes and wine, gourds, dried leaves, rattles, horns of plenty, seeds and nuts, apple cider, squash, and pumpkins.

In Japan, Autumn Equinox Day is a national holiday marking the change of seasons and paying respects to the dead. German peasants at one time broke the first straws of hay harvested and said, "This is food for the dead." Buddhists celebrate equality on the equinox, the time of the year when day and night are of equal length. Moon cakes are the traditional food of harvest, and thanksgiving festivals are held in Korean. The Roman celebration was dedicated to Pomona, goddess of fruits and growing things. In England, the last sheaf of corn harvested represented the 'spirit of the field'. It was made into a doll. Corn dolls were drenched with water representing rain or burned to represent the death of the grain spirit. At other times they were kept until the following spring. The Polish Feast of Greenery involves bringing bouquets and foods for blessing by a priest, then using them for medicine or keeping them until the following years harvest.

A Reading fromThe Gospel of Mary Magdalene (Leloup translation)

'Be in harmony...' If you are out of balance, take inspiration from manifestations of your true nature. Those who have ears, let them hear.

Call to learning - Autumn Quix

Call to Conversation

Closing Meditation

"Autumn Day" by Rainer Maria Rilke

The leaves are falling, falling as from far
Withering gardens in the distant heavens;
They are falling with a gesture of nay-saying.

And in the nights the heavy earth is swaying
To loneliness from serried star on star.

We are all falling. This hand falls no less.
Nor yet this other. Falling all enfoldeath.

Yet is there One who all this falling holdeth
In His strong hands' unending gentleness.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

2007-09-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

Opening Music - Cyd Baron

Return again, return again, return to the land of your Soul (2X)
Return to who you are, return to what you are,
Return to where you are born and reborn and reborn.

Hashiveynu, hashiveynu, Adonai eilecha, v'nashuvah, v'nashuva.
Chadeish, chadeish yameinu k'kedem.

(Help us to return to You, O God; then truly shall we return. Renew
our days as in the past.)

Readings

"T'shuvah" means repentance, but it also means return The month of Elul and Days of Awe-the days between Rosh Hashana (the beginning of the new year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), are also referred to as the season of t'shuvah. We look inward to see where we have missed the mark and need to improve. While Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are times of both judgment and change, the entire month of Elul serves as a safe space to restore ourselves and use the process of "tshuvah" to embark upon a new beginning.

The notion that repentance supersedes sacrifice, or punishment for sin, is prevalent in both prophetic and rabbinic literature. We are encouraged to engage in moral return every day. The great Jewish teacher Maimonides (1135-1204) articulated this in his famous "Four Steps of T'shuvah" to guide us in this process:

1) Admitting: First we admit we have made a mistake.
2) Verbalizing: "This is what I did." For this most crucial part of t'shuvah, according to Maimonides, we narrate the action done and articulate why it was wrong.
3) Regretting: "I am embarrassed by my actions," or understanding how the action harmed another individual. We imagine ourselves suffering from the effects of our actions to generate an active, internal desire NOT to do it again.
4) Resolving: "I will stop," the internal decision NOT to repeat the action. The plan or fundamental change to keep us from recommitting the offense.

************
Rabbi David Wolpe (Sinai Temple, Los Angeles) writes:

"Each year as Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur approach, we are reminded that sin creates distance. Distance creates factions. So we proclaim the unity of God, but the fractures in our community and in our own souls widen. Thus, the first tablets [of the commandments] were broken by sin, but on Yom Kippur Moses returned with the second tablets, all of one piece. T'shuva, repentance, had created wholeness again.

We create distance when we are afraid, and even more when we are ashamed. Just as sin is a pushing away, love is a drawing close. To believe in God's love is to have faith in the ultimate oneness of the world. For if everything is ultimately one, then all distance, all separation, is temporary. E. M. Forster's famous admonition, 'only connect' is made here into the law of the universe, into God's law: Draw close to Me, and you will be healed.

May this year help us find our way back to each other and back to God."

************
O, Hope of Israel:
In our weakness, give us strength.
In our blindness, be our guide.
When we falter, hold our hand.
Make consistent our impulse for good; let us know the joy of walking in Your ways.

************
Kol Nidrei (All Vows)

"Kol Nidrei" is the prayer of people not free to make their own decisions, people forced to say what they do not mean. In repeating this prayer, we identify with the agony of our forebears who had to say "yes" when they meant "no". "Kol Nidrei" is also a confession: we are all transgressors, all exiled from the Highest we know, all in need of the healing of forgiveness and reconciliation. For what we have done, for what we may yet do, we ask pardon; for rash words, broken pledges, insincere assurances, and foolish promises, may we find forgiveness.
For transgressions against God, the Day of Atonement atones, but for transgressions of one human being against another, the Day of Atonement does not atone until they have made peace with one another.

(prayer is sung)
Kol nidrei v'esarei v'charamei vkonamei, v'chinuyei, v'kinusei, u-sh'vuot.
Dindarna U'd'isht'va'na, U'd'acharimna, v'di'a'sarna v'di'asrna. al nafshatana.
Mi-yom kippurim zeh, ad yom kippurim ha-ba, aleinu l'tovah.
Kol-hon icharatna v'hon. Kol-hon y'hon sharan. Sh'vikin, sh'vitin, v'teylin um'vutalin.
La shirin, la shirin, la shirin, v'la kayamin.
Nidrana, nidrana lanid'rey. V'esarana, la esarey. U'sh'vuatana la sh'vuot.
(let all our vows and oaths, all the promises we make and the obligations we incur to You, O God, between this Yom Kippur and the next, be null and void should we, after honest effort, find ourselves unable to fulfill them. Then may we be absolved of them.)

CONFESSION OF SIN (to be read together as a community)

Now may it be Your will, O God of all generations, to forgive all our sins, to pardon all our wrongdoings, and to blot out all our transgressions:
The sin we have committed against You under duress or by choice,
The sin we have committed against You consciously or unconsciously,
And the sin we have committed against You openly or secretly.
The sin we have committed against You in our thoughts,
The sin we have committed against You with our words,
And the sin we have committed against You by the abuse of power.
For all these, O God of mercy, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement!
The sin we have committed against You by hardening our hearts,
The sin we have committed against You by profaning Your name,
And the sin we have committed against You by disrespect for parents & teachers.
The sin we have committed against You by speaking slander,
The sin we have committed against You by dishonesty in our work,
And the sin we have committed against You by hurting others in any way.
For all these, O God of mercy, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement.

(song)
Eloheynu veylohey avoteynu: Tavo l'fanecha t'filateynu.
V'al titalam mitchinateynu. She-eyn anachnu azeyfanim uk'shey oref,
Lomar l'fanecha Adonai eloheynu veylohey avoteynu, tsadikim anachnu, v'lo chatanu,
Aval, aval, anachnu chatanu. Chatanu, avinu, pashanu.

(Our God, God of our mothers and fathers, grant that our prayers may reach You. Do not be deaf to our pleas, for we are not so arrogant and stiff-necked as to say before You, Adonai our God and God of all ages, we are perfect and have not sinned; rather do we confess: we have gone astray, we have sinned, we have transgressed.)

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary (Lelour Translation, The Magdalene Mystique)

Peter said to him: "Since you have become the interpreter of the elements and the events of the world, tell us: What is the sin of the world?" The Teacher answered: This is no sin. It is you who make sin exist, when you act according to the habits of your corrupted nature; this is where sin lies. This is why the Good has come into your midst.cats together with the elements of your nature so as to reunite it with its roots."

Then he continued: "This is why you become sick, and why you die: it is the result of your actions; what you do takes you further away. Those who have ears, let them hear."

"Attachment to matter gives rise to passion against nature. Thus trouble arises in the whole body; This is why I tell you "Be in harmony. . ." If you are out of balance, take inspiration from manifestations of your true nature. Those who have ears, let them hear."

Call to Conversation

Two short prayers by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) in fo"The Gentle Weapon: Prayers r everyday and not everyday moments."

There must be a way I can regain decency and virture.
There must be a way I can recapture the purity and perfection of my soul.
God, lead me there; don't turn me away. Open Your hands and welcome me back.
God of wonders, You've given me the most wonderful of all gifts-the gift of free will.
May my will never deviate from Your Holy will.
Guide me always, so that all the choices I make are good ones-
choices that are in harmony with Your will, as long as I live.

Closing Music

(Jewish tradition teaches that, on the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (the Days of Awe), God writes in the Book of Life the names of those who will live and prosper in the coming year. However, the Book is not yet sealed, and during this time, true repentance can cause a name to be added. At the end of Yom Kippur, with the final blast of the shofar, the Book is sealed. Jews everywhere-even those for whom this is only a tale, wish each other "Shana tova tikateyvu" [May you be written for a good year] and "G'mar chatima tova" [May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year}.)

refrain: May you be sealed for a good year, for a sweet year, for a healthy year.
May you be written in the Book of Life. G'mar chatima tova.

1) A holy day, a solemn day. A day to set aside.
On Yom Hakipurim from our sins we will not hide.

2) We make amends to others for the wrongs that we have done.
Then we ask God for forgiveness. Yes, we face the Holy One.

3) When day turns into night, the final shofar blast we hear.
As the Book of Life is closed, we say, "In Jerusalem next year."

We ask for your comments/thoughts to continue our conversation. Thank you.

Sunday September 9, 2007

2007-09-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

Today we continue our study of early Christianity inspired by the Episcopal Diocese "Peace Village" kit.

CALL TO SILENCE AND OPENING MEDITATION
Readings - Strands of Early Christian Thought
Readings from the Lost Gospel "Q" (thought to be earlier than Mark)

As the walked along the road they met a man who said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to rest his head."To another he said, "Follow me." But that person replied, "Let me go and bury my fathr first." Jesus answered, "Let the dead bury their dead. Your duty is to go and spread the news of the realm of God."

Another person said, "I will follow you, but first let me go and say good-bye to my family." Jesus said to him, "no one who puts a hand on the plough and continues to look at what was left behind is suited for the realm of God."No one lights a lamp and puts in under a bushel basket. They put it on a stand so that everyone can see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is clear, your entire body fills with light. But if your eye becomes clouded, your body is in darkness. Be careful that your light never fades into darkness.

When you see clouds in the western sky, you say, "It's going to rain"And it does! When the wind blows from the south, you predict scorching weather. And it comes! You know the lay of the land and can read the face of the sky. So why can't you interpret the here and now?

The Lost Gospel Q: The Original Sayings of Jesus (Paperback)
by Marcus Borg (Editor), Thomas Moore (Introduction)

Readings from the Gospel of Thomas
Mary asked Jesus, "Who are your disciples like?" He replied: "They are like little children in a field that does not belong to them. When the field's owners come they will say:"Give our field back." They will strip naked in the owners' presence and give it back, returning their field to them."

When you go into a region and walk around in the rural areas, whenever people receive you, eat whatever they provide for you, and heal their sick.

A Reading from the Gospels

A Reading from Luke 24: 13-35

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emma'us, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, "What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cle'opas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet might in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said; but him they did not see." And he said to them,' O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary t hat the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further, but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went into stay with them. When he was at table with them, h e took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, who said, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon! Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

A Reading from The Gospel of Mary Magdalene

I, she said, I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to Him, Lord I saw you today in a vision. He answered and said tome, Blessed are you that you did not waver at the sight of Me. For where the mind is there is the treasure.

http://ww.gnosis.org/libarary/marygosp.htm

Call to Conversation

Closing Meditation

Sunday, September 9, 2007

2007-09-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

Today we continue our study of world religions inspired by the Episcopal Diocese 'Peace Village" kit by turning to early Christianity.

CALL TO SILENCE AND OPENING MEDITATION

Peace...comes within the Souls of [humankind] when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka, and that his center is really everywhere, it is within each of us."
From Hehaka Sapa (Black Elk), Lakota/Ogala Sioux

READINGS - STRANDS OF EARLY CHRISTIAN THOUGHT

A Reading from the Lost Gospel "Q" (thought to be earlier than Mark)

Love your enemies
Do good to those who hate you.
Bless those who curse you
Pray for those who treat you badly.

When someone strikes you on the right cheek, offer them the other cheek, too.
When someone takes your coat from you, let them have your shirt as well.
Give to everyone who asks. And if someone robs you, don't demand your property back.

The Lost Gospel Q: The Original Sayings of Jesus (Paperback)
by Marcus Borg (Editor), Thomas Moore (Introduction)

Readings from the Letters:

1 Thessalonians 4: 9-18

But concerning love of the brethren you have no need to have any one write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do love all the brethren throughout Maceado'nia. But we exhort you, brethren, to do so more and more, to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we charged you; so that y0u may command the respect of outsiders, and be dependent on nobody. But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will baring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

1 Corinthians 2: 6-8

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away ;But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1 Corinthians 12:13

For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews, Greeks, slave or free - and we are made to drink of one Spirit.

James 2: 14-18

What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But some one will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.

A Reading from The Gospel of Thomas

Jesus said," Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all. [And after they have reigned they will rest.]"

When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty."

Readings from the Gospels

Mark 4: 30-32

And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or whta parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth largae branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."

John 20: 11-18

But Mark stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be the gardaener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away>" Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew," Rab-boni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hole me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God." Mary Mag'dalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

A Reading from The Gospel of Mary Magdalene

But they were grieved. They wept greatly, saying, How shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If they did not spare Him, how will they spare us? Then Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her brethren, Do not weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for His grace will be entirely with you and protect you. But rather, let us praise His greatness, for He has prepared us and made us into Men. When Mary said this, she turned their hearts to the Good, and they began to discuss the words of the Savior.

Peter said to Mary, Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than the rest of woman. Tell us the words of the Savior which you remember which you know, but we do not, nor have we heard them. Mary answered and said, What is hidden from you I will proclaim to you. And she began to speak to them these words: I, she said, I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to Him, Lord I saw you today in a vision. He answered and said to me, Blessed are you that you did not waver at the sight of Me. For where the mind is there is the treasure.

http://www.gnosis.org/library/marygosp.htm

Closing Dialogue

Solo: Are you aware of the light and the peace within you?

Unison: We have the feeling and the movement,

The passion for the well-being of all.

Solo: Light spreads, just as love spreads.

Are you willing to speak your feeling of light?

Unison: Yes, indeed, we must speak the feeling.

We must act the peace.

Solo: Then let us practice the feeling.

Let us practice the action of peace.

UNISON: Let us dance the feeling.

Let us dance the peace,

Let us dance from the light.

Solo: Let us move together

In the light and the peace.

UNISON: Let us go forth in the power of the Spirit.

We ask for your comments/thoughts to continue or Sunday conversation.

Mary Magdalene Study Group

2007-09-05T08:10:00.000-07:00

The Mary Magdalene Study Group will reconvene Thursday, September 6, at 12:30 p.m., at Brigid's Place in the McGeehee Building at Christ Church Cathedral. Free parking is available in the Cathedral parking lot.
Here is a link to a map and directions to the Cathedral:

http://www.brigidsplace.org/events/Programs.asp

Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007

2007-09-05T07:28:00.001-07:00

Today we continue our two-week exploration of Native American Spirituality influenced by the Episcopal Diocese's "Peace Village" kit.

OPENING MUSIC - Jennifer Keeney, flute

CALL TO SILENCE AND OPENING MEDITATION

The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people. We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the dew in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, the man all belong to the same famly. The shining water that moves int he streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors.

If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life that it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the spirit of life. So if we sell our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers. Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth.

This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

One thing we know: our God is also your God. The earth is precious to him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator. Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forests are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is to say goodbye to the swift pony and then hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival.

When the last red man has vanished with this wilderness, and his memory is only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores and forests still be here? Will there be any of the spirit of my people left? We love this earth as a newborn loves its mother's heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it, as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you receive it. Preserve the land for all children, and love it, as God loves us. As we are part of the land, you too are part of the land. This earth is precious to us. It is also precious to you.

(Attributed to Chief Seattle, c.1855. Gary Null, Secrets of the Sacred White Buffalo, Prentice Hall, 1988)

SECRETS OF THE SACRED WHITE BUFFALO

In a Lakota Sioux legend, a woman, carrying a sacred pipe, appeared to the people during a time of great famine. She taught them that the stem of the pipe represented the trees and all growing things; the red bowl symbolized the flesh and blood of the people, the smoke was the breath of their prayers rising to Wakan Tanka. The woman taught them of the connection between sky and Earth and the unity of all life and that by offering their thanks to Wakan Tanka with the pipe, many blessings would come to them. Before she left them, she promised to return when the time was right. Then, she walked toward the West, stopped, knelled to the Earth and rolled over four times. She turned into a buffalo, changing colors with each turn. First black, then brown, next red, and finally white. The people, following her teachings, were never hungry again.
In the summer of 1994, her promise to return seemed to be fulfilled. A white buffalo was born in Jamesville, Wisconsin. It changed colors as prophesies - from white to black to red to yellow and back to white. The colors represent the four directions: white - north, black - west, red - south, yellow - east. This white buffalo has great symbolic significance. For many Native American tribes, the return of the white buffalo is likened to the second coming of Christ - it signals a profound change for the planet and for mankind. For the Native American, nature is divine, and they, too, are a part of nature. Their ceremonies are performed in order to regenerate Mother Earth. Living harmoniously with nature is essential for the survival of humankind.

SACRED CEREMONIES

Although the names of ceremonies and exact ritual methods vary from tribe to tribe, symbolism remains similar, as does the original meaning of the rituals.

The Pipe Ceremony

This sacred ritual connects the physical and spiritual worlds - a link between Earth and sky. The pipe is prayer in physical form; smoke is the words. The fire is the same fire as the sun and is the source of life. The tobacco plant connects the worlds - the roots go deep into the Earth and the smoke rises to the sky. The pipe was often smoked at a tribe member's death as a form of last rites. It was also smoked to confirm an agreement, as in signing a contract. Breaking one's work after smoking the pipe was unthinkable. The pipe is a living, breathing, spiritual being.

The Sweat Lodge - The Purification Ceremony

According to William J. Walk Sacred, a Cree medicine man, "sweat lodge" is a misnomer. The purification ceremony is a rebirthing process, an integration of the spiritual and the physical. The lodge is constructed in a circular shape of branches covered with tarps or blankets. The circular shape is intended to be womb-like. An offering of tobacco is made of the medicine man, who will conduct the ceremony. The ceremony opens with prayer and contemplation. Four sacred herbs are sent to the four directions. Sage purifies the space from negative energy. Sweet grass summons powerful beings from the other side to bring healing. Cedar is also used for purification so the spirits can do their work. Tobacco is offered to bless the Earth. Lava stones are piled outside the lodge, where a fire is built to heat them. The hot stones are brought inside the lodge, one at a time, and sprinkled with herbs. Water is poured on the hot rocks, forming steam, which unifies everyone within. Each person inside offers prayers, thanksgiving, and praise. The medicine man then weaves all of the prayers together. Following the ceremony is the wopella, a time of thanksgiving and sharing.

THE VISION QUEST

A vision quest is an arduous journey into the core of oneself and should not be taken lightly. Each tribe has its own method of pursuing the vision quest. Generally, a long period of preparation takes place, beginning with prayer. The seeker then finds a medicine man, who is offered a sacred pipe. This medicine man is then responsible for guiding the individual during the quest. An alter is usually prepared in a sacred place, where the person is enclosed within a circle laid out by the medicine man. The seeker then stays protected in the circle for several days, fasting and praying. The medicine man and his helpers keep a sacred fire burning during the entire quest; this fire represents the fire of life carrying prayers to the heavens. At the end of the vision quest, the medicine mad the his helpers retrieve the seeker and helps him/her to interpret and integrate the experience.

A READING FROM THE GOSPEL OF MARY MAGDALENE

I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to Him, "Lord I saw you today in a vision." He answered and said to me, "Blessed are you that you did not waver at the sight of Me. For where the mind is, there is the treasure." I said to Him, "Lord, how does he who sees the vision see it, through the soul or through the spirit?" The Savior answered and said, "He does not see through the soul nor through the spirit, but the mind that is between the two that is what sees the vision..."

Animal Totems

Fetishes/Totems are animal carvings that have been used by The People for over a thousand years. It is the spirit within the fetish that is of value, not the object itself. By honoring the animals and acknowledging their special "medicine" (their nature traits), we may summon our own similar attributes. We can focus on the qualities we have that are like a certain animal. We can carry a fetish with us or keep it on a bedside table. Fetishes may be used to discover, enhance, or simply remember a relationship with a fetish for taking care of a fetish always remaining mindful and respecting the spirit of the animal that the fetish represents.

CALL TO CONVERSATION'

CLOSING MEDITATION

Canticle of Creatures

Be thou praised,O Lord, for all Thy creation,
More especially for our Brother the Sun,
Who bringeth forth the day and givest light thereby,
For he is glorious and splendid in his radiance,
And to Thee, Most High, he bears similitude.

Be Thou praised, O Lord, for our Sister the Moon, and for the Stars:
In the heaves,
Thou hast set them bright and sparking and beautiful.

Be Thou praised, O Lord, for our Brother the Wind,
For the air and for the clouds, For serene and for tempestuous days,
For though these dost Thou sustain all living things.

Be Thou praised, O Lord, for our Sister the Water,
For she giveth boundless service, and is lowly, precious and pure.

Be Thou praised, O Lord, for our Brother the Fire,
Through whom Thou givest light in the night hours,
For he is beautiful and joyous, vigorous and strong.

Be Thou praised, O Lord, for our Sister Mother Earth,
Who doth nourish us and ruleth over us.
And bringeth forth divers fruit, and bright flowers and herbs.

We ask for your thoughts/comments to continue our Sunday conversation. Thank you.

Sunday, Sept. 2, 207

2007-09-05T07:25:00.000-07:00

Today we continue our two-week exploration of Native American Spirituality influenced by the Episcopal Diocese's "Peace Village" kit.

OPENING MUSIC - Jennifer Keeney, flute

CALL TO SILENCE AND OPENING MEDITATION

Sunday, August 26, 2007

2007-08-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

Today we will begin a two-week exploration of Native American Spirituality influenced by the Episcopal Diocese's "Peace Village" kit.

CALL TO SILENCE AND OPENING PRAYER
from Johnny Mike, Dine and Verdell Primeaux, Oglala/Yankton Sioux/Ponca

trans: "Hear Our Prayer because you gave us these prayers and songs
in a holy manner, Great Spirit, hear our humble prayers."

INVOCATION OF THE SPIRIT (read together)

Oh, our Mother the Earth; oh, our Father the Sky,
Your children are we, and with tired backs
We bring you the gifts that you love
Then weave for us a garment of brightness;
May the warp be the white light of morning,
May the weft be the red light of evening,
May the fringes be the falling rain,
May the border be the standing rainbow.
Thus weave for us a garment of brightness
That we may walk fittingly where birds sing,
That we may walk fittingly where grass is green,
Oh, our Mother the Earth, oh, our Father the Sky!

from Herbert Joseph Spinden, trans., Songs of the Tewa, 1933.

MUSIC: "Katsitsy Tha": trans.: "Tribute to Mother Earth and Women's Contributions", performed by Joanne Shenandoah, Hadenosaunee/Iroquis

Opening Comments by Elders Gourd Woman, Hidatsa/Dakotah (Mary Louise Defender Wilson) and Eagle Heart, Ojibwe (Francis Cree)

American Indian religions are highly differentiated; therefore, they cannot be described in generalities.

Contact with European and Euro-American cultures led to change often drastically even to the point of extinction.

The surviving groups are remarkable for their ability to cope with change and cultural deprivation by adapting and borrowing from the non-Indian world making it possible for their survival. That in itself is testimony to their extraordinary character.

The Primal Foundations - Universal and Fundamental to virtually all North American Indian religious traditions past and present include these traits:

What is referred to as "religion" is not a separate aspect of what it means to be American Indian. There is no world for "religion" in any American Indian language. It is clearer or more accurate to use the term "traditions".

Language is more than a means of communication. Words carry special potency. What is spoken to named is really present - not as symbol or in duality. "Words in their sounds are born in the breath of the being from whom they proceed.". Breath is a life principal - words are sacred and must be used with care and responsibility. They are enhanced by the understanding that breath is within our Spiritual Center. Even an unspoken thought has potency and potential. Especially in ritual and ceremony. The recitation of a creation myth is actual not symbolic. It is not bound by time - referred to as "the immediacy of now" - it is a continuation of creation.

The perception of arts and crafts by American Indians are sacred. The natural materials used manifest sacred powers in accord with their particular nature and place of origin and the completed form becomes "what it is" - not in duality or separate from but an "embodiment" of its sacred nature.

Time and process is circular, cyclical, reciprocal not linear and are re-expressed in most aspects such as architectural styles and ritual and ceremony reflecting the cosmos.

There is a special quality and intensity of "Interrelationship" with their natural environment - not separate from but born of and with - A sense of place.

READINGS

A Reading from The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (Marvin Meyer)

The Savior replied, "All natures, all formed things, all creatures exist in and with each other..."

From "The Rain Song", Tohono O'Odham/Papago tradition translated from The Sacred.

"At the edge of the mountain, a cloud hangs.
And there my heart, my heart, my heart hangs with it.
At the edge of the mountain, a cloud trembles.
And there my heart, my heart, my heart trembles with it."

From Hehaka Sapa (Black Elk), Lakota/Oglala Sioux

Peace...comes within the Souls of [humankind] when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka, and that his center is really everywhere, it is within each of us."

Music: "Wilma Mankillers Song", performed by The Mankillers, Choctaw/Towa/Paiute

Commentary on Native American Spirituality

CALL TO CONVERSATION

CLOSING MEDITATION (GOURD WOMAN AND EAGLE HEART)

CLOSING PRAYER ( read together)

Navajo Night Chant (Kenneth Lincoln, trans.)

May it be beautiful before me.
May it be beautiful behind me.
May it be beautiful below me.
May it be beautiful above me.
May it be beautiful all around me.
In Beauty it is finished.

Music: "Mystic Nature" Jay Begaye and Everitt White, Dine/Navajo

Resources for today's gathering:

Beck, Peggy V., anna Lee Walters, Nia Francisco, ed., The Sacred: Ways of Knowledge, Sources of Life (Tsaile, Arizona: The Navajo Community College Press, 1977).

Begaye, Jay and Everitt White. The Long Walk-Hweeldi. Canyon Records. 1999.

Eagle Heart and Gourd Woman. The Elders Speak. Makche Word. 1995.

Hehaka Sapa (Black Elk). Words of Power: Voices from Indian America, Ed. Norbert S. Hill, Jr. (Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 1994).

Lincoln, Kenneth. ed. & trans. Native American Renaissance (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1983), 47.

Mankillers. "All Woman Northern Drum." Weaving the Strands. Red Feather Music. 1998.

Meyer, Marvin. ed. & trans. The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus (San Francisco: HarperCollin, 2005), 37.

Mike, Johnny and Verdell Primeaux. Walk In Beauty. Canyon Records. 1995.

Shenandoah, Joanne. "Matriarch" Weaving The Strands. Red Feather Music, 1998.

Spinden, Herbert Joseph, trans., "Songs of the Tewa, 1933". The Multi-Cultural Southwest: A Reader, Ed.A. Gabriel Melendez, M. Jane Young, Patricia Moore, Patrick Pynes (Tuscon: Univ. of Arizona Press, 2001), 23

Other sources of interest:

www.nativeres.org/index.html; www.ifapray.org/audio/NativeRes15.ram Joint Resolution to acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the US Government regarding Indian tribes and offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States.

October is National American Indian Heritage Month.

We ask for your thoughts/comments to continue our conversation. Thank you.

Sunday, August 29, 2007

2007-08-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

OPENING MUSIC - Jennifer Keeney, flute

CALL TO SILENCE and OPENING MEDITATION

Today we continue our two-week exploration of Islam with the help of the "Peace Village" kit compiled by the Episcopal Diocese. This week, we will study more fully what it means to be Shi'a and Sunni, the role of women in Islamic society, Islamic dress, and the concept of "jihad".

READINGS

About Islam, compiled from various sources as noted.

Islam, as a religion, is characterized by its sober rituals and absence of ceremony. However, there are a few symbols that have become associated with Islam. Most recognizable is the prayer-carpet, which, along with the surrounding area, must be spotlessly clean. Prayer beads may be used when reciting the 99 full names of Allah. The beads are in sections of 33 and are also used to recite prayers of thanksgiving to Allah for his blessings. The most important "symbol" is the Qur'an, the non-created and incarnate word of God. Muslims worship in a mosque on Friday, the "Day of Gathering", and the holy day of the Muslim week. The mosque consists of a large prayer hall, a mezzanine at the back of the hall set aside for women, a minaret from which the call to prayer is given, a hollow alcove which indicates the direction of Mecca, a preachers pulpit, and an ablutions hall where believers must cleanse themselves before prayer. (1)

Islam has not broken into denominations as has Christianity. However, Islam allows for divergence of opinion, and three major groups have emerged. The Sunnis represent approximately 90 percent of the worldwide community of Muslims. They are the "People of the Sunna", those who follow the "normative" example of the Prophet Muhammad. The Shi'a, a term which originally meant "partisans" or "followers", are those who believe that the proper successor to Muhammad should have been his cousin "Ali". Sunnis and Shi'ites agree on basic elements of doctrine and practice. The disagreement is one of leadership and the role of the Imam, who is a representative of the Prophet appointed by God to continue the Prophet's work. The imam's task is to interpret the inner, spiritual meaning of the Qur'an, as well as its outer, literal meaning. The Sufis are the mystics of Islam. They are not a separate group, but practice their mysticism in addition to the usual observances. Sufi thinkers see spiritual discipline as a way to ultimate enlightenment, but to achieve this enlightenment, it is necessary to die to the self and life entirely to God. (2)

A Reading from Songs of Kabir

THE moon shines in my body, but my blind eyes cannot see it:
The moon is within me, and so is the sun.
The unstruck drum of Eternity is sounded within me; but my deaf ears cannot hear it.
So long as man clamours for the I and the Mind, his works are as naught:
When all love of the I and the Mine is dead, then the work of the Lord is done.
For work has no other aim than the getting of knowledge:
When that comes, then work is put away.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sok/sokoo.htm

MUSIC - Jennifer Keeney, flute

The Qur'an itself insists on the equality of men and women. Women may keep their own name when they marry and retain the right to independent ownership of her own property, which she may dispose of as she wishes. Although women have the right to inherit property, she only receives one-half portion that a man inherits. This is believed to be fair as she keeps her own wealth that she brings into her marriage, as well as her husband's need for the resources to support h is family. There is no legal hindrance to women seeking a profession or work outside the home. Contrary to the teachings of the Qur'an, many Muslim cultures continue to dominate women. Cultural norms that are not Islamic in origin (the seclusion of women, moral double standards, and customs of dress) as well as more strict interpretation of the Qur'an are used to justify this domination. (2)

A Reading from the Qur'an, Sura 4: Women; 1, 34

l. O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty toward Allah in Whom ye claim (your rights) of one another, and toward the wombs (that bare you). Lo! Allah hath been a watcher over you.

34. Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beads apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.

Music - Jennifer Keeney, flute

All Muslims, men as well as women, are expected to dress modestly. This takes many different forms in Muslim societies around the world. Usually this means loose fitting clothing for men with the addition of the veil for women. The veil is a symbol of a woman's inviolability, respectability and modesty. In countries such as Iran, the Sudan, and Afghanistan, wearing the veil is enforced by law. Other countries such as Turkey and Tunisia either prohibit wearing religious clothing in public or fight enforcement of wearing the veil. Women in many Arabian countries have worn the veil for centuries and are completely accustomed to it. The Qur'anic ideal is that women should wear a veil any time they leave their homes. (1)

A Reading from the Qur'an, Sura 24: The Light; 30-31

30. Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be modest. That is purer for them. Lo! Allah is aware of what they do.

31. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands or fathers or husbands' fathers, or their sons or their husbands' sons, or their brothers or their brother's sons or sisters' sons, or their women, or their slaves, or male attendants who lack vigour, or children who know naught of women's nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn until Allah together, O believers, in order that ye may succeed.

Music - Jennifer Keeney, flute

The concept of "jihad" or "holy war" is explained by Muslims as being the struggle that takes places within an individuals soul to conquer the temptation to choose evil over good. This is referred to as the "great jihad". The "lesser jihad" is what takes place when the body of Islam itself is under attack. The Qur'an calls Islam the religion of peace, and terrorism is expressly prohibited. The vast majority of Muslims find acts of wholesale destruction and the killing of innocent men, women and children detestable. (2,3)

A Reading from the Qur'an, Sura 60: She Who Is Tested; 5-9

5. Our Lord! Make us not a prey for those who disbelieve, and forgive us, our Lord! Lo! Thou, only Thou, are the Mighty, the Wise.
6. Verily ye have in them a goodly pattern for everyone who looketh to Allah and the Last Day. And whosoever may turn away, lo! still Allah, He is the Absolute, the Owner of Praise.
7. It may be that Allah will ordain love between you and those of them with whom ye are at enmity. Allah is Mighty and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
8. Allah forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion and drove you not our from your homes, that ye should show them kindness and deal justly with them. Lo! Allah loveth the just dealers.
9. Allah forbiddeth you only those who warred against you on account of religion and have driven you out from your homes and helped to drive you out, that ye make friends of them. Whosoever maketh friends of them - (All) such are wrong-doers.

(1) Chebel, Malek, Symbols of Islam, Assouline Publishing, New York, 2000.
(2) Marston Speight, God is One: The Way of Islam, Friendship Press, New York, 2001
(3) J.A.Ibrahim, A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, Darussalam Publishers, Houston, TX 1997.

Music - Jennifer Keeney, flute

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene

1) When Mary had said this, she fell silent, since it was to this point that the Savior had spoken with her.
2) But Andrew answered and said to the brethren, Say what you wish to say about what she has said. I at least do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are strange ideas.
3) Peter answered and spoke concerning these same things.
4) He questioned them about the Savior: Did He really speak privately with a woman and not openly to us? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did He prefer her to us?
5) Then Mary wept and said to Peter, My brother Peter., what do you think? Do you think that I have thought this up myself in my heart, or that I am lying about the Savior?
6) Levi answered and said to Peter, Peter you have always been hot tempered.
7) Now I see you contending against the women like the adversaries.
8) But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well.
9) That is why He loved her more than us. Rather let us be ashamed and put on the perfect Man, and separate as He commanded us and preach the gospel, not laying down any other rule or other law beyond what the Savior said.
10) And when they heard this they began to go forth to proclaim and to preach.

http://www.gnosis.org/library/maryagosp.htm

Call to Conversation

Closing Music - Jennifer Keeney, flute

We ask for your comments/thoughts to continue our Sunday conversation.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

2007-08-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

CALL TO PRAYER

CALL TO SILENCE AND OPENING MEDITATION

Today we will begin a two-week exploration of Islam with the help of the "Peace Village" kit compiled by the Episcopal Diocese. This week, we will explore general information about Islam. Next week, we will study more fully what it means to be Shi'a and Sunni, the role of women in Islamic society, Islamic dress, and the concept of "jihad".

READINGS:

Sura 1. al-Fatihah: The Opening

1. In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
2. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
3. The Beneficent, the Merciful.
4. Master of the Day of Judgment,
5. Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.
6. Show us the straight path,
7. The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those
who go astray.
(http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/pick/001.htm)

About Islam, compiled from various sources as noted.

The religion of Islam is the acceptance of and obedience to the teachings of God which He revealed to H is last prophet, Muhammad. For the Muslim, there is only one, unique, incomparable God. He has no son or partner. God alone is the Almighty, the Creator, the Sovereign, and the Sustainer of everything in the whole universe. Nothing happens that is not His will; He is the All-wise and all knowing. If one wants something from God, he or she can ask God directly, with no need for anyone else to intercede. Islam rejects that God has any human characteristics or is incarnate in any human being. These ideas are blasphemous. Allah is the Arabic word which means God (the one and only true Tod). God is also referred to as Allah in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. Muslims believe in the existence of angels, who worship God, obey him, and act only by his command. Among the Angels is Gabriel, who brought the Qur'an to Muhammad. God revealed books to His messengers, among which is the Qu'ran. There have been many prophets and messengers of God, including Adam, Noah, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them), however, His last and final messenger was the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims also believe in the day of Judgment (the Day of Resurrection) as well as in Al-Qadar, which is Divine Predestination. Belief in Divine Predestination, however, does not mean that human beings do not have free will. Human beings are free to choose right or wrong and are responsible for their choices.

The Qur'an is the last revealed word of God and is the primary source of every Muslim's faith and practice. It addresses all subjects of concern to human beings: wisdom, doctrine, worship, transactions, and law, with the basic theme being the relationship between God and His creatures. The Qur'an provides guidelines and detailed teachings for a just society, proper human conduct, and an equitable economic system. The Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad in Arabic only, so any translation is not the Qur'an or a version of the Qur'an, but only a translation of the meaning of the Qur'an. 1

The Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca between 569 and 571. His father died before his birth and his mother shortly after. Muhammad was cared for by his grandfather, but on his death was raised by an uncle. Although illiterate for h is entire life, Muhammad gained a reputation for absolute integrity. 2 At the age of 40, the Angel Gabriel appeared to him with the first of the revelations which came to be known as the Qur'an. The revelations continued for 23 years. Muhammad began to recite the Qur'an and preach the truths taught to him by God, but he and his followers began to be persecuted. God commanded them to emigrate, and this emigration marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar. Before his death at the age of 63, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula had become Muslim, and within a century, Islam had spread to Spain and China. 1 It is inappropriate to call Muslims "Mohammedan" as this creates a false analogy about the religion of Islam. Unlike Christians, who worship Christ, Muslims do not worship Mohammad.

If not for the spread of Islam, which instructs man to use his powers of intelligence and observation, many scientific developments would not have taken place. Muslim scientists were responsible for advances in medicine, mathematics, physics, astronomy, geography, architecture, art, literature, and history. Algebra, the Arabic numerals, the the concept of zero were brought to medieval Europe by Muslims. The astrolabe, the quadrant, and navigational maps were developed by Muslims.

Jesus (peace be upon him) is respected and revered by Muslims and is considered one of God's greatest messengers to mankind. The Qur'an confirms his virgin birth, and there is a chapter devoted to his mother, Mary. Jesus was born miraculously by the command of God, just as Adam was brought into being without a father or mother. He performed many miracles during his prophetic mission, but was not crucified. God placed the likeness of Jesus on another man, who was crucified in his place, while Jesus was raised up to Him. Muhammad and Jesus did not come to change the belief in one God, but to confirm and renew the messages of the earlier prophets. 1

The Five Pillars of Islam form the framework of a Muslim's life. These Five Pillars are the testimony of faith, prayer, giving support to the needy, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca) for those who are able. The Testimony of Faith is "There is no true God but God (Allah) and Muhammad is the Messenger of God". Prayer is performed five times a day; at dawn, noon mid-afternoon, sunset, and night. Giving support to the needy (Zakat) encourages new growth and ones possessions are purified by setting aside a small portion for others. Fasting during the month of Ramadan is beneficial to physical health and is a method of spiritual self-purification. The Pilgrimage to Makkah is an obligation for those who are able and includes wearing special simple clothes, circling the Kaaba seven times, as well as asking God for forgiveness. 1

1 I.A. Ibrahim, A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, Darussalam, Publishers and Distributors, Houston, TX. 1997.
2 R. Marston Speight, God is One: The Way of Islam, Friendship Press, Cincinnati, OH, 2001.

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene

"Attachment to matter gives rise to passion against nature. Thus trouble arises in the whole body;

This is why I tell you 'Be in harmony. . .' If you are out of balance, take inspiration from manifestations of your true nature.

Those who have ears, let them hear."

After saying this, the Blessed One greeted them all, saying: "Peace be with you-may my Peace arise and be fulfilled within you!"

(Betty Adam, The Magdalene Mystique, Appendix B, Jean-Yves LeLoup translation, pp.134-145)

CALL TO CONVERSATION

CLOSING MEDITATION

Sura 35

1. Praise be to Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, Who appointeth the angels messengers having wings two, three and four. He multiplieth in creation what He will. Lo! Allah is Able to do all things.
2. That which Allah openeth unto mankind of mercy none can withhold it; and that which He withholdeth none can release thereafter. He is the Mighty, the Wise.
3. O mankind! Remember Allah's grace toward you! Is there any creator other than Allah who provideth for you from the sky and the earth? There is no God save Him. Whither then are ye turned?

We ask for your comments/thoughts to continue our Sunday conversation. Thank you.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

2007-08-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

CALL TO SILENCE AND OPENING MEDITATION

Greetings from His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama to Buddhist Women:

Converting other people to Buddhism is not my concern. I am interested in how we Buddhists can contribute to human society. The Buddha gave us an example of contentment and tolerance, through serving others unselfishly. I believe that his teachings and example can still contribute to global peace and individual happiness.
The Buddha was born an ordinary person like ourselves. But after observing the suffering of human beings, that they grow old, fall sick and die, he totally renounced the worldly way of life in his determination to find a solution. Having undertaken severe physical penances, he purified and illumined his mind through intense meditation and attained supreme enlightenment. He showed that purifying the mind is not easy. It takes a lot of time and hard work. But this is also true of any human enterprise. You need tremendous willpower and determination right from the start, accepting that there will be many obstacles, and resolving that despite them all you will continue until you have attained your goal.
Moved by a spontaneous concern to help others, the Buddha spent the rest of his life as a homeless monk, sharing his experience with everyone who wished to listen. Both the view of dependent arising and his advise not to harm anyone, but to help whoever you can, emphasize the practice of nonviolence. This remains one of the most potent forces for good in the world today, for nonviolence means to be of service to our fellow beings.
It is the nature of human beings to yearn for freedom, equality and dignity. If we accept that others have a right to peace and happiness equal to our own, do we not have a responsibility to help those in need? All human beings, whatever their cultural or historical background, suffer when they are intimidated, imprisoned, tortured or discriminated against. The question of human rights is so fundamentally important that there should be no difference of views on this.
Our rich diversity of cultures and tradition should help to strengthen fundamental human rights in all communities. Mere tradition can never justify violations of human rights. Thus, discrimination against persons of a different race, against women, and against weaker sections of society may be traditional in some places, but because they are inconsistent with universally recognized human rights, these forms of behavior should change. The universal principle of the equality of all human beings must take precedence.
Whenever Buddhism has taken root in a new land there has always been a certain variation in the style in which it is observed. This evolves over time. The Buddha himself taught different things according to the place, the occasion and the situation of those who were listening to him. What distinguishes the contemporary situation is that almost the entire array of Buddhist traditions that evolved in different lands are now accessible to anyone who is interested. Especially heartening is that Buddhist women are casting off traditional and outmoded restraints and dedicating themselves to implementing and promoting Buddhist practice.
Peaceful living is about trusting those on whom we depend and caring for those who depend on us. Even if only a few individuals try to create mental peace and happiness within themselves and act responsibly and kind-heartedly towards others, they will have a positive influence in their community. As well as being equally capable, women have an equal responsibility to do this.
Remembering the kind influence of my own mother, I pray that women working for inner peace and, through that, peace in the world, may be blessed with success.

--From a message sent by His Holiness to the fourth International Conference of Buddhist Women, held in Ladakh, August 1995. (Reprinted from Sakyadita, the magazine of the International Assoc. of Buddhist Women, Spring, 1996) http://hhdl.dharmakara.net/sakyadit.html

READINGS

About Tibetan Buddhism, compiled from various sources as noted.

Due to the difficulties of gaining access to this mountainous region and the absence of established trade routes, Buddhism did not enter Tibet until the eighth century. The form of Buddhism which flourished there is known variously as Tantra, Vajrayana ("The Vehicle of the Thunderbolt"), or - because of the frequent use it makes of magical formulas and chants - Mantrayana.
The Vajrayana adopts Mahayana philosophy and cosmology and adds a rich symbolism and set of religious practices of its own. The core of the movement is a set of arcane treatises known as Tantras, composed in India in the latter part of the first millennium. The Tantras makes use of mystical diagrams (mandalas) and magic formulas (mantras), and are written in a mysterious 'twilight language' (sandhyabhasa) to which only initiates have the key. Initiation is given by a guru "Tibetan: lama" who then teaches the esoteric meaning of the words and symbols to his students. Based on the view that nirvana and samsaara are not different, the Tantras teach that anything - even desire - can profitably be used as a means to liberation. The passions come to be regarded not as inherently wicked by simply as a powerful form of energy which - rather like electricity - can be used for many purposes. Sexual desire, in particular, formerly regarded as the greatest obstacle to religious progress for monks, came to be seen as a potent force which, if properly harnessed, could accelerate spiritual development.

--from Damien Keown, Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford:Oxford University Press, 1996), 80-83

Thunderbolt Scepter and Bell

Thunderbolt scepter and bell, Vajra and Ghanta, Dorie and Drilbu, are the most frequently encountered objects on the Diamond Path (Vajrayana). Together they represent both the most ordinary and the most complex symbol of Tibetan Buddhism. Whether present in solitary meditation or in the vast gatherings that mark monastic life, their role is essential; without them rites and ceremonies are hardly conceivable.
Unified, they form a symbol which is associated with the incorruptible purity of the diamond, with the truth that no force, no weapon, can destroy. Simultaneously, but in another register, they represent the victory of knowledge over ignorance, the mystery of spirit over the "poisons" that tarnish existence.
The thunderbolt scepter, held in the practitioner's right hand, is a token of stability of the method, while the bell, in his left hand, is a reminder of the wisdom of impermanence. Equilibrium between the two is established through ritual gestures, the mudra. In the hands of the masters of esoteric interpretation, this inseparable pair signifies the unity of masculine power and of feminine energy, or the emblem of the dual unity of absolute and relative truths.

--Claude B. Levenson, Forward by the Dalai Lama, Symbols of Tibetan Buddhism (Barnes & Noble, 2003),48.

The Prayer Wheel

...The khorten, commonly called the 'prayer wheel', is undoubtedly the Buddhist ritual object best known to the profane, as well as being the pilgrim's dearest companion. Another name for it is the chos-kor, which means 'to turn the doctrine' and refers to the first teaching of the Buddha, when he set the Wheel of the Law in motion.
From the smallest to the largest, the prayer wheel always consists of a hollow cylindrical body, usually of metal, engraved with mystic emblems or prayers. It is penetrated along its axis by a rod provided with a handle, if portable, or with two clips if it is fixed to a stand.
Enclosed in the chos-kor are sacred texts or invocations (mantra), written on paper or parchment. The cylinder of the wheel is rotated in the same direction as the sun, and each turn is the equivalent of a reading of the prayers enclosed within. Set in motion, the wheel emits a gentle ticking sound in pace with the walker's rhythm. According to the faithful, this attests to the flight of the prayers thus scattered to the four winds. The portable prayer wheel is fitted with a ball at the end of a small chain fixed midway along the metal body; with a flick of the wrist, the person carrying the wheel sets its twirling rhythm.

--Claude B.Levenson, Forward by the Dalai Lama, Symbols of Tibetan Buddhism(Barnes & Noble,2003),30.

Sacred Mantra: Om Mani Peme Hung

This millennial litany is both the symbol of Buddhist life in Tibet and the expression of a way of being...The Tibetans pronounce it om mani peme hung, and its simplest translation would be 'om jewel of the lotus om'. For the common believer, its incantatory recitation suffices to ensure his spiritual well-being. For the advanced adept, the complexity of the successive layers of meaning of each of the sounds, taken individually or as a whole, unveils the thousand and eight facets of reality - or illusion. The origin of this mantra is associated with Chenresig- Avalokitesvara, the Great Compassionate One. He is the supreme Protector of Tibet, and is incarnated in the Dalai Lama, who thereby remains the spiritual and temporal leader against all
comers.
...Om is the body, the speech and the mind of the disciple, at the same time as those of a Buddha: it symbolizes their metamorphosis, or the attainment of Enlightenment. Mani, the Jewel proper, grants all wishes and signifies the supreme goal to which one aspires. Peme, the lotus flower, embodies wisdom, particularly that of the perfect void. And hung expresses the indivisibility, the indissociable unity of method and wisdom.
Roughly speaking, the Great Tibetan Mantra states that the practice of a way, by the inseparable union of wisdom and appropriate means, can serve to transform a common body, speech and mind into the perfectly pure equivalent of a Buddha: a whole program of life based on discipline and reflection, pushed to absolute limits, until the attainment of full Enlightenment.

--Claude B. Levenson, Forward by the Dalai Lama, Symbols of Tibetan Buddhism(Barnes & Noble,2003),34.

The Rosary (Mala)

The Mala is a rosary in the Buddhist manner, one of the essential attributes of the pilgrim and of many deities. It has 108 beads, and is used to recite prayers, but above all, to count the number of repetitions of a particular formula, intoned to a select deity.

The mani happens to enjoy the greatest favor. A widespread practice, which may be individual or collective, is to repeat this mantra a million times, for purification, or to increase one's merits. The exercise also helps to calm and clarify one's thoughts, which is the indispensable preparatory phase for meditation.

--Claude B. Levenson, Forward by the Dalai Lama,Symbols of Tibetan Buddhism(Barnes & Noble,2003),36.

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary (trans. Karen King)

Mary responded, "I will teach you about what is hidden from you." And she began to speak these words to them.

She said,"I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, 'Lord, I saw you today in a vision.' He answered me, 'How wonderful you are for not wavering at seeing me! For where the mind is, there is the treasure.'

"The soul replied, saying,'What binds me has been slain, and what surrounds me has been destroyed, and my desire has been brought to an end, and ignorance has died. In a [wor]ld, I was set loose from a world [an]d in a type, from a type which is above, and (from) the chain of forgetfulness which exists in time. From this hour on, for the time of the due season of the aeon, I will receive rest i[n] silence.'"

After Mary had said these things, she was silent, since it was up to this point that the Savior had spoken to her.

--from Karen King, The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle
http://www.maryofmagdala.com/GMary_Text/gmary_text.html

CALL TO CONVERSATION

CLOSING MEDITATION

"There is not a single aspect of the eighty-four thousand sections of the Buddha's teachings which is not contained in Avalokiteshvara's six syllable mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum" [Tibetan: Om Mani Peme Hung], and as such the qualities of the "mani" are praised again and again the the Sutras and Tantras...Whether happy or sad, if we take the "mani" as our refuge, Chenrezig will never forsake us, spontaneous devotion will arise in our minds and the Great Vehicle will effortlessly be realized."

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche--Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones
http://dharma-haven.org/tibetan/meaning-of-om-mani-padme-hung.htm

CHANT

Om Mani Peme Hung

We ask for your comments/thoughts to continue our Sunday conversation.

Sunday, July 29,2007

2007-07-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

"The Paradox of Good and Evil"

Imagine taking a lamp into a place which has been dark for a thousand years; that lamp will instantly pierce the darkness, and dispel it. In the same way a single spark of wisdom can dispel ignorance that has lasted for aeons.

Do not worry about the past; the past is over, and cannot be recovered. Concentrate on the future; in particular, concentrate on the next moment, dispelling all darkness from your mind.

To the ignorant mind good and evil are opposites. To the wise mind there can be no duality, only unity. True unity cannot be polluted by evil, nor can it be cleansed by goodness. Yet one evil thought can spoil the merit accumulated over many lives, and one good thought can expiate the sins of many lives. So watch over the mind, ensuring that only good thoughts pass through it; by this means you will move towards enlightenment, in which there is neither good nor evil.

Hui-neng 6 --from The Global Spirit Library:366 Readings from Buddhism ed. Robert Van de Weyer (Cleveland, Ohio: THe Pilgrim Press, 2000)

READINGS:
About Mahayana and Zen Buddhism, compiled from various sources as noted.

THe Bodhisattva Path
What followers of teh Mahayana sought abovaae all through their religious practice was to follow the bodhisattva path. Over the course of several centuries the various stages in the "career" of a bodhisattva were worked out in some detail. The crucial initial stage is the arising of what is known as the "thought of enlightenment" or bodhicitta. This might be likened to a conversion experience, and is the point at which the initial motivation to become a bodhisattva in order to save others arises. The individual then seeks initiation as a bodhisattva, in the course of which he takes a vos (pranidhana) to save all beings by leading them to nirvana, regardless of how long it takes.

Bodhisattvas who had reached the higher stages of their careers were visualized as enormously powerful beings, virtually identical to the Buddha in his heavenly form. Indeed, the distinction between a Buddha and an advancead bodhisattva becomes extremely blurred. [One] of the most important in the ranks of these 'celestial' bodhisattvas [is] Avalokitesvara, 'The Lord who Looks Down (in compassion)'. . .

--from Damien Keown, Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1996), 63-64

Kuan-yin
Kuan-yin originated as an Indo-Tibetan divinity and was introduced into China by the Mahayana school about the fifth century c.e. Kumerajiva, who entered China in the fifth century, was the first to render the Hindu name Avalokitesvara (Sanskrit) by its Chinese equivalent "Kuan-yin". The name Kuan-yin is a bad Chinese translation of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara...Her name means "She who hears the sounds (prayers) of mortals; she who looks down upon the world and hears its cries.".

Kuan-yin was said to be so concerned for humanity that, upon receiving enlightenment, she chose to retain human form rather than transcend it as pure energy. She wanted to stay until every living creature attained enlightenment. For centuries, as a result, she has been the chief symbol of human compassion.

--from Grace Ji-Sun Kim, The Grace of Sophia (Cleveland, Ohio: The Pilgrim Press, 2002), 90-93

Zazen
Usually religion develops itself in the realm of consciousness, seeking to perfect its organization, building beautiful buildings, creating music, evolving a philosophy, and so forth. These are religious activities in the conscious world.
But Buddhism emphasizes the world of unconsciousness. The best way to develop Buddhism is to sit in zazen-just to sit, with a firm conviction in our true nature. This way is much better than to read books or study the philosopohy of Buddhism. Of course it is necessary to study the philosophy--it will strengthen your conviction. Buddhist philosophy is so universal and logical that it is not just the philosophy of Buddhism, but of life itself. The purpose of Buddhist teachings is to point to life itself existing beyond consciousness in our pure original mind.

I am very glad to be here on the day Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bo tree. When he attained enlightenment under the Bo tree, he said, "It is wonderful to see Buddha nature in everything and in each individual!" What he meant was that when we practice zazen we have Buddha nature, and each of us is Buddha himself. By practice he did not mean just to sit under the Bo tyree, or to sit in the cross-legged posture. It is true that this posture is the basic one or original way for us, but actually what Buddha meant was that mountains, trees, flowing water, flowers, and plants-everything as it is-is the way Buddha is. It means everything is taking Buddha's activity, each thing in its own way.

If you continue this simple practice every day, you will obtain some wonderful power. Before you attain it, it is something wonderful, but after you attain it, it is nothing special.

Buddha nature is our original nature; we have it before we practice zazen and before we acknowledge it in terms of consciousness. So in this sense, whatever we do is Buddha's activity. If you want to understand it, you cannot understand it. When you give up trying to understand it, true understanding is always there.
-from Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practicea (Boston: Weatherhill/Shambala, 1970, reprint 2005), 130,131,46

An excerpt from "Perfect wisdom for a moment"

Those who think that perfect wisdom can be realized by believing certain doctrines, will never realize perfect wisdom. Those who think that perfect wisdom can be realized by studying external objects, will never realize perfect wisdom. Only those who look within themselves for perfect wisdom, will realize it.
Hui-neng 10
-from The Global Spirit LIbrary:366 Readings from Buddhism ed. Robert Van dea Weyer (Cleveland, Ohio: The Pilgrim Press, 2000).

A Reading from The Gospel of Mary (trans. Karen King)

When the Blessed One had said these things, he greeted them all, "Peace be with you!" he said. "Acquire my peace within yourselves!"
"Be on your guard so that no one deceives you by saying, 'Look over here!' or 'Look over there!' For the child of true Humanity exists within you. Follow it! Those who search for it will find it.
"Go then, preac[h] the good news about the Realm. [Do] not lay down any rule beyond what I determined for you, nor promulgate law like the lawgiver, or else you might be dominated by it."
After he had said these things, he departed from them.
-from Karen King, The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle http://www.maryofmagdala.com/GMary_Text/gmary_text.html

Call to Conversation
Closing Meditation

Bodhisattva Vows (changed in unison)

Beings are numberless
I vow to save them
Delusions are inexhaustible
I vow to end them
Dharma gates are boundless
I vow to enter them
Buddha's way is unsurpassable
I vow to become it.

We ask for your thoughts/comments to continue our conversation.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

2007-07-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

Music: Kari Perkins

Hodu L'Adonai (Psalm 118)

Hodu L'Adonai ki tov
Ki l'olam chasdo
Yomar na Yisrael
Ki l'olam chasdo
Yom'ru na Beit Aharon
Ki l'olan chasdo
Yom'ru yir'ei Adonai
Ki l'olam chasdo

Give praises to God for God is good.
God's steadfast love is eternal.
May Israel declare it.
May the house of Aaron declare it.
May those who fear God declare it.

Readings

About Judaism, compiled from various sources
(each paragraph read by a different person)

As we discussed last week, the Torah, which is comprised of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Deuteronomu, Nmbers, Leviticus, and Exodus: is the most holy book for the Jews. It is housed in a box or container called the ARK. The TOrah is usually a scroll and is only touched with a special pointer or Yad, as it is too holy for human touch. The Torah is kept in the synagogue, which is the place of worship. Interestingly, the Jewish spiritual leader, or Rabbi, which means teacher, has no special religious status, unlike leaders in many other faiths.

There are different levels of orthodoxy in the Jewish religion: orthodox, conservative reformed, and a newly formed branch called progressive. For all Jews, the most important day of the week is the Sabbath or Shabbat, which is a day made holy by refraining from weekday work while eating with family, praying, and attending Synagogue. The Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday.

Many Jews wear a skullcap called a Kippah. Some wear it all the time, some just at Synagogue. An orthodox Jew must keep his head covered at all times and may even wear a skullcap under a larger hat for security. Head covers for women are optional. A prayer shawl or Tallit can be worn during prayer, the fringe on the shawl to remind him of the many commandments of the Torah. A tefilin, a small leather box with long leather straps, can be affixed to the forearm or head during prayer, a reminder to keep God's laws in the wearer's heart and mind.

Jewish boys become adults after a period of study in a ceremony called Bar Mitzvah, which means son of the Commandments. Reformed and conservative American Jewish girls can become daughters in a similar ceremony called a Bat Mitzvah.

Lastly, Jews marry in a service called Kiddushin, which is Hebrew for Holy or special. The couple marries under a huppah or canopy and write a contract or Ketubah. A glass is broken to remind the couple that sadness is always just around the corner for Jews. It is also a reminder of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem as well as a reminder of the permanence of marriage.

It is customary at the beginning of Shabbat for the family to light candles and join in prayer:

As these Shabbat candles give light to all who behold them,
so may we, by our lives, give light to all who behold us.
As their brightness reminds us of the generations of Israel who
have kindled light, so may we, in our own day, be among
those who kindle light.

The parents now bless the children saying:

May God bless you and guide you. Be strong for the truth, charitable
in your words, just and loving in your deeds. A noble heritage has
been entrusted to you; guard it well.

Music: Kari Perkins

Shalon Rav

Shalom rav al Yisrael am'cha tasim l'olam
Ki atah hu Melech Adon l'chol ha shalom
V'tov b'einacha l'vareich et am'cha Yisrael
B'chol et uv'chol sha'ah bishlomecha
Baruch atah Adonai ham;vorach et amo Yisrael ha'hashalom.

Bestow peace upon Your people Israel forever,
For You are King, Master of all Peace.
May it be good in Your eyes to bless Your people Israel,
At every time and every hour, with Your peace.
Blessed are You, Lord, who blesses His people Israel with peace.

A poem for Home or Synagogue (from Gates of the House)

Something is very gently, invisibly, silently, pulling
at me - a thread or net of threads finer than cobweb
and as elastic. I haven't tried the strength of it. No
barbed hook pierced and tore me. Was it not long ago
this thread began to draw me? Or way back? Was I born
with its knot about my neck, a bridle? Not fear but a
stirring or wonder makes me catch my breath when I
feel the tug of it when I though it had loosed itself
and gone.

A Reading from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene

"Impose no law other than that which I have witnessed. Do not add more laws to those give in the Torah, lest you become bound by them." Having said all this, he departed.

Call to Conversation

Closing Meditation

No Snake, by Annie Finch

Inside my Eden, I can find no snake.
There's not one I could look to and believe,
obey and then be ruined by and leave
because of, bearing children and an ache.

I circle down on Eden from above,
searching the fields in solitude and love
like a high hawk. She would never forsake

this place that's made again of memory;
she'd wait in that tree below me, spring
out towards my growing shadow, let it bring
a sudden hope that she could coil free;

but she's not here. Only mountains that curve,
and dip around the valley when I swerve,
settle with dark heights, as I near the tree.

Music: Kari Perkins

Modim Anachnu Lach

Modim anachnu lach she'atah hu Adonai Eloheinu
Elohei avoteinu l'olam va'ed
Tzur chayeinu magen ish'enu
Atah hu l'dor vador

We gratefully thank You, for You are the Lord our God,
And God of our ancestors, forever and ever.
Rock of our lives, shield of our salvation,
You are the One, from generation to generation.

The Mary Magdalene Community kindly asks for your comments/thoughts to continue our conversation.