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
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 23,2008
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.
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.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
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
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
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
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