Monday, September 29, 2014

Nature's Wisdom for a Beautiful Life

Today I'm featuring a guest post from my friend Fatima Sissoko. She originally posted this on Facebook and it was so beautiful and true, I just knew it belonged here! For more from Fatima, please visit her blog Charmed and Strangerous.

Naturally, Human Nurture
Whenever I hear people discussing and lamenting over how people change, I like to remind myself that humans can always learn from Nature, whence we came and where we will return after our stint here on Earth.
When people grow cold and indifferent and their long record of loyalty and commitment grow shorter like autumn days, remember that vegetation copes with the colder months by shedding their superficial layers.
Remember that underneath is a network of roots and support systems that keep the plant alive. Then so must you, finding those people who are willing to keep you alive during your hardships, who are willing to act as your hearth when others are chilled towards you.
There are some people, though, that seem dormant, static, unresponsive, but all they need are the right conditions to bloom and to thrive. Some people are born hardy but only bloom when they have enough of the right resources to nourish their beauty. They are waiting for their morning chill to give over to new springs of life.
And when you find dead parts about you, parts that may be holding you back or, perhaps, even killing you slowly, remind yourself to prune those parts of you in order to see more growth in your future. Worry less about the loss of the living and focus more on unloading the burden of dead weight, so that you don’t break yourself under the pressure.
Remember that there is no sadness coded in the cycles of Life. Be reassured that what goes around will surely come back around to remind you that love, happiness, pain, beauty, and death are all the same word for human nature because to be human is to mimic creation in all its forms, including the first frosts that signal the onset of closing chapters.
And lastly, remember that which we miss and those who we cherish are demonstrated in our abilities to survive icy, winter storms. To fashion better stories we first have to live to tell our tales.

Usually I would write something pithy and poignant here but I simply can't follow Miss Sissoko's wonderful words. Bravo, Tima, and encore!

And, as always, double underlined links/ads are not my doing. They are generated without my consent and I have no control over the content.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

True Love

Just a thought before I drift off to Dreamland...

I just got back from the Yami Bolo show. He sang a song which goes, in part, "Jah Jah give me true love. I need not search no more." I really don't know if he said this or not, because I don't believe he generally does, but at one point I heard "Jah Jah teach me true love." And I think, yes, that IS the point. Receiving God's perfect love teaches us how to give that same love to others.

Blessings! 



A note on the video: It was the only vid of this song I could find using the Blogger link embed feature. Usually doesn't sound quite like this. I'm betting it's because he's apparently playing with a recording here. Tonight he was playing with a live band and they were hot like fire! (Pictured above, at top.) If you follow the link by clicking the word "song" in the third sentence it SHOULD take you to a better version. For some reason it comes up as a totally different video when I try to embed it.



As always, a warning not to click the uninvited links.


Friday, September 12, 2014

Ask Your Reader and Being Stuck

The title of this post harkens back to my last post, Meet Your Reader. Now that you know me, I hope you'll feel more comfortable coming to me with whatever is on your mind/heart/spirit. Much like my last post, this one is very uncomfortable for me to write because it hints at that which is exemplified by having a blog at all: Arrogance. See, in order to write a blog you first must assume you have something to say that is worth reading. Today I'm suggesting that I might even have something helpful to say. A lot of people come to me for advice, and not just in my capacity as a Tarot reader. A couple people have even said I'm their conscience. Sounds arrogant, doesn't it? Hey, they said it, not me! So, in a move of supreme arrogance I'm introducing a new feature to the blog, a sort of advice column. In our area there is a neighborhood where trendy, young hipsters hang out called Ghent. There is a Facebook page called Ghent Confessions to which people write in their confessions anonymously using ask.fm. Then other people proceed to say all kinds of horrible things to the confessor. I thought that so many of these people want help but all they get on Ghent Confessions is hate. Wouldn't it be nice for people to submit these things to someone who would actually want to help them?! So, I've launched the Bridge Tarot ask.fm service. At least until I figure out how to add it more permanently to my site, I'll be adding that link to every new blog post. Remember, this is for normal advice or questions about something you think I might have special knowledge about like mythology, shamanism, affirmative prayer, etc. If I don't have a complete enough answer for you I will do my best to put you in contact with a better source. If you would like a Tarot reading, please contact me through a private message via Gmail or Facebook. Now, without further ado, the conversation that gave me the inspiration for this new service. I thought it would be helpful to leave this in dialogue, since that is the most natural mode for the human mind to exchange information. This is a reproduction of a text message conversation, with the permission of the other person, who will remain anonymous. We will call this person Blue, in honor of the Doctor Who episode I watched last night. Anything in [brackets] is added for explication and flavor.

[I see a post on Facebook that makes me concerned for "Blue". I text.]


Me: You ok?
Blue: Yeah, just discouraged. I feel like things aren't getting any better or more resolved. : /
Me: Two things have recently given me this message: Sometimes the best thing to do is just wait. Waiting can be necessary and helpful. When things feel stuck there is a lesson waiting to be learned in order to move on to the next level. [Frequently, when I am supposed to be learning something, a friend will come to me with a similar issue so we can learn it together and help each other.]
Blue: But what's the line? At what point does waiting go from being patient to being ineffectual?
Me: It's not about being patient but rather about being present.
Blue: Can you explain this concept of being present, and in what context?
Me. The waiting exists for a reason. It has a cause. It has a solution. It has a lesson. The solution is learning the lesson. The lesson is related to the cause. Better?
Blue: I think so, O vague mystic...
Me [because my sense of humor was surgically removed at birth]: Mysticism is necessarily vague. The Divine can't be expressed in language. Only in experience.
Blue: Goethe said we should speak less and, like nature, draw more. Create sketches.
Me [oblivious to what Blue just said because I'm typing frantically]: Basically whatever situation you're stuck in, you're stuck in for a reason. When you figure out what is causing the stagnation you will have learned something. Like a doctor discovering a new illness. Once you recognize the pathogen you can develop a cure [I'm no biologist, so don't fault me if this is technically incorrect in some inconvenient fashion.] This, of course, happens on both a literal cause and effect level and on the spiritual level of the soul contract you wrote for yourself.
Me [finally catching up with what Blue has said]: I was never very good at the visual arts.
Blue: Trust me, I've been wracking my brain over it like crazy. Soul contract? I'm so lost.
Me: Soul contract is the agreement your soul makes with itself and others before incarnating. Like your Higher Self's plan for your life. Try wracking your heart and intuition rather than your head if that bit isn't working.
Blue: I will.

[And then we talked about other, tangentially related things until I said "Must sleep now. Eyes closing. Resistance futile." and was out cold.]

Have you been feeling like you've been stuck in the same place and same issues recently? According to the shamans over at The Power Path, the astrological forecast for Spetember is change, change, CHANGE! I've definitely been getting this message over and over since the beginning of the month! So hang in there, you should be finding yourself on the move again soon; although, this part might be even less comfortable, depending on your self and circumstance. But remember, there is always a lesson and a higher purpose in what you're going through and how difficult it is for you relies, in great part, on how you choose to react to it. Blessed Be!

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Meet Your Reader

I just took a leap of faith into what I find to be a very scary lake... I recorded a video. I know, I know, so does everyone else on the planet these days, thanks to social media. But I am SO camera shy! There's a reason the only time I've performed has been as a basically anonymous member of a chorus. Anyway, the video was so people considering my Tarot services could get to know me and the process a little better. Eventually I thought, "Y'know, it might be a good idea to post this on my blog too." My blog and my Tarot practice are supposed to be companions to each other, after all, not stand-alone projects. Someone who stumbles on my blog here is just as likely to be interested as someone who stumbles on my Facebook page. At the end of the video I give my contact info, including this web address. Since you obviously already have that, do me a favor: In your mind's eye, replace that web address with the one for my professional Facebook page, www.facebook.com/BridgeTarot



Don't make fun of the Swami Lisa look! I live in the swamp and it's hot here! (I forgot to turn the AC back down this morning. It was on 85)

FYI, I don't know why Google is suddenly using my blog to advertise. Don't click the blue double underlined links. I didn't post them, I don't condone them, I get no kickbacks from them, I don't know why they're there all of a sudden.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Affirmative Prayer and The Magic of Gratitude

If you've read my blog before, you know it's important to me to create a space where people of all beliefs and backgrounds feel comfortable, uplifted, and inspired. That said, this post comes from a decidedly Neo-Pagan context. Those studies are a place of safety and familiarity for me, things I need very much right now, so I've been immersing myself in that aspect of my spirituality recently. I have neglected that perspective for too long. So, this entry definitely contains food for thought for people from all walks; however, if my Pagan leanings tend to make you uncomfortable, you might want to skip this post. I hope you won't though, because you might find something worth thinking about. (Also, forgive me if I'm a bit jumpy and scatterbrained, I was reading instead of sleeping!) Love and Light, enjoy...

I just spent several hours reading books on ritual magic which I haven't read in years, since I haven't felt any pressing need to practice it during that time and I've got at least a second degree initiate's worth of information in my head (I'm estimating) if I wanted to. Quite a lot of it I find useful, quite a lot of it I find absurd. Unfortunately for the formidable Silver RavenWolf, it is one of the bits I disagreed with which sparked this post. She is discussing daily devotionals and proffers one which is strongly structured like a quarter calling.*The general gist is, "Guardians of the East, I greet you this day with perfect love and perfect trust. Grant to me your powers of intellect and insight." That's not verbatim, just an approximation. Seems pretty inoffensive, right? Well, I take issue -on several levels- with the beseeching tone, pleading for help. For one thing, when practicing magic, it is all about intent, the picture you have in your mind. If you enter into it with a picture in your mind of needing to receive that energy, you are focusing on lack. Thus, you are going to create lack. This is called the Law of Attraction when it comes to everyday thoughts and more mainstream modalities of prayer. Essentially, when you are vibrating on a certain level you're going to attract energies at that same level. When you focus on something, you are becoming a human, charged magnet for that something. Furthermore, it is not right to take the attitude of lacking anything from the Provider. Spirit's plan is Whole and perfect. We are part of Spirit and part of the Plan. We are whole and perfect. Spirit always provides exactly what we need, exactly when we need it; maybe not in a way pleasing to us but in the way necessary for the greatest good. Thus, really the only appropriate prayer is "Thank you." My husband told me recently of a passage he read in the Bible instructing people not to chant because it shows insufficient faith in God. I agree in spirit, but would like to make it clear I am not adopting the exact literal interpretation. I have a chant which is very useful to me, "Om Shanti Shanti Shanti", roughly meaning "Wholeness Peace Peace Peace." This is not beseeching God for peace; this is recognizing my responsibility as a co-creator with God to take control of my own headspace and to create peace within myself so that peace is the energy I bring forth into the world.
I recently attended a forum at the ARE** given by Peter Woodbury***. He emphasized the importance Cayce placed on focusing on an ideal. In the Platonic/Aristotlean sense, an Ideal, put simply, is a perfect version of something that exists on a superconscious level. It is never manifest in the imperfect world, but when we perceive beauty it is the closeness to the Ideal. Cayce said it is important for us, in meditation (the other side of the prayer coin) to focus on an Ideal. Maybe your Ideal is Krishna, maybe it's Buddha, maybe it's Jesus, maybe it's Odin, maybe it's amorphous. But not having an Ideal on which to focus is somewhat like going to college without any major. (Sorry, I can't think of a better similie right now; I know it's not perfect -see above- so let me know if you think of a better one!) Well, I have taken a rather circuitous route to this point, but essentially what I'm saying is that when you practice your form of affirmative co-creation, regardless of whether you call it magic or saying the rosary or what-have-you, it is important to have that Ideal fixed firmly in your mind. All that is God's is already yours, you are the heir to the Kingdom, for Thou Art That. you have no need to ask for anything, all you need to do is acknowledge what you already have. The real purpose of prayer/magic is not begging for what you want, it is putting YOURSELF and the energies around you in HARMONY with God so that you can recognize, accept, and utilize those blessings! In case you're wondering, I adopted Ms. RavenWolf's daily devotional, with the modification of some of the attributes. (For fire, I don't need to emphasize passion, I need to wick it off, so I used "warmth" instead so that that passion would be translated into affection, love, rather than in the more destructive ways fire and fiery emotions can manifest.) More importantly, instead of asking for these attributes I gave thanks for them. For your reading (and  perhaps praying) pleasure, this is my version. (Start with East as this is a morning prayer, so we begin in the direction of the rising sun.)

Guardians of the East,
I greet you this day in perfect love and perfect trust.
Thank you for your gifts of wisdom and vision.

Guardians of the South,
I greet you this day in perfect love and perfect trust.
Thank you for your gifts of creativity and warmth.

Guardians of the West,
I greet you this day in perfect love and perfect trust.
Thank you for your gifts of empathy and intuition.

Guardians of the North,
I greet you this day in perfect love and perfect trust.
Thank you for your gifts of patience and abundance.

Guardians of the Center,
I greet you this day in perfect love and perfect trust.
Thank you for your gifts of purity and righteousness.

Isn't that so much more positive and respectful? Wouldn't you rather someone thank you for what you have given than beseech you for even more gifts? I think God and God's spirits probably feel the same way. I felt so positive and full of joy and energy this morning after doing this devotion! I changed these stanzas for what I'm manifesting in my life, change them to suit your own needs. (For example, you could change "Guardians of..." to Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, and Spirit/God.) I'm here to help if you'd like. Share your suggestions and/or questions in the comments! The Silver RavenWolf book I reference is called To Ride a Silver Broomstick. For more on effective and affirmative prayer, please see Gregg Braden's beautiful book The Isaiah Effect. He also produced a video on the subject, which you can find here.

Footnotes:
*For those unfamiliar with the Craft, a quarter calling is part of creating a sacred space for the ensuing ritual, which invites beneficial energies into that space for some manner of help, generally wisdom and/or protection.
** Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment
*** "Peter Woodbury, MSW received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and his master’s degree in social work from Boston University. He trained in hypnotherapy and past-life regression techniques with Dr. Brian Weiss, Dr. Allen Chips, and Dan Brown, PhD. Peter is in private practice as a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist in Virginia Beach, with a focus on the use of spirituality and faith as tools for personal transformation and liberation.
A student of the Cayce readings for over 20 years, he is a popular presenter on key topics from the Cayce readings both at A.R.E. Headquarters and in the field. Fluent in three languages, he is also known for his outstanding leadership of A.R.E. tours to South America, India, and Egypt. He also finds time to play Edgar Cayce in the popular one-man show titled “An Evening with Edgar Cayce.”
http://www.edgarcayce.org/usa/regions/states.aspx?id=1504

Friday, June 13, 2014

Kind, Gentle, Humble Joy

Get ready to have an enormous laugh at my expense.I had great misgivings about this song when I wrote it (especially that second verse ::groan::) and I have even greater misgivings now. But, in the interests of full disclosure and a complete record, I share it now with you here. I hope you appreciate the depth of my courage submitting myself to the scorn of the entire interwebz. To make the humiliation complete, I have included an incredibly low quality voice recording of myself singing this in a gloriously horrible country accent along with a picture of a lovely hillside on my computer screen because, frankly, I'm not fit to be seen right now. Bonus! It wasn't included in the original blog post!

11/24/2010

So I must forewarn ya'll that I totally let myself be myself on this one. It is really silly and mixes bad jokes in bad taste with the kind of stuff you might think of as poetry, but whimsical... Well, I might be the only one in the Universe who thinks it's cute but I had a lot of fun writing it so I think maybe someone will have fun reading it.
Oh, also, the rhythm might not be immediately apparent. I would suggest reading it once and then saying it aloud. Because that's what you're supposed to do with poetry anyway. And honestly, I think some of the lines are really fun to say!
Oh, and it's kind of like a song, but it doesn't have any music yet. I picture (a sound picture, obviously, not the kind you see) it with bluegrass. Buckets and banjos. Yeah man.
Here goes:

Did you ever tumble
In the humble mountain sunshine
And let the grass
Tickle your --
--Face--
While you were loafing
On kind hillsides?

(I did! I do!
It fills my heart
With mountain dew!)

Did you ever snuggle
On a cold and gentle Yuletide
And see love personified
Gathered around the fireside
In a blanket-bearing huddle?

(I did! I do!
It fills my heart
With mountain dew!)

Did you ever swim the sea?
Pick a flower?
Offend a bee?
Did you ever fuel your life
On simple things like these?

(I did! I do!
It fills my heart
With mountain dew!
I did! I do!
It fills my heart
With mountain dew!)

I did
I do
I think that you
Should try it too


Yeah, I'm crazy and have the lamest sense of humor ever. So be it. I have fun. Maybe you have fun making fun of me, that's cool too. What ever smokes your dope, man. Oh wait, that's not how that saying goes...



Let the flogging begin.

If You Know What I Mean

I can't tell you how excited I am to have finally arrived at this entry! I think this might be my favorite piece of all time. It is titled "If You Know What I Mean" because it is heavy on the symbolism, particularly the second half. An enigmatic little poem. There is nothing more magical than the journey to the heart of these symbols. (Except, probably, the ones I haven't discovered yet!) Seek and you will find. Blessings!

9/8/2010


I
I am
I am a lion
I am the jungle
I am the trees
My leaves call the lightning
My roots tap the deep
The deep waters
The hidden well
The ancient river
That feeds the ocean swells
The sea that sees the Moon
And mirrors her motion
As if the Moon's Tranquility
Were too barren for her to bear
And so she needs Earth's oceans
To capture fertility
And encompass our emotion


I
I am
I am the heart of fire
I am the sacred spear
I am the destroyer of desire
I will defeat the fear
I sing the symbol song
And force the Swan to sing along
Seven Sisters burning in the sky
Seven Sisters to conquer or die
Build a lever larger than the sun
Find some place to stand upon
The stars will fall flaming to the Earth
With holy fire the world will burn
Look not to Venus
Look not to Mars
All you require
Is already yours

What Manner of Man Art Thou?

The symbolism of the sword, the shield, the ring, and the crown is ancient and visceral. The crown is obviously monarchy, the entitlement to rule that is granted by birth. However, it also weighs heavy on the head (literally and figuratively) and is a symbol of the responsibility that comes with that power. The people should be foremost in the monarch's thoughts... And actions. Which brings us to the sword. Any "true king" must not merely inherit a kingdom. The monarch must prove capable and deserving. The sword symbolizes the willingness to fight for the kingdom and to prove merit by deeds. It was not enough for King Arthur to inherit his father Uther's realm, he needed Excalibur to prove his mettle. The shield is probably the most obvious symbolism. The monarch is to be the protector of the people and the land. If you have ever held or even studied these arms you know they are terribly heavy, especially the shield. Being ruler should not be taken lightly. The ring is a trickier symbol. Generally a ring symbolizes oneness, completion, unity, eternity. However, when it is royalty the ring is also a seal. This symbolizes the monarch's word, which is sacred as given and as received. Of course, I realize this is an ideal and probably no monarch has ever lived up to what a ruler is supposed to be. And obviously, we now put more power in our politicians than their royal cousins. However, the responsibility remains the same. Unfortunately, so does the sense of entitlement. These were the thoughts and images running through my head when I wrote this...

11/24/2010

How now? What manner of man art thou?
Who seeks to wear the gilded crown
Beneath which all proud heads must bow
To the weighty matters of state.

What jewels do you bring
To the head of the King?
What entitles you to wear that ring?
And inspire the earthbound angels to sing
"How great the head of state"

Blood is not enough, you see
You must have wisdom and integrity
With a heart of love and charity
And hate the tyrant's state

Earth's oft reigned by petty fools
And the powerful use the weak as tools
To execute their greedy rule
And make an ape of the sacred state

How now? What manner of manner art thou?
Still seek to wear that weighty crown?
Wherefore that frown does crease your brow?
Take heart and let not your people down
But listen as they intimate their pure dreams of the perfect state.


A rough rough draft of something that caught my ear while flitting through my mind. Been reading Shakespeare's Henry VIII; I'm sure that influenced me. Of course, it needs plenty of editing, but I don't think I'll change it much: One of the things I like best about it is how the rhythm naturally causes you to emphasize the most important words. I suppose rhythm is generally meant to do so.

I took out a verse that I thought was too awkward but contributes irrevocably to the course of the poem, so I'll have to figure out how to work it in, in better form. In unrevised form it is as follows:

Sweet words will not assist you when there is famine in your fields
Flatterers can only hinder you when your reason fails
Propoganda cannot help you when toil has no yield
Force will only shame you when hungry children wail
Deception will not aid you when your people are in sad state

As always, I welcome kindly-intentioned criticisms, comments, and questions from all comers.


It certainly isn't the best thing I've ever written, but I like the way it flows. The last stanza is seriously flawed. And the stanza I left out? Aaawkwaaard... I always intend to come back to things like this but never do. Good thing I'm not trying to be Queen!

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Drink

I think this is the most beautiful dream I have ever had.

12/6/2010

I was walking with friends at the Oceanfront. We turned into a dark shop; I don't remember why. We were greeted by a friendly shopkeeper who spoke at length about his shop, his work, and other things. The shopkeeper was a painter and his work lined the tops of the walls (which seemed rather taller from the inside than the out). They were all of animals. This one an alligator, that one an armadillo. We admired the shopkeepers work a while and spoke with him a time. He told me about a tree by the beach. I went looking for it. My friends didn't come with me; they wanted to admire the art more. I was walking down the strip. The streets seemed endless and all the shops were the same horrible red and white. Sure, here the shop was white and the sign red, and there the shop was red and the sign white, but looking down those endless streets it was just the same persistent, nauseating sea of glaring white and oozing red. I walked and walked down those streets. Even though I never got tired, sometimes I did think I would never reach the beach, just walk on forever until I couldn't even tell left from right or the street from the sky, until my brain was just a blur of red and white and red and white and red and white and- GREEN! Oh glorious green! And what's that? Blue too? Yes, just when I thought I'd never see the sea, there was the beach, and between it and me the most glorious tree I'd ever seen! It's branches twisted and curled into impossible shapes. It's roots grew as thick as my leg and as high as my head before plunging to unimaginable depths beneath my feet. From between some roots of the tree burst a beautiful fresh water spring. I knew it was fresh water, even without tasting it. Amidst the permeating sting of the salt from the ocean I could smell the clarity of the spring. Like if you were a vacuum swimming in a matter stream. I looked up and noticed that there was a maze of boxes all around the tree. Then I realized I had brought one with me. I put it down with the others, assuming that they had been left by other visitors to the tree, assuming that that was the proper thing to do. I was just about to drink from the crystalline spring when all of a sudden- well, nothing happened really, I was just all of a sudden trying to remember how to get to the tree. Why should I be trying to remember how to get there when I'm there already? Oh, I'm not there, I'm in bed. Well, I'd better remember how to get back there because I've got to taste that water! 

In case you're not familiar with mythology and archetypes, the tree and spring are symbols of the Divine, Spirit, the Word of God. Trees are "The Tree of Life" on which Odin hung, crucified, to gain wisdom, the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" which began mankind's journey away from the Garden and back to God. The spring is the "Font of Wisdom" such as the home of the Muses. The boxes I believe to be preconceived notions, dogmatic labels we put on our spirituality. Once you see clearly the Word of God you see what particular name you call It, what particular rituals you use to praise It are trivial. People have killed and do kill, hundreds, thousands over these things. But they are trivial to the mystic. Clearly this quest for the Tree represents finding the fresh water of the soul in the stinging salt of the material. When life feels like it is droning on and on, when you feel like the salt of sadness will wither you utterly, Mother Father God will make Its presence known and refresh your spirit. I don't think it's an accident I read/reblogged this tonight. Oh, sisters and brothers, I was full of the sads tonight! I felt my life was painted in that doleful red and white. I've been feeling completely out of touch with the spiritual, which is a completely foreign feeling to me. Dear God do I feel empty. No way back to be seen. My friend told me tonight that when I can't express myself I should turn to the Holy Spirit and I just thought, "Where is She?" To me, intellectually, that is a silly question. "Everywhere. Within you. Everywhere. Always." is what my better self whispers to me. But my ego self still cries "Then why do I feel so empty?!" Oh the dark night of the soul, my friends. I am blessed. Why do I feel so bereft, so alone? At least now I have hope. Whenever I think I can't go any further, whenever I think I can't take it anymore, whenever I feel like I'm about to be caught in the cold clutch of disaster, God just makes it okay. Somehow, God always just makes it go away. So I will have faith. And I will trust my feeling of connection will come back one day. Soon. I will regain my voice one day. Soon. I will have the words one day. Soon. And I will will hear the whole Whole sing. And I will joyfully sing along.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Epistle to Earth

Definitely none of this is the best thing I've ever written. However, I think it is important to sometimes make sure our focus is where it should be. =) I think at the time I wrote it I was really upset about some horrible thing someone had done; given the first specific reference I made ("We have...") it probably had something to do with asymmetrical access to resources.

12/11/2010

Children of Man! Children of God! Hear the word of your Creator that echoes in your hearts! We are all the messengers of God! We are God's hands, God's tongue, God's pen, God's vessel! Do God's work and not the work of vanity and lust; speak God's word and not the word of hate and division, spread God's love! God's love and life are in all of us and we are OF it. Listen to your 6th sense, your soul sense and do not let material constructs cloud your vision of Truth! Do not listen to those who seek to glorify themselves; the only glory is the glory of God the Unity! All else is only hollow and worthless imitation! You tell a tree by the fruit it bears, but also by the bark it wears. Beware of false gods and idols! Beware of becoming an idol to yourself! Serve God and serve Good. Serve yourself and serve division and destruction! Be ever mindful of every thing (word, deed, even thought) that comes out of you, because we are God's co-creators, as he has given us the free will to use his gifts as we will. Will you create a better world with God by being thoughtful, understanding, slow to anger, merciful, and kind or will you waste God's gifts in persuing the pleasures of the moment, acting in anger and without consideration? Co-create a better world, Children of God! Remember always that we are all his messengers, for he created all of us with the seeds of his Truth, but also with the ability to chose whether we speak his Truth and spread Good or to listen to our bodies' minds and not our souls and spread the plague of materialism. We have the resources to feed all of God's children! We have the ability to unite God's kingdom here on earth! We have the power to protect Creation! We have the wisdom to foster Peace and Unity! PLEASE chose LOVE!

Play your part
And play it well
For the Divine Playwright
Has the greatest story to tell
A story of love
A story of life
The story of unity
That destroys all strife
That shines light
In the darkest corner
From the glowing eyes
Of God's followers
Dispelling fear
Dispelling desire
Dispelling darkness
Nurturing life

A Psalm

Be Thou my Shield, Lord
And my Sword of Light
Keeping evil far from me
So I may not work iniquity.
Be Thou always in communion with me, O Lord
That I might not act contrary to Your Will
Be Thou the foremost part of me, Lord
That I might do Your Work well.
Help me sing Your Cosmic Song, Lord
That Your Kingdom be manifest on Earth
Help me help others sing our part of the Great Harmony
Not for our glory, but for Yours Eternally


I would definitely change "glowing eyes" to "shining eyes" now. Glowing sounds a bit creepy. Shining can be joy or sorrow... but not creepy. Plus there's a much nicer assonance in ShIning EYes.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Winter and Prayer for the Modern Mystic

Today I'm offering a special two for one poetry deal! Because, well, they're both rather short and I would feel a bit cheap otherwise.


11/20/11

Winter
Bleakly barren branches bite boldly at blue sky.
I love the image this evokes. Just think of this and it will keep you cool over the next few months, I promise. =)

3/8/11

Prayer for the Modern Mystic
Peace to the East. Bless our beginnings. May Reason bring us to the Truth.
Peace to the South. Bless our ideas. May Creativity bring us to the Truth.
Peace to the West. Bless our endings. May Love bring us to the Truth.
Peace to the North. Bless our work. May Patience bring us to the Truth.
Peace of God in all. Bless the made and unmade. May we manifest the Truth.


Popped in my head driving home from Ty's tonight. Trying to learn how to balance the Pagan and Christian aspects of myself, so I think that's why. Also, been thinking in the broader context of creating a philosophy people of all religions, creeds, and backgrounds can agree on. That's the key to the future.


And three years later I am still on that journey of trying to find a place where we can all agree, which I why you're reading this blog right now. The way I see it, God is not limited, why should our conception and praise of God be limited? There will never ever be a time when all humans are exactly the same, so all the religious (and other) intolerant extremists are fighting a losing battle. The only hope for humanity is to find our common ground. To love one another as God loves us.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Untitled

6/2/2012
 
The best of the day
Warm sun
Hot cocoa
If they could be one
Like an adventure
In the comfort of home

To be in your...
Ah--Presence
Yes, presence.
Remind yourself
Blind yourself
Bind yourself
Oh, but to be in your...
Mm--Presence

The best of night
Cozy comforter
Hallway light
If they could be forever
To be like home
Gone on adventure

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

A Midsummer Night Dream

7/14/12 This is one of my favorite dreams I've ever had, It was so real, yet surreal. It makes me want to base a novel or series on it. If only I could be this creative while awake. If it has some symbolic meaning, it beats the hell out of me what it is. I was probably just binge-reading Terry Pratchett novels again.

 
It's my birthday. About 10 of my friends are gathered in the barn, lit only by the colored lights on lines, zig-zagging across the walls and ceiling. It was so nice of Eoin to put all this together for me, I think as I survey the room. A lovely selection of traditional party fare is spread out against the upper wall of the lower aspect of the L-shaped barn. The tablecloth somehow contrives to hide many boxes, arranged on the table to make a nice multilevel effect, the better to display the food. There might be music playing but I hardly notice, engaged as I am in watching my friends interact. Is it odd that I should stand separate at my own birthday bash? Shouldn't I mingle with my friends? Eventually I'll talk to them each individually, but for now I take great pleasure in just watching them enjoy each other. This moment of contentment is crudely interrupted by the entrance of someone whom no one notices but I. If you could see her, you would swear no woman lives as beautiful as this tall, buxom brunette. One by one, her siren sisters materialize out of the air or walk through the walls of the barn, until my friends are outnumbered by these blazing beauties. Still, no one takes notice but I. I shuffle nervously over to Eoin. "E, what are they doing here around the humans?!" Eoin looks sheepish, but before he can answer, the first belle says, "Don't worry, dear, none of them can see us. Remember, the things in our heads? You don't think we'd miss your birthday?" My face assumes a resigned countenance and I glance around urgently. Good, no one saw me talking to someone who isn't there. It just looked like I was talking only to Eoin. However, this is likely because, in the darkest corner of the barn, one of the siren sisters is flinging Mardi Gras beads around her head. While the guests might not see her, they certainly see these apparently disembodied beads. Now another and another of the lovely ladies join in this fun, whirling the beads around their necks and arms like hula hoops, until the barn is practically filled with beads seeming to spin themselves erratically around. The guests are filled with wonder, showing plainly on their bewildered faces. Some seek strings or some other mechanism by which this magic might occur. Most simply watch the spectacle in bewilderment. One shouts, "Wow! Good show y'all! How'd you do that?!" Before I can think of some excuse, I notice that there's a rather tall prone man growing out of the ground at my feet. In fact, he's no man, but an elf, and he's not so much growing out of the ground as arising. Just now only his face and toes are above the sod surface, but he smiles at me with his cat-like countenance, and says in voice smooth like skipping stones but strangely hollow, "Hello, lovely lady. I heard it is your birthday." Now his shoulder-length blonde hair is above the surface, now his whole being, and now he stands, even taller than Eoin's 6'3" frame. This is even worse than the gaggle of gorgeous women. His elven brethren are popping out of the ground all around us like dragon teeth warriors and, while elves are generally friendly, they don't really understand how their mischief can affect mortals. Oh my, well, at least the humans can't see them either, and perhaps the sirens will keep them busy. At this point, the barn is nearly full to capacity. Not that the humans notice, not having left their corner by the food. Nor do they seem to notice my distress as I glare anxiously around the barn at my supernatural guests. I turn around to join my human companions and there, standing as tall as any elf, is a giant pink anthro-rabbit. "Harvey! What are you doing here?" Ironically, the humans can see Harvey and they all rush over to check out his "suit". Harvey, of course, stands mute while they rudely examine his ears, whiskers, paws, tail. Embarrassed, I usher him over to the refreshments, hoping -correctly- that they won't follow. Behind me, I hear one of the guests ask Eoin, "Dude, why'd you hire a dude in a bunny suit?" I think Eoin makes some excuse about not having planned it and "You know how hippies are. He probably just thought it would be cool," even though Eoin knows full well the pink fur is no artifice. Before I have time to get my story straight in my head about Harvey, I turn towards a high, papery voice arguing with Eoin. Oh no. It's Johnny the Homicidal Maniac... in 2D black and white. I really don't know how to explain this. I guess I'll just tell my friends he's just very pale, very thin, and very short. Maybe I can make up some disease to explain it. Goodness, I hope he doesn't kill anyone. To forestall this unfortunate likelihood, I rush over and, not even knowing what is wrong, immediately begin the litany, "I'm so sorry Johnny. What can I do? Are you alright? I'm so very sorry, Johnny. It's okay. They're just humans. Yes, I know, they don't understand. There there. Maybe you should go home and have a nice laydown. I'll call you when there aren't any humans around." This appeases him and he slips out of the barn -miracle of miracles!- without killing anyone. And now Harvey is the center of attention again, being the most interesting thing the human guests can see. The belles and elves seem to be entertaining each other nicely. Maybe I can finally relax and enjoy my birthday. Alas, all is naught, for I wake up.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Rusty Trees

9/27/2012


The autumn leaves on manicured trees fade red to green, as if their tips were dipped in rust, the better to be seen.




It was much better when I wrote it yesterday, but I can't remember what I wrote now, so this is my second string reproduction of inspiration gained and lost. =( ::sigh:: When God calls, answer right away and don't just tell Him you'll call Him back later!

Monday, April 14, 2014

What doesn't bend breaks

1/4/13 Observing the trees in front of my office. This was not the original version of this but I couldn't remember what I had originally thought by the time I got a chance to write it down. I love the description "windblown and unbroken". The rest of the words only exist so that those can.

Graceful evergreens grow westward, swooping towards the setting sun.
Windblown and unbroken, bending gently, every one.

The Birds and the Bees

As you may know from my last post, I will be resurrecting some blogs from the old MySpace. This is the first of my adventures back in time. The posts here will have the same titles as the orinial MySpace posts. I will preface each with the original posting date and probably a brief word on what I think of it in retrospect.

This entry is from 5/31/2013. The "poem" is down right terrible, although I still personally relate to the nostalgic images of a better time long gone. However, I like the thoughts that follow the poem, which might not make much sense out of context. In case you haven't noticed yet, my favorite subject is SYNCHRONICITY! This entry offers a good example of how, sometimes, things happen for reasons other than what you might have originally intended. In this case, I wrote a poem not for the sake of beauty but because it helped me realize how to help my friend.

When I was younger
My mom made the car dance
And we didn't talk of tire tread

When I was younger
Ladybugs hitchhiked hence
Carried carefully on my head

When I was younger
Strawberries were sweet
And sold at county fairs

When I was younger
My friends were afraid of bees
Because they ruled earth and air

When I was younger
The lake was a brief vacation
For the swans on migration

When I was younger
You could see at night
By the firefly light

When I was younger
Everything was a painting
It was all poetry

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

So, this is my second attempt at posting this. In my last attempt I wrote (to the best of my recollection):
"Not what I was looking for. I was trying to be less structured, but my mind instantly saw the patterns and wanted to put them in order, to twist the portions to fit the pattern.
I think words have a mind of their own. I think words want to be in order aesthetically. I think words are offended when not arranged carefully."

The irony of this is that what allowed me to remember what I had written after it was erased was the relationship between the words. The very structure I was fighting is what allowed me to resurrect it. Aha! And now I know how to help someone I know for whom I previously had nothing useful to say regarding the problematic situation! Blessed serendipity!

Back to the work at hand, it might yet be a good base idea. Sometimes I write something terrible but come back to it later and write something better. It does at least convey what I want it to say.

Sometimes the way to say more is to say less, let the others fill in the rest.


So that was that. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have something better to share with you. But this does have deep personal meaning for me. It is not only a longing for my youth, when I didn't have to worry about wear and tear on tires and tie rods. It is also an expression of the desperation with which I view the apparent destruction of my world. The bees, the fireflies, the ladybugs are all disappearing. The strawberries are sour because they have all had the sweetness bred out of them in favor of looking plump and red when they finally make it to your grocery store from God knows where. The famous Pungo Strawberry Festival is a disgusting mockery of our once great agricultural heritage. Last time we went there was only ONE vendor with anything even relating to strawberries. Day by day, year by year, I watch our agricultural land destroyed and replaced with Walmarts and McMansions as the increasingly imaginary "green line" gets pushed further and further south. I see the Sunsations invading the Outer Banks. I see our local culture disintegrate, as the Jewish Mother, The Heritage, the 31st St park are all sacrificed to the "if you build it, they will come" catering-to-imaginary-wealthy-people-over-the-REAL-interests-of-the-community school of thought that reigns supreme on the City Council. Finally, it is about the death of a spirit. The death of the ability to see the magic in every moment. I don't see dragons anymore.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Faithful and Fearless

Prepare yourselves blogosphere! I just got the download of my old MySpace blogs and will be posting most of the content on -hopefully- a daily basis!

PS Faithful and Fearless, the title of this post, was my screen name on MySpace. It is also the attitude I try to abide by on the daily! What is/would be your epithet or motto for adopting a positive daily outlook? Let me know in the comments!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Haunted Honey

My honey jar is haunted
By the ghosts of ants gone by.
Their phantoms scurry past
But then elude my eye.

Is it guilt at selfish massacre
Of my insect brethren that I see?
Or is it their simple vengeance
That they return to haunt my honey?

Friday, February 21, 2014

Visions

Oh where to begin? I suppose the beginning was when I met a healer, an intutive, an energy worker. Let's call her S. I confided in S that I felt like my spiritual practice had stagnated, that it was time for me to grow but I knew not in which direction. As my friend Conrad says, we often don't know what we don't know. I asked S to point me in the right direction.  A book to read, a practice to research. Well she definitely called and raised me! (In the poker sense, not necessarily in the Jesus sense. Haha) S said she had never taken students before but lots of people had been asking for her to teach them recently. So I said maybe we were both being called. (This time in the Jesus sense, not the poker sense! ) I got a free Tarot reading for my birthday not long after that. (Who Reads for the Reader? Tarot.com if you were wondering. I promise I'm not being paid to say so, I just like them.) The reading confirmed that I was embarking on a new path, it was time for me to be a student again. Unfortunately, the whole business stalled very shortly afterwards and I began to suspect that the Universe was not conspiring as much in my favor as I expected. I began to think I would be stuck in this rut for the forseeable future. Don't get me wrong, reading Tarot is a great blessing. However I haven't had a client in months other than one pro bono quickie for a friend. More importantly, I felt I was no longer growing spiritually and what doesn't grow is not alive. I was beginning to feel dead inside. I was becoming angry and morose. But I kept reminding myself of the Teachings, the Mysteries every day. When the baby cried, when my husband ignored me, when a friend betrayed me, when writer's block had me feeling like a failure, when I was beset with problems so distressing that they cannot find a home in this blog I've set aside as positive space, I would tell myself the Truth. This will pass, God is using this for the Greater Good, God provides exactly what you need, I am blessed abundantly, God's standards of good and bad are not the same as what we find pleasing, in fact, bad does not exist. Now, as I'm sure you know from experience, this is cold comfort and hard to know in your heart while in the thick of it, but it did keep me grounded enough to not lose perspective so entirely that I went off the deep end. I'm pretty sure that led directly to what happened tonight. If you've read my blog before, you know that I believe God speaks in whispers rather than tornados whenever possible; miracles (God's Will) are found in every day synchronicities, not only in the splitting of seas. Well, tonight I was meant to have a much anticipated night out with a friend.  No small feat when you have a baby, a husband who works 12 hour days 7 days a week, and no family in town to babysit. Well, her husband came home from work unexpectedly and she cancelled on me. BUT a different friend called because my husband put his foot in his mouth* and told her husband that she and I were supposed to hang out tonight. (Long boring story of why he thought that and why we weren't. She got it, you don't need to. Haha.) So that wasn't a huge miracle but it was the exact miracle I needed! (Because let me tell you, if you spend all day every day alone in the house with a baby and dog who cannot have what could conventionally be called "a conversation" with you, you will start to go a bit batty.) Now, as is my wont, I have taken months (in story-time) to get to the point, because that's how life works, so that's how I write. The point is that the ability to let go of my disappointments and obstacles and trust God put me in the place where I could go with the Flow. That's the only way to describe the feeling of being caught in God's slip stream, knowing exactly what you're supposed to do. While I lay on the floor next to my son's crib after I put him down to sleep, I got a vision**. A large, intimidating animal was racing towards me at a gallop. I thought it was a rhinoceros. I was afraid. But as it approached I realized that it was running to me rather than at me. It was a rhinoceros but it was also a horse and it was also a dog. I don't mean it was some strange pseudo-Sphynxian chimera. It was the essence of these animals. And it was my friend. I knew then that I was being both prepared and protected. That I didn't need to worry, something beautiful is coming. Later on in the night I learned on Facebook that some acquaintances (a married couple) are dealing with an illness in one of them. As I was praying for them, I got another vision. (Which I won't detail here out of respect for it and those for whom it was meant.) When I messaged her about it she confirmed that it resonated with her in a very particular way. This was amazing for multiple reasons:
1. It is a blessing to bless others, to bring them hope and solace!
2. It is always awe-some to be aware of the presence of God!
3. By just going with the Flow and being quiet with God I found I could do what I thought I needed to pay S to teach me! (Don't get me wrong, I still might. I'm sure I can learn a lot from her! And just this week I saw her for the first time in months, so maybe the time is ripe. But, point being, I feel out of the rut!)
4. It inspired me to write this blog, thus overcoming my writer's block and feeling a bit better about myself! Even if I am pretty rusty. :)

I realize my style is verbose and convoluted so, to be plain, the morals of this story are:
1. Always make room for God even, no, ESPECIALLY, when your heart is full of fear, anger, or doubt. If you have to, "fake it 'til ya make it."
2. All wisdom is accessible to anyone by simply being still enough to hear God whisper, to watch God work.
3. We are truly blessed to have technology that allows us to minister to and be ministered to with people who would otherwise be totally unavailable to us!
4. As always, the final moral is that small miracles are still miracles! God wants you to know that (S)He is at work in your life!

How is God working in your life? Comment, let's talk about it! No one is an island and we are God's hands! God has given us to seek and share Fellowship!

*Upon rereading this post I realized I made two comments about my hubby that could be construed as unflattering. I would like to clarify that I have never met anyone more honest, more hardworking, or with more integrity. He is an amazing husband and father who cares deeply about his family. I am unbearably in love with him and more grateful than words can describe that God blessed me with him and that he thinks I'm ok enough to be his lady/baby-mama. :)
** I feel the need to explain that when I say "vision" I don't mean some trippy psychadelic experience in which I hallucinate that there is actually a rhinoceros in my son's room running towards me. (Maybe getting his horn caught on the crib? Haha.) It's more like a dream but while awake and aware that it's not "real". And a special feeling... I can only call it the Holy Spirit, because I don't know what else it would be or what else to call it.