Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The Beauty and Blessing of Music!


Thank You my God for giving me this day! I am doing my weekly volunteer stint at the Ashland Community Hospital in the Health Resource Center (Library). I was speaking to an old friend of mine, Donny, who was waiting for his wife, Kate, in surgery. Donny is what I would call a troubadour for God. He sings, whistles, plays guitar, and other instruments in service to the elderly of our community. He has a very good voice but a beautiful spirit within. It occurred that in an earlier post a few days ago I referred to the examples of Gods touch or presence within His creation. Among these were living water, rainbows, flowers, newborns, smiles, forgiveness, labyrinths and other forms of spiritual art. In this last mention could be considered Music but I believe that it is very deserving of its own mention although it is also truly art and in many cases spiritual. At the out set I would say that music is a gift from God which really sets humans apart from much of creation. I believe this to be true but at the same time it is important to remember the natural beauty of the music of birds of the air, whales of the deep, and many other of our partners in the beauty of Gods creation. The written word can also be an example of this gift. Probably the field of poetry is even more special as one could say that it is a melding of the written word and music. In our conversation Donny suggested a book of spiritually diverse but common themed poems called "Love Poems from God". by Daniel Ladinsky. Some of the authors I'm familiar with and some not but all seemed very worthwhile reading. Poetically Yours! RV

Friday, July 16, 2010

Baby Steps are still Steps!






Blessings on your Sunday! So what about that picture I posted on the last blog? I try to find a fitting picture to add into each thought. What I was looking for on that one was a picture of someone loving a child or maybe two normally opposing animals laying down together to symbolize the "Blessing of Blessing, or Loving". Couldn't find such a picture at that time so I chose the one which shows two "warriors" looking each other in the eye. One could perhaps say that they were looking into each others "third" eye. The point I see with this is they are not totally trusting each other but they aren't in combat either. They are taking the first steps to seeing that within each, which is shared between them, their common humanity. Baby steps are still steps. Seeing that "Divine spark" or that "created in the image of God" reality within each other. The quotation at the bottom is in answer to a persons query as to what the term "Namaste" means. Even though it is not a normal Christian term it certainly is a good description of what we are to see, "The Spirit of Christ", within each of our human brothers and sisters. What I'm referring to here is a very true reflection of the "Cosmic"nature of the "Christ". The power of the Creator of the cosmos shared with His creation. Almost beyond belief, isn't it.


In his sermon today pastor Tim spoke of the "Compassion" which Christ had for the people who had been following him for days as He preached. He spoke of feeding many from the very few resources at hand, loaves and fishes, the miracle of feeding of the multitudes. It wasn't His job to feed them but He felt their hunger. As Pastor Tim spoke I was reminded of a story Pastor David(Rapp) related on the same miracle account. As I say this I'm not pretending to be a great scholar of the scriptures but what comes to me does meld very well with the spirit of what the Emergent movement refers to as the most accurate meaning of the message of Jesus. Anyhow Pastor Dave was relating the essence of a sermon he had done regarding the same biblical story. In his application of the story David was suggesting that just perhaps instead of a straight multiplication of the "resources at hand", (which of course Jesus could very well have done), maybe what could have happened was something like this. When He asked to see all the resources at hand people pulled what little, or a lot, they had hidden in their packs and after His blessing, they saw their little bits in a different light, they all shared as they had need, and in deed had in their midst even a surplus. Which story is a greater miracle? What can this world do, right now, to relieve suffering, feed the hungry, and Love our brothers, sisters, and all creation? I believe we can do miraculous things but we have to start by not consuming so much individually and killing each other in the name of god, and poking holes in Gods Earth without thought to safety(just gallonage).


Namasti! Pax Christi! Shalom! Aloha! and Mahalo Daddy! RV



Aadil Palkhivala:
The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another. "Nama" means bow, "as" means I, and "te" means you. Therefore, Namaste literally means "bow me you" or "I bow to you."
To perform Namaste, we place the hands together at the heart charka, close the eyes, and bow the head. It can also be done by placing the hands together in front of the third eye, bowing the head, and then bringing the hands down to the heart. This is an especially deep form of respect. Although in the West the word "Namaste" is usually spoken in conjunction with the gesture, in India, it is understood that the gesture itself signifies Namaste, and therefore, it is unnecessary to say the word while bowing.
We bring the hands together at the heart chakra to increase the flow of Divine love. Bowing the head and closing the eyes helps the mind surrender to the Divine in the heart. One can do Namaste to oneself as a meditation technique to go deeper inside the heart chakra; when done with someone else, it is also a beautiful, albeit quick, meditation.
For a teacher and student, Namaste allows two individuals to come together energetically to a place of connection and timelessness, free from the bonds of ego-connection. If it is done with deep feeling in the heart and with the mind surrendered, a deep union of spirits can blossom.
Ideally, Namaste should be done both at the beginning and at the end of class. Usually, it is done at the end of class because the mind is less active and the energy in the room is more peaceful. The teacher initiates Namaste as a symbol of gratitude and respect toward her students and her own teachers and in return invites the students to connect with their lineage, thereby allowing the truth to flow—the truth that we are all one when we live from the heart.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The Blessing of Blessing!


Blessings on Your day! I've attached a video link to you tube which was shared with me by a new friend. I confess that I have a tendency to judge. It's probably a pretty common trait for us humans which of course doesn't justify our rampant overuse of the practice. Of course judgements are important in daily life as that is what life consists mostly of, making choices. We choose our foods (unless we have none), we choose where we live (unless we are a prisoner of some description), we choose our friends and mates (unless we are not free to do so), etc., etc., etc.. In our choices each of us has an opportunity to be "the body of Christ" as St Therese put it and we have the opportunity to practice "The Spirit with in me Blesses, Acknowledges, Sees, the Spirit with in You" as I understand is the meaning of "Namasti" within the Hindu tradition. I believe that the essence of the wisest choices are their focus on the Unconditional Love with which they are practiced. Please Lord, Bless me today and all ways with such a Spirit of Love and forgive me for the plethora of times in my life I've fallen short of this goal. Namasti! Pax Christi! RV


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WegAgepCYfo A beautiful collage of thoughts and music relating to the blessing of blessing. I especially like the segment near the end which refers to the impossibility of judging and Blessing at the same time. This thought may seem simplistic but when you see another with love in your eyes and heart it usually makes lots of barriers and fears fall away. This dynamic is most readily seen and experienced with children and animals.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

"Pretty Penny~For Your Thoughts"


Hello cyber-world. It's been too long since I've posted anything on here so thought I'd drop in a few notes. On this holiday I'm reminded of the book referred to a couple of months ago by Marianne Williamson about healing the soul of America. It usually disturbs me when I get some e-mail tirade about someone or another not being a true American because they choose to dissent about something, or to apologize about something. It should be remembered by us all that it is that right to dissent which is one of the bulwarks of our wonderfully blessed country. And just as the scriptures state "those who say they have no sin deceive themselves" (not sure if that is an exact quote so probably should not have put quotation marks there but the meaning is accurate) it would be wise, I feel, to man up when we see an error and take responsibility to make it as right as possible. It is also clear to me that just as some relationships go South due to one or the other assuming they're so 100% right on and the other part of the relationship therefore has to be wrong; the same logic is valid for many of our political relationships. In my Christian tradition there has always been a form of "confession and absolution" in the service. This is not a sign of weakness but a symbol of our frailties and desire to make amends and start over. I sometimes subscribe to a social-justice-Christian" magazine called Sojourners. The editor is Jim Wallis who I believe I've quoted before. I don't always agree with him but he is a fair and just writer. Anyway they sent me a renewal note that said if I renewed with the magazine then they would send me a bumper sticker which says "GOD is not a Republican...Or a Democrat". I don't do bumper stickers in most cases but this one brings up a good point. If you are doing what Jesus told us to for the world then it really doesn't make any difference which party you belong to as they really only may or may not be an effective means to an end. Guess that's enough for right now but I invite any dialogue to explore this subject further. Have a Happy Fourth! RV