Native American medicine and sacred traditions never depend on written laws, but upon the personal qualities and sense of integrity demonstrated by the gifted.
Throughout time, gifted people have been called to share their wisdom and their commitment by serving others. In the course of history, many have used their natural abilities to support the growth of their clans and tribes. The Traditions that have been passed down to the following generations have flourished under the watchful eyes of faithful servants of the Earth Mother and the Creator.
Written laws about how the medicine was to be used have not existed. Oral messages about how the stories were to be told and how the Traditions were to be followed have supplied the guidelines. Every tribe has depended on the integrity of the gifted, insuring that the ministrations received were correct and healing. The abuse the natural abilities has occurred from time to time. The harm created is not punished by written laws. The resulting harsh live lessons, which bring the abuser’s misuse of Good Medicine back into balance, are the sole property of the Creator.
This kind of justice may seem strange to other races. This balancing of the incorrect use of integrity may not be swift, but it does happen. The way of justice provides any abuser of Sacred Trust with the lessons needed to correct behavior.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
As you sow, so shall you reap. What goes around comes around. It seems to be an almost universal message. This becomes even more important when a person with special powers and responsibilities uses his or her status to abuse or misuse that position of trust. Spiritual leaders who use their power and influence to abuse parishioners. Politicians who use their position to divert public funds into their accounts. Fill in the blanks, I’m sure you know of many examples.
Note: In many Native American traditions the medicine can have a meaning far different from the way we use it. Medicine can mean the herbs and ceremonies used for physical healing. It can also mean wisdom; earth medicine is earth wisdom. Seeking to understand the tallest mountain and smallest grain of sand. The great oceans and the smallest drop of rain.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
WALKING IN YOUR MOCCASINS
VALUE OF THE SPIRITUAL ESSENCE
Human beings cannot understand another’s life until they have carried the weight of that person’s burden’s, listened to that person’s words, felt that person’s pain, observed that person’s actions, and walked along that person’s path, sharing the other person’s longings and aspirations. Understanding these things we must then be able to sleep at that person’s fire, sharing every part of that other person’s dreams and nightmares.
Only then can we see beyond the exterior and only then are we free to understand our common humanity. From this vantage point, we may see beyond the tangible human frailties and into the Spiritual Essence called the Orenda, finding the human flame of love.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
Now that’s a five dollar title if I’ve ever seen one. That is one thing that gets to me on some of this New Age oriented material. Never use fifty cent phrase if you can used a five dollar one. Actually this is one entry that could be summed up as “you won’t know somebody until you’ve walked about ten miles in their moccasins.” But, hey I’d be hard put to come up with over three hundred pithy entries; one for each day of the year.
Note: for once the blog title is not the title iin the entry. It means pretty much the same thing. I get the feeling sometimes that these writer's have an "I have a thesaurus and I know how to use it" way of writing. I'm all for variety and keeping it accurate. But, sometimes you need a little more bite.
Human beings cannot understand another’s life until they have carried the weight of that person’s burden’s, listened to that person’s words, felt that person’s pain, observed that person’s actions, and walked along that person’s path, sharing the other person’s longings and aspirations. Understanding these things we must then be able to sleep at that person’s fire, sharing every part of that other person’s dreams and nightmares.
Only then can we see beyond the exterior and only then are we free to understand our common humanity. From this vantage point, we may see beyond the tangible human frailties and into the Spiritual Essence called the Orenda, finding the human flame of love.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
Now that’s a five dollar title if I’ve ever seen one. That is one thing that gets to me on some of this New Age oriented material. Never use fifty cent phrase if you can used a five dollar one. Actually this is one entry that could be summed up as “you won’t know somebody until you’ve walked about ten miles in their moccasins.” But, hey I’d be hard put to come up with over three hundred pithy entries; one for each day of the year.
Note: for once the blog title is not the title iin the entry. It means pretty much the same thing. I get the feeling sometimes that these writer's have an "I have a thesaurus and I know how to use it" way of writing. I'm all for variety and keeping it accurate. But, sometimes you need a little more bite.
Friday, March 11, 2011
DIVINE JUSTICE
Justice can teach the wounded,
Who lash out in their pain,
How it feels to be the recipient
Of another person’s blame.
Justice can show the swing of
The scales that weigh the truth,
Measuring the wisdom of the Elders
Against the follies of youth.
Justice pledges to oversee
The Creator’s equal care
For every part of Creation
Teaching us how to share.
Within Divine justice,
Freewill was given to all;
Our choices carry the burden
Of our judgment calls.
One day, we’ll stand in the truth
Of Great Mystery’s light.
Where we will weigh the balance
Of our personal wrongs and rights.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
Each choice we make will influence the next choice we make; on down the line. Almmost like a master gardener creating a Bonsai. Once you begin "training" the tree into a chosen shape, it becomes almost impossible to choose another shape.
Once our lives take a certain shape pride, ignorance, or sheer laziness makes it harder and harder to change our shape. The hardest thing for most of us to do is to publically admit we screwed up and start over. In fact we'll do almost anything, no matter how destructive, to ourselves and others, to avoid that fate.
Who lash out in their pain,
How it feels to be the recipient
Of another person’s blame.
Justice can show the swing of
The scales that weigh the truth,
Measuring the wisdom of the Elders
Against the follies of youth.
Justice pledges to oversee
The Creator’s equal care
For every part of Creation
Teaching us how to share.
Within Divine justice,
Freewill was given to all;
Our choices carry the burden
Of our judgment calls.
One day, we’ll stand in the truth
Of Great Mystery’s light.
Where we will weigh the balance
Of our personal wrongs and rights.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
Each choice we make will influence the next choice we make; on down the line. Almmost like a master gardener creating a Bonsai. Once you begin "training" the tree into a chosen shape, it becomes almost impossible to choose another shape.
Once our lives take a certain shape pride, ignorance, or sheer laziness makes it harder and harder to change our shape. The hardest thing for most of us to do is to publically admit we screwed up and start over. In fact we'll do almost anything, no matter how destructive, to ourselves and others, to avoid that fate.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
REASON
Our reason will never decipher
That which our hearts cannot
Understand
Using our gifts of intellect, reasoning ability, and deduction is not enough when we are observing the Mystery of Life. There are many things happening in our world that may seem like miracles to those who have experienced them. When we experience the wonders of life firsthand, we feel it to the core of our beings. These personal experiences may defy rational explanation. It is certain, however, that when we walk through that experience we know and feel our certainty because our hearts understand. No one can ever take that away from us.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
I've had things happen, visions if you want to call them that, I can't explain them rationally, I can only store them in my heart.
That which our hearts cannot
Understand
Using our gifts of intellect, reasoning ability, and deduction is not enough when we are observing the Mystery of Life. There are many things happening in our world that may seem like miracles to those who have experienced them. When we experience the wonders of life firsthand, we feel it to the core of our beings. These personal experiences may defy rational explanation. It is certain, however, that when we walk through that experience we know and feel our certainty because our hearts understand. No one can ever take that away from us.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
I've had things happen, visions if you want to call them that, I can't explain them rationally, I can only store them in my heart.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
DEPENDABILITY
Respect is often earned by one's dependability. If others know that a person can be relied on upon to speak honestly, to act in times of crisis, to contribute with generosity, to use wisdom in making decisions, and to be faithful to family and friends—that person has earned respect.
In ancient times, Indian people demanded a high level of integrity from anyone within the Tribe who was to have a place of leadership. The men or women who were to hold a place of honor in adulthood had to earn the respect of their Tribe starting at puberty and continue to be dependable their whole lives. Erratic behavior, laziness, disrespect for Elders, or criticism of others could mark a person as lacking leadership ability.
The way people lived their lives as the manner in which they earned the right to be depended on. Every Tribe depended upon their leaders and the decisions those leaders made for the survival of the whole.
In modern times, in all cultures, we often forget to consider out children, our mates, and our elders. These members of out families would like to depend upon us. When we examine our lives, we must ask ourselves if we have earned their trust. The past cannot be changed. But in the present, we have the opportunity to make amends by changing our attitudes and actions, remembering how it felt when we were not supported. There is no need to pass on the hurt to the next generation.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
I don't know, these days honesty doesn't seem to matter. Kids seem to be disposable, spouses practice serial bigamy, and elders don't act like elders. In fact sixty is the new forty and very little eldering is getting done.
In ancient times, Indian people demanded a high level of integrity from anyone within the Tribe who was to have a place of leadership. The men or women who were to hold a place of honor in adulthood had to earn the respect of their Tribe starting at puberty and continue to be dependable their whole lives. Erratic behavior, laziness, disrespect for Elders, or criticism of others could mark a person as lacking leadership ability.
The way people lived their lives as the manner in which they earned the right to be depended on. Every Tribe depended upon their leaders and the decisions those leaders made for the survival of the whole.
In modern times, in all cultures, we often forget to consider out children, our mates, and our elders. These members of out families would like to depend upon us. When we examine our lives, we must ask ourselves if we have earned their trust. The past cannot be changed. But in the present, we have the opportunity to make amends by changing our attitudes and actions, remembering how it felt when we were not supported. There is no need to pass on the hurt to the next generation.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
I don't know, these days honesty doesn't seem to matter. Kids seem to be disposable, spouses practice serial bigamy, and elders don't act like elders. In fact sixty is the new forty and very little eldering is getting done.
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
THE WARRIOR'S VOW
The vow of every warrior
Who ever road the plains
To protect the children
Forever will remain.
Those hearts full of courage
Promised to defend
The Elders and the Life Givers
Until the bitter end.
Those times are a memory,
To many, a bygone day,
But a new sun is dawning
Upon the Warriors way.
The peaceful Warriors awaken,
Their hearts hear the cry,
Their eyes embrace the vision
Found in Brother Eagle’s eye.
They rise from every nation,
Ready to claim the right,
To stand as men of courage,
The defenders of the Light.
Jamie Sams, in Earth Medicine
Women can be warriors too. In fact some of the ones fighting the hardest to clean the water, bring back the trees, protect the children are women. That doesn’t take away from the vital roles of men in their families and communities. One of things that troubles me the most about the new “reproductive technologies” is the ability of someone to get pregnant via the test tube and petrie dish. Kids need mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts and uncles; family friends of every age. When the corporations sent their soldiers to every part of the country back in the fifties and sixties, we allowed our families and communities to be fragmented. What did we get in return? Strip malls and video games. Advertising and the latest I phone. Mega churches that look like auditoriums with sermons on financial planning and feel good gurus, that frankly make want to gag.
Something tells me trying to clean up this mess will make the Little Big Horn and Wounded Knee look like a cake walk.
Who ever road the plains
To protect the children
Forever will remain.
Those hearts full of courage
Promised to defend
The Elders and the Life Givers
Until the bitter end.
Those times are a memory,
To many, a bygone day,
But a new sun is dawning
Upon the Warriors way.
The peaceful Warriors awaken,
Their hearts hear the cry,
Their eyes embrace the vision
Found in Brother Eagle’s eye.
They rise from every nation,
Ready to claim the right,
To stand as men of courage,
The defenders of the Light.
Jamie Sams, in Earth Medicine
Women can be warriors too. In fact some of the ones fighting the hardest to clean the water, bring back the trees, protect the children are women. That doesn’t take away from the vital roles of men in their families and communities. One of things that troubles me the most about the new “reproductive technologies” is the ability of someone to get pregnant via the test tube and petrie dish. Kids need mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts and uncles; family friends of every age. When the corporations sent their soldiers to every part of the country back in the fifties and sixties, we allowed our families and communities to be fragmented. What did we get in return? Strip malls and video games. Advertising and the latest I phone. Mega churches that look like auditoriums with sermons on financial planning and feel good gurus, that frankly make want to gag.
Something tells me trying to clean up this mess will make the Little Big Horn and Wounded Knee look like a cake walk.
HONOR
According to Native American concepts, the word to honor means to show respect for the Sacred Space, the Sacred Point of View, and possessions of another. To honor the deeds of another is to show our appreciation for that person’s contribution to a community, family, or an individual. To bring honor to our family, Tribe, clan, is to give ourselves above and beyond what is normally expected of any group member.
To honor the self is a balancing act that can take much practice. In American Indian culture, the word sacrifice, originally meant “to make sacred.” If we honor ourselves, our roles, our abilities and our talents, we must see these things as sacred. When we choose to share these sacred gifts with others, we can honor ourselves and those we serve only we do so without looking for reward, accomplishing each deed with a happy heart. Our reward is the joy we find in giving to those we choose to serve.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
There are some of our fellow citizens who might agree that we honor someone by respecting their possessions. Indeed some folks get down right testy when they believe their right to possess something is being contested. But, what happens when our desire to possess something, property rights, mineral rights; those things that are important to the desire for a constantly expanding economy infringes on the space and point of view of others? Company’s push through their right to possess and ultimately destroy a watershed by building a dam in it. Yes, their investor’s make money. The power being generated is “green,” sort of. But it may come at the cost destroyed communities, polluted landscapes, poisoned water. If you accept Jamie Sams definition, these actions are dishonorable. I’m not sure many of our corporation CEO’s, their investors, or the elected hired help would agree. The loss is theirs…………..and ours.
To honor the self is a balancing act that can take much practice. In American Indian culture, the word sacrifice, originally meant “to make sacred.” If we honor ourselves, our roles, our abilities and our talents, we must see these things as sacred. When we choose to share these sacred gifts with others, we can honor ourselves and those we serve only we do so without looking for reward, accomplishing each deed with a happy heart. Our reward is the joy we find in giving to those we choose to serve.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
There are some of our fellow citizens who might agree that we honor someone by respecting their possessions. Indeed some folks get down right testy when they believe their right to possess something is being contested. But, what happens when our desire to possess something, property rights, mineral rights; those things that are important to the desire for a constantly expanding economy infringes on the space and point of view of others? Company’s push through their right to possess and ultimately destroy a watershed by building a dam in it. Yes, their investor’s make money. The power being generated is “green,” sort of. But it may come at the cost destroyed communities, polluted landscapes, poisoned water. If you accept Jamie Sams definition, these actions are dishonorable. I’m not sure many of our corporation CEO’s, their investors, or the elected hired help would agree. The loss is theirs…………..and ours.
Monday, March 07, 2011
FEATHERS
My elders taught me that feathers represent lofty ideals and the grace of inspiration that is based on truth. The straight quill of the feather shows us that the path of truth is constant and does not deviate.
Inside any seeker of truth is a longing for spiritual awakening. In the Native American culture, we are taught that the spirits ride the wind. Wind, found in humans, is called the breath. When we breathe air into our bodies we are able to access the creative inspiration we need. Allowing spirit to use the breath, to enter our physical forms, is illuminating. The same Spirit is a part of the wind that lifts the wings of Eagle, soaring high. Of all the Earth Mother’s creatures, eagles fly closest to Grandfather Sun, illuminating lofty ideals and purity of purpose.
Jamie Samms, Earth Medicine
I’m not sure how she got from feathers, to wind, to breath. I guess I’m feeling very inspired tonight. Maybe something will come to me later. One thing about breath, we don’t get very far without it.
Inside any seeker of truth is a longing for spiritual awakening. In the Native American culture, we are taught that the spirits ride the wind. Wind, found in humans, is called the breath. When we breathe air into our bodies we are able to access the creative inspiration we need. Allowing spirit to use the breath, to enter our physical forms, is illuminating. The same Spirit is a part of the wind that lifts the wings of Eagle, soaring high. Of all the Earth Mother’s creatures, eagles fly closest to Grandfather Sun, illuminating lofty ideals and purity of purpose.
Jamie Samms, Earth Medicine
I’m not sure how she got from feathers, to wind, to breath. I guess I’m feeling very inspired tonight. Maybe something will come to me later. One thing about breath, we don’t get very far without it.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
THIRD MONTH SIXTH DAY
Acceptance is the road to a quiet mind. When one can accept the truth of a situation, then the clear understanding of what the next step should be comes without confusion. When human beings understand that the past cannot be changed, they have gathered one form of acceptance. When these same people come to a place of feeling acceptance, there is no room for denial. Without denial, we are free to respond to the growth opportunities that may have originally been hidden from us by the critical voices of the past. There is only one place where true acceptance is found, and that place in the present moment of the Now.
Indian children were once taught by their Elders to be in a constant state of alertness and were trained to observe everything in their surroundings. Being authentically aware of what was happening had its own rewards: game for dinner, early warning systems, lessons on the animals, prevention of accidents, and acceptance of any situation that needed an instant independent solution.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
Acceptance is not fatalism. I believe it is the acceptance of environment and awareness of the world around us. That awareness helps us avoid what some folks call accidents, that really aren't because somebody wasn't paying attention.
Acceptance realizes that the war is over we stop refighting the Civil War, the War of Northern Aggression, Viet Nam, the first Iraqui war, the Afghan civil war, the second Iraqui war, whatever.
Indian children were once taught by their Elders to be in a constant state of alertness and were trained to observe everything in their surroundings. Being authentically aware of what was happening had its own rewards: game for dinner, early warning systems, lessons on the animals, prevention of accidents, and acceptance of any situation that needed an instant independent solution.
Jamie Sams in Earth Medicine
Acceptance is not fatalism. I believe it is the acceptance of environment and awareness of the world around us. That awareness helps us avoid what some folks call accidents, that really aren't because somebody wasn't paying attention.
Acceptance realizes that the war is over we stop refighting the Civil War, the War of Northern Aggression, Viet Nam, the first Iraqui war, the Afghan civil war, the second Iraqui war, whatever.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
HONESTY
Honesty is one of the four characteristics that Medicine People look for when they observe others who may have leadership potential. If a young candidate shows integrity by always being truthful, he or she may be rewarded by the Elders. One of the rewards of honesty is having further wisdom passed to those who deserve and revere it. The mysteries of nature, the Spirit World, and the healing arts can be discussed, but the sacred experience of having these visions has to be earned. It is only through being honest that one is given the clues or wisdom on how to get to those places where the wonder and magnificence of total communion with the Great Mystery and the Oneness is revealed.
Jamie Sams. Earth Medicine
Do we look for honesty in our children and what is their reward? Do the children in our culture even give a damn if their elders notice what they’re doing, how they’re acting or are they told to “butt out?” Or have our elders been marketed into oblivion along with the rest of what’s valuable in our lives?
Friday, March 04, 2011
WEIGHS THE TRUTH
WEIGHS THE TRUTH
Jami Samm’s uses the metaphor of Thirteen clan mothers, they offer teachings as diverse as understanding our visions, telling our stories or the kinship between humans and the rest of creation. She is a passable poet.
Weighs The Truth is the mother for the third moon. She is the judge of human rights, the Keeper of Equality, and Guardian of Justice. Justice for all Creation, not just human beings. We have to accept all the truths, those within and without. The truths of our relationships with out inner, selves, our outer self, our families and all of the Creation around us.
The protectress of the meek
Weighs the truth for all to see,
Divine law seeking justice
Setting the spirit free.
And here, amid the chaos
Of earthly trials she stands,
Ready to issue justice,
Compassion in her hands.
She answers when deception
Shows the destructive face
Of human greed and hatred,
Dividing every creed and race.
Keeper of Great Mystery’s laws,
Whose guiding ways we seek,
May we accept the oneness of
The truths we hear you speak.
Jami Samm’s uses the metaphor of Thirteen clan mothers, they offer teachings as diverse as understanding our visions, telling our stories or the kinship between humans and the rest of creation. She is a passable poet.
Weighs The Truth is the mother for the third moon. She is the judge of human rights, the Keeper of Equality, and Guardian of Justice. Justice for all Creation, not just human beings. We have to accept all the truths, those within and without. The truths of our relationships with out inner, selves, our outer self, our families and all of the Creation around us.
The protectress of the meek
Weighs the truth for all to see,
Divine law seeking justice
Setting the spirit free.
And here, amid the chaos
Of earthly trials she stands,
Ready to issue justice,
Compassion in her hands.
She answers when deception
Shows the destructive face
Of human greed and hatred,
Dividing every creed and race.
Keeper of Great Mystery’s laws,
Whose guiding ways we seek,
May we accept the oneness of
The truths we hear you speak.
MALICE
MARCH 3
MALICE
Malice wounds the human heart,
It sends its hateful pain,
Numbs the senses of the soul,
And causes the body to wane.
Malice is born of envy,
With jealousy at its side,
Companions of greed and avarice,
In the hardened heart reside.
Fear stalks the one who uses
Malice as a weapon in life,
Slaying all good intentions,
Losing the war of inner strife.
Bitterness wages the battle
Within the troubled mind,
Riddled with fears of conquest,
The bigotry of humankind.
The wedge of separation has
Split the body mind and soul;
Blinding us to solutions
That could make each person whole.
Where within human misery,
Can malice be allowed to die,
Changing all the judgements
That fostered an “eye for an eye.”?
Must unity come through disasters,
Making separation disappear,
Leaving all Earth’s children
The common bond of tears?
Or are we ready to let go
Of the inherited malice we bring.
Unhealed parts of our wounded souls,
And the fears to which we cling?
Jamie Samms in Earth Medicine
Malice does more than wound our human hearts. Consciously or unconsciously it twists and unbalances every relationship we try to build. We usually think of malice as a deliberate response. Is there such a thing as unconscious malice? Can an action that appears if not innocent, at least fairly innocuous be far more deliberate and hurtful than I meant it to be?
MALICE
Malice wounds the human heart,
It sends its hateful pain,
Numbs the senses of the soul,
And causes the body to wane.
Malice is born of envy,
With jealousy at its side,
Companions of greed and avarice,
In the hardened heart reside.
Fear stalks the one who uses
Malice as a weapon in life,
Slaying all good intentions,
Losing the war of inner strife.
Bitterness wages the battle
Within the troubled mind,
Riddled with fears of conquest,
The bigotry of humankind.
The wedge of separation has
Split the body mind and soul;
Blinding us to solutions
That could make each person whole.
Where within human misery,
Can malice be allowed to die,
Changing all the judgements
That fostered an “eye for an eye.”?
Must unity come through disasters,
Making separation disappear,
Leaving all Earth’s children
The common bond of tears?
Or are we ready to let go
Of the inherited malice we bring.
Unhealed parts of our wounded souls,
And the fears to which we cling?
Jamie Samms in Earth Medicine
Malice does more than wound our human hearts. Consciously or unconsciously it twists and unbalances every relationship we try to build. We usually think of malice as a deliberate response. Is there such a thing as unconscious malice? Can an action that appears if not innocent, at least fairly innocuous be far more deliberate and hurtful than I meant it to be?
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
DO YOU IMAGINE
“Do you imagine that the individual created things in the world are imperfect attempts at reproducing an ideal type which the Creator never quite succeeded in actualizing on earth? If that is so they do not give Him glory but proclaim that He is not a perfect Creator.”
Thomas Merton in The New Seeds of Contemplation
Thomas Merton in The New Seeds of Contemplation
Friday, October 15, 2010
MEDITATIONS
Just a thought. You start reading the church Fathers and Mothers and you’ll run into ascetic and fasting practices sooner rather than later, which leads to research on Wickipedia; among other places.
The Lenten fast was the most stringent. Bread, fruits and veggies mostly. But, the sick, the old, children under 14 and I would imagine pregnant and nursing mothers were exempt from the full rigors of the fast. It’s spring; food supplies may be beginning to run a little short. It sounds a little crass, but rules provided a religious foundation for the protection of the most vulnerable members of the community.
The Lenten fast was the most stringent. Bread, fruits and veggies mostly. But, the sick, the old, children under 14 and I would imagine pregnant and nursing mothers were exempt from the full rigors of the fast. It’s spring; food supplies may be beginning to run a little short. It sounds a little crass, but rules provided a religious foundation for the protection of the most vulnerable members of the community.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
IF CHRIST IS IN ME.........
Worked my way through a couple of chapters of Thomas Merton's Disputed Questions. If the mystical Christ is in me, Merton writes, He is also in all men. Which leads to the radical and frankly earth shaking realization that He is also in the likes Osama bin Ladin and.............name your favorite person that scares the hell out of you.
Ayeee. Faith is not for wimps or for folks looking for comfortable answers. If Christ is in Osama, what is he trying to tell us? Paging Amos and Jeremiah.
Ayeee. Faith is not for wimps or for folks looking for comfortable answers. If Christ is in Osama, what is he trying to tell us? Paging Amos and Jeremiah.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
WISDOM-PSALM 1
Ps.1
[1] Blessed is the manwho walks not in the counsel of the wicked,nor stands in the way of sinners,nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
[2] but his delight is in the law of the LORD,and on his law he meditates day and night.
[3] He is like a treeplanted by streams of water,that yields its fruit in its season,and its leaf does not wither.In all that he does, he prospers.
[4] The wicked are not so,but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
[5] Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
[6] for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,but the way of the wicked will perish.
The tree is planted in the right environment. It has water, sun, Creation provides all that it needs yield fruit when it is time and remain leafy and green.
Creation provides humanity with all that it needs; as long as we remain truely human, To be human we must acknowledge our connections what the Creator has fashioned. If we remain mindful of our connections we will prosper. If we don’t we’ll be blown away.
[1] Blessed is the manwho walks not in the counsel of the wicked,nor stands in the way of sinners,nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
[2] but his delight is in the law of the LORD,and on his law he meditates day and night.
[3] He is like a treeplanted by streams of water,that yields its fruit in its season,and its leaf does not wither.In all that he does, he prospers.
[4] The wicked are not so,but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
[5] Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
[6] for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,but the way of the wicked will perish.
The tree is planted in the right environment. It has water, sun, Creation provides all that it needs yield fruit when it is time and remain leafy and green.
Creation provides humanity with all that it needs; as long as we remain truely human, To be human we must acknowledge our connections what the Creator has fashioned. If we remain mindful of our connections we will prosper. If we don’t we’ll be blown away.
Monday, September 06, 2010
PAUL
I know a lot less than I should about the early church. But, ran across some material that claims that Paul was an observant Jew, perhaps even a Pharisee instead of a Hellanized Jew. If that's true some of his instructions make sense. Especially the one about women not teaching in church. Women didn't teach in the synagogue, as far as I know. They usually had their own section. Same with the wearing of veils and avoiding cosmetics. Trying to make good Jewish girls out a bunch of Greeks.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
AWAKEN US
Awaken us to your glory.
Dispel the darkness of night.
Awaken us to your glory.
Destroy our heaviness of heart.
Awaken us to your glory.
Cure the blindness of our sight.
Awaken us to your glory.
Heal the deafness of our ears.
Awaken us to your glory.
Open the mouth that is dumb.
Awaken us to your glory.
Restore a gentleness of touch.
Awaken us to your glory.
Encourage in us a sense of adventure.
Awaken us to your glory.
Bring us an awareness of you.
Awaken us to your glory.
Dispel the darkness of night.
Awaken us to your glory.
Destroy our heaviness of heart.
Awaken us to your glory.
Cure the blindness of our sight.
Awaken us to your glory.
Heal the deafness of our ears.
Awaken us to your glory.
Open the mouth that is dumb.
Awaken us to your glory.
Restore a gentleness of touch.
Awaken us to your glory.
Encourage in us a sense of adventure.
Awaken us to your glory.
Bring us an awareness of you.
Awaken us to your glory.
By David Adam former vicar of the Holy Island of Linisfarne
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
MEDITATION-PROTECTION
In Ireland the care of the hearth fire fell to woman of the house. The peat fire was carefully and prayerfully put to bed as the family retired at night and just as carefully awakened as the family prepared for the new day.
In some traditions the woman would pray as she divided into three sections, representing the trinity, and covered preserving the embers for the morning.
The sacred Three
To save
To shield
To surround
The hearth
The house
The household
This eve
This night
And every single night
Each single night
Amen
Or
As I save this fire tonight
Even so may Christ save me.
On the top of the house let Mary,
Let Bride in its middle be,
Let eight of the mightiest angels
Round the throne of the Trinity
Protect this house and its people
Till the dawn of the day shall be.
The family would rest the night sure of the protection of heaven and waken the fire in the morning as it was put to rest; with prayers.
I will kindle my fire this morning
In the presence of the holy angels of Heaven.
God kindle Thou in my heart within
A flame of Love to my neighbour,
To my foe, to my friend, to my kindred all…
To the brave, to the knave, to the thrall,
O son of the loveliest Mary,
O son of the loveliest Mary,
From the lowliest thing that livest,
To the Name that is highest of all.
There is a certainty that the hosts of heaven are present in and around the house. In and around every house. Creator and creation are one and the same and that no matter how humble the act, making a bed, kindling a fire, churning butter or weaving cloth it is holy in God’s sight; worthy of blessing and protection.
Prayers from Every Earthly Blessing by Esther DeWaal.
In some traditions the woman would pray as she divided into three sections, representing the trinity, and covered preserving the embers for the morning.
The sacred Three
To save
To shield
To surround
The hearth
The house
The household
This eve
This night
And every single night
Each single night
Amen
Or
As I save this fire tonight
Even so may Christ save me.
On the top of the house let Mary,
Let Bride in its middle be,
Let eight of the mightiest angels
Round the throne of the Trinity
Protect this house and its people
Till the dawn of the day shall be.
The family would rest the night sure of the protection of heaven and waken the fire in the morning as it was put to rest; with prayers.
I will kindle my fire this morning
In the presence of the holy angels of Heaven.
God kindle Thou in my heart within
A flame of Love to my neighbour,
To my foe, to my friend, to my kindred all…
To the brave, to the knave, to the thrall,
O son of the loveliest Mary,
O son of the loveliest Mary,
From the lowliest thing that livest,
To the Name that is highest of all.
There is a certainty that the hosts of heaven are present in and around the house. In and around every house. Creator and creation are one and the same and that no matter how humble the act, making a bed, kindling a fire, churning butter or weaving cloth it is holy in God’s sight; worthy of blessing and protection.
Prayers from Every Earthly Blessing by Esther DeWaal.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
MEDITATION-PRAYER SPACE
Kathleen Norris hit the bullseye with a quote from Graham Green's novel, A Burnt Out Case: "People have prayed in prisons, in slums, and concentration camps. It's only the middle classes who who demand to pray in suitable surroundings."
Go to any bookstore and you can find material on designing the perfect home alter or prayer space, meditation music......whatever. The danger is that you'll spend so much time and energy setting up the perfect space, finding the perfect prayer book, and getting the perfect music you won't have time to pray. Hmmmm......maybe it's time to ask what you're running away from.
There's money in them there prayin' people. And if you actually start praying, you may find that's all you need. Solitude is nice. We can't always get it. We could learn much from the Japanese. To be able to quietly meditate while the world around you buzzes along is a rare gift.
Go to any bookstore and you can find material on designing the perfect home alter or prayer space, meditation music......whatever. The danger is that you'll spend so much time and energy setting up the perfect space, finding the perfect prayer book, and getting the perfect music you won't have time to pray. Hmmmm......maybe it's time to ask what you're running away from.
There's money in them there prayin' people. And if you actually start praying, you may find that's all you need. Solitude is nice. We can't always get it. We could learn much from the Japanese. To be able to quietly meditate while the world around you buzzes along is a rare gift.
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