Gratitude, part one

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.
~ Meister Eckhart

If I am going to crawl out of this funk I'm going to need to be proactive.  I must stop focusing on my anger and the things that I dislike in my life and start appreciating the things that I am grateful for.

Thank you to my friends and family for supporting and loving me when I am hard to love.

Thank you to the multiverse for recognizing that I need a break that I would not take for myself.

Thank you to my guides and Gods for being so close.

Thank you Fortuna and Abundance for bringing me everything I need when I need it.

Thank you anger for unfolding within me and teaching me how to heal myself and others.

Thank you self for staying alive and for learning how to be.

The Four Agreements

1. Be Impeccable with your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

Learn More Here

The Invitation

The Invitation 
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Canadian Teacher and Author

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dreams
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your
fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes."

It doesn't interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after a night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

----------------------------------------------
© 1995 by Oriah House, From "Dreams Of Desire"
Published by Mountain Dreaming, 300 Coxwell Avenue, Box 22546, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4L 2A0
http://www.oriahmountaindreamer.com/

Carol Christ: Goddess Ethics

Nurture life
Walk in love and beauty
Trust the knowledge that comes through the body
Speak the truth about conflict, pain, and suffering
Take only what you need
Think about the consequences of your actions for seven generations
Approach the taking of life with great restraint
Practice great generosity
Repair the web

~ Carol P. Christ, "I specifically discussed the structural nature of injustice and offered Nine Touchstones of Goddess ethics as an alternative to the Ten Commandments of Biblical religion."

Sisters Chant

We are sisters on a journey, singing now as one
Shining through the darkest night.
The healing has begun, begun,
The healing has begun.

We are sisters on a journey, shining now as one.
Remembering the ancient one,
The women and the wisdom, wisdom.
The women and the wisdom.

We are sisters on a journey, watching life unfold
Sharing warmth of heart and hands.
The knowledge of the old, the old
The knowledge of the old.

We are sisters on a journey, standing at the door.
Remembering what passed long ago.
Let's turn the key once more, once more.
Let's turn the key once more.

~ Susun S Weed

Ramprasad: The Total Madness of Her Love

The Total Madness of Her Love

Mother dwells at the center of my being,
forever delightfully at play.
Whatever conditions of consciousness may arise,
I hear through them the music of her life-giving names,

Om Tara, Om Kali.

Closing my eyes, I perceive the radiant Black Mother
as indivisible, naked awareness,
dancing fiercely or gently on my heart lotus.
She wears a garland of snow-white skulls,
bright emblem of freedom from birth and death.
Gazing upon her resplendent nakedness,
all concepts and conventions vanish.

Those who judge by mundane standards call me mad.
Timid and limited persons can think what they wish.
My only longing is to express
the total madness of her love.

This poet child of the Wisdom Goddess
cries out with abandon:
"The Queen of the Universe
resides within the flower of my secret heart.
Mother! Mother! Mother!
I seek refuge at your beautiful feet,
delicate and fragrant as the dark blue lotus.
As my body dissolves into earth
and my mind into space,
may I dissolve into you."

~ Ramprasad Sen, Translated By Lex Hixon, Mother of the Universe

Starfire

It's the middle of the night and I'm feeling wrathy.

Angry.  Betrayed. Rejected.

Depressed.

My Design Toscano replica of The Burney Relief looms large over my workspace.

She attempts to remind me of who and what I am.

Let's begin with a rebirth of this blog.

More is coming soon.