"...it is better to enlighten than merely to shine." ~ St. Thomas Aquinas, O.P., Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 188, a. 6. That bit of wisdom from St. Thomas Aquinas caught my attention a few days ago, when I came across... Continue Reading →
Dream Idyll – A Valkyrie, 1902, by Edward Robert Hughes.
Another ‘Tis the Time and Season‘ reflection, stirred and updated from the Sophia’s Children treasure-vaults (so very Uranus-Pluto!).
Whether we’re in the deep-Yin season of Winter, settling into night from day, or in a Winter-season in our own lifecycle journey, it’s always wise to honor the restoration that will otherwise stalk and have its way with us in other (usually less pleasant) ways.
Plus, Wisdom and Wisdom-sourced vision gestate from and are more easily called up in this season, and with the current archetypal energies in which we dance and swirl right about now.
Ancient olive tree (photo from Medilico’s Olive Facts)
It’s a rich and wonderful contemplative and spiritual practice to invite a word or theme for reflection.
Each word has a frequency or a power or a ‘mood’ of its own,which is why certain words and themes are more helpful than others when we’re ‘cultivating’ through spiritual practice.
You can feel it, even, when you see or say them … holy, Beloved, grace, be still and Know …
As we sit in reflection with a certain word or theme, we invite the essence of that word to arise within us, to envelope us, to inform us, to center and ground us, and to emanate from us.
I’ve been in reflection for keynote words and themes as guides for the coming year — and several have arisen into my awareness (I’ll likely be writing about each soon) — so when I came upon Anna Lin’s post about the word ‘Holy‘ I wanted to pass it along to you.
It reminded me of a bit of holy wisdom I’ve shared before here at Sophia’s Children:
“Take off your shoes,
for the place where you are
standing is holy ground.”
(Exodus 3:5)
Enjoy Anna Lin’s own reflection on this evocative word-reflection.
This morning I spent time in silence to see where my focus lies. My wandering mind tells me that I focus my energy on how to “fix” things — how to get to perfection. I was given the breath word HOLY for this day. It helps me to re-focus on all that is God, rather than on myself and my needs. This is a great help to prayer.
But I recognize this is also a great challenge to prayer. For within this awareness of the Holy, is the element of Holy Fear. Fear of this nature is fear of the unknown — fear of the mystery of God that is unknowable, that cannot be controlled or contained. I sense within me a fear of surrendering my power, my control. I sense a fear of unworthiness in the presence of the Holy One. Then I recall Luther’s explanation of the first…
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A perfect set of musings for the dark moon, dark of night, or dark of Winter (whether you're in seasonal Winter, as we are now here in New York, or in the Dark Night or winter passage of some life-cycle you're... Continue Reading →
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Okay, raise your hand if you resonate with this in your very heart and core (if you're a fellow introvert, the chances are excellent that your hand will be raised): "But in truth, there is no glory in listening. There is... Continue Reading →
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"Live where you are, where you stand is your altar ... right where you are, all is sacred." ~ T. Thorn Coyle, Kissing the Limited Muse-a-liciously Yours, Jamie
As many of us know (whether we'd wish to or not!), holy disorder and not knowing are familiars on the mystica and shamanica Way (by whatever name we might call it). Even if we've been meandering the path for some... Continue Reading →
"In your Anam-cara you discovered the Other with whom your heart could be at home." ~ John O'Donohue, The Confessions of St. Patrick (Introduction) On this notion of our soul-deep yearning for our anam cara, our true soul friends and believing mirrors, Carla... Continue Reading →
I've continued my Hermit Streak, heeding the call towards deeper listening, watching, sensing. That's often the case when a creative effort or major cycle has ended: a (seemingly) fallow space of renewal -- a stillpoint -- comes before regeneration and... Continue Reading →
How have the past few weeks been for you? Or months? Years? We're dancing through our days amidst a bevy of high-frequency Energies of Now: The ongoing Uranus-Pluto square (Sixties, Part 2 ... the next rung on that spiral); plus... Continue Reading →
Sybil, by the artist Edward Coley Burne-Jones 
