Nan Merrill

We do not get to choose how we are going to die

We do not get to choose how we are going to die. Or When.
We can only decide how we are going to live. Now.

October 1996 (Vol. IX, NO. 9)

May autumn BLESSINGS be with you!

Now are come the days of brown leaves

Now are come the days of brown leaves. They fall from the trees; they flutter on the ground. ... I hear them tell you of their borning days, when they did come into the world as leaves. ... Today, they were talking of the time before their borning days of the springtime. ... They told how they were a part of earth and air, before their tree-borning days. And now they are going back. They go back to the earth again. But they do not die.

~ from THE SINGING CREEK WHERE THE WILLOWS GROW by Opal Whitely

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Am I dead?

Lying alone in the pasture, dark except for the magnetic full moon. There is an overwhelming sense of quietness. My being is part of the earth and part of the pure white light of the moon at the same time. Nothing else is significant. For a second I wonder, "Am I dead?" It isn't important -- I am spending an hour in God's hands, and it will become part of me.

~ "But How Can I Be the Moon?" -- age 16

Anonymous But How Can I Be The Moon? death

The light we encounter on the road of death

In that moment of awareness, I had an epiphany, that the light we encounter on the road of death is our being in the act of coming home to itself. I understood that light is our natural state, but that we human beings must help each other as we move toward the shores of light. ...Being in the light is knowing we must get others into it. ...The light is where we belong. Everyone who is not in the light is looking forward to being there. So we leave the light to go and experience the need for light and thus come back to it anew.

~ from OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT by Malidoma Patrice Some

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We do not get to choose how we are going to die

We do not get to choose how we are going to die. Or When.
We can only decide how we are going to live. Now.

~ Nan Merrill

Nan Merrill death

Our hundred secret senses

The world is not a place but the vastness of the soul. And the soul is nothing more than love, limitless, all that moves us toward knowing what is true. I once thought love was supposed to be nothing but bliss. I now know it is also worry and grief, hope and trust. ... If people we love die, then they are lost only to our ordinary senses. If we remember, we can find them anytime with our hundred secret senses.

~ from THE HUNDRED SECRET SENSES by Amy Tan

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This is thy hour, O Soul

This is thy hour, O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless.
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done.
Thee fully forth emerging silent, gazing,
pondering the themes thou lovest best,
Night, sleep, death and the stars.

~ Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman death

Standing by my father through the long journey into his own death

I am not sure at what point I realized that the man whom I had seen as my all-powerful and invincible father not only wanted me as I am, but also needed me to stand by him through the long journey into his own death. My father needed my friendship. It still seems to me to be an astonishing gift of God's grace that in the last years of his life I was able to stand with him as his friend who was his adult child.

~ from MEMORIES OF GOD by Roberta C. Bondi

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Mourn not for those that die

Mourn not for those that live, nor those that die,
Nor I, nor thou, nor any one of these,
Ever was not, nor ever will not be,
For ever and for ever afterwards,
All, that doth live, lives always! ...
That which is can never cease to be;
That which is not will not exist.

~ from SONG CELESTIAL by Edwin Arnold

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Death before dying

The only way to avoid death is not to be born in the first place. In death there is union with the Beloved. The real skill is to reach the secret of death before dying.

We prepare for death, or rather eternity, by consciously adjusting the focus of our life so that it is not upon our personality and the flowing world that spawns upon it, but instead upon our individuality and the Great Fullness with which we are one. This process of focusing our attention is called meditation. In meditation we die to the personality and are reborn as something much greater. That rebirth is not a sudden or one-time event, but is a gradual process in which we become ever more focused on who and what we really are behind the mask of personality ... the process of dying to death by being reborn to reality.

~ from "Death and Meditation" by John Algeo

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Summer is already growing like a seed in the depth of winter

We each possess a deeper level of being ...
which loves paradox. It knows that summer is already
growing like a seed in the depth of winter. It know
that the moment we are born, we begin to die. It knows
that all of life shimmers, in shades of becoming
--that shadow and light are always together,
the visible mingled with the invisible.
When we sit in the stillness we are profoundly active.
Keeping silent, we can hear the roar of existence.
Through our willingness to be the one we are,
we become one with everything.

~ from SHARING SILENCE by Gunilla Norris

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If we want to die well, we must learn to live well

Naturally, most of us would like to die a peaceful death, but it is clear that we cannot hope to die peacefully if our lives have been full of violence, or if our minds have mostly been agitated by emotions like anger, attachment, or fear. So if we wish to die well, we must learn how to live well: Hoping for a peaceful death, we must cultivate peace in our mind, and in our way of life.

~ The Dalai Lama

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Come to me at my grave

When I am dead, come to me at my grave, and the more often, the better. Whatever is on your soul, whatever may have happened to you, come to me as when I was alive and, kneeling on the ground, cast all your bitterness upon my grave. Tell me everything and I shall listen to you, and all the bitterness will fly away from you. And as you spoke to me when I was alive, do so now. For I am living, and I shall be forever.

~ inscription on the tombstone of St. Seraphim

St. Seraphim death

Death as an act of communion

Teach me to treat my death as an act of communion.

~ Teilhard de Chardin

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Glorious even to fall

Some goals are so worthy, it is glorious even to fail.

September 1996 (Vol. IX, no. 8)

BLESSINGS, friends, as we anticipate the beginning of the autumn season ... an approprate time to pause in the Silence ans ask: "How am I endeavoring to spiritualize my work? Does my work reflet the deepest aspirations of my heart?"

Better able to carry an equally heavy load of work

If my prayer life is strong and deeply rooted, then I will be better able to carry an equally heavy load of work, to bear the weight of our sisters' and brothers' pain and suffering, because it will not be me carrying the load, but God.

~ Aidan Costello in SOUL-MAKING by Edward Sellner

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All of life can be a work of art

Our society has forgotten that all of life can be a work of art, even the most mundane-seeming tasks... There is great beauty in cleanliness and order and bringing it into being. Watering the plants is as necessary as cleaning the stove, and vice versa. All these tasks bespeak care for oneself and others, and appreciation of the opportunity to create a temenos -- a sanctuary, a safe and sacred place.

~ from SEEING THROUGH THE VISIBLE WORLD by June Singer

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Our work is to make our way through our situation with faith and courage

Perhaps the important matter is that we are who we are and where we are by a maze of reasons unknown to us. Our work is to make our way through our situation with faith and courage and whatever else it takes... In the end we are not only a mystery to one another but even to ourselves. The task is to live the mystery rather than unravel it.

~ from DIARY OF A CITY PRIEST by John McNamee

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Take time to stand back from our work

Let us, like a painter, take time to stand back from our work, to be still, and thus to see what's what... True repose is standing back to survey the activities that fill our days.

~ from THE ART OF BEING HUMAN by William McNamara

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The guiding Light you need in your work

Through intuitions received in the silence and holiness of your own inner sanctuary, you will get the guiding Light you need in your work.

~ White Eagle

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These obstacles were my life

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin -- real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.

~ Alfred D'Souza

Alfred D'Souza work

Glorious even to fall

Some goals are so worthy, it is glorious even to fail.

~ Nan Merrill

Nan Merrill work

The great task

The true prophetic message always calls us to stretch our arms out wide and embrace the whole world. In holy boldness we cover the earth with the grace and mercy of God. This is a great task, a noble task... Helmut Thielicke writes, "The globe itself lives and is upheld as by Atlas arms through the prayers of those who love has not grown cold. The world lives by these uplifted hands, and by nothing else!"

~ from PRAYER by Richard J. Foster

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Good life as pilgrimage

We saw our good life not as a model for others, but as a pilgrimage, for us, to the best way we could conceive of living. We felt a glad responsibility in joining with the stream of onward life, with the whole magnificent enterprise. This was living a life of affirmation, of contribution, of making every act and every day purposeful. To live the good life, we found, was to do the best we were capable of in any set of circumstances.

~ from LOVING AND LEAVING THE GOOD LIFE by Helen Nearing

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Our work is the love of God

Our work is the love of God.
Our satisfaction lies in submission to the divine embrace.

~ Jan van Ruysbroeck

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Doing work which has to be done over and over again

Doing work which has to be done over and over again helps us recognize the natural cycles of growth and decay, of birth and death, and thus become aware of the dynamic order of the universe. "Ordinary" work, as the root meaning of the term indicates, is work that is in harmony with the order we perceive in the natural environment.

~ Fritjof Capra

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Grant that I may never break the double thread of my life

O God, that at all times You may find me as You desire me and where You would have me be, that You may lay hold on me fully, both by the Within and the Without of myself, grant that I may never break the double thread of my life.

~ Teilhard de Chardin

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As we lose our vagueness about our self

As we lose our vagueness about our self, our values, our life situation, we become available to the moment. It is there, in the particular, that we contact the creative self. Until we experience the freedom of solitude, we cannot connect authentically. We may be enmeshed, but we are not encountered. Art lies in the moment of encounter: we meet ourselves and we meet our self-expression. We become original because we become something specific: an origin from which work flows.

~ from THE ARTIST'S WAY by Julia Cameron

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Work is my blessing

The universe is my way.
Love is my law.
Peace is my shelter.
Experience is my school.
Obstacle is my lesson.
Difficulty is my stimulant.
Pain is my warning.
Work is my blessing.
Balance is my attitude.
(The Voice of Silence is my guide.)

~ Guillermo Tolentino

Guillermo Tolentino work

Work till my life shall end

May you give me work till my life shall end
And life till my work is done.

~ Winifred Holtby

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He could have chosen bitterness

We receive according to the emptiness of our hearts and hands.

When a young man in Uganda, a great soccer player, had his knee purposely blown out by someone in a soccer game, ending his professional career, he could have chosen bitterness. But instead, he began to help other young men who were aimless and without directions, who were on drugs, in gangs, doing nothing.

First he gave himself to building them up by teaching them to be soccer players. Once that relationship was established, he helped them develop skills and crafts, so that they could make a living and then become responsible fathers and community contributors...You could see how his own soul was nurtured by his desire to contribute, to focus outside himself.

~ from "The Guiding Conscience" by Steven R. Covey in HANDBOOK OF THE SOUL

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Without great solitudw

Without great solitude no serious work is possible.

~ Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso work

July-August 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 7)

BLESSINGS be with you all through these summer days, friends! May we each take time in the Silence to value the gifts of one another ... time to nourish our own fragile places; we will, thus, encourage peace in our wounded world.

My soul in silence waits

For God alone my soul in silence waits.

~ Anonymous

Anonymous silence

Desiring to be still washes away the day's grime

Entering into silence is like stepping into cool clear water. The dust and debris are quietly washed away, and we are purified of our triviality. This cleansing takes place whether we are conscious of it or not: the very choice of silence, of desiring to be still, washes away the day's grime.

~ from MEDITATIONS ON SILENCE by Wendy Beckett

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The journey to the self is hard work

The journey to the self is hard work, not so much because of its periodic intensity, but because it demands superhuman honesty and a lot of attention... But the unconscious had spoken:

Can you really walk what you talk?
Why are you afraid to live your passion?
Can you live from your heart and not be afraid of who you are?
Can you create out of your flesh rather than your intellect?

Live what you know! There are no obstacles that can't be overcome on this journey!

~ from SONGS FROM THE MOUNTAIN by Djohariah Toor

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Silence is a very noisy thin

Silence is an intriguing concept. Only silence enables us to hear. But silence is a very noisy thing. When we finally start to listen to our own garbled selves, as well as to others, we discover how full of static our hearts and minds really are. Silence, the time of coming to inner quiet, is the only chance we have of coming to inner quiet, is the only chance we have of coming to serenity.

~ from IN A HIGH SPIRITUAL SEASON by Joan Chittister with thanks to Pat Prescott

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Now and again, it is necessary to seclude yourself among deep mountains

Now and again, it is necessary to seclude yourself among deep mountains and hidden valleys to restore your link to the source of life. Breath in and let yourself soar to the ends of the universe; breath out and bring the cosmos back inside. Next, breathe up all the fecundity and vibrancy of the earth. Finally, blend the breath of heaven and the breath of earth with that of your own, becoming the breath of Life itself.

~ Morihei Ueshiba

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There is an art to wandering

There is an art to wandering. If I have a destination, a plan -- an objective -- I've lost the ability to find serendipity. I've become too focused, too single-minded. I am on a quest, not a ramble. I search for the Holy Grail of particularity and miss the Chalice freely offered, filled full and overflowing.

~ from ON BECOMING LOST by Cathy Johnson

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Now I will stop and be wholly attentive

At a certain point you say to the woods, to the sea, to the mountains, the world: Now I am ready. Now I will stop and be wholly attentive. You empty yourself and wait, listening ... you wait, you give your life's length to listening.

~ from TEACHING A STONE TO TALK by Annie Dillard

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The seed begins to germinate in aloneness and in silence

The work of art that emerges where we leave the place of interiority and reenter the visible world may be something tangible or it may take the form of a special kind of life, a life that is in itself an art. The sharing or the communication, in whatever form that may take, is the essence of the creative act. But the seed begins to germinate in aloneness and in silence.

~ from SEEING THROUGH THE VISIBLE WORLD by June Singer

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Learn to be still in the midst of activity

Learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.

~ Indira Gandhi

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Love your way into the depths of my being today

O Loving Being! O Playful Creator! Love your way into the depths of my being today so that whatever I do will be a prayer, whether it be making bread or boiling water, visiting the sick or mowing the grass... May it all be an act of love and a feast of leisure. In all that I do, may I remember that I am a tabernacle of the Holy Mystery, a place where You dwell. May my moments of quiet listening at your feet lead me out again into the marketplace joyfully, gratefully, without complaining.

~ from SONG OF THE SEED by Macrina Wiederkehr

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We cannot expect answers from God after only five minutes of silence

We cannot expect answers from God after only five minutes of silence... Meister Eckhart emphasized the importance of the listening heart that listens to God alone ... that God desires nothing more than a heart that detaches itself in silence from everything and turns and listens.

~ from DISCIPLESHIP by J. Heinrich Arnold

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I found I had less and less to say

I found I had less and less to say,
until finally, I became silent,
and began to listen.
I discovered in the silence,
the voice of God.

~ Soren Kierkegaard

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To survive in the world

To survive in the world, you need spiritual strength, you need solitude.

~ Andrew Harvey

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Go lightly

Go lightly, simply.
Too much seriousness clouds the soul.
Just go, and follow the flowing moment.
Try not to cling to any experience.
The depths of wonder open of themselves.

~ Frederik Lehrman

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The reasons angels can fly

Perhaps the reason angels can fly is because they take themselves lightly.

~ G. K. Chesterton

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When there is stillness in the motion of our days

When there is stillness in the motion of our days, life's mysteries are revealed.

~ Chinese adage

Chinese adage silence

Solitude brings the clarity of still waters

May you
Learn to be at home with yourself without a hand to hold.
Learn to endure isolation with only starts for friends.

For,

Happiness comes from understanding unity.
Love arrives on the footprints of your fear.
Beauty arrives from ashes of despair.
Solitude brings the clarity of still waters.
Wisdom completes the circle of your dreams.

~ from SPIRIT WALKER by Nancy Wood

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The beauty in Silence

KNOW your own inner peace and the beauty in Silence.
BE that peace and beauty you are.

~ Nan Merrill

Nan Merrill silence

The beauty in Silence

KNOW your own inner peace and the beauty in Silence.
BE that peace and beauty you are.

Stop tuning separate instruments

The time has come for us to stop tuning separate instruments and, together, to create a symphony!

Listen for the music of the Holy Word

Enter into the Silence, into the
Heart of Truth;
For herein lies the Great Mystery
where life is ever unfolding;
Herein the Divine Plan is made known,
the Plan all are invited to serve.
Listen for the music of the Holy Word
in the resounding Silence of
the universe.
May balance and harmony be your aim
as you are drawn into the
Heart of Love.

June 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 6)

BLESSED are you, friends, whose heart music radiates out the world. May your soul song ever reflet the beauty, peace and harmony of the Silent Song of the Spheres!

So shall I sing my song

So shall I sing my song. The melody winds through creation and forms the Name of the deepest Mystery and Being ... is unspeakable and as simple as the bee and the hummingbird and flower, is as constant and as changing as the cosmos. The Name is Now. With each moment the song is new. Each call of the Holy in and to me releases a surprise of melody I never knew I knew before. I didn't. Awareness. The Holy One makes all things new -- always, all ways, now. I must be attentive to my singing. I am new. I can always be a song fuller than could be imagined yesterday. I sing my life and I sing creation. Your Name is the song.

~ from BLESSING by Christin Lore Weber

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God tuning the great musical instrument of creation

Old illustrations show God tuning the great musical instrument of creation... We all vibrate sympathetically like different octaves of the same tone, our human hearts pulsing in the same rhythms as those of the material and spiritual worlds... We know we are well on the way toward soul when we feel interconnected to the world and the people around us and when we live as much from the heart as from the head.

~ from CARE OF THE SOUL by Thomas Moore

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The final reason of all music

The aim and final reason of all music should be nothing else but the glory of God and the refreshment of the Spirit.

~ J. S. Bach

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We must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence

All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are. And we must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence, in order to reach forth to the enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance and sing our sorrowful song -- but in this dance or in this song there are fulfilled the most ancient rites of our conscience in the awareness of being human and of believing in a common destiny.

~ Pablo Neruda

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The fundamental music accompanying the entire dance of the spirit

The discovery that God is as close to us as water in a sponge, or that God is in our body's veins and arteries as well as in the veins and arteries of our lives, is the fundamental music accompanying the entire dance of the spirit... Through every movement and every gestures, every turn and return, every leap forward and every silent rest, the music remains -- not only beneath and over and under and next to and within. In the trees and in the lakes, in the laughter and in the tears, in the animals and in the sun, in the soil, the fire, the air, the water. In the lure and the invitation ... the responding, the searching, the finding, the remembering. And in every one of us.

~ from DANCE OF THE SPIRIT by Maria Harris

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The closer the source, the purer the song

If prayer is the central core of life, then dance becomes prayer when we are expressing our relationship to God, to others, and to the world of matter and spirit, through movement originating from our deepest selves -- this same central point of worship. The movements of dance-prayer start from our deep center, flow outward like rivulets into the stream of life, and impart life everywhere. So dance can be a part of prayer, just as stillness can be a part of music. There is one root; all the rest, movement or stillness, silence or sound, is its expression. The closer the source, the purer the song.

~ from THE SPIRIT MOVES by Carla De Sola

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Stop tuning separate instruments

The time has come for us to stop tuning separate instruments and, together, to create a symphony!

~ Nan Merrill

Nan Merrill music

Listen for the music of the Holy Word

Enter into the Silence, into the
Heart of Truth;
For herein lies the Great Mystery
where life is ever unfolding;
Herein the Divine Plan is made known,
the Plan all are invited to serve.
Listen for the music of the Holy Word
in the resounding Silence of
the universe.
May balance and harmony be your aim
as you are drawn into the
Heart of Love.

~ from Psalm 132 in PRAYING THE PSALMS

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The musical servant of God

Though a world of increasing deafness shattered Beethoven's dreams of success in the outer world of society, it also caused him to turn within. And while human relationships came and went, Beethoven was discovering God, the eternal companion. This reorientation of his soul may well be the primary reason for the higher level of composition in his second period creations ... stemming from a fundamental need to express through music new and deeper worlds of soul-experience. Whereas before he composed for himself, in his second period, Beethoven was consciously striving to become the musical servant of God.

~ from BEETHOVEN AND THE SPIRITUAL PATH by David Tame

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A melody of majestic beauty carried from the waterfall

Life. It was in the water too. Each drop from the waterfall had its own intelligence and purpose. A melody of majestic beauty carried from the waterfall and filled the garden. The music came from the water itself, from its intelligence, and each drop produced its own tone and melody which mingled and interacted with every other strain and sound around it. The water was praising God for its life and joy ...

~ from EMBRACED BY THE LIGHT by Betty J. Eadie

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Music produces a kind of inner joy

Music produces a kind of inner joy which human nature cannot do without.

~ Confucius

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I know not how Thou singest

I know not how Thou singest ...
I ever listen in silent amazement.
The light of Thy music illumines the world.
The life breath of Thy music runs from sky to sky.
The holy stream of Thy music breaks through all stony obstacles
and rushes on.
My heart longs to join in Thy song, but vainly struggles for a voice.
I would speak but speech breaks not into song,
and I cry out baffled.
Ah, Thou has made my heart captive in the endless meshes of my music ...

~ from GITANJALI by Rabindranath Tagore

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We are the flute

We are the flute,
but the music is Thine.

~ Rumi

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May 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 5)

BLESSINGS Friends! MAy the inner gifts of beauty, peace, integrity and harmony be reflected in the outer sared spaces of your life!

Deep within your soul there is a knowing place

Deep within your soul
there is a KNOWING PLACE
a sanctuary where gifts are nurtured.

Enter that sacred space.

Spend time there tending your gifts.

There in the chapel of your heart
you will become a gift to be given.

~ from THE SONG OF THE SEED by Macrina Wiederkehr

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The power of silence lies in its emptiness

The power of silence lies in its emptiness. Silence is a receptive space. It creates a sacred void, an opening through which you can receive: truth, perspective, strength, healing, revelation. In silence, you transcend words and contact the wordless. You fill up with a peaceful knowing. Silence is not the same as prayer. Prayer is a way of directing your feelings and thoughts, focusing them and sending them toward a source. Silence is listening, receiving, being. One is trying to reach the source of communication with it; the other, silence, is allowing yourself to hear the source within yourself, to become one with it... In prayer, you are the sender; in silence, you are the receiver.

~ from REAL MOMENTS by Barbara De Angelis with thanks to Mary Lou Evans

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Experience proves that there is a power in holy places

Experience proves that there is a power in holy places, power to quicken the spiritual life and vitalize the soul with fresh enthusiasm and inspiration. While strong spiritual emotions have been felt for long periods of time by successive generations of dedicated men and women -- especially if they have had among them those who may be reckoned as saints because of their genius for devotion -- the mental atmosphere of the place becomes imbued with spiritual forces, and sensitive souls capable of response are deeply stirred thereby when they come into it.

~ from GLASTONBURY: Avalon of the Heart by Dion Fortune

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Space is the medium in which we come alive

Space -- whether it's architectural, spiritual, physical, or emotional -- is the medium in which we come alive, in which we feel ourselves and those around us to be alive without blame, without demands, without expectations, without fear, without hope... Space has a spiritual equivalent and can heal what is divided and burdensome in us.

~ Gretel Eherlich in "Common Boundary" - Nov/Dec '95

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When each day is sacred

When each day is sacred,
When each hour is sacred,
When each instant is sacred,
Earth and you, space and you,
bearing the sacred through time;
You'll reach the fields of light.

~ from SELECTED POEMS by Guillevic

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Soul-space

To drink deeply of the silence,
inhale the quiet,
lose myself in timelessness --
that is soul-space.

~ from SOUL-MAKING by Edward Sellner

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Go to these places and listen

A sacred place is one where the Earth's voice can be heard more clearly. Go to these places and listen.

~ Frederic Lehrman

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~ Peter Russell

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The symbolism of a sacred mountain

The symbolism of a sacred mountain is full of intimations of meditation. It is a state of strong immovability, of perfect balance; a state in which all motion hangs suspended, not in death or inertia but in that great stillness that is the origin and resolution of all things... Any mountain that is sacred is a symbol of the Centre: that point where divine reality impinges on profane reality. The true Centre, the real seat of the great mystery of ultimate reality, resides in our heart.

~ from THE SACRED MOUNTAIN by John Snelling

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Upon approaching or entering the zone of a sacred shrine

Upon approaching or entering the zone of a sacred shrine, an ancient and wonderfully subtle sense of reverence is called forth, asking for silence and respect. If we heed this signal, and rest with it patiently, we may find ourselves rewarded with a gift of knowing. This gift comes in personal form, and the revelations associated with places of power are accounts of the cultural mind of a given individual in a relationship to the mind of the earth. The quality of that transmission is conditioned by the clarity and character of the receiver.

~ from THE SACRED LANDSCAPE by Frederic Lehrman

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Abandoning the nets of my thoughts and words

Abandoning the nets of my thoughts and words, I follow You willingly into the great Silence.

~ Macrina Wiederkehr

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We sat in silence for some time

We sat in silence for some time. It is a very, very difficult thing to do -- to sit in silence. Our world is filled with sounds, and we've come to feel that we must fill any void we encounter with our voices, or the radio, or the TV; almost anything will do, as long as we're not burdened by deafening silence. But there is a special beauty, I was coming to see, a special peace in quiet that is beyond words or the trappings of this world. But, oh, it is so difficult not to speak!

~ from THE MESSIAH STONES by Irving Benig

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A place in the heart

Perhaps the City of God is not so much a place in space, as a place in the heart.

~ Madeleine L'Engle

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We do not get to choose how we are going to die

Glorious even to fall

The beauty in Silence

Stop tuning separate instruments

Listen for the music of the Holy Word

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