The Labyrinth

"To walk a sacred path is to discover our inner sacred space:  that core of feeling that is waiting to have life breathed back into it through symbols, archetypal forms like the labyrinth, rituals, stories and myths.  Understanding the invisible world, the world of patterns and process, opens us up to the movement of Spirit."
Dr. Lauren Artress, Walking the Sacred Path

When we are born, we begin Walking the Sacred Path.
We are born and at certain moments in Life we are Born Again.
There are Mystical Experiences that throw us into the birth canal of life and we are reborn.  Leaving that life that we knew into a whole new way of viewing ourselves and the world around us.  We can fight it, resist seeing what is before us.
Eventually,we are to continue on our Sacred Path. 

I was blessed with time to go to Santa Fe recently. I was surprised to find a Labyrinth laid in stone in front of St. Frances Cathedral.  It is exactly laid out like the one in the picture above which is a copy of the Labyrinth at  Chartres Cathedral  in France.

Beginning my walk, I set an intention through prayer and began my journey.
It is always easy to begin but then there are twists and turns and it seems I might have lost my way.
Surely, I should be at the center by now.  Yet, I keep the faith and  follow the path before me.
Suspending my judgements and recognizing that the same thing happens in my own life when I am not getting the results as quickly as I had hoped.
When I see that in my ordinary life, I think, "Shouldn't I be further along??"
As I  keep walking the Center appears. 
It is representative of reaching the Divine.  The Deepest level of knowing  appears!
Centering the self and connecting with that which is Greater.
Divine Love!
The Rose..The flower of blossoming Divine Love, Wisdom and Grace.
The Path leads to our own Spiritual Opening.
A humbling experience for me.
Reminding me that there is a greater plan to my own personal journey.  It is a vital path that I and all other pilgrims are compelled to travel.
Time in the Center to reach a new balance within.
Then it is time to take that experience and begin that journey outward.
To return to my "normal" life.  I turn and begin the outward journey.  Somehow I am more anxious as I walk out.  I seem to feel an urgency to finish this walk.
Have I messed up?
Will I never get out of here?
Did I take a wrong turn?
All things that we face after we have encountered a Mystical Experience with the Divine.
That was nice and all but I have to get back now to my "real" life.
Then, I am reminded that it is all a Divine Experience.
I should not rush getting back to my "real" life because the journey IS my "real" life.
A Pilgrimage.
This particular walk, I walked alone. 

Minus Twelve Degrees!!!

Wow, what a cold spell here in Alienville!
  I am just now able to see  how much damage was done to the plant life from the Minus Twelve Degrees we experienced last week.
Looks as if my Honeysuckle around the property has died and I am wondering about my roses?
  The rosemary bushes don't look too good either.
There will be a lot of pruning this spring and then we will know.
Around town I have seen beautiful cactus just wilted to the ground and also those big century plants hit pretty hard.
So much for global warming.
There is still a coldness in the air today but like the land of enchantment that it is...by Sunday we should be back up to seventy...hard to believe..but after the coldest of days ..warmth does come.

Peace

We all share one thing in common.
Search for Peace.
Those quiet moments in the evening surrounded by friends and there is a quiet knowing that all is well.
"It is well with my soul."
When suddenly circumstances in life throw a curve ball and those which we thought would always be there are suddenly gone. 
Unfortunately too..we all experence another common thing..Sorrow...Sorrow because the time of being near is gone now.
Yet, there is a quiet knowing too, that all is still well.

"When peace, like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well,
It is well with my soul"

Peace to all of my friends today.

Dale, Peace to you, my friend.

Beauty...

The Winter Wonder Land of the West is not found in crystal snow but in  warm, sunny days with a few clouds crossing a blue, blue sky!
  The trees now just skeletons against that blue sky.
Skeletons dancing in the wind free now of all that has held onto them.
  Free of all encumbrances.
Able now to send the energy down.
Down into Mother Earth so that they can grow taller and stronger in the Spring.
We also need this time to shed all that has encumbered us in the last season and strip down to what is essential to our own growth.
To send our spiritual roots deep down into Mother Earth to comfort us and strengthen us for the newness that will come with the New Year.
I would like to share a Navajo Prayer with you to remind you to see the beauty of life and particularly your own beauty that you share with the world.
Thank you family & friends for sharing your beauty with me!

Walking in Beauty
In beauty I walk
With beauty before me I walk
With beauty behind me I walk
With beauty above me I walk
With beauty around me I walk
It has become beauty again
Today I will walk out, today everything negative will leave me
I will be as I was before, I will have a cool breeze over my body.
I will have a light body, I will be happy forever, nothing will hinder me.
I walk with beauty before me. I walk with beauty behind me.
I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty above me.
I walk with beauty around me. My words will be beautiful.
In beauty all day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons, may I walk.
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.
With dew about my feet, may I walk.
With beauty before me may I walk.
With beauty behind me may I walk.
With beauty below me may I walk.
With beauty above me may I walk.
With beauty all around me may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk.
My words will be beautiful.

Season of Light

Christmas time is here once again!  This is my little tree that I put up a few weeks ago.  It has been such a
 long time since I have had a tree in the house.
I had forgotten the warmth and beauty that the Christmas tree
provides.  A reminder of the tree of life that supports us and moves us forward in life.

At this time we are reminded of the best in people.
A Spirit of Good Will. Unfortunately, the light shining in the darkness also reminds me of how Dark it really can be.
  What would the evening sky be like without all those tiny little sparkles reminding us that even in Darkness
 there is Light?   Our souls can sometimes be filled with such darkness but it is amazing when there sparkles a little star within us. Maybe it is a smile from a stranger or a hug from a long lost friend or simply opening a book and reading something truly inspiring.

   The other evening I was sitting by my little pot belly stove gazing at my Christmas tree and picked up an old book of poetry that I haven't touched in aeon's!
What a blessing to read old familiar words and maybe that is what is so comforting about having a Christmas Tree. It is old and familiar.
When there is so much change happening so quickly it is nice to be surrounded by the old and familiar.

I have sent off a few Christmas Cards and today it is cold and cloudy.  Feeling more and more like Christmas all the time.  As usual there is the hustle of shopping but this year I am not so much concerned with finding that perfect gift but finding my own perfect attitude to what and why I am giving this year. 
Birthing within myself that simplicity of a child-like attitude of Acceptance of what will be.
Not understanding or knowing what the future may bring but a Divine Grace that whatever it may be that
Love will be my Star that leads me to true Peace.

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.........Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Glory to You..

This morning as I was contemplating Thanksgiving in the quiet morning hours I was drawn to read some Poetry and thought it would be nice to find something inspiring to share with you about Thanksgiving.  This Prayer inspired me and I hope that it will bless you too!

Glory to You!

O Lord, how lovely it is to be your guest.
 Breeze full of scents, mountains reaching to the skies,
 Waters like a boundless mirror,
Reflecting the sun's golden rays and the scudding clouds
All nature murmurs mysteriously, breathing depths of tenderness.
Birds and beasts of the forest bear the imprint of your love.
Blessed are you, mother earth, in your floating loveliness,
 Which wakens our yearning for happiness
that will last forever in the land where,
amid beauty that grows not old, Rings out the cry:
Alleluia!

What sort of praises can I give you?
I have never heard the song of the cherubim,
A joy reserved for the spirits above
but I know the praises that nature sings to you.
In winter, I have beheld how silently in the moonlight the whole earth offers you prayer, clad in its white mantle of snow, sparkling like diamonds.
I have seen how the rising sun rejoices in you,
how the song of the birds is a chorus of praise to you.
I have heard the mysterious mutterings of the forests about you,
and the winds winging your praise as they stir the waters.
I have understood how the choirs of stars proclaim your glory as they move forever in the depths of infinite space.
You have brought me into life as if into an enchanted paradise.
We have seen the sky like a chalice of deepest blue,
Where in the heights the birds are singing.
We have listened to the soothing murmur of the forest
And the melodious music of the streams.
We have tasted fruit of fine flavor and sweet-scented honey.
We can live very well on your earth.
It is a pleasure to be your guest.

Glory to you for the feast-day of life.

Glory to you for the perfume of lilies and roses.

Glory to you for each different taste of berry and fruit.

Glory to you for the sparkling silver of early morning dew.

Glory to you for the joy of dawn's awakening.

Glory to you for the new life each day brings.

Glory to you O God, from age to age.

Gregory Petrov

Turning over a new leaf....

With this Fall weather has come a desire within me to "turn over a new leaf". 
Yesterday, I took another large load to the Good Will.  Cleaning out closets, going through old papers and continuing to release the past.  It is strange how there is this tear within me.  Wanting to hold on yet knowing just like the trees surrounding me..it is a time to let go.  Let go of those leaves.  Sweeping out the past in preparation to hibernate for the winter.  Winter being a time of going within.  Time to dream.  Reflecting and lying dormant.  Quiet.  Listening.. Making time to listen within to that still small voice that is calling to us for more in life.  More love, more laughter.  More recognition of the preciousness of each day. 
As the trees, let go of their leaves, the view changes for me.  There is more sky to see.  Clarity seems to flow more easily through the breeze.  I have to admit though that I am not much of a fan of the holidays but that too I am turning over a new leave.  This year, after many , many years I am going to put up a Christmas tree.  All new lights and ornaments.  A new beginning and opening myself up to more beauty. 
Now, that I have cleared more things out of my little home, I have more space for new love, new friends, new opportunities.  "They" say that change one thing in your life and everything in your life will change.  I hope so!
I know that circumstances are fickle..but family, friends, Love and God are not!!
Yep, I am turning over a new leaf.