Listen for the Voice

Listen for the Voice

It’s time for prayer

It’s time to share my deepest thoughts

It’s time to know the secrets of my soul and

   listen for the voice of GrandFather God.

It’s time to love

It’s time to dream my deepest dream

It’s time to hold on and open up my heart and

   listen for the voice of GrandMother God.

The past couple of weeks have been filled with Earth’s gifts and wonders.  I know that every day is gifted with wonders, but this has been a special time.

What happened that made these past couple of weeks so unique.

First, I was on my way to Cleveland, to Playhouse Square to take in a show.  While still on the local highway, a huge bird flew out of the trees from my right.  I had to brake hard to avoid colliding with him.  His wings touched the windshield on the passenger side.  He was large and brown.  At first his size made me think EAGLE.  He was powerful and his wingspan was huge.

I have done a bit of research.  I wondered if it was a hawk, but everything I felt said EAGLE.  It simply did not fit the description of Eagle I grew up with.  Doing further research, I found that could very well have been a young Eagle.  I am wondering if my wondering about WHAT bird it was is simply a distraction.  The facts that I know are these:  It was a huge bird.  It came from the side, seemingly out of nowhere.  It’s timing was nearly suicidal – Was it depending on me to be aware and quick to act?  I learned a lesson about my spontaneity and my quick reaction to the element of surprise. 

I hit the brakes hard.  Glad no one was close on my tail.  I heard and felt the windshield touch its wide spread wings.  I held the car steady and strong on the highway.  I was filled with amazement and wondered, “Why me?”  Why Now? What lesson?”

What about you?  Are you paying attention to what calls you?  OR are you ignoring or pushing these awesome invitations away?  We all have them.  We must wake up to the extraordinary in your life.  Embrace it!

Would love to hear from you,

Carol

Listen to the Voice calling YOU!

GrandFather Chants.  God Chants.  Connecting Chants. Spirit Chants. My Chants.

Prayer song.  Meaning layers. Some dance. Some sway. Some sit.

Dancing in my head.  Simply prayer.  Responses to Holy Activity.  Sacred encounters.  I did nothing to encourage.  Simply paid attention.  Noticed something in me growing. 

All The Way

There is a One, A precious One

I called her name and she has come

She walks the road, the good red road

She walks in balance all the way.

There is a One, A precious One

I called his name and he has come

He walks the road, the good red road

He walks in balance all the way.

At first read, this chant confuses.  Who is speaking?

God speaks.  God invites. OH! the label: …GOD…   I recoil.  Don’t like that human word that label.  Carries so much baggage. 

Define it.  Reinvent it.  Meaning?  What is it?

Universal love, Deep Mystery, Unknowable, All in All, Alpha and Omega, Omega Point, First and Last, End and Beginning, Presence, Grand Father, on and on

– NOT GOD BAGGAGE. 

Free from that, more than that, Liberated from GOD. Not the essence: GOD, the label: GOD. 

That is the voice, Grand Father, singing this song to me, to you, to anyone who dares to listen.

Grand Father is the label that works for me right now.  Don’t know about tomorrow’s baggage.  I like to mix them up.  No one label becomes too heavy.  No one label can embrace the unembraceable.  

You know who/what I am talking about. 

You have your own name, your own label for that Voice.  Do you know it?

Read the words again.  Listen to the words.  Hear the words from that Voice.

Upon reflection:

I am the “one.” I am “precious.” The Voice calls me.  I come.  Maybe slow, but, I come. 

Testing, probing, checking for rotten snow, prodding, dancing, leaping, wind filled caution.

Red road, yellow brick road, Camino road, muddy road, grassy road, gravel road, asphalt road, all the roads, up and down, straight and spiral, all lead to Voice.  I know, I walk them.

Balance, a constant challenge.  A goal.  A mark set before me.  Reminder of how little I know.  How small I am in this wondrous Universe.  YET! I am important.  The world is a better place because I am here.  When I connect with love, compassion, justice and hold peace in daily living, I am a rare force.  I walk in balance.

I do the distance.  All the way.

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Important - Don’t Miss This:

Go back.  Re-visit Reflection. 

You are the “I” and “me.” 

Read the words. Listen to the words. 

You are the “I” and “me.” 

Fill in your own words. 

Listen to the Voice calling YOU!

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Let me hear from you….

Carol

What Does God Do All Day Long?

Some say: We are made in the image and likeness of God. Lots of folks believe this to be a true statement. I’m not sure exactly what it means – but I do think about it. 

Each of us has an ‘imagination’. I think that’s the part of us that is the ‘image’ of God. God is forever creating. Never done. Check out this thought from Meister Eckhart: “What does God do all day long? He gives birth. From the beginning of eternity, God lies on a maternity bed giving birth to all. God is creating this whole universe full and entire in this present moment.” 

Now, that is a whole lot to take in! God is forever creating, forever in labor, forever giving birth. I think one of the ways that God creates is through us. God expects us to co-create with her. We have been given the sacred gift of IMAGINATION. 

I don’t like using the “God” word much anymore. I think we have loaded that word up with so much of our baggage of expectations that it no longer holds the depth of meaning and mystery that it needs to hold. Sometimes I think about the Universe as the creative intelligence responsible for all that has become and continues to become. Sometimes I think about the Is-Ness, the Life Force of all. For me the Face of God is everywhere and in everything and in everyone that I encounter. 

This gift of imagination is a mammoth responsibility. Imagination is the bed of creativity. Usually when we hear these words we think about Artists, Musicians, Poets, Builders, Sculptors. It is my experience that many of us don’t include ourselves in this list of Creative Imaginatives. 

Truth is, we all share in this gift in some way and to varying degrees. Every one of us is helping or hindering the Creative process through our intent to co-operate or to hold back because of our limited thinking about what and who we are.

What are three ways that you can assist in Creation today? Which one of the three has the most power for you? When will you start it? complete it?

On my way “home”…

On my way “home”…

There is more than one way to understand that phrase.

Today (June 30) I am driving “home” from Balsam Lake of the Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada.

I am not certain if I arrived “home” while I was there or if I am on my way home to Ohio in the United States.  The car is headed toward the International Border, PEACE BRIDGE.

Truth is, I don’t know where home is.  My experience of home is diverse.

Mom was faced with giving up her house, her home of over 30 years.  At that time, I was pastoring two churches, which was common for me. The churches were a three-hour drive apart.  Every other week, I lived in my Medina home.  During the alternate weeks, I lived in a parsonage.  

Mom was struggling with the idea of selling her home.  Confused by my living situation, she asked where she would live.  I reminded her that I have always had a place for her.  It was up to her to make that decision. 

She asked, “But, where would I live?  You are only here every other week.” 

I remember my reply, “Mom, think of it this way, wherever I am, is home.” 

When she embraced that idea, she came to enjoy the adventure of living one week in Medina and the next in the parsonage near the Ohio River.  She developed totally different groups of friends and enjoyed the variety of activities possible with this unique living arrangement.  Home had become a very different reality from what she had known.

In my younger days my job required continuous travel.  So much so, that I did not live anywhere.  I was the College Admissions Counselor for an Ohio College.  When I was in town, I stayed in a college dorm room. Sometimes I stayed in my parents’ home.  A strange thing happened, I would feel a homesick longing whenever I drove past a motel.  Motels had become “home.” 

Being an oblate of the Erie Benedictine Monastery, I made a commitment to spend time at the Monastery each month.  The Monks/Nuns take turns welcoming visitors at the front desk.  One of the nuns always greets me with a big smile and says, “Welcome Home!”  I feel extraordinarily at “home” when I am there. On my drive today I stopped at the Monastery and stayed overnight before completing my journey “home.”

My time on Balsam Lake was one of the most meaningful “Home” experiences one could have.  It is the “home” of total comfort in a beautiful natural lake setting.  It is the non-judgmental and totally free acceptance of each person. It is the saturating hospitality of hearts on fire with sharing.  It is healthy nourishing food and a place to sleep.  It is the spiritual giftedness of each person shared.  It is the lack of power struggles and the blessing of mutual teaching.  It is the freedom to not have to prove anything.  The freedom to simply be myself.  That is “Home.”

“Home” has a lot of manifestations that have erupted out of my life experience. 

What is your “Home”?  Where do you look for it? Who is part of your home?  Who shares “home” with you?  What is the “feel right” place for you?  What do you wish it could be?  How will you make that “home” your reality?

Hope to hear from you,

Carol