”Three strands in a braid of sweet grass. They represent three spiritual qualities—-maybe love, kindness, humility. When I smudge myself, I purify myself in those qualities. I prepare myself for my day with the strength of those spiritual qualities. The smoke clings to my hair, my clothes, and it remains in the air of my home. As I move through the day and smell that fragrance, I am reminded of how I have chosen to live—-and in that is the power of greeting each day with reverence, calm, and prayer. That is how I learn to direct my humanity toward peace, equality, and harmony: one day, one person, one circumstance at a time.”
—-Richard Wagamese, Embers, One Ojibway’s Meditations p.45
meditation
Another Serendipity…More Sacramentality
Sacramentality is a quality present in creation that opens us up to the Sacred Presence in all things. Sacraments reveal grace.
—Christine Valters Paintner
Veiwed on the last of the Daily blogs I read, Maureen from her blog, Writing Without Paper on blog spot.
Morning Trip (345)
“Meditation is not just blindly following whatever the person next to you does. To meditate you have to be skillful and make good use of your intelligence.”
—Thich Nhat Hanh, Anger, Wisdom for Cooling the Flames
Morning Trip (342)
”Out here in the woods I can think of nothing except God and it is not so much that I think of Him either. I am as aware of Him as of the sun and the clouds and the blue sky and the thin cedar trees. When I first came out here, I was asleep…but I read a few lines from the Desert Fathers and then, after that, my whole being was full of serenity and vigilance.
Who am I writing this for, anyway? It is a waste of time! Enough to say that as long as I am out here I cannot think of Camaldoli either; no question of being here and dreaming of somewhere else. Engulfed in the simple and lucid actuality which is the afternoon: I mean God’s afternoon, this sacramental moment of time when the shadows will get longer and longer, and one small bird sings quietly in the cedars, and one car goes by in the remote distance and the oak leaves move in the wind.”
—— Thomas Merton, When the Trees Say Nothing, Writings on Nature
Morning Trip (285)
“I like to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.”
–George Washington Carver
Morning Trip (256)
“Trees
glitter like castles
of ribbons, the broad fields
smolder with light, a passing
creekbed lies
heaped with shining hills;
and though the questions
that have assailed us all day
remain – not a single
answer has been found –
walking out now
into the silence and the light
under the trees,
and through the fields,
feels like one.”
–Mary Oliver, First Snow
Self-Reliance, Spirituality, Inspiration, Interpretation and Expression
“You are your own best friend. You can provide for yourself emotionally and physically. Sometimes we feel frightened and want to get reassurance that everything’s going to be okay. Everything you need is provided to you. I am tuned in to my inner source of direction. I rely upon this inner source to guide me perfectly.”–Guide
Morning Trip (202)
“Inspiration is there all the time.
For everyone whose mind is not clouded over with thoughts, whether
they realize it or not…
Inspiration is pervasive but not a power.
It is a peaceful thing.
It is a consolation even to plants and animals.”
–Agnes Martin
Elisa's Spot 