Blessed Solstice!

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Oh, pleasurable blessings full of ease, to ALL this Solstice, and always.

I was reminded of this song today, and it is perfect:

"This is my home, this is my only home
This is the only sacred ground that I have ever known
And should I stray in the dark night alone
Rock me goddess in the gentle arms of Eden"

I can never get through this song without crying - what a validation of body experience!

I hope you sing along. And today and every day, may you, in your own way, enjoy connection with the earth, our mother, as well as all our relations!

Blessed Be!!
wendy

Song: Gentle Arms Of Eden
Artist: Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer
Album: Drum Hat Buddha

(Continued gratefulness to Dave in his journey on ahead, and to Tracy as she plays on without him.)

They're Singing Your Song

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From a story told by Alan Cohen
in his book: Wisdom Of The Heart:

When a woman in a certain African tribe knows
she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness
with a few friends and together they pray and
meditate until they hear the song of the child.
They recognize that every soul has its own vibration
that expresses its unique flavor and purpose. When
the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud. 
Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone
else.

When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child's song to him or her. Later, when the child enters education, the village gathers and chants the child's song. When the child passes through the initiation to adulthood, the people again come
together and sing. At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her song.

Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the person's bed, just as they did at their birth, and they sing the person to the next life.

To the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community
form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them.

The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.

A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it. Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.

You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn't. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well.

You may feel a little warbly at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you'll find your way home.

Standing outside the Fire

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        If your knowledge of fire
        has been turned to certainty by words alone,
        then seek to be cooked by the fire itself.
        Don't abide in borrowed certainty.
        There is no real certainty until you burn;
        if you wish for this, sit down in the fire.
        ~ Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi

I believe poetry is wonderful because there is no exact meaning, it means many things, and different things to different folks. Below are 3 thoughts, of many, I have regarding the quote. I would love to hear your ideas!

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1) Experience and practice, being in present time with our body and in this world, ARE reality - I hear Rumi say: jump in with no holds barred!

Theory and hearsay are shadows of reality.
I would rather directly experience what is real and true and love and God... for Myself... not second-hand (That is like watching it on TV, it is not LIFE!) AND at the same time, oh how reality Burns!

But then, no one can say this theory or that theory to me, I KNOW my experience - that is my own certainty, not someone else's belief or theory... (Christian writer Paul says: "in order that we may be no longer babes, tossed and carried about by every wind of that teaching but... holding the truth in love, we may grow up to him in all things")

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2) God (Light/Love/Life/Fire) burns up everything that is not God (Light/Love/Life/Fire). My favorite preacher, Dr Bruce Morgan, used to say this all the time, for me it is axiomatic.

From my perspective, everything comes from God and everything returns to God. I can flow with the process or resist it.  From my level of resistance I can suffer little or much.  But in the end, everything ends: everything goes into the fire...

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3) One of the Christian spellings for Rumi's quote, I believe, is Jesus saying: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".

I would translate this something like: I must let go of letting the 'lower/ego self' run the show... let go of the physically-focused self; and be who I really am as spirit, a part of God, and walk my unique spiritual path. This fulfills me and naturally serves the world; AND this Way goes through the fire, there is no way around it!

When we stop chasing around outside of us (fixing, changing, squirreling, consuming, desiring, worrying, scheming, helping, controlling... ad infinitum) and focus inside of us (which feels like sitting in the fire, no? at least at first!!!) then, well, that is IT.  The way can be painful, but the fruit is sweet.

The fire could be THE BELOVED (GOD), it could be LOVE, it could be LIFE, it could be BEINGNESS.  Here is one possible reading of Rumi's words, that could sum all these things:

If your knowledge of GOD
has been turned to certainty by words alone,
then seek to be cooked by GOD directly.
Don't abide in borrowed certainty.
There is no real certainty until you are consumed/transformed through/by GOD;
if you wish for this, sit down in GOD.

Of course I find myself singing Garth now  ; )

Life is not tried, it is merely survived
If you're standing outside the fire

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