July the Nineteenth

What shall we then say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us?

Bible - Romans 8:31

June the Twenty-First

FIRST DAY OF SUMMER

Warm breezes delight us
With a change in the weather
Finally we have a day that is sweet and warm
A day that just happens to be the first day of summer.

The birds delight and the butterflies alight
Everything is right.
The wind flutters green leaves
And delights my nose.

You and I will have more days such as these.

- BY THE BLOG AUTHOR

June The Twentieth

And a man said, Speak to us of Self-Knowledge.

And he answered, saying:
Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.
You would know in words that
which you have always known in thought.
You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.

And it is well you should.
The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs
rise and run murmuring to the sea;
And the treasure of your infinite depths
would be revealed to your eyes.
But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;
And seek not the depths of your knowledge
with staff or sounding line.
For self is a sea boundless and measureless.

Say not, "I have found the truth"
but rather, "I have found a truth."
Say not, "I have found the path of the soul."
Say rather, "I have met the soul walking upon my path."
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.

ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE - KAHLIL GIBRAN

June the Nineteenth

BLESS all fathers everywhere, for upon them rests responsibility and the role of teacher. We look to them for guidance and protection.
- by the blog author

June the Eighteenth

PRAY without ceasing.

June the Seventeenth

PRAY for the wisdom to recognize wisdom. Pray for the curiosity to search for it in many different places and treasure the people you meet along the way.
- by the blog author

June The Sixteenth

FOR the expanding grandeur of Creation,

worlds known and unknown,
galaxies beyond galaxies,
filling us with awe and challenging our imaginations:

We give thanks this day.

For this fragile planet earth,
its times and tides, its sunsets and seasons:

We give thanks this day.

For the joy of human life,
its wonders and surprises, its hopes and achievements:

We give thanks this day.

For our human community,
our common past and future hope,
our oneness transcending all separation,
our capacity to work for peace and justice in the midst of hostility and oppression:

We give thanks this day.

For high hopes and noble causes, for faith without fanaticism,
for understanding of views not shared:

We give thanks this day.

For all who have labored and suffered for a fairer world,
who have lived so that others might live in dignity and freedom:

We give thanks this day.

For human liberty and sacred rites;
for opportunities to change and grow, to affirm and choose:

We give thanks this day.

We pray that we may live not by our fears but by our hopes,
not by our words but by our deeds.

we give thanks this day - o. eugene pickett
photo: Howard Sochurek, February 1954, Life magazine images

June The Fifteenth

GET UP, STAND UP - Bob Marley, Peter Tosh

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!

Preacherman, don't tell me,
Heaven is under the earth.
I know you don't know
What life is really worth.
It's not all that glitters is gold;
'Alf the story has never been told:
So now you see the light, eh!
Stand up for your rights. Come on!

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!

Most people think,
Great God will come from the skies,
Take away everything
And make everybody feel high.
But if you know what life is worth,
You will look for yours on earth:
And now you see the light,
You stand up for your rights. Jah!

Get up, stand up! (Jah, Jah!)
Stand up for your rights! (Oh-hoo!)
Get up, stand up! (Get up, stand up!)
Don't give up the fight! (Life is your right!)
Get up, stand up! (So we can't give up the fight!)
Stand up for your rights! (Lord, Lord!)
Get up, stand up! (Keep on struggling on!)
Don't give up the fight! (Yeah!)

We sick an' tired of-a your ism-skism game -
Dyin' 'n' goin' to heaven in-a Jesus' name, Lord.
We know when we understand:
Almighty God is a living man.
You can fool some people sometimes,
But you can't fool all the people all the time.
So now we see the light (What you gonna do?),
We gonna stand up for our rights! (Yeah, yeah, yeah!)

So you better:
Get up, stand up! (In the morning! Git it up!)
Stand up for your rights! (Stand up for our rights!)
Get up, stand up!
Don't give up the fight! (Don't give it up, don't give it up!)
Get up, stand up! (Get up, stand up!)
Stand up for your rights! (Get up, stand up!)
Get up, stand up! ( ... )
Don't give up the fight! (Get up, stand up!)
Get up, stand up! ( ... )
Stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up!
Don't give up the fight!

June The Fourteenth

LOVE IS MY GOD. And my god is love.

- BY THE BLOG AUTHOR

June the Thirteenth

MEDITATION

Now when the bardo of dying dawns upon me,
I will abandon all grasping, yearning and attachment,
Enter undistracted into a clear awareness of the teaching,
And eject my consciousness into the space of unborn awareness;
As I leave this compound body of flesh and blood
I will know it to be a transitory illusion.

tibetan book of the dead - padmasambhava

June The Twelfth

PRAISE God, from whom all blessings flow.

June The Eleventh

O God, we pray for all those in our world

who are suffering from injustice:
For those who are discriminated against
because of their race, color or religion;
For those imprisoned
for working for the relief of oppression;
For those who are hounded
for speaking the inconvenient truth;
For those tempted to violence
as a cry against overwhelming hardship;
For those deprived of reasonable health and education;
For those suffering from hunger and famine;
For those too weak to help themselves
and who have no one else to help them;
For the unemployed who cry out
for work but do not find it.
We pray for anyone of our acquaintance
who is personally affected by injustice.
Forgive us, Lord, if we unwittingly share in the conditions
or in a system that perpetuates injustice.
Show us how we can serve your children
and make your love practical by washing their feet.

MOTHER TERESA

June the Tenth

Hear the words of the Star Goddess,

the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven,
whose body encircles the universe:

I who am the beauty of the green earth and the white moon
among the stars and the mysteries of the waters,
I call upon your soul to arise and come unto me.
For I am the soul of nature that gives life to the universe.
From Me all things proceed and unto Me they must return.
Let My worship be in the heart that rejoices,
for behold-- all acts of love and pleasure are My rituals.
Let there be beauty and strength,
power and compassion,
honor and humility,
mirth and reverence within you.
And you who seek to know Me,
know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not,
unless you know the Mystery:
for if that which you seek,
you find not within yourself,
you will never find it without.
For behold, I have been there with you from the beginning,
and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.

charge of the goddess - doreen valiente - adapted by starhawk

June the Ninth

PRAYER FOR THE WORLD

Let the rain come and wash away
the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds
held and nurtured over generations.
Let the rain wash away the memory
of the hurt, the neglect.
Then let the sun come out and
fill the sky with rainbows.
Let the warmth of the sun heal us
wherever we are broken.
Let it burn away the fog so that
we can see each other clearly.
So that we can see beyond labels,
beyond accents, gender or skin color.
Let the warmth and brightness
of the sun melt our selfishness.
So that we can share the joys and
feel the sorrows of our neighbors.
And let the light of the sun
be so strong that we will see all
people as our neighbors.
Let the earth, nourished by rain,
bring forth flowers
to surround us with beauty.
And let the mountains teach our hearts
to reach upward to heaven.
Amen.

A PRAYER FOR THE WORLD - rabbi harold kushner - 2003
from worldprayers.org

June the Eighth

FOR every good thing in the world, I give thanks.
Thanks for the flowers, the bees, the trees providing a canopy of shade.
Thank you for the clouds above, that inspire us with their grandeur,
Like mountains they rise to tempt us with their heights.

Let my memory be the eternal scrapbook of beauty,
And my kindnesses the result of people who have
Encouraged and guided by those who
Have loved me.

For every blessed thing, I give thanks.
Thank you for the children who have given their smiles freely
And their love unconditionally.
For our parents who sacrificed so much for us,
And for our grandparents, who did the same.

Let love guide us now and always.

- BY THE BLOG AUTHOR

June The Seventh

THE SANITY PRAYER

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my sanity that I keep.
For if some peace I do not find,
I'm pretty sure I'll lose my mind.
I pray I find a little quiet,
far away from the daily family riot.
May I lie back--not to have to think
about what they're stuffing down the sink,
or who they're with, or where they're at,
or what they'll eat or doing with the cat.
I pray for time all to myself (did I just hear
something fall off the shelf?),
To cuddle in my nice soft bed (oh no, another
goldfish is dead!).
Some silent moments for goodness sakes (did I
just hear a window break?),
And that I need not to cook or clean--well heck,
I've got the right to dream.
Yes, now I lay me down to sleep, I pray my
wits about me keep, but as I look around I
know--I must have lost them long ago!
- AUTHOR UNKNOWN

June the Sixth

PLEASE. Let me be brave.

June the Fifth

Make us all aware of our part in building peace, nurturing peace, encouraging peace and ensuring peace.

June the Fourth

Buddhist Universal Love Prayer from the Metta Sutta

May all beings be filled with joy and peace.
May all beings everywhere,
The strong and the weak,
The great and the small,
The mean and the powerful,
The short and the long,
the subtle and the gross:

May all beings everywhere,
Seen and unseen,
Dwelling far off or nearby,
Being or waiting to become:
May all be filled with lasting joy.

Let no one deceive another,
Let no one anywhere despise another,
Let no one out of anger or resentment
Wish suffering on anyone at all.

Just as a mother with her own life
Protects her child, her only child, from harm,
So within yourself let grow
A boundless love for all creatures.

Let your love flow outward through the universe,
To its height, its depth, its broad extent,
A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.

Then as you stand or walk,
Sit or lie down,
As long as you are awake,
Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;
Your life will bring heaven to earth.

Namu Amida Buddha

June the Third

Taking the leap toward joyous living can be the most difficult thing to do. Give me courage to take that leap and go on to the next step in life ... and then to the next.
Give me strength to do what must be done and to persevere.

June the Second

A PRAYER FOR PATIENCE
Dear Heavenly Father,
Praise be given to Your Holy name for Your forbearance and mercy. You have dealt gently with Your children in love. You have been patient with me in my humanness and stubbornness.
Lord, through the work of Your Spirit, prompt me to be more jubilant in hope, more patient in times of trouble, and more consistent in my prayer life. Teach me, Lord, to wait with faith and expectancy, and may my trials be seen as times for growth in grace. Through Christ our Lord, I pray. Amen.

June the First

MAKE me an instrument of your love. Help me find the good in people and nourish it.
- by the blog author

May the Thirty-First

KEEP watch over us, night and day. Provide us with what we need ... and remind us to be thankful for it.
Be with us in the dark of night and the light of day.
When we are growing tired, when we are discouraged, when we feel pity for ourselves, give us hope.
Be the love we see in a mother's gaze, the purity we feel in the afternoon's breeze, the cool sweetness we taste in the mountain water.
Be our protector, our courage, our charity, our innocence and our knowledge.
Love us always, even when it is difficult - please.
- BY THE BLOG AUTHOR

May the Thirtieth

GRACIOUS GOD, on this Memorial Day weekend, we remember and give thanks for those who have given their lives in the service of our country. When the need was greatest, they stepped forward and did their duty to defend the freedoms that we enjoy, and to win the same for others.
O God, you yourself have taught us that no love is greater than that which gives itself for another. These honored dead gave the most precious gift they had, life itself, for loved ones and neighbors, for comrades and country – and for us. Help us to honor their memory by caring for the family members they have left behind, by ensuring that their wounded comrades are properly cared for, by being watchful caretakers of the freedoms for which they gave their lives, and by demanding that no other young men and women follow them to a soldier’s grave unless the reason is worthy and the cause is just.
Holy One, help us to remember that freedom is not free. There are times when its cost is, indeed, dear. Never let us forget those who paid so terrible a price to ensure that freedom would be our legacy. Though their names may fade with the passing of generations, may we never forget what they have done. Help us to be worthy of their sacrifice, O God, help us to be worthy. Amen.- THE REVEREND CHUCK CURRIE

May the Twenty-Ninth

AND GOD spake all thee words, saying
I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me,
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth, beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. for the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor they son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates;
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not covet they neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
And they said unto Moses, Speak th0u with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, less we die.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
- EXODUS, Chapter 20

May the Twenty-Eighth

AND THEY CALLED Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.
And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.
And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man; and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
AND Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.
And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide; and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.
And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.
For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master; therefore she took a veil, and covered herself.
And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.
And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
- from Genesis, 25, Isaac meets Rebekah

May the Twenty-Seventh

LIVING BEINGS are without number;
I vow to row them to the other shore.

Defilements are without number;
I vow to remove them from myself.

The teachings are immeasurable;
I vow to study and practice them.

The way is very long;
I vow to arrive at the end.

- four vows of the bodhisattva

May the Twenty-Sixth

TO BECOME truly immortal, a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and common sense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken, it will enter the realms of childhood visions and dreams.

- GIORGIO DE CHIRICO

May the Twenty-Fifth

WATCH your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
- ARISTOTLE

May the Twenty-Fourth

EXPECT your every need to be met, expect the answer to every problem, expect abundance on every level, expect to grow spiritually.

- EILEEN CADDY

May Twenty-Third 2011

FOR now I'll enjoy what I can.
A cigar, a musical serenade, friends, memories ... .
Right now it's enough.
I'm not fighting the end.
It will come in its own time.
I always thought I might
Wait it out and still be standing at the end.
That's not how it turned out
But this is good enough.
Why did I never think death
Would come for me?
And those men outside the window:
You don't think a one of them
Considers death might come for them, do you?
No, not the living. Even if we always
Expected it, the shock of it actually
Arriving is a total surprise.
- by the Author
@Life magazine photo by Thomas D. Mcavoy, April 1959.

Serenaded by Horston American Legion oldest Civil War Veteran Walter Williams lying in bed w. cigar.

May Twenty-Second 2011

O SPIRIT, we are still here. Standing, sitting, laying - weighted down by the glorious gravity created by the earth's spin. The world is fresh, with new leaves, new grass, new flowers. New us, every day: cells leaving, cells growing.
Break off a flower stem and you will see the sap of life. Water, blue water. And where would we be without it?
Take my offering today, my offering of joy and adoration for this world. My feet will travel bare through green grass. My hands will smooth the wild fern and caress the herbs, causing it to release the smell of the wild world, as it has been since the beginning.
My eyes will feast upon my own small view of heaven.
- By the Author