Friday, November 13, 2009

Weekend Reflection




 Beauty

"What may be most missing in this highly technological world of ours is beauty. We value efficiency instead. We want functionalism over art. We create trash. We bask in kitsch. But beauty, right proportion in all things, harmony in the universe of  our lives, truth in appearances, eludes us. We paint over good wood. We prefer plastic flowers to wild flowers. We reproduce the Pieta in plastics. We forego the natural and the real for the gaudy and the pretentious. We are, as a people, awash in the banal. A loss of commitment to beauty may be the clearest sign we have that we have lost our way to God. Without beauty we miss the glory of the face of God in the here and now.

Beauty is the most provocative promise we have of the Beautiful. It lures us and calls us and leads us on. Souls thirst for beauty and thrive on it and by it nourish hope. It is Beauty that magnetizes the contemplative, and it is the duty of the contemplative to give beauty away so that the rest of the world may, in the midst of squalor, ugliness, and pain, remember that beauty is possible. "*

Today, may Beauty find its way into your heart.


And may you give away some of the Beauty you find to someone in need of their own. 


Blessings to you for a glorious weekend ...





(*Excerpted without permission from Illuminated Life: Monastic Wisdom for Seekers of Light by Joan Chittister.) Sr. Joan is one of the women I most deeply admire, a contemplative feminist and activist who does not mince words about how we "should" be living today. This book, now a spiritual classic, provides an A-Z alphabet for the spiritual life. Whenever I need a bit of inspiration for my day, I go there. Within its pages I find her powerful, yet poignant reminders on the "virtues" of contemplative living: Awareness, Enlightenment, Faith, Humility, Kindness, Silence and more. The paragraphs I presented here are from the section on "Beauty." Visit her website: www.benetvision.org

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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

How Do We Wake Up?



I started this blog over a year ago. I'm well past 100 posts.

Each time I write, I think about what it will take for us—for all of usto awaken to our true nature. To our innate goodness and unlimited potential. To live with love and compassion for ourselves and others. What a world it would be, if only we could ...

One of my favorite resources is a site which supports my belief that mass awakening is at hand. By its simple message, "We are one," it invites me to continually look inward at what I am personally doing to help shift our planetary consciousness.

It asks me, 'What are you doing to stay awake? What are you doing to support the awakening of others.'

It does this through short, thought-provoking films and conversations on those films. The site is The Global Oneness Project.


This morning I sat with one crafted around the idea of waking up—once and for all.

This short film features a woman I admire, whose biography,  Cave in the Snow, touched me deeply—Ven. Tenzin Palmo. A Buddhist nun, she lived in a cave in solitary retreat for 12 years. She ponders, wonders, just like I do: What will it take for us to wake up?


I invite you to take just 3 minutes and watch this film, because I really want to know what you think.  Here's the link: http://www.globalonenessproject.org/videos/wakingup


Do you think it is really possible for all of us to wake up? 
And, if so, what will it take to make this happen?


I welcome your thoughts ... 


~~~0~~~


BIG P.S. This weekend I am in Grand Rapids, MI, keynoting and presenting a workshop at a fabulous women's conference. Please join me there. It's so affordable!!! Here are the juicy details.

Saturday, November 14, 2009
"Stages: Women Growing in Mind, Body, and Spirit"
The 2nd Fountain Street Church Women’s Conference

Keynote, "Being Peace," by Janice Lynne Lundy, popular speaker and author of Your Truest Self: Embracing the Woman You are Meant to Be. 30 workshops throughout the day allow participants to explore diverse areas of interests, including: spirituality, creative arts, yoga, feng shui, digital photography, sexuality, health, and more.

Jan will also be presenting an afternoon workshop, "Sniffing Out Joy."
Her books will be available for purchase throughout the day.

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Cost: $15 per person; $10 for students (age 13-college). Registration includes featured speaker, all workshops, lunch, and parking. Scholarships are available.

Location: Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St. N.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Register: Visit www.fountainstreet.org. Click on "2nd Annual Women's Conference," download Registration Forum, and send in with payment. Questions? Call (616) 459-8386.

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