what a day of re-membering how true these words are… what a miracle to meet each moment fully, how this moment opens us to a new world populated with the  dreams great mystery sings through us, these precious dreams we receive mindfully when we are open and present to deeply listening… i’m still feeling the rhythm of a new beginning and attending to what dreams are quietly forming in the river below the river… so, i turn to the celtic bard of blessing , John O’Donahue, and his poem for mothers-to-be which i see broadly as all mothers of invention, all dreamers of dreams…

“Nothing could have prepared your heart to open like this.

From beyond the skies and the stars
This echo arrived inside of you and started to pulse with life
Each beat a tiny act of growth,
Traversing all our ancient shapes,
On its way home to itself.

Once it began, you were no longer your own.
A new, more courageous you, offering itself
In a new way to a presence you can sense
But you have not seen or known.

It has made you feel alone
In a way you never knew before;
Everyone else sees only from the outside
What you feel and feed with every fiber of your being.

Never have you traveled farther inward
Where words and thoughts become half-­light
unable to reach the fund of brightness
Strengthening inside the night of your womb.

Like some primeval moon,
Your soul brightens
The tides of essence
That flow to your child.

You know your life has changed forever,
For in all the days and years to come,
Distance will never be able to cut you off
From the one you now carry
For nine months under your heart.

May you be blessed with quiet confidence
That destiny will guide you and mind you.

May the emerging spirit of your child
Imbibe encouragement and joy
From the continuous music of your heart,
So that it can grow with ease,
Respectant of wonder and welcome when its form is fully filled

And it makes it journey out
To see you and settle at last
Relieved and glad in your arms.“

~

thanks be for our dreams being birthed and coming alive as we celebrate today sixteen months with chasing the rainbow…

what a confluence of riches today…  the first day of the moon of fledging february and it’s imbolc, the first day of the new year of the ancient earth rhythms calendar and it’s the first day of chinese new year celebrations and the first day of black history month and the third day of a season of peace… still in the energy of the potent new moon on this day of imbolc, in the belly, it’s a beautiful moment of eternity to plant new seeds and to check on those already planted… let us honor our new beginning with our soul’s intention for deepening and expansion… in our new life, we commit our energy to… peace, love and joy thanking beloved for carrying us across the wild deep blue sea of clouds that never die to a shore we cannot see, trusting beloved to transport us into the true refuge of great mystery…

in this moment of new beginning, as we see and bee a just world of love and peace, let us close this ceremony with a favorite poem, this one penned by the poet/painter who only wanted to paint sunlight on the walls of life, Lawrence Ferlinghetti…

~

Instructions to Painters and Poets

“I asked a hundred painters and a hundred poets
how to paint sunlight
on the face of life
Their answers were ambiguous and ingenious
as if they were all guarding trade secrets
Whereas it seems to me
all you have to do
is conceive of the whole world
and all humanity
as a kind of art work
a site-specific art work
an art project of the god of light
the whole earth and all that’s in it
to be painted with light

And the first thing you have to do
is paint out postmodern painting
And the next thing is to paint yourself
in your true colors
in primary colors
as you see them
(without whitewash)
paint yourself as you see yourself
without make-up
without masks
Then paint your favorite people and animals
with your brush loaded with light
And be sure you get the perspective right
and don’t fake it
because one false line leads to another

And then paint the high hills
when the sun first strikes them
on an autumn morning
With your palette knife
lay it on
the cadmium yellow leaves
the ochre leaves
the vermillion leaves
of a New England autumn
And paint the ghost light of summer nights
and the light of the midnight sun
which is moon light

And don’t paint out the shadows made by light
for without chiaroscuro you’ll have shallow pictures
So paint all the dark corners too
everywhere in the world
all the hidden places and minds and hearts
which light never reaches
all the caves of ignorance and fear
the pits of despair
the sloughs of despond
and write plain upon them
“Abandon all despair, ye who enter here”

And don’t forget to paint
all those who lived their lives
as bearers of light
Paint their eyes
and the eyes of every animal
and the eyes of beautiful women
known best for the perfection of their breasts
and the eyes of men and women
known only for the light of their minds
Paint the light in their eyes
the light of sunlit laughter
the song of eyes
the song of birds in flight

And remember that the light is within
if it is anywhere
and you must paint from the inside
Start with purity
with pure white
the pure white of gesso
the pure white of cadmium white
the pure white of flake white
the pure virgin canvas
the pure life we all begin with

Turner painted sunlight
with egg tempera
(which proved unstable)
and Van Gogh did it with madness
and the blood of his ear
(also unstable)
and the Impressionists did it
by never using black
and the Abstract Expressionists did it
with white house paint

But you can do it with the pure pigment
(if you can figure out the formula)
of your own true light
But before you strike the first blow
on the virgin canvas
remember its fragility
and remember its innocence
its original innocence
before you strike the first blow

Or perhaps never strike it
And let the light come through
the inner light of the canvas
the inner light of the models posed
in the life study the inner light of everyone
Let it all come through
like a pentimento
the light that’s been painted over
the life that’s been painted over
so many times
Let it all surge to the surface
the painted-over image
of primal life on earth

And when you’ve finished your painting
stand back astonished
stand back and observe
the life on earth that you’ve created
the lighted life on earth
that you’ve created
a new brave world”

my soul honors your soul/our soul… i honor the place in you/in us where the infinite resides. i honor the light, love, truth, beauty, joy and peace within you/within us…

namaste, beloveds…

“Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which flows into your life. Then, without effort, you are impelled to truth and to perfect contentment.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something, If we remember those times and places — and there are so many — where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however a small way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.“

~ Howard Zinn ~

in concert with the season for nonviolence which begins today on the anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination and ends 64 days later on April 4th, the anniversary of King’s assassination,today, the pilgrimage begins my favorite season that’s always in season – a season of peace…

on this first day, we begin with a contemplation and practice of courage, of heart which is a LOVEly way to begin for goodness knows the way of the peacemaker takes great courage, great heart in a world of dominance consciousness… let us now light the inner flame of our one heart and invoke the beloved peace prayer of St Francis to begin this saunter – this walk on holy ground for this season of peace…

“….. make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.”

may we all begin and end each day with a prayer for peace and invoke it through our ultradian healing rhythms that ask us to pause every 90 minutes or so throughout our awake time to sustain optimal functioning…  when saying hello and goodbye to beings, may we say “May Peace Prevail on Earth…”  may we create space in our lives dedicated to praying for, meditating, singing, dancing, contemplating  and being peace… in this way, we create a cosmos of beauty and harmony built on justice, on balance and guided by love…

thanks be for helping me to live this day quietly, peacefully… to lean upon cosmic great strength trustfully, restfully… to wait for the unfolding of the implicate order patiently, serenely… to meet others peacefully, joyously… to walk all ways with wonder and wisdom…