Michelle here,
Bringing lots of love and light!
"There are times when life sharpens, things come into focus and, gradually, you become aware that you are standing before a threshold. There is no way back to where you were before, and there is no way out but through." ~ John O'Donohue, "Foreword," in Angeles Arrien, The Second Half of Life
"Everything is laid out for you. Your path is straight ahead of you. Sometimes it's invisible, but it's there. You may not know where it's going, But you have to follow that path. It's the path to the Creator. It's the only path there is. ~ Chief Leon Shenandoah, in Andrew Harvey, The Direct Path
"Say yes to being alive. Yes to life. Yes to your own life. Yes to each year, each day. Yes to each minute.
Imagine that life is whispering yes. Yes to all beings, and yes to you. Everything you've said yes to is saying yes to you. Even the things you've said no to are saying yes to you!
Each breath, each heartbeat, each surge across a synapse: each one says yes. Yes, all yes, all saying yes.
Yes. ~ Rick Hanson, Just One Thing
Thanks to One Spirit Interfaith Seminary for the postings
Happy Resurrection Sunday to all! Whether one celebrates Easter or not, the act of resurrecting ourselves can be celebrated by each and every one of us. Fellow OSIS graduate, Paul Dodenhoff, wrote a post on Facebook this morning eloquently stating, regardless of his personal beliefs, why he celebrates Easter. I commented to him that his words reminded me of words that I spoke in a service back in the 90's. I spoke about the death, burial and resurrection all taking place within ourselves....how we die to the things of the world/ego, bury them and allow the Christ consciousness to become alive in us. It does not matter to what spiritual tradition one ascribes; the Christ, consciousness, the Buddha consciousness or whatever name one uses, is what we all seek. It is the consciousness in which Jesus walked.
When I consciously began my spiritual transformation (I say consciously because we are always transforming whether we are aware or not) I would be in a turmoil around holidays. Turmoil because I knew that most Christian holidays had that origins in the pagan celebrations. Many of the holidays were blended with the pagan celebrations in order for both sides to participate. I was not in turmoil because of paganism, it was because I felt that everything I had been taught in my Christian upbringing and by the church was a falsehood. Gradually, with time and understanding, I could see the spiritual meaning underlying the physical and no longer felt hypocritical in giving the traditional holiday greetings. Being an Interfaith/Interspiritual minister has helped in that regard. I honor all paths as I follow my own.
It has taken me many years to "become" who I am....many books, many classes, many thoughts, many questions, few answers (or so it seemed) and the beauty is, I am still becoming! I have stood at the "threshold" wondering whether to go through or not; knowing I couldn't go back to who I had been and not knowing what lay before me. Truly there was "no way out but through" as stated above. Our paths are always before us. I believe we know them as children but we get sidetracked by "others"; parents, families, teachers, friends, and we forget ourselves. But the path is always calling us home, back to ourselves and what the Creator intended for us. Do we always listen, do we always answer? When we don't, we are filled with a longing, a restlessness that is inescapable until we do answer and become who we are.
Even as we do become, we are asked to "come up higher" at each level. Each time I begin to relax, thinking that I have arrived at "me", I get that old familiar feeling. Who am I? What am I here to offer? What is my place in this world? I find myself in this place; right here, right now. I am always on a quest it seems. I hear the call to grow and grow I must. I stand before the threshold again. No longer who I was but not yet who I am. I see the destination but the path isn't always clear. It's as if a mist is covering it. Sometimes it dissipates and I'm able to see and move a little further but then the mist appears again...I stand still because I'm not sure of the way. I wonder if it's because I'm not saying "yes" to what appears before me. Am I letting fear stop me from reaching my destination? We can know where we are headed but because it's an unknown, there can be fear and trepidation to proceed.
The path of life that we walk may have casualties along the way. We lose people, places and things. It is not intentional and not always what we wish to see happen but it is inevitable. When we no longer fit our former lives we need to discard it, in the same way we do clothes, shoes and worn out furniture. Holding on in the hope that it can be used creates clutter and leaves no room for the new that's waiting to appear. Things can be altered but left in its current state, it is of no further use, to you anyway. The new is waiting to unfold in our lives. This is the season of renewal. It is time to bury the old. It is time to let new life arise. It is time to resurrect!
Until next Sunday,
Merry part and merry meet again,
Blessed be,
Gypsi Mama Michelle
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