Tag Archives: Meditation

Harp and Drum – Musical Poem

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I wrote this poem in August, 2010, only a month after beginning committed metaphysical study. It was part of Poetry and Prayers of Unity, the week we discussed The Instrument.

The discussion isn’t included here – the poem speaks for itself, especially with the audio reading-instrumental. However, I welcome anyone’s thoughts or feelings about the poem!

I imagine it speaks to musicians, as it does to me. But you don’t need to “be a musician” to resonate with it! We are vibrational beings, and it’s as much about that as what we describe as music.

Harp and Drum

Instruments: Celtic lap harp, buffalo frame drum

The harp is a Spirit
That carries the light
Of truth, peace and wisdom
Through any dark night.

The drum is a gateway
To journey in you
Reclaiming your wisdom
Your essence of truth.

The harp is your voice
And the drum is your heart
Each working together
To help do their part.

The voice of your Spirit
The rhythm of all
The harmony sings
When you answer the call.

Your Spirit is calling
Just listen, you’ll hear
Its small voice of purpose
That says, “Cast out fear!”

For fear is a rhythm
A dissonant hum
That isn’t in tune
With your true harp and drum.

Now may you be blessed,
May you always feel whole,
Fulfilling the purpose
That’s deep in your Soul.
And so it is!

Full Snow Moon Meditation

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This month’s full moon is called the Snow Moon, because traditionally the heaviest snows fall in February. Even those of us who live in warmer climates can draw on this moon’s resting energy, in its sign of Virgo.

Goddess Mother Holle is a northern archetype who shakes and shakes her featherbed, creating all the snow!

In both hemispheres we’re preparing for a harvest. Up north where the snow falls, we work with the moon to choose the right time to plant new seeds. In the south where weather is warm, you prepare to reep what you’ve already planted.

In this ritual we honor Mother Holle and Her knowing when to blanket us in quiet and waiting, so that when Spring/Harvest comes, it may be full and prosperous.

Supplies

Blankets, pillows or cushion (whatever you need to create a comfortable nest)

Darkened room

one candle of any color

Candle-lighting tools (lighter, etc)

Ritual – A Meditation to Mother Holle

Go to a comfortable place where you will not be disturbed. Create a nest for yourself, using pillows, blankets, or whatever feels right to you. If you can see the full moon from a window, so much the better.

Darken the room if possible, placing the unlit candle safely in a holder in front of your nest.

Make yourself comfortable in the nest for meditation.

Silently: ground and center. Cast circle, call quarters, and in your own words ask Mother Holle to be present.

Meditation

After calling Mother Holle, feel Her presence within and around you. She creates the blankets of snow in the North, and makes time for you to be blanketed in quiet and rest.

Thank Mother Holle for Her blanket. Accept Her blanket in your own way. Let your daily responsibilities, obligations and activities fall away for now. Release what others need or want from you, choosing this time to be peaceful and calm within yourself.

Feel the wisdom of nature enfolding you. Know that blankets serve an important purpose, covering and protecting things until they are ready to emerge.

Feel yourself being loved and protected. Know that Mother Holle’s wisdom, Her knowing of when and what to cover in quiet, is within you.

Bring to mind the things you want to manifest, or harvest in your personal life. Ask Mother Holle, who you have summoned from within yourself, to uncover those things in their time. Accept that timing, though it may be slower than what your human senses might like. Know that when you are truly ready, your harvest will appear. You will reep the seeds of desire you’ve sewn, and Mother Holle’s blanket will be thrown back to reveal your beautiful new life She has cradled in this season.

When you feel this truth, leave the nest and light the candle.

Say aloud:
Thank you, Mother Holle, for your blanket soft and white.
Thank you for the dark, that you bring into the light!

Stay with this joyous feeling of renewal for as long as you feel comfortable.

Then, in your own words, thank and release Mother Holle and the quarters, and open the circle.

Put out candle safely.

The Rewards of Error

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Why is it that when something is “wrong,” we get more attention?

Think about it. On a large scale, we have causes we support. But these causes are generally based on what we see as wrong:
* Disabilities awareness
* Breast cancer awareness
* Low-income housing
* Debt reduction

Now, I’m not saying these things are bad. That would put me in error consciousness too! I’m simply questioning our motivations. Why do we have breast cancer awareness? Because we don’t want breast cancer. Why low-income housing? Because we accept that some people lack income, and we don’t want that.

But, as I always say, focusing on what you don’t want, brings you more of what you don’t want!

So, instead of breast cancer awareness or fighting the disease (dis-ease), choose something positive. If we don’t want breast cancer, what do we want? Healthy women! So now we have healthy women awareness.

My point is, we seem to live in a paradigm that provides only when something is wrong. If you have a disability, for instance, there are agencies that pay for certain things, provide equipment, etc. But what if you’re perfectly healthy, or becoming aware of the perfect health that’s your true divine right? Who is rewarding you with things that make life easier?

This really brings home why many people hold onto their physical ailments. For example, if I weren’t blind, I wouldn’t have ___… That’s called secondary gain. You don’t really want to be blind, but you stay that way, because maybe consciously – and definitely unconsciously – you get good stuff. You think, you only get those things because you’re blind. If you let go of the blindness, you would not have other material things.

Really? Is that true? Think about it and come to your own conclusion!

I use blindness and breast cancer just as examples. It works the same way with income. The scenario goes:

I don’t have money. So, I get on a special housing list. Sure, I have to wait a long time, might have unpleasant neighbors, etc. But I get this special housing, because I don’t have lots of money.

If I did have lots of money, there goes my housing. There goes my free health insurance. There goes ___… There goes the neighborhood!

What can we do about this? Again, I always say this because it’s true: Your only business, is your own consciousness! So start there. The next time you support a cause, ask yourself why. Bring yourself to a place where you feel good, through laughter, inspirational reading, music, walking, meditation or anything that works for you. Then, ask yourself if you can still, in that good consciousness, support that particular cause.

You have a choice! If the answer within you is no, you can still support it if you choose. Or, you can choose something in alignment with your inner being.

As encouragement and appreciation for right-thinking, good consciousness, expanding awareness, and spiritual awakening, I’m starting a new scarf distribution program! Stay tuned for details – and if you feel like it’s the most natural thing in the world, please join me!

Prayer of Faith – Poetry and Prayers of Unity Week 3

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Find this poem and a companion reading and talk here.

Please refer to the poem to contemplate the following, and make your own connection of faith within you.

1. Right before the talk linked above, I play a recording of Unity co-founder Myrtle Fillmore reading this prayer. It must have been made in the 1920’s or early ’30’s. On a record of course… So, this prayer must have been important to Myrtle, because as far as I know, we don’t have many recordings from her. I wonder how much it meant to her, and why…

2. The poem is called Prayer *of* Faith, not Prayer for Faith. So, before saying this prayer cold-turkey, I recommend meditating to the point where you’re in a peaceful state of mind and entertaining the possibility of having faith.

Otherwise, saying this prayer could really stir up angry feelings. Which wouldn’t be bad! Then you could release those – that is, if you could step back, observe the feelings, and choose to let them go. Often that is not the case, and we get caught up in anger. Begin using this prayer when you’re already in a good place, so that when you’re not, you can remember how it felt to pray this when you had a better-feeling thought. Then the prayer, having prior good feelings for you, can bring you back to that state of mind/heart.

3. This is a well-known Unity prayer. However, I’m personally not sure whether the author was a member of Unity, or if Unity “adopted” the prayer. Either way, we discussed in class how these lines appeal to a much wider audience than Unity. Christians in general, and many people of other religious and spiritual paths, accept these lines as Truth and take comfort in them:

God is my help in every need;
God does my every hunger feed;
God walks beside me, guides my way
Through every moment of the day.

4. Now we come to more metaphysical, Unity lines. Here, we affirm our oneness with the all-providing, ever-present God we’ve already brought to mind. We affirm our wisdom, truth, patience, kindness, and love, which we have and are, because God has and is:

I now am wise, I now am true,
Patient, kind, and loving, too;
All things I am, can do, and be,
Through Christ the Truth, that is in me.

Again, Christ appeals to a Christian audience. In traditional Christianity, Christ is a man, and in metaphysics, a state of being/consciousness. Our similarities are interesting, and it’s good to become aware of them.

5. Next are lines that prove my suggestion to meditate first! If you affirm these lines when you’re feeling bad, chances are you’ll get more bad feelings. Your feeling is strongest, not your words. So always, when using prayers or affirmations of any kind, come to a good-feeling place first, through meditation or whatever works for you. Then, affirm, as you feel the affirmation to be true. In this way you maximize the power of feelings and words:

God is my health, I can’t be sick;
God is my strength, unfailing, quick;
God is my all, I know no fear,
Since God and Love and Truth are here

I address this in the talk I linked to above. You may appear sick right now. But know that sickness is not who and what you are. It is not your being, your worth, your life. It is what it is: just an appearance. As I said, affirm this in a peaceful state of mind! Meditation has cumulative results. The more you tip the balance of your life in a positive direction, the more appearances in your life will improve.

For at least 8 years, from the remembered, conscious choice to begin a spiritual practice, until 2 years ago, I would not meditate. I could not. Because I thought it was too hard, complicated, I couldn’t do it, needed tools, and so on…

So for me, now, to recommend meditation to you, is not just a recommendation as something you “should” do! It’s because of my personal results. I now meditate daily, and I feel off/unbalanced if I don’t. I value the inner connections I make during meditation. When we get our ego, or monkey mind, quiet, we make great discoveries, spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.

Don’t take my word for it! I always say, no one can create an experience for anyone else. I cannot create a meditative experience or good feeling for you. But I can encourage, affirm, and hold quiet space for you. And that is what I do. The true power in your life comes when you, yourself, meditate or make inner connections of your own.

Prayer is for us. It is not for God/Spirit. It’s a connecting tool, so that we can become consciously aware of our oneness with God. Meditation is the listening tool. Prayer is the talking tool. They are 2 sides of the same coin. The coin itself, is life, or consciousness. Prayer and meditation both, are important aspects of that consciousness. Use them, change them, make them yours! Because the power is in your consciousness, aka your state of being, awareness, or focus.

Comments? Questions? Feedback? please feel free to contact me!

Prayer for Protection – Poetry and Prayers of Unity Week 2

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This is the second of two very widely published poems by Unity’s Poet Laureate James Dillet Freeman. It also explains why he is called “Poet Laureate to the Moon.” Along with “I Am There,” a copy of this prayer was left on the moon by Apollo astronauts. 🙂

The Prayer for Protection is well-known and loved by people of all faiths, religions and belief systems. Remember that Jim Freeman’s work was not only published by Unity. This affirms the universal truth of his writing.

Prayer for Protection – Contemplations

No questions here, just personal observations… My intention is that you will read the prayer and find its personal meaning to you.

We discussed in the live class that each line is an affirmation. These affirmations start general – we all basically accept that “The light of God surrounds me,” etc.

However, about the time we come to “The Mind of God guides me,” it gets more personal. Had Freeman started the prayer with this line, it probably would not have been as effective. People wouldn’t have been able to relate to a blanket statement, “The Mind of God guides me.” But with the foundation of the more general affirmations, already knowing they are true, the conscious mind accepts this one more easily. It’s as if Freeman is preparing the mind to “go all the way” to feeling the truth of Spirit/God’s presence. These affirmations are a tool for the conscious mind to get used to the Truth.

We talked a lot about “The laws of God direct me.” These laws are universal, rather than human laws, religious laws of any kind, or even things we culturally accept to be morally “right.” God’s laws are love, good, truth, beauty – because these are what God is. Call it the law of attraction, law of mind, law of love… It’s all the same law, and it’s all God’s laws.

Are you truly directed by man-made laws? No! If you choose to be, you can be directed by the laws of God. You can also choose to ignore them, but they are still at work. The thing is, if you choose to work with them, using your creative power in harmony with God’s laws, you will manifest/experience good in your life. If you choose to ignore the laws, or don’t know how to use them for the highest good, you will likely experience negativity.

As a result, it’s a powerful affirmation to say and feel, that “The laws of God direct me.”

“The power of God abides within me.” We know this in metaphysics. But how often do we feel it? Again, I find it no coincidence that this affirmation appears where it does. If we started with this, it could have less impact. But as we’ve already accepted so many truths, we can’t help but accept this one as well. God’s power is within you.

The next 3 lines expand on the power of God by also affirming that we have God’s joy, strength and beauty. “Under circumstances” – though I have no idea why we’re under there! – we sometimes feel anything but joy, strength and beauty. So to affirm we have them, in prayer and meditation, brings them to mind when we need them in life. The more we practice this, the better we feel and the better our lives reflect it.

And the big one: “Wherever I am, God is!” ‘Nuff said!

I recommend meditating on this prayer. At Unity we say it every Sunday. But as rituals can, sometimes it becomes a habit, and we no longer feel what we’re saying. I encourage each of us to feel this prayer, to make it real for ourselves, and to make it part of our accepted core beliefs.

As always, if you have any comments, questions or feedback, please feel free to contact me!

Daily Blessing – Affirmative Prayer Song

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I wrote this song on 1/1/2011. Since then it’s been my joy to consciously accept and manifest (make visible to myself and others) the blessings in each year, each season, and each day.

Remember: Even when you seem to be having “a bad day,” you can still choose how to feel, what to think, and what to see/perceive and say in this very moment. So this isn’t just a daily affirmation or prayer, but a moment-by-moment awareness.

Daily Blessing – Lyrics

Instrument: Lady – tenor Flea ukulele

(A)
I accept the blessings of this brand new day,
Open to its possibilities!
I see the world in a brand new way,
Unlimited and free!

Repeat (A).

(B)
Every moment, every day,
I intend the very best.
What to think and do and say,
All stem from love and rest.

(A)

(B)

(A)

I see the world in a brand new way,
Unlimited and free!
I am unlimited and free!

James Dillet Freeman – Poetry and Prayers of Unity Week 1

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We started off Poetry and Prayers of Unity with Unity’s best-known poet, James Dillet Freeman. This week’s poems were “God Bless your Birthday,” as a member celebrated her birthday, “How do I find what Life’s About?” and the classic “I Am There.”

James Dillet Freeman Biography

This link will take you to a PDF document of a Unity publication called Music of the Soul. You will need Adobe Reader or another PDF-accessible program to read it. Music of the Soul

“God Bless your Birthday” – Contemplation Questions

After reading “God Bless your Birthday” in Music of the Soul, think about your own answers to these questions.

1. Would you send this poem to someone you love, without altering it? Is there anything here you would not wish for someone?

2. Do you see any references to getting old, giving up, negative changes, etc?

3. What feeling do you have when reading this poem?

4. Would you like to receive this poem on your birthday? How would you feel after receiving it? What would you do as a result of that feeling?

5. Do any words or lines stand out to you in this poem? For me especially “smilestone in eternity>’

“How do I find what Life’s About?” – Contemplation Questions

Find this poem on Jim’s bio page, linked above. After reading it, think about your answers to these questions.

1. Did you sense the meaning right away, or did you get carried away by the rhythm and rhyme of the poem?

2. What could you “venture farther out” from?

3. What do we often do when “something in me is not content”? I.e. suppress it, think something is wrong, etc?

4. Is something wrong when something in us isn’t content? Do we have a right to follow it and see where it leads?

5. What does it mean to you to hear “Something affirms that I am meant for more?” How do you feel knowing, or trying on the belief, that this is true?

6. How can we “fly?” What does it mean to you to fly in life?

7. Do you feel that “venture farther out” from line 2, and “going beyond the edge of things” from line 7, are related? How so? Or why not?

8. A basic metaphysical principle is in the lines about wings. Think about what it means to you, to have wings “being mainly in the mind.”

9. What “more” can be found in you, from the last line?

I Am There – Contemplation Questions

Read this poem on Jim’s bio page above, or the Prayer section of www.unity.org.

This is one of the most powerful metaphysical poems I’ve ever read. And it’s not just me! 🙂 This poem has been left on the moon, distributed through publications and on CD through Unity, and read by billions of people. Inspiring, comforting and meditative, I ask that you meditate on “I Am There” if you feel lead.

1. What is the “I am” in this poem?

2. How do you feel knowing that an invisible power sees, hears and feels through you?

3. What is the “self” we must get beyond, and later “get yourself out of the way,” in order to know the “I am?”

4. How can we know this presence?

5. Even in denial, fears, pain, loneliness and lack of prayer – this presence is there. Knowing this presence is only good, how does that make you feel?

6. Why do you think the presence has faith in us? To me, it is because we are its creations, and Spirit/God/Universe would not create something unless it knew that creation was good. I.e. all creations are good because they all come from and are made of the presence. Therefore, Presence must have faith in us. What an affirmation: God has faith in me!

7. Just an observation… How powerful to be called Spirit’s beloved! Who says that…? We get honey, sweetheart, love, dear, blah blah blah… And from other people. But to be the Beloved of the Universe? And not just be it, because you are, but when you truly feel that… Now there’s a partner!

This poem, to me, is an intellectual exercise. I don’t know what James Dillet Freeman thought when he wrote it. Technically, it could have ended at the beginning: “Do you need Me? I am there.” End of story.

But because we have a personal/ego mind that holds onto things, gets obsessive at times, and needs to be convinced, Freeman goes on. He offers so many affirmations, aspects and descriptions of the I Am, that by the end of the poem, your “logical” conscious mind can’t help but be convinced that, yes, this is Truth. This is why I highly recommend meditating on this poem!

We had a lot of great discussion on all 3 of these poems! I tried here to offer the basics of that. However, as I said in class, especially with “I Am There,” we need to experience God ourselves. Others can, as I intend to, hold the space and know others’ good. However, getting your own personal feeling of God, when you can know, with or without words, that “This” is the Presence, that’s what I believe metaphysics is about. Not intellectual understanding, etc, but about feeling, and thereby experiencing a better life, because you know God.

If you have any comments, questions or other feedback, please send a message using the contact page. Thank you for participating!

Live Class: Poetry and Prayers of Unity

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Beginning tonight, Thursday, 1/10/13, I will be teaching a live class at Unity of Reading.

The poetry and prayers of Unity are well-known throughout New Thought, metaphysics and in general. However, sometimes they become so habitual that we don’t stop to feel what they mean when we say or read them. This class is part poetry appreciation, part meditation, part contemplation and discussion of what the poems and prayers mean. We will discuss what the author meant, or may have meant in writing them, and what they mean to us as individuals and as a spiritual community.

Poetry and Prayers of Unity will be held from 7:00-8:30 p.m, beginning tonight and every Thursday for 6 weeks. The last week will be 2/14/13. Handouts will be provided.

Can’t make it? Discovering this after the fact? No problem! I will not copy others’ poems here, to honor copyright laws. However, I will link to online sources where available. If you want the interaction of the live class, please comment here or contact me via the navbar link, and I’ll see about setting up a forum for this!

I look forward to hearing from you, either in person or online!

Shine your Light! Prize #3

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There’s just one day left to submit comments for the Shine your Light! Giveaway! Comments will be closed on the evening of January 6, 2013.

Here are the prizes:
1. Double-knit Doll
2. And so it Is! vol. 1 Mp3 Album Download

The last prize is a customized handwoven scarf, in “the spirit” – if you will – of my Spirit Reminder Scarf.

You choose 2 colors that symbolize Goddess, God, Spirit, Universe, Truth, higher consciousness, etc. to you, and also the length and width of the scarf. I weave it, including any specific positive intentions you have. Feel free to ask me for support in choosing the intentions! Then, I send it and you wear, use and enjoy it as you see fit – for anything from meditation to keeping warm to wearing as an accessory to an outfit. 🙂

You are a psycho-physical unit. So, your mind affects your body, and your body affects your mind. I believe that our clothes, tools, food and other materials also affect us with their energy. We can choose a positive effect, and that’s what I intend to do by offering this scarf.

Comment away! That’s all you need to do to win one of these prizes!