sanctuary of the soul

"Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home into Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely to the Light within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, creative Life that presses to birth within us." Thomas Kelly -- A Testament of Devotion

photo by bill

opening the eyes of our soul

words from my morning prayer:

the arms of God wrap around me. enclosing me. enveloping me. telling me i am safe without words. i breathe him in. the scent of his maleness and my beauty combined. sensuous. sensual. becoming one. coming home. just breathe. breathe me in. sense me like a child taking my hand. like a dog who raises his nose to the fresh morning air. breathe me in.

safety. trust. sensual. born to be beautiful. to ache with desire and settle into trust. the pain and the glory. breathe me in. just breathe. so rich, so pure. Yahweh. breath of God. carrying me on the wind. cradled. held. met. no terror. free. free falling. held. lovely. kind. free.

These words from Henri Nouwen followed:

The desert fathers...point us toward a very holistic view of prayer. They pull us away from our intellectualizing practices, in which God becomes one of the many problems we have to address. They show us that real prayer penetrates to the marrow of our soul and leaves nothing untouched. The prayer of the heart is a prayer that does not allow us to limit our relationship with God to interesting words or pious emotions. By its very nature such prayer transforms our whole being into Christ precisely because it opens the eyes of our soul to the truth of ourselves as well as to the truth of God. The prayer of the heart challenges us to hide absolutely nothing from God and to surrender ourselves unconditionally to God's mercy. --The Way of the Heart

Praise be to God. Amen.

photo by bill

Simple as a Love Song

"I was four years old. I was playing, alone, in a thicket of trees and bushes. A moment came when there was sound and silence at the same time. I became exquisitely aware of the breeze through the leaves, of the sunlight dappling across the earth in front of me. I understood that this was an experience of God in me and around me. It was strange and familiar at the same time, and it was the simplest thing in the world." from Tess at Anchors and Masts

Simple as a love song from God. We spend our lives trying to learn the notes of that song. Desiring to be purely seen and heard. To be enwrapped in arms that hold and love us. To become exquisitely aware of all that surrounds and encapsulates who we are. The longing. The desire. Everyone loves a love story. You know the ones…where eyes lock, energy charges and the lovers are known without pretense—without all the if-you-really-knew-me-you-wouldn’t-love-me stuff. In an instant barriers are overcome and magic happens.

It may only be a split second where everything else in the world disappears and you know you are loved. Your heart sings the love song. You experience God’s presence. You know He, She, Me exists. People spend a lifetime searching for that feeling, but it seems that you cannot find it when you work at it. You can only open heart, mind, and soul to the experience. It often comes when and where you least expect it. A stranger on the street. A child. A film or book. The words of poetry. The dancing of butterflies. The breeze through the leaves. A broken heart.

It may take a lifetime to find your own song, but when you experience it you know that you have found heaven on earth and it is something you will never forget it.

“Heaven is right here in front of me: Heaven, Heaven!” It only lasted a moment: but it left a breathless joy and a clean peace and happiness that stayed for hours and it was something I have never forgotten.” –Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain

photo by bill

Teachers...Questions...Christians

"Teachers arise from somewhere within me that is beyond me, the way the dark soil that is not the root holds the root and feeds the flower." --Mark Nepo

this morning i was invited to visit a young friend's new blog. he has recently left home for college and finds himself staying at the home of Christian friends. his post displayed many of his interior and exterior battles as he tries to navigate living with people whose religious beliefs he finds "a bit hard" for him.

it is so rich to have friends of all ages, genders, religions and life experiences. we have much to learn from each other. everyone is our teacher if we open ourselves to the possibility. this young man's post led me to respond to him with the questions i continue to ask myself as i walk through this journey toward and with God, so i thought i would share my response with you.

"just wondering what defines a "Christian" for you? i ask myself the same question all the time.

having grown up in a pretty traditional "Christian" place, i have found that the more i realize the expansiveness of the mystery of God and the universe and the lack of absolutes, the closer i come to knowing (truly knowing) that the way of God is love (which is so ethereal and impossible to adequately describe with words).

is love then the way of "Christians"? i know it doesn't always appear that way especially when we witness the "battles over denomination" and the "badgering toward salvation."

i have to wonder, however, what your hosts see in you that would lead them to believe you are "Christian". could it be the love you show toward others?

i hope and pray you will continue to ask yourself the questions and you will see the beautiful young man who can choose to live in love.

I fully believe that Christ's way is that of love...Does that therefore make those who love deeply and well Christians? many would say no, but many are opening their minds and hearts to reconsider what "love" and "Christian" truly represent."

while i wrote these words to my young friend, they were also written for myself and now also to those who will read them here. what does it mean to be "Christian?" what does it mean to love? what do you think?

What is Soltura?

Many of you who are regular readers may have noticed that about once a month, I disappear and go incommunicado for a few days. Where do I go, you might ask? Many would recognize that I have gone to Soltura, but not necessarily know what that means. So, today as I prepare to disappear again for a few days, I wanted to share my own little piece of “social action” where I see the world changing one person at a time. It is a challenge to describe, because I have never heard of or experienced anything so unique in my life. Soltura is the place I began to find healing for my soul and it is the place I go to be refreshed and restored as I pour my heart, time and energy into helping provide a space for others to either begin or continue their own personal journey.

So here’s a little bit of my personal history: While at therapeutic boarding school my then 14-year-old son went to his first workshop. My husband and I were subsequently invited to participate in our own workshop. Entering into the experience, I considered myself a pretty high-functioning individual who handled life’s ups and downs with reasonable “success”. I was very unaware, however, of how much I was just getting by and hiding behind defense mechanisms rather than fully participating in life.

Soltura gave me the space, the safety and the exercises to help me find my own best answers to the questions and roadblocks that stood in my way of truly knowing myself and therefore knowing the world around me. I came to know God in ways that I had never dreamed imaginable as I opened the door to new possibility. The tenet that I most admire and hope to live by is “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” What I have found is that if I do not know who I truly am I cannot love myself well and thus cannot love anyone else well; for I end up loving them exactly as I love myself which can be pretty crummy some of the time.

If you visit this website because you love Lucy and how she embraces life, you might be intrigued to know that I found Lucy (or she found me) through a Soltura workshop. I cannot imagine my life without her.

I have seen people from all walks of life experience Soltura…from Presidents of international companies to the abused mom who formerly slept in her car. Rich and poor. Ages 14 to 71. Addicts and teetotalers. Bold and timid. Christian and agnostic. Jews and followers of Zen. Businessmen and starving artists. Students and stay-at-home moms. People pushed by loved ones to get there and others seeking help on their own. I believe that Soltura is for everyone who desires to live life fully.

Soltura is where I go to work. It is where I go to play. It is where I go to be with God and be with friends and laugh and dance and be Lucy at her fullest. Soltura is a gift I am compelled to share with the world. I invite you to check out the Soltura website here. (The testimonies are really my favorite ☺.) Other posts are available here and here or check out the Soltura topics in my sidebar.

Anyway…that is where I will be from August 13-19. I’ll “see” you when I get back and pray you will come to find the Soltura of your life.

Adios!