“Why indeed must ‘God’ be a noun?  why not a verb…the most active and dynamic of all?”

Mary Daly

I found, and downloaded a meditation timer to use on my PC.  You can  play and/or download them here.  They offer several meditation times between 15 to 60 minutes.

Enjoy!

I came across this blog post yesterday, describing Witchcraft and found it to be utterly true in my case, and almost poetic (which doesn’t surprise me coming from Father Jordan….he’s got a knack for that….lol)

He says:
“The Witchcraft is not “nature worship”; the term implies a kind of observable materialism, the fixation on trees and flowers and lunar cycles. Rather, The Witchcraft rightly sees the natural world as expressions of the Divine, and a path back to the Divine: not as an end to itself but as an example of how to live harmoniously.”

I couldn’t agree with him more.

THE GREAT INVOCATION

From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.

From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ return to Earth.

From the center where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men –
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.

From the center which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out.
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.

Let Light and Love and Power
Restore the Plan on Earth.

from A SourceBook for Earth’s Community of Religions

I came across this book today and thought I’d post about it.   It’s called The Voudon Gnostic Workbook by Michael Bertiaux.  What I find interesting is how exactly a ‘gnostic’ outlook is applied to Voudon/Hoodoo practice.  I’m going to have to read a few chapters and see what that’s all about.  I’ll let you know what I think.

“VATICAN CITY - The Vatican insisted Friday that it is properly following Christian tradition by excluding females from the priesthood as it issued a new warning that women taking part in ordinations will be excommunicated.

The move dashed the hopes both of women seeking to be priests and of Catholics who see that as an option for a church struggling to recruit men.”

Full Story Here

I don’t find this surprising, at all. I do, however, see a split from the church and a new Roman Catholic denomination much more of a possiblity now.

http://www.selectsmart.com/religion/

According to SelectSmart.com’s Spiritual Belief System quiz, my #1 belief match is UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST. What do you believe? Visit SelectSmart.com/RELIGION

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)

2. Liberal Quakers (85%)

3. Neo-Pagan (84%)

4. New Age (81%)

5. Secular Humanism (75%)

6. Taoism (73%)

7. Mainline - Liberal Christian Protestants (70%)

8. New Thought (69%)

9. Scientology (66%)

10. Mahayana Buddhism (63%)

11. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (55%)

12. Reform Judaism (52%)

13. Hinduism (51%)

14. Non-theist (48%)

15. Theravada Buddhism (47%)

16. Orthodox Quaker (45%)

17. Bahai (32%)

18. Sikhism (32%)

19. Jainism (27%)

20. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (24%)

21. Seventh Day Adventist (20%)

22. Mainline - Conservative Christian Protestant (18%)

23. Eastern Orthodox (13%)

24. Islam (13%)

25. Orthodox Judaism (13%)

26. Roman Catholic (13%)

27. Jehovah’s Witness (5%)
*****************

I’d say that’s pretty accurate….interesting stuff…

“ROMAN CATHOLIC WOMENPRIESTS - North America

VISION STATEMENT

“A new model of ordained ministry
in a renewed Roman Catholic church”

Part I.  Mission
Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP)
is an international initiative within the Roman Catholic Church.

The mission of Roman Catholic Womenpriests North America is to spiritually prepare, ordain, and support women and men from all states of life, who are theologically qualified, who are committed to an inclusive model of Church, and who are called by the Holy Spirit and their communities to minister ”

http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/index.php

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

by Mary Oliver

With
humbleness,
may I face
everyone
with compassion

With
devotion
to enlightened life
may I abide
in true compassion

So that others
may know
their true Heart,
may I have
the wisdom
and True Knowledge
to bring out the best
in everyone

With
compassion
for this world
with all
and everyone
in it,
may I fight
in every way
for a better world,
for the generations
to come

Accepting
any hardship
for myself,
may I abide
in the Energy
of the Universe,
the source
of wisdom
and compassion

Empowered,
may I have
true compassion
in sharing
the wisdom
of life and death
with others,
by
being present
in meditation,
of any shape
or form
of everyday life

May
this branch
of Love
be
of benefit
 - steinar almelid

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us.”

Marianne Williamson

The greatest tragedy in life is not death;
The greatest tragedy takes place
when our talents and capabilities are underutilized
and allowed to rust while we are living.

amma

For Kemetics, Ma’at is more a concept than a Goddess, though, clearly she was personified. She represents the concepts of truth, justice, harmony, balance, cosmological order, reciprocity and propriety. An ostrich feather is her symbol that her principles represent.

From here:

The students aim in ancient Kemet (Egypt) was for a person to become “One with God.” The path to the development of god-like qualities was through the development of virtues. These virtues were sought by the Kemites (Egyptians) to become one with Maát (the cosmic order).

Control of thoughts;
Control of actions;
Devotion of purpose;
Have faith in the ability of your teacher to teach you the truth;
Have faith in yourself to assimilate the truth;
Have faith in yourself to wield the truth;
Be free from resentment under the experience of persecution;
Be free from resentment under the experience of wrong;
Cultivate the ability to distinguish between right and wrong; and
Cultivate the ability to distinguish between the real and the unreal

Thig an nathair as an toll
La donn Bride,
Ged robh tri traighean dh’ an t-sneachd
Air leachd an lair.

“The serpent will come from the hole
On the brown Day of Bride,
Though there should be three feet of snow
On the flat surface of the ground.” ^[1]

Fire and purification are an important aspect of this festival. Brigid (also known as Brighid, Bríde, Brigit, Brìd) is the goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft. As both goddess and saint she is also associated with holy wells, sacred flames, and healing. The lighting of candles and fires represents the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months.

Imbolc

Jesus said: I shall choose you, one out of a thousand, and two out of ten thousand, and they shall stand as a single one. His disciples said: Show us the place where thou art, for it is necessary for us to seek it. He said to them: Whoever has ears let him hear. Within a man of light there is light and he lights the whole world. When he does not shine, there is darkness.

Gospel according to St. Thomas

Happy Candlemas!

Find an image of the transcendent that is yours, that you do not hate or envy or fear. One that you can speak to and listen to comfortably, one to one. Feel free to set aside what does not help you, even the idea of God, itself, if you must.

If there is a divine, then certainly they will help you find them. (If there is not a divine then at least you have not poured your energy into hating the nonexistent.) - Kushana from http://www.kushanasbiblequestionpage.com/
(Definitely a site worth checking out, though make sure you have a decent block of time to peruse the site — it’s extensive!)

“This is important, because we learn that our job
is not to set up a battleground to eradicate evil,
but to search out its spark of holiness.
Our task is not to destroy but to build;
not to hate but to find a place of yielding;
not to polarize but to discover the points of
commonality so that we can work together.
Learn this lesson, dear friends, it will serve you well.”
~ Reb Zalman,
quoted by Rabbi David A. Cooper

Wow…just, wow. After reading a supposedly “religiously tolerant” message board today I am appalled at what I have read. It seems that in order to classify oneself as ‘Christian’, one must be of the ‘Biblical Christian’ sort that is represented well on the board, and not espouse anything that is in opposition, particularly, in this case, any Gnostic leanings, to the beliefs of this “wider Christian Community”. The wider-what? Do they mean the Catholic Christian world majority which is much closer to Gnosticism than Protestantism? Hmm.

I would expect this sort of message on a protestant Christian board, but, coming from a board that supposedly promotes tolerance for, and communication with those of other belief systems (particularly a moot between Christians and Pagans), I am simply amazed.

It must be hard to run a venue such as that when Christians are pigeon-holed to one particular sort. At least a ‘Pagan’ can still be a ‘Pagan’ there….oh wait….maybe I should first check for a “You’re not a Pagan if…” thread …

Who said the Gnostics had a monopoly on elitism, eh?

Faith receives.  Love gives.

- The Gospel of Philip 

Gnosis. Where do we go from here? How does gnosis help us live our lives? How can we turn this knowledge into practical terms so we may live more fulfilling lives? Isn’t that what every human truly wants? — To live more fulfilled, joyous lives until the time that we shed our physical’ness’?

I am hard-pressed to believe that gnosis is the end. I am finding it is, truly, only the beginning. Acknowledgment of, and connection with, our Inner Spark is the first step in knowing ourselves — our True Selves. With this accomplished, we must then allow our True Selves to express through our physical beings. It is impossible for this expression to be rooted in anything other than love, for it comes from God.

“He said to them: “Whoever has ears should hear!
Light exists inside a person of light, and he shines on the whole world.
If he does not shine, there is darkness.” - Gospel of Thomas 24:2-3

Shine, indeed.

An understanding of our connection with the Divine and our true nature is imperative. Gnosis offers the key, but beyond the door is knowing what to do with that information…knowing how to shine.