life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “success”
Solitude
The Voice in the Garden of Solitude
Solitude is the garden for our hearts, which yearn for love. It is the place where our aloneness can bear fruit. It is the home for our restless bodies and anxious minds. Solitude, whether it is connected with a physical space or not, is essential for our spiritual lives. It is not an easy place to be, since we are so insecure and fearful that we are easily distracted by whatever promises immediate satisfaction. Solitude is not immediately satisfying, because in solitude we meet our demons, our addictions, our feelings of lust and anger, and our immense need for recognition and approval. But if we do not run away, we will meet there also the One who says, “Do not be afraid. I am with you, and I will guide you through the valley of darkness.”
Let’s keep returning to our solitude.
– Henri Nouwen
http://www.henrinouwen.org/
Read the full ‘Alone’ Newsletter at http://songsfromthevalley.com/September-09-2.18-Alone.pdf
Check out William Perrelli’s photography at http://unusualphotos.shutterfly.com/
To truly live at your fullest you must have the courage to live in reality!
The mindless junk of your past crowds out opportunities and sets pointless limitations. Move out the junk, and you create room for the rest of your life. Ultimately, it’s not just a question of tidying your house; it’s a question of liberating your heart. – Merlin Mann
Read…it’s good for you
I have always loved to read. I didn’t grow up with tv, or video games, our entertainment was board games and reading. Reading has always been a big part of my life and I have found it helpful in so many ways.
I recently read a book by Kate Braestrup, a Chaplain in Maine, called Beginner’s Grace, about prayer. It helped me a lot. I am hoping to be able to share some of her words and thoughts with you, but I have not found a way to get hold of her for permission to use it yet. If you are struggling with the mystery of prayer this book can give you some new thoughts to incorporate into your living. Good Stuff!!!!
Praying for Someone
When I pray for someone I don’t ask God to do certain things. God is already doing more than I know. God does not need to be informed or convinced of anything, nor is God taking a vote. And I don’t know exactly what needs to happen, anyway—what the best outcome is, or the consequences of my desires. God is present with life-giving grace in every person, place and situation, and God will be present in the future. My prayer does not change that. What my prayer changes is me.
What I do when I pray is open my heart to others and to God. I am mindful of God’s gracious presence, the Loving One who dwells in each of us, and mindful of God’s blessing, God’s hope. I am mindful of the person I am praying for. I give them room in my heart, a place for their being to find blessing and rest. And I surrender my spirit to God on their behalf. I make my love and blessing available for them. I allow myself to be deeply connected to them in God, as if we are both children in God’s arms, or twins in God’s womb. I pray so that something might happen in the harmony of our spirits that couldn’t happen in them alone. In this way I can pray even for my enemies. I pray to be as lovingly present to them as God is. In fact I offer up my love for God to use in any way, even for some other person or purpose I know nothing about. I pray simply to be a part of God’s love, to participate in loving kindness.
I don’t know how this affects the person I pray for, or the world or the future, but I trust that it does. By a spiritual butterfly effect, my being lovingly present touches other spirits, which touch others, and the web of the world’s consciousness changes. As I become more mindful of the Loving Presence, and more lovingly present myself, I am changed. And when you change one note, you change the chord. When you change anybody, even yourself, you change the world.
So I pray, and trust the unknowable power of God. And grace happens.
_________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
http://www.unfoldinglight.net
life: acoustic & amplified 