Start With Love

Giving...

Lauren — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:05:00 +0000

“Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.”

-Albert Camus

“If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.”

-Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”

- Kahlil Gibran

Wishing you all a beautiful, peaceful, and magical holiday season!

A bird does not sing...

Lauren — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:54:24 +0000

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.

Chinese Proverb

Richard Bach

Lauren — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:32:05 +0000

Learning is finding out what you already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know it just as well as you.

invocation for restorative justice

Lauren — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:27:25 +0000

Soul of my soul, the eternal Nature of the Universe
Spirit of my spirit, the evolving Dance of Relatedness
And the One embracing All,
I call upon you, within and without,
Into the Healing of Restorative Justice.

Be within and without - that we might 'die' to the rigid walls of separation between us,
Which pain and fear have wrought upon heart and mind,
Like barred cages and rusting chains;
That the seemingly impenetrable shells of Autumn's end -
Be readied to be broken open, and laid open,
To the 'seed' of Justice hidden within.

Be within and without - that we might release the fruits of past experience
To de-compose within the deep rich ground of community;
Warped and twisted though they might be,
They took root in a hope of Justice, however misguided,
And in their flesh, lie the stories of Understanding;
That the dark night of Winter erase false boundaries
And in the nourishing transformation of Forgiveness,
Replenish Hope's fertile soil.

Be within and without - that we might be healed by the rain of tears
- Of wounds grieved, and joy re-dis-covered -
Binding once more into an life-engendering ocean of Promise.
That the seminal tendrils of new light, and the fragile but un-scarred sprout,
Stretch faithfully, from above and below, to touch
And merge firmly in the unimagined greening of Spring's Choices.

Be within and without - that we might ripen - leaf, flower, fruit and future seed -
Roots intertwined, exploring the depths of the fertile ground,
Branches laced against Life's storms, yet breathing deeply of the heavens
- A Summer's garden -
Ploughed by courage, planted in true belief, and weeded through commitment;
That the fruits of our labours nourish the bonds between us,
And the winds of change scatter the seeds of our Faithfulness
Throughout the landscape, beyond our culture's current horizon.
And unto the 7th generation.

Soul of my soul, spirit of my spirit,
Embrace me with strength, compassion, honour and reverence;
Dance through me with beauty, passion, humility and mirth;
That I may lay open the seed within, that I am-
That my life give fertile ground to the roots of Justice
And restore the greening balances of Understanding,
That my choices midwife the laboured sprouting of all those
Who reach beyond the horizons of separation,
And cultivated a community which is true to the Divine within All.
Blessed Be.

Rhyannan

r. buckminster fuller

Lauren — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:24:22 +0000

I'm not trying to counsel any of you
to do anything really special
except to dare to think,
and to dare to go with the truth,
and to dare to really love completely.

amma

Lauren — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:22:26 +0000

The sun shines down,
and its image reflects a thousand
different pots filled with water.

The reflections are many,
but they are each reflecting the same sun.

Similarly, when we come to know who we truly are,
we will see ourselves in all people.

Invocation from Rigveda

Lauren — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:20:36 +0000

Om sarvetra sukhinah santu sarve santu niramayah.
Sarve bhadrani pasyantu ma kascid duhkhamapnuyat
Om shantih shantih shantih

* * *

Oh Almighty! May everybody be happy!
May all be free from ailments!
May we see what is auspicious!
May no one be subject to miseries!
Oh Almighty! May there be a Peace! Peace! Peace! Everywhere.

rigveda 4:11:51 - india - 3700 b.c.e.

jewish mystical hymn

Lauren — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:16:23 +0000

The earth is full of your goodness,
your greatness and understanding,
your wisdom and harmony.
How wonderful are the lights that you created.
You formed them with strength and power
and they shine very wonderfully on the world,
magnificent in their splendour.
They arise in radiance and go down in joy.
Reverently they fulfill your divine will.
They are tributes to your name
as they exalt your sovereign rule in song.

jewish mystical hymn 516 b.c.e. - 70 c.e.

A Return to Love

Lauren — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:01:25 +0000

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.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously
give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson

HH the Dalai Lama

Lauren — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:42:31 +0000

"In the present circumstances, no one can afford to assume that someone else will solve their problems. Every individual has a responsibility to help guide our global family in the right direction. Good wishes are not sufficient; we must become actively engaged."-- His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from "The Path to Tranquility: Daily Wisdom"

"Before we can generate compassion and love, it is important to have a clear understanding of what we understand compassion and love to be. In simple terms, compassion and love can be defined as positive thoughts and feelings that give rise to such essential things in life as hope, courage, determination, and inner strength. In the Buddhist tradition, compassion and love are seen as two aspects of the same thing: Compassion is the wish for another being to be free from suffering; love is wanting them to have happiness."-- His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from "The Compassionate Life"

"Sometimes we feel that one individual's action is very insignificant. Then we think, of course, that effects should come from channeling or from a unifying movement. But the movement of the society, community or group of people means joining individuals. Society means a collection of individuals, so that initiative must come from individuals. Unless each individual develops a sense of responsibility, the whole community cannot move. So therefore, it is very essential that we should not feel that individual effort is meaningless- you should not feel that way. We should make an effort."-- His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from 'The Dalai Lama's Book of Love and Compassion'