“Listening to you, I get the music. Gazing at you, I get the heat. Following you, I climb the mountain, I get excitement at my feet.
-The Who
Celebrating sixty years on the planet, my love, you bring the laughter, the calm, the joy, the solid ground, the love, and yes! the heat.
You are my connection to Love, to life, to all that is good and real.
I honor and celebrate you today and every day.
“In just one ordinary moment, sink into mystery, and set aside the urgency to be other than you are. Watch as the trance that something is ‘missing’ melts into the majesty of the here and now.
Allow the dream of the way you thought it was going to all turn out to be taken apart by the reorganizing nature of love.There are colors here, soft eyes to gaze into, and fragrances to enter inside. Precious ones to hold, muddy earth to descend into, and sunsets longing for your presence. Hearts to attune to, nectar to taste, and birdsong which has arrived from the other world. Even the wisteria ones have opened to receive you.There is sadness to embody to, melancholy to dance with, hopelessness to learn from, and peace to rest in. Despair to provide safe passage for, loneliness to explore, and bliss to mingle and play with.See that love will never ask you to abandon your present experience and trade it in for another. In the wild environment of the beloved, each of the senses is unfolding as a portal into true nature and intimacy with all things. Love will only continue to seed you with invitations into the outrageous aliveness of the sacred world.It may appear to be another ordinary Wednesday in another ordinary star. But look carefully, for your lovers are everywhere.Matt Licata
“Respect the man of noble races other than your own, who carries out, in a different place, a combat parallel to yours — to ours. He is your ally. He is our ally, be he at the other end of the world. Love all living things whose humble task is not apposed in any way to yours, to ours: men with simple hearts, honest, without vanity and malice,
and all the animals, because they are beautiful, without exception and with exception indifferent to whatever idea there may be. Love them, and you will see the eternal in the glance of their eyes of jet, amber, or emerald.
Love also the trees,
the plants,
the water that runs through the meadow and on to the sea without knowing where it goes;
love the mountain,
the desert,
the forest,
the immense sky, full of light or full of clouds; because all these exceed man and reveal the eternal to you”
-Savitri Devi
Connection and intimacy with the all pervasive creative force that we are immersed in is called by many names across the world’s cultures. We all crave it, this connection to some thing greater than ourselves, that eternal, encompassing, all knowing force.
No intermediary needed. No religion. Rather an authentic, individual, unique, real and raw communion.
These words from Brother Teasdale, and Rory McEntee and Adam Bucko about interspirituality spoke to me of these cravings. Of the mystic and mysterious unknowable knowing I seek daily. We need not be separated by how we get there and we can certainly help each other in the understanding of the journey. We can even help each other get there. Sharing our authentic, individual, unique experience and deeply listening to others, we find, feel and know the Ultimate Mystery. Imagine.
“The religion of humankind can be said to be spirituality itself, because mystical spirituality is the origin of all the religions. If this is so, and I believe it is, we might say that interspirituality — the sharing of ultimate experiences across traditions — is the religion of the third millennium. Interspirituality is the foundation that can prepare the way for a planet-wide enlightened culture…”
-Brother Wayne Teasdale (Catholic Monk)
“Each religion, we believe, offers a unique way into the Ultimate Mystery and unique fruits, as does each individual journey. We are ready to move into a unity that is full, that welcomes all textures, where the Buddha’s equanimity complements Christ’s radical love in action, and where the Hebrew prophetic outrage can be merged with the incarnate spirituality of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the timeless revelations of the Hindu sages.”
-Rory McEntee and Adam Bucko
“We must all achieve our identity on the basis of a radical authenticity… ”
– Raimundo Panikkar, “The Silence of God,” Introduction p. xviii
Summer 2015 has truly been a summer of love. A season filled to brimming with jubilant, sincere, joyous weddings where families and friends came together in celebration and support of couples committing to a partnership through life.
The vows, the radiance, the hope, the steadfast support of family and friends, the beauty, all made for days filled with wonder, deep love, and all the sweet and touching scenes that now reside as forever memories.
It’s so much more than wedding planning! This crazy, busy season has ultimately been a privilege and a pleasure. To share these intimate, sacred, uniquely personal, celebrations of Love, is a honor.
Forever memories were made for me too!
So here’s to Renee & Ric, Fawn & Rick, Lizzie & Alec, Beth & Lucas, Robin & Tyler, Sarah & John, Sara & Kyle and Dane & Nate. May you respect and honor each other as lovers and friends, as confidants and companions on life’s journey. I have faith in each and every one of you to take care of each other, and that you will always honor and keep each other.
All you need is Love.
“In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.”
-Buddha
“Spirituality is not some external goal that one must seek, but a part of the divine core of each of us, which we must reveal.”
-BKS Iyengar
I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through her [Ultima] I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima
“I think I fall in love a little bit with anyone who shows me their soul. This world is so guarded and fearful. I appreciate rawness so much.”
-Emery Allen
The bright light of each and every unique soul creates stunning and radiant beauty. Yes, there is more than a little love in witnessing the raw essence of the individual beings that have offered me the privilege of knowing them well…
Equal dignity in the eyes of the law. Finally.
My heart is singing and I am thinking of so many friends…. Love reigns, love rules, love is all you need, let there be more love in the world…..
Celebrating love today!
“A lifetime without Love is of no account
Love is the Water of Life
Drink it down with heart and soul!”
-Rumi
Ask four questions;
Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?
Does it improve on silence?
This I understand is the Buddhist way of deciding whether to break a silence. I think it vitally important and compassionate to consider all of these before speaking. Words have power that resonate long after they’ve been spoken. To take care and be impeccable with your word, as The Four Agreements teach us, is a loving way to go about our days. Every hour I endeavor to do so – some days better than others…. It’s a learning journey we’re all on, so I’ll be kind to myself and others when we fall short of the mark.
