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Meditations
from 2005 “Let there be
light, and there was light”
Genesis
This is the Season of Light, this dark-time wonder of December. For months now, the days have become shorter and shorter, and the nights longer and seemingly darker. Until we come now, to Yule, to the magical Winter Solstice, when the Goddess births Her Radiant Child, the Sun. Through out the mythologies, the Great Goddess gave birth to the Light of the World, the return of the Sun, in the cycle of the year. Isis gives birth to Horus, Rhiannon bears Pryderi, the sacred son, Demeter gives birth to Her sacred daughter, Persephone. Divine Mothers all across cultures bring forth their light filled sacred children. And no wonder; light is returning to the world. It will still be many weeks before the warmth of the Sun Child will be strong enough to kindle the Spring. But for now, there is the hope of light and warmth and green plants. Hope is always enough. And now, to celebrate that hope of the future, we fill our homes with light and festive sweet- scented greenery, sympathetic magic as it were, to generate light and green in the cold, snowy world outside. We celebrate the Divine Mother and Her beautiful Child. The ancients called this celebration “Modraniht”, the Mother Night. A child is born, and a new world is created. How wise our ancestors to celebrate all Mothers, all children, with this sacred holyday. We would be wise to observe the same reverence towards all mothers and their children, past, present and yet-to-be, and rejoice in their presence in our lives. Fill your lives now with hope and light and reverence. Our wise fore-mothers gathered the clans around them, to enjoy the foods, drinks and stories that would become traditions. Continue your family traditions, or perhaps, begin new traditions that better serve your needs. Fill your precious family together time with stories and games. Turn off the television. Listen to the children. Play with the boxes. Make a spaceship and journey to the stars with them. Enjoy your family. Enjoy the silence of the snow. Fill your life with hope. Fill your life with love. Enjoy this Season of Light. Bright Blessings, Sharon “As we express
our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not
to utter words, but to live by them.” John
F. Kennedy I came across these words as few days ago, and was struck by the beauty and simplicity of these sentiments. As we approach the traditional season of gratitude, please remember President Kennedy’s words, and make them a part of your life. It is a very important thing to express gratitude. Giving thanks is a part of almost every spiritual practice and a valuable part of everyday life. I am hoping that you take the time to give thanks for the great and small blessings that we enjoy each day. Give thanks to the One Who provided the fresh air, rich soil, rainfall. Give thanks for dinner, for the one who cooked, prepared, planned, shopped, and cleaned up. Give thanks to the farmers who lovingly grow our food. Give thanks for the grocery stores and merchants who make it easy for us to purchase our food. To quote Gladys Browyn Stern: “Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone”. Let everyone know how much you appreciate them! However, I would like to recommend going that one step further. Put feet under your prayers of gratitude. It is great to express your gratitude; it is another to actually do something about it. The Great Mother is not one to waste time with words, She is action incarnate. When She is serene, she laughs in flowers and butterflies and the breath-taking beauty of nature. When She is not, look out! To paraphrase an old commercial:” it’s not nice to mess with Mother Nature.” Make a list of all the things you are grateful for: home, country, family, friends, food, peace, health, knowledge, kittens, whatever comes to mind. Say a prayer of gratitude for each and every one of those things. Now, here comes the challenging part: what can you do, to put feet under your prayers? If you are grateful for your home, perhaps show your home how much you love it by a fall housekeeping clean-up. Winterize lovingly. New paint here and there. Flowers on the dining table. Gratitude for your family and cherished friends? How about special time with that certain loved one? The gift of time is more precious than ever now. Cuddle time with your children and a favorite book and hot chocolate. Quiet time listening to a dear friend. Prayer time with our Mother. Gratitude for the Earth? Recycle, compost, reuse, renew. Use Mother Earth’s resources with love, care and respect. Let our Great Mother know how much we value clean air, beautiful harvests, sparkling oceans and lakes, happy, healthy children. Gratitude for our service people in far away lands? Cards of encouragement, boxes of supplies and necessities, prayers of thanksgiving. I am sure you can think of many other ways to express and extend your gratitude this season, to our beloved earth, to your family and friends, and to yourself. Live your gratitude each day! Bright blessings of love to you. Sharon P.S. Thank you for asking about my little kitten. The vet was happily surprised that she lived through that terrible sickness. She is now healthy, bouncy, and absolutely delightful. We named her “Kes”. We are grateful that she came to us for her healing. P.P.S. Joanna Dear, thank you for making this website so lovely. Your efforts are deeply valued and appreciated. You are an angel! After
my last kitty died, I swore that I would never, ever, EVER get another
cat. Never. We all cried when Little Kitty died.
I cried for weeks. I was completely heartbroken. My little cat was
so sweet, so gentle, so loving. My son claimed that she wasn’t “ the
sharpest tack in the box,” but that was fine with me. Her loving
disposition was perfect. You could not have imagined a more perfect pet.
When she died, a light went out in our lives. And we all mourned for a
long time. There would never be another Little Kitty. Just recently, I began dreaming of a kitten. I could see her in my mind’s eye: soft, long haired, white, a great deal like my Kitty had been. I ignored the dreaming for a long time. I do not want the heartbreak of another cat. Cats die. And I cry. No. No. NO. No cat!! The dreams did not go away. And one day I stopped by a little place that had rescue and adoptable cats, “just to look”. I found the most beautiful little kitten there: white, long-haired, gorgeous. I picked her up and loved her and petted her. But she was not “my cat”. She was not the one. I spotted another white kitten, but it was the same with her. She was not my kitty. I played with all the cats and kittens there, but none of them were right. I was relieved….I must have been imagining the kitty dreams. And then, from behind the counter, came a very grey, very ordinary grey tabby cat. Nothing special. Just an everyday, plain grey cat. I did not want to look at her. She looked at me. “Are you done yet?” she asked. “Because I am your cat”. “No you are not, little cat”. I replied. “I was looking for a beautiful long-haired white kitten, and you are a short- haired grey cat. I wanted a kitten, you are a grown cat. You are not what I am looking for”. “Well,
aren’t you being judgmental.”
Oh my! I hoped I was not being judgmental. Perhaps I was. I was. I
was definitely not being open to something new, something outside my
pre-conceived ideas. She proceeded to melt into my arms and I knew she was my kitty. We went home to live happily ever after. Except we did not. In two days she began to droop. Something was wrong, very wrong. Her eyes were swollen and sore. She couldn’t eat or drink. She had a fever. Three veterinary visits, including one emergency visit, three antibiotics and eye drops later, the vet was not sure if she would live. It was a terrible type of viral infection, and he had no guarantees. I made a pot of chicken soup for her, and fed her through an eyedropper every twenty minutes. The vaporizer ran non stop, complete with eucalyptus oil. I cried and cried. All I had wanted was a little kitty to play with. And this little kitty was so very ill. I prayed and prayed. I remember thinking late one night, as I fed her chicken soup, about the cycle of life; how we are born to live and grow, to die and become part of the Great Mother again, nourishing the planet with the remains of our lives. It is now the autumn, the equinox is long past, we are entering the dark time of the year. The beautiful greens of summer give way to the colors of fall, to become piles of dark, grey leaves and compost. The cold, dark, dead time of year approaches. Sadness permeates the air at this time. I was filled with sadness. I wondered why this little kitty came to me. Why I came to her. Why were we together? Was I to ease her dying and death? What was I to learn from this? What was I to learn from her brief life and death? One thing I realized was that I am absolutely not in control of anything. Kitten’s living and dying was not up to me. All I could do was to be….to be present, to be loving, to be here now. I held the cat and sang to her and fed her soup and loved her. I thanked our Great Mother for the gift of this kitten. I looked deeply at this gift from Her, and knew that this kitten would never be an ordinary grey tabby. She was beautiful and precious beyond belief. And she, like every other living entity, had a purpose in life. I gave her back to the Goddess. I prayed, as so many have done before me, “Thy will be done.” “Please help her to get well, or take her into the next life. I do understand the cycle of life and living, maybe this is what I needed to learn again.” I shall love her for the rest of my life. This time, I did not cry as I fell asleep. September is a wonderful month: full of beginnings and endings and everything in between. The growing season is winding down and the fall harvest is in full swing: an abundance of vegetables and fruits are ready for canning, preserving, or just yummy eating. The new school year is beginning; students of all ages, wearing new school clothes and carrying new supplies, are getting prepared for the exciting, new academic year.
September
is a time to ponder the beginnings and endings in your personal and
spiritual life. The Autumn Equinox on the 22nd reminds us to
bring our lives into balance. What is Quiet time with the Goddess is a welcome way to renew the balance in life. A meditative walk in Nature. Sitting peacefully and mindfully. Special time with family and friends. Digging in the garden, to prepare for the next season. Too often, our personal time fills with “shoulds” I should do this, I should go there, should, should, should. Meditation time is usually the first thing to go in a stressful period of our lives; and meditation is the first thing needed to survive any time in life. Schedule your Goddess time as if it were the most important time part of your day, which it is, instead of something expendable. Perhaps it is time for you to begin the learning process again? Is a new class or course of study beckoning to you now? School is not just for children. We grow old when we cease to grow and learn anew. And remember to think “outside” the box…..all school is not in the traditional classroom. On-line courses abound. Volunteer opportunities are wonderful learning experiences. There are always babies that need to be cuddled; children that need hugs and cookies. There are always the sick that need to be comforted; the elderly that need a companion to listen. There are always the overworked mothers in need of respite; teenagers in need of mentoring and guidance. The poor, the hungry, the uneducated, the needy; they are always with us, and they need our gifts. And through out your busy day, give the gift of yourself through prayer and intention. Prayer is a very powerful tool that can bring about remarkable transformation. Through prayer and intention, Dreams and Visions become clear. I capitalize Dreams and Visions, because one woman with a clear Vision can change the way the world turns. When the Vision becomes clear, action naturally follows, and great change is possible. The wisdom of the Goddess suggests giving as a way of receiving. Giving for the joy of giving. Giving because it is necessary and good. Giving because the Goddess gives Her all for us. In order to receive the new, the old must be cleared away. Give away your old limitations about yourself, your worth, your value. Give all your old fears to Our Mother, and receive Her Blessings. You are worthy and valuable. You are needed. Giving your own unique gifts to the community increases your spiritual abundance many times over. And you have more gifts and value than you ever dreamed of, gifts which will blossom when nurtured. Giving your time and love and effort to a cause or project that you deem worthy, benefits the entire community. With our ever busy lives, volunteering seems to have gone out of style, but the needs still remain. Become a Goddess trend-setter and revive the lost art of giving. Patricia Telesco, in her lovely book: 365 Goddesses, has a prayer for kindness and giving that I would love to share with you: Great
Deliverer, she whose heart knows no limits, renew in me the spirit of
benevolence that seeks not after its own reward but does good for good’s
sake. The world is a much lovelier place when your kindness flows through
our hearts, reaching out to those in need. Take my hand, and guide my way.
Let it begin today.* Thank you for reading these words. Thank you for your emails and kindness and encouragement. Again, thank you dear Joanna for keeping our Goddess site happy and updated. Bright Blessings of the Autumn. Sharon August begins with an ancient Celtic celebration called “Lughnasdh” or the Festival of Lugh (pronounced Loo). This is a gratitude celebration of the first fruits of the harvest. Unless we make a very dedicated effort, it is so easy to feel a little disconnected from the cycle of life; of planting, sowing, watching and waiting, and finally the harvesting. This festival celebrated the harvesting of the first stalks of wheat. Wheat- a slender little grain that provides us with so much nourishment, for body and soul. And how often do we take the time to truly appreciate the wonder of it? In the olden times, the farmer would leave one corner of his field untouched, so that some of the harvest would be offered back to Mother Earth. He would cut one sheaf for ritual bread, another sheaf for a “bride doll” to protect the house until the next harvest. Even today, in parts of Great Britain, this tradition lives on, with part of the harvest given back to the earth. Have you ever seen a sheaf of wheat? Touched it, felt it, truly looked at it, inhaled its scent? It contains great promise of transformation. Inside the sheaf are tiny kernels that hold new life, seed for the next planting. It holds secrets to inner life. What in your life are you harvesting now? What thoughts, dreams, plans, aspirations? What do you need to let go of? What will nourish you, and what will not? What can you give back to Mother Earth in appreciation for all She gives us? Here is a sacred ritual for this month for you to enjoy. Sometime this month, make a loaf of bread. Yes, I know it is hot outside. Make it anyway. You don’t know how? It is very easy; just ask Betty Crocker or Martha. However, you will be creating your bread with the assistance of the Goddess. Every movement will be blessed and sacred and filled with the knowledge that you are part of a tradition centuries old.
If
you do not have an easy recipe for bread, here is my recipe for a loaf of
Goddess Place one cup of warm water in a large, pretty bowl. As you measure and pour and warm the water, think about how important water is in your life. Visualize lakes and streams and oceans. Thank the water for being a part of this bread. Stir in one tablespoon of dry yeast, one tablespoon of sugar or honey, one tablespoon of salt, two tablespoons of oil or butter,(preferably organic).Thank each ingredient as you measure it into the bowl. Think about the qualities and goodness each will impart to your bread. Taste the sweetness of the honey, and bless all the little bees who worked so hard to produce the honey. Smell the saltiness of the salt, the flavoring of life. Imagine, see in your mind, and thank the trees and vegetables who gave you the smooth oil to pour into your bowl. Mix until the yeast gets bubbly. Slowly add flour, one cup at time, until you have added approximately three cups (or more) of flour (again, preferably organic) mix well. Again, visualize the fields of ripe golden grain as you stir. When the dough is too stiff to stir, begin the kneading process. Knead your dough in a push-pull movement, adding flour as necessary until the dough is soft and smooth and satiny. This will take about 7 to 10 minutes. Think about all the loved ones who will be enjoying this gift of bread. See their faces shine as you offer them this yummy creation. Really visualize your family and friends faces as they bite into the first delicious slice slathered in butter and jam. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a pretty towel, let it rise for one hour. Punch down dough, shape into a loaf of your choosing. This is the fun part! Remember that being sacred can also be enjoyable. You can shape it into a traditional loaf, or braid it, or make little round balls for rolls, or whatever shape your little heart desires. By all means let your children get involved in this. When your creative masterpieces are finished, place in greased pans, and let it rise for a half hour. Place in warm (350) oven, bake for approximately half hour to forty five minutes, depending on the size of your loaf. When it is nice and brown, and makes a hollow sound when you thump it on the bottom, it is done. Place on a beautiful platter, tear or cut; serve with love, butter and fresh jam. The purpose of this is to restore to us the sense of the sacred of our everyday lives. Food is so taken for granted in our lives. We tend to forget where it comes from, and who has given it to us. We avoid food because it has calories or carbohydrates or whatever the current fad no-no is this week. We need to honor food, respect food, and give our Goddess sincere thanks for our nourishing food. Gratitude is always good. The difference between an ordinary activity and a sacred one is a matter of reverence and attitude. Any act can be a sacred ritual when done with loving intention and mindfulness. Begin with this simple act of making the staff of life, reverently, happily, and purposefully. Your life will be transformed! There is so much more to the Festival of Lughnasndh than I have room to write about. I invite you to check out a few websites or your local library for more information. You will be amazed. Understanding and living the cycle of the Goddess Seasons will add so much to the quality and enjoyment of your life. Upcoming events! I will again be offering Goddess 101 classes for the autumn season. Further information coming soon! Thank you again for your emails and words of encouragement. I am so grateful for you! Thank you again, dear Joanna, for the updates you do to this website. I am so grateful for your presence in my life! Bright
Blessings of the Summer Season. July abounds with things to celebrate, as does every month. July Second is the Feast of the “Visitation of Mary”. This was the day, in Christian tradition, that Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, came to visit, and was the first to realize that Mary was pregnant. Elizabeth was also with child, (with her son, John, who would grow up to be the Baptist). Mary responds to Elizabeth’s greeting with a beautiful prayer (Luke1:46-55). And Elizabeth stays with Mary for several months. Mary is the Goddess in many cultures, and represents all women. This is the day that expectant mothers are honored and revered. It is essentially a European tradition, but wouldn’t it be nice to make it our tradition as well? Presents of love and thoughtfulness (babysitting, a dinner prepared, housecleaning, etc.) are always welcome gifts. Can we extend the gift giving to other mothers-to-be who are not so fortunate to have us for personal friends? Homeless shelters, unwed teens, crisis centers could use your loving gifts as well. July Nineteenth and Twentieth This is a great day for all of us; the First Women’s Rights Conventions took place in Seneca Falls in 1848. (Can you imagine that we have been working on equality for so long?) Susan B. Anthony and Cady Stanton planted an oak tree there as their hope for the future of women. Perhaps we should all plant an oak tree today in their memory and in thanksgiving for all they accomplished. Thank you, Susan and Cady!! July Twenty seventh is the feast day of Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt. She was the only female Pharaoh, and ruled without a consort. Her temple is magnificent (go see it on the Internet). She was peaceful, talented, strong-willed and absolutely beautiful. One of my favorites in Egyptian history. Celebrate strong women today. Celebrate yourself! Don’t be afraid to tell yourself that you are beautiful and strong and courageous…..you really are! We have been so conditioned to “play down” our best assets that we are fearful of becoming the grace and beauty that we really are. Do something splendid for yourself this day…..do something special for someone that you admire. Thank the Goddess for the gift of yourself. Thank you for the emails and prayers and blessings. I am so grateful to you! Bright July Blessings to you! Sharon Contact
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