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So what is peace, anyways? Absence of war? Silence? Stillness? How do we find peace in a war torn world?

As Mother, war is the ultimate atrocity. It distills down the miracle of conception, creation, birth & child-rearing into a mere industry of human commodity for the consumption of corrupt peoples running powerful governments. It devalues everything we value most;  our children, the children of the world and the future. War is the ultimate disgrace and insult to life & humanity. Can the Mother find peace during war? She not only seeks peace, she seeks justice. She seeks a world where wisdom and grace supersede greed and destruction. She seeks this not for herself but for her children. She would gladly give herself in a pact to end all war forever. That is how far the Mother is willing to go. We will never find peace or balance as a whole until we honor the Mother and her creation as precious and sacred. It is only then that we will have the inner eye to our heart of hearts wide open and functioning as we were intended; intelligently, with thoughtfulness and prevailing compassion and peace. Now that’s is revolutionary!

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.  -Issac Asimov

“… Move beyond any attachment to names.” Every war

and every conflict between human beings has happened because

of some disagreement about

names. It’s such an unnecessary foolishness, because just

beyond the arguing there’s a long

table of companionship, set and waiting for us to sit down.

“What is praised is one, so the praise is one too, many jugs being poured

into a huge basin. All religions, all this singing, one song.

The differences are just illusion and vanity.

Sunlight looks slightly different

on this wall than it does on that wall and a lot different

on this other one, but

it is still one light. We have borrowed these clothes, these

time-and-space personalities,

from a light, and when we praise, we pour them back in.

mevlana jelaluddin rumi - 13th century

Practice moving beyond attachment by consciously using no words. You may have to close your eyes. We have a tendency to name and mentally say names of different things we see in our environs. For this exercise, let’s close our eyes. Have no TV or radio on. Make the sacred sound of the OHM, vibrating the ‘O’ in your chest, the ‘H’ in the throat and the ‘M’ on the lips. OHM carefully over and over until you become a vibrating tone of chest, throat, lip symbol speak. Say it until it makes no sense and you blur into the vibration. This is beyond attachment. This is the the place of wonder,  the child’s eye, that we can hope to distill down into an elixir that vitalizes our life. This is the gateway to the source of exploring the language of the soul. After doing this exercise, I recommend drawing a mandala or wheel of life. Find creative expression for the intangibles experienced and create so you can make your inner language manifest real for you to see.

Wage peace with your breath.

Breathe in firemen and rubble,
breathe out whole buildings and flocks of red wing blackbirds.

Breathe in terrorists
and breathe out sleeping children and freshly mown fields.

Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees.

Breathe in the fallen and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.

Wage peace with your listening: hearing sirens, pray loud.

Remember your tools: flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.

Make soup.

Play music, memorize the words for thank you in three languages.

Learn to knit, and make a hat.

Think of chaos as dancing raspberries,
imagine grief
as the outbreath of beauty
or the gesture of fish.

Swim for the other side.

Wage peace.

Never has the world seemed so fresh and precious:

Have a cup of tea and rejoice.

Act as if armistice has already arrived.
Celebrate today.

wage peace - judyth hill - september 12, 2001

What this poignant poem tells us is that peace begins with us. When we are steady in our lives, keeping at task. When we take time to enjoy the beauty is when we are most alive.

Breath in the peace that you can create in your life. Close the doors to the confusion, let the mind shuffle it all on it’s own to land where it may, far away from distracting you from the delights of your day. Have every step you take be a heartbeat for peace. Let every breathe you breath be the wind that brings us all closer to this vital goal.

When my son a baby, I remember being up with him nights when he wasn’t feeling well. I would rock him in the old rocker, long into the morning hours. I imagined the rocking of all the chairs the mamas were in, soothing their children, like some kind of magical weaving machine. As we all rocked, we created peace and comfort, like invisible threads knitting & weaving blankets of invisible comfort, uniting us all together, family human.

Doing mindful things like this puts us in a reflective and conscientious mode. We may be plodding along in our lives but we are leaving precious, silken threads of hope and sanctuary to gather around us.

Blessed are the rockers & peacemakers!

1 tsp of rose water (optional)
3 T. sea or Kosher salt
1 small bowl of spring or rainwater
1 clean glass container
a hand mirror
a small bell to ring in ceremony
1 storage bottle
Cleanse and sterilize the bowl and decanting bottle.
Insure that you have privacy.
Time: Night, during a Full Moon phase.
Place: Outside under the moon, or near a window that shines the light of the moon.
Set up your sacred work space with all the ingredients.
Take as many deep breaths you need to relieve the stress of the day.
Cast your sacred circle. Hold your arms outstretched in the Goddess position, arms out at the sides like you are cradling the Universe, palms up. Ring the bell 3 times saying:
Bathed in the cloak of the shine of the moon
At this timely full moon hour
I call upon the Ancient Power
I seek the presence of the Lady and Lord
To bless this water and make it holy.
You can substitute any words you prefer. The idea is to acknowledge the power of the universe as creative and holy.

Feel the energy move through you. Feel your own energy expand around you, uniting you with Divinity. Acknowledge the power the moon has on water through the tides and know that you are infusing the energy of life & healing into the water under the gaze of Her by the light of the moon. Take your time.

Add the rose water, if desired, to the spring water. Pick up the bowl of water, hold it toward the moon, and say:
In my hands I hold the essence of the Goddess, and all the abundance She gives in life. I cleanse and consecrate this water to Divinity that it may aid me in my sacred work.

Feel the energy of the Moon Goddess draw down into the water. You may feel a sensation. Honor sacred mystery through joyous prayer and uplift your heart, mind and soul into the bathing light.
Sit the water down and pick up the salt. Feel the power moving in your arms as you raise the salt toward the moon. Say: In my hands I hold the essence of Earth Mother, She whose abundance sustains all living creatures. I consecrate this salt to Divinity that it may aid me in my sacred work.

As with the water, imagine the energy of the Moon Goddess infusing Her energy in the salt.
Pour a little salt into the bowl of water and stirring, say: Ancient ocean, river, rain waters, that feed all life, our ancestors and been our very tears. Cleanse us as you have before.
Repeat this process twice more.
With the bowl in your left hand, receiving and the mirror in your right, sending, reflect the light of the moon off the mirror and into the bowl. After a few moments say: This liquid is now sacred and pure and dedicated to the Lord and Lady. It is full of healing, inspiration and beauty.

Sit the bowl and mirror down and hold out both of your hands, palms down, over the bowl above the water.
Let the vibrations of your body come alive. Open your third eye chakra and imagine a glowing purple flame surrounding the sacred circle. Form an open triangle with your hands over the water and feel the sacred energy flow through you into the holy water. Feel the energy flow from your head down through your arms and up from your feet and out from your arms. When you feel complete, slowly lower your hands and say:

So mote it be
With the free will of all
And harm to none
The healing of this sacred water has begun

Ground your energy by placing your hands upon the earth.

In making your Holy water you can be as discreet or ceremonious as you are inspired to. Bring a friend or 2 or more to share the joy of gathering the healing energy. Even if this is new territory for you be inspired and do the process to your comfort level of participation. You will be so pleased with the results!

After decanting your holy water use it as desired. Some suggestions-put in an atomizer or spray bottle and use on yourself and your space. You can use it to seal letters or postage stamps on letters to loved ones. You can spray a handkerchief or cloth and let dry and use yourself or send to a loved one. Add a few drops to lotions, creams or aromatherapy sprays. Pour some in a favorite dish or vase to put on your altar or shelf. Apply to pulse points: ankles, wrists, neck, temples. Use a dab to genuflect or even anoint your rosary as you pray. Add a few drops to a tub or foot bath for bathing in. If you like to explore your creativity, use the holy water to make rose petal beads. And if you are really inspired, you can make a rosary from your beads.

The idea is to infuse the sacred into everyday life and acknowledge our own individual divinity and ability to create healing.

I have recently began scrap booking for my family, creating heirlooms that will live on and be passed down for generations. I do my task with great love and interruption from my 4 year old daughter. Each time she approaches me I bravely smile and put down my task to turn to her and ask her what can I do for her with a big smile on my face. She interprets my face as a reflection of her own joy, reassured, and goes off for a while to make her way thru her day. I am so glad to be her fount of smiles & encouragement. I know she will also be that for the world. It in these small tasks that we create not only peace in the world, but love, happiness and satisfaction with our lives, flawed as they may be.

Father, Mother, God,
Thank you for your presence
during the hard and mean days.
For then we have you to lean upon.
Thank you for your presence
during the bright and sunny days,
for then we can share that which we have
with those who have less.
And thank you for your presence
during the Holy Days, for then we are able
to celebrate you and our families
and our friends.
For those who have no voice,
we ask you to speak.
For those who feel unworthy,
we ask you to pour your love out
in waterfalls of tenderness.
For those who live in pain,
we ask you to bathe them
in the river of your healing.
For those who are lonely, we ask
you to keep them company.
For those who are depressed,
we ask you to shower upon them
the light of hope.
Dear Creator, You, the borderless
sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the
world that which we need most—Peace.

prayer - maya angelou

The greatest gifts we can give is our time, attention and love. When we are in this space of giving both giver & recipient are gifted. The moments a mother takes to tie her toddler’s shoes and give a wink and a smile. Spouses hug & kiss goodbye. A thoughtful phone call to brighten somebody else’s day. A sincere smile. It’s these simple moments that shape how we approach life. When we take the time to go to task for someone, and do so joyfully, you instill deep worth and self respect. When our day has began with a spring board of blessing we cannot help but pass that blessing on to the world we touch. This is how we truly change the world.  No matter how the day batters & bruises us, when we have that base of support, nothing the world can do can stop us from refueling our love from our source, the touchstone of strength.

‘We do no great things. Only small things with great love.’ ~Mother Teresa

Children, everybody, here’s what to do during war:

In a time of destruction, create something.
A poem.
A parade.
A community.
A school.
A vow.
A moral principle.
One peaceful moment.

maxine hong kingston

What did you create today? Were you fraught with inner turmoil or did you find your gaze towards something beautiful, creative, imaginative? Peace can be as simple as writing a card to a friend who needs a heart and hand to hold. Keep your eyes on an ideal, even as we drudge the the detestable duties and mundane tasks of a seemingly ordinary day. Sometimes when we close the door to the inner sanctuary and let the work be processed without our input amazing revelations can come to fruition.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field.

I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language- even the phrase “each other” -do not make any sense.

This Rumi poem/prayer of truth is the way we are to approach sacred circle. Empty out so the space can be filled with Her grace. Divine femininity is characteristic by the chalice, the bowl; such as the womb. It is hidden, open & receiving of the abundance that is our birthright. She gathers her knowledge and wisdom not thru words but thru sacred imagery and symbol. This is why creativity is so essential to nurture the spirit. Our creative endeavors are Divinity Herself being made real for all to see. This is why beauty is so important not only to the senses but the sensibilities. We were created for ecstasy and pleasure. Art is the God/dess Herself manifest. I can’t imagine much more exciting than that right now. Go create! Let’s see what She wants to say thru You! This is a challenge. Read the Rumi Poem & begin. Be Inspired!

Email me pictures of your creations so I can show them in a future post. Thanks!

When I first heard back that I was invited on board here as a writer for the religion section my first reaction was, oh no!, will I be able to write on religion everyday!? Is the Goddess even considered a religion? I don’t want to write on religion, I don’t even like religion! Not only that but is the blog world ready for a Goddess loving, flower child, wise woman, witch heretic? I immediately wrote back asking if I could be put in a natural family living corner of the room writing counter revolutionary things like meatloaf recipes and cloth diapering tips? Please? No such corner exists and I am now visible for all to read. I am not nervous from some shortcoming in my faith that is going to be exposed. My initial hesitancy comes from the lack of religious tolerance I see in the world around me today. Tolerance is fine if certain ideals of different faiths & beliefs cause you to react violently. Be tolerant. But I don’t want to be tolerated! I want to be loved and understood and treated respectfully, just as any human being deserves. You don’t have to ‘get’ me. I’m not here for everyone to get. I realize I am the fringe but we do exist and I am so pleased to give us a voice! Come close to the edge and feel the fringe tassels with me! Oooh! It’s going to be great! I’m not here to help you find God. I’m here to reveal the Goddess!

The Lady’s Prayer

Our Mother, Who Art Within Me
Many are Your names
Sophia, Diana, Mary, Hecate
She is Many and One in the same
Within Her holds mysteries unknown
Find Your heart to follow Her home
For All Humankind has come from Her womb

You nourish and sustain Life
Inspire My heart & soul with beauty, earth’s fruits,
And the wonder of the stars
All of Me, My heart and soul is You
All of Our hearts & souls & beauty; Yours.
Lead Us nearer to You so We can know truth
Lead Us ever nearer so We can be peace
For Thy is no further than My own heart
For Thy is Ours just as She is Me
And I Am Thee just as She is in All;
Life, Limb, Him, Her, Sea, Air and Tree

Your beautiful, organic justice
Lifted Us from the dust
And to that which We sprung
We shall also succumb
Still, She, shall prevail
To You, Lady Lord, we hail!
Blessed Be!

Greetings soul seekers! I’m so pleased to be here. Thanks for taking the time to read my words. I hope to reflect in you the beauty, inspiration and compassion that we were created to  hold. I wrote this prayer as a creative challenge to write The Lord’s Prayer from a matrifocal stance.  I was very inspired and pleased with the results. I hope you can feel the living word and divine inspiration as it’s source.

Why woman centered prayer you ask? Woman have for too long taken the fall in organized religion. Christianity says we are ‘the second born and first to sin’. I want to put dignity back into faith as women. Guilt tripping anyone into religion by pinning events on them that are completely out of our control is demeaning and it’s own form of abuse. Woman came from man’s side so she could walk side by side with man, not be subjugated to such a point that even the original sin is exclusively ours. I have unshackled these chains of oppression that were put on me. Hopefully, if your heart is chained, I can be your inspiration and you can try to be truly free with me.

To know me is to love me…

My mom gave me a pair of socks that said that when I was still a girl. I know it is true. I hope you will take some time to get to know me too.

Although I announced my leaving yesterday, I would like to leave you not with another thought about charity. Many people I talk to are hesitant to give money to something like National Denim Day because, although it goes to a good cause, you can’t really see the benefits. It isn’t touching the lives of people right here, right now.

So let me tell you about my favorite charity - Elizabethtown College. I went to Etown, graduating in 2006, and I couldn’t be prouder of my school. I’m not the most wealthy alumni out there, but I give what I can. Choosing to give to your alma mater can be really rewarding, as you can actually see the money in use.

How do colleges spend the money? I know tuition is expensive, but up to 30% of a college-goer’s expenses is likely paid for by donations. If it were not for people like you and me, tuition would be even higher. So, it goes to paid for stuff like professors’ salaries, cafeteria food, dorm upkeep, special events, landscaping, library resources, and so forth.

Beyond that, you can also consider starting a scholarship fund. That way you can directly affect the life of a student every single year, making it possible for that student to afford school. Or, consider sponsoring a group like a specific sport or club on campus. Or, sponsor the purchase of a needed item, like a picnic table outside of the library where students can study. The list of opportunities goes on and on.

Colleges are all non-profits, so your donation is tax deductible. Check with your employer about matching gift programs as well. Some companies will match your donation dollar for dollar or even two dollars for every one of your dollars! If nothing else, be polite to the phone-a-thon kids who call you. They’re students just like you were, and they really do need the money; so, be respectful and if you can’t donate now, either ask to be taken off the list or tell them a better time to call.

I used to work in higher education development, so if you have any donation questions, let me know!

Today is National Denim Day, in support of breast cancer research. As cancer has affected my family and so many other people I know, I created a blogger team to help raise money. There’s still time to donate here. Even if everyone just donates $5, that can add up to a lot of money.

I’d like to show my appreciation for all of the other bloggers here at 451 who donated or, if they were not able, voiced support:

Bob Betzen

Mark Jabo

Coreen Nishijo

Karen Lynch

Dana Granholm

Kim Holmes

Thank you for you donations, from the bottom of my heart.

On another, less up-lifting note, I’d like to take this moment to announce that I’m leaving Find Religion. I’ve been writing here for a year, and I feel like that time here was well spent, but that it is time to move on. As this site is meant to help guide people to religion, I truly believe that it may be in your best interest to read the musings of a new writer. We all have such different ideas of what religion really means, and fresh perspectives are a definite plus.

451 has not yet hired a new writer. If you want to apply for the job, contact me and let me know that you’re a reader! I’ll direct you on how to apply and who to contact.

Until a new writer is hired, I may be stopping in from time to time to keep the site updated, and I hope that the new writer will let me guest-blog for you all from time to time! In any case, you haven’t heard the last from me!

You can also check out my other blogs at Reality on Bravo and BCS Frenzy.

I hope that I’ve made you think about life in a new way. I hope that you’ve read posts here that really made you ask questions about your faith. I hope you’ll continue to support Find Religion and all of the other great sites here at 451.

God Bless,
Allison

A lesson in not assuming…head to PostSecret to read more postcard confessions.

Elizabethtown, Pa. - ONE year ago today, a shooter entered a one-room Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pa., dismissed all but 10 girls, and fired at them execution-style, killing five before shooting himself,

Within hours, the Amish community forgave the killer and his family. News of the instant forgiveness stunned the outside world – almost as much as the incident itself did.

READ MORE.

The snippet above is from a column written by Dr. Kraybill of Elizabethtown College, my alma mater. Today marks the one year anniversary of the Nickel Mines shooting, and as someone who was right down the road when this happened, I can say that it was horrifying to believe that someone could do something to these people.

Regardless of your religious beliefs, the Amish will help you. They are some of the kindest people in the whole world, perhaps second only to the Buddhist monks still living in monasteries in Asia. There have been all kinds of criticisms of the Amish over the years - their refusal to “join the 21st century”, their controversial shunning practices, their seclusion…but at the end of the day, if you are thirsty, they will give you something to drink and if you are hungry, they will give you something to eat. I’ve known a number of Amish people, and there’s not a single one I’ve met that wouldn’t rather give you the coat of his/her back and freeze to death than see you suffer in the cold. This religion is one of peace.

We remember, Nickel Mines families. Even if you can’t relate religiously, you perhaps have children or grandchildren of your own (or younger relatives). Can you imagine getting that news that your child was executed while at school? Schools are supposed to be a safe place for children.

This event was proof that forgiveness is a great healer. A while back, I challenged you to forgive someone who has wronged you. Today, I ask: Where are you with that goal. Have you forgiven that person, or are you working on it? We can’t always forgive as quickly as we’d like, but we can try.

Welcome to the October 1, 2007 edition of religion in everyday life. You can see a past issue of this carnival here.

Only Three Notes presents >Reforming Religions: Religious Rights vs Human Rights! posted at Only Three Notes.

Tupelo Kenyon presents Facing Fear Eye to Eye posted at Tupelo Kenyon.

Chris presents Keeping God at the Center posted at Christian Dating Experiences.

Eric Michael Johnson presents Parsimony and the Origin of Life in the Universe and Shamanic Visions of Selective Sweep posted at The Primate Diaries.

Ched presents >Josh Williams on the OT, Christ and Textual Hermeneutics posted at >Straight out of the SWBTS Blogosphere.

ChristianPF presents Don’t give to the poor? posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog.

Sammy Benoit presents >I Always Walked to Shul With My Dad–A Rosh HaShana Story posted at YID With LID.

Arlene Mei Pinpin presents >Mind, Heart, and Mysteries: God’s Little Schemes posted at >Mind, Heart, and Mysteries.

Chris DeMarco presents >The Substance of Prayer posted at >The “C” Branch.

:: Suzanne :: presents >:: adventures in daily living ::: daily strength for daily needs: August 21 posted at :: adventures in daily living ::.

Doris Chua presents >Touch of the Master’s Hand posted at Life..Passion..Travel & More….

Phil B. presents >Atheists have Morals « Phil for Humanity posted at >Phil for Humanity.

Ariah Fine presents >We Created God in Our Own Image posted at Trying to Follow.