Gracious presence

 

Every day can be a struggle, especially for those dealing with serious illness, physical pain, personal bereavement, loss and the aftermath of operations.. The demands of ordinary living can threaten to overwhelm us and press in on us, making everything even harder to bear.

Pain can be unimaginable, intolerable, never ending. Loss can feel so final that all hope is taken away.

It is especially at times like this that the light of God can suddenly, mysteriously and amazingly touch our lives and bring us strength and hope unexpected, so that a new vision become apparent. This can come through prayer and contemplation directly with God or through others who shine God’s light for us and touch our lives kindly.

It is at times like this when we can suddenly feel God's gracious presence, utterly here with us and feel His gentle touch as He lifts us and carries us most carefully, through the day.

Always remember He loves and tends to our needs.

Even the bleakest moments can be transformed.

So seek His loving arms for comfort and consolation, his strength to lift us through the most dire of moments. Trust in Him. He is with us, for that is His promise.

Bless the air

 

Today I bless the sky
In all its wonder and beauty,
The clouds, the rain, the snow, the hail
I bless the air we take for granted
Each molecule of Oxygen that enables us to breathe
Each molecule of Carbon Dioxide that enables plants to grow
I bless each in breath, may it bring us strength and energy
I bless each out breath, may it bring us peace and healing
I bless the breath that brings life to all
I bless the air, may it be clean and safe
I bless the planet may it survive and prosper
I bless all life
May it rejoice in its being
May all be restored to right balance and harmony.
Amen

Tender Care

When our need is greatest, 

We turn to you in absolute truth and faith, 

Knowing that you will help us 

In any circumstance. 

And so we place ourselves 

In Your Tender Care, Lord. 

Amen

Spiritual Reality of God

".... those most able to see, feel, know, experience the Spiritual reality of God are, perhaps, those from whom everything worldly is taken away from, leaving a stark landscape, from an earthly view, yet one which is most likely to guide us by the straightest possible route to see clearly, feel truly and find absolutely God, powerful, present, tender, true and ever present, tangibly real. 

It is He who sustains us. It is He who brings unimagined gifts. It is He who sees with a whole sight what is occurring and can bring new Light to bear, even in the bleakest of places.

When we come to a place of intolerable, intractable suffering, the Heart of Love is a sanctuary that can, will and does hold us. "

An EXTRACT from "LIVING in the HEART OF LOVE", the new book, out very soon

Ocean of Love

 

My cry is a tear, 

My tears are a river, 

My pain is a flood. 

My need is a desert. 

Your love is an ocean.’

Bless the sky

BLESS THE SKY

I bless the sky

In all its wonder and beauty

The clouds, the rain, the snow, the hail,

I bless the air we take for granted,

Each molecule of Oxygen that enables us to breathe,

Each molecule of Carbon Dioxide that enables plants to grow,

I bless each in breath,

May it bring us strength and energy

I bless each out breath,

May it bring us peace and healing

I bless the breath that brings life to all

I bless the air, may it be clean and safe

I bless the planet may it survive and prosper

I bless all life

May it rejoice in its being

May all be restored

To right balance and harmony.

A Word

 PEACE

Just a word or a phrase can make all the difference.

When I am in intense pain, stressed or over worried about something, I have found that being still and stilling my mind can help me to cope, if my mind is clear enough to think or remember..

The word I choose is “Peace”. I repeat it internally,gently, and focus only on that word. The relief and peace that follows sustains me, incredibly, in the direst of moments.

It does not have to be a word, it could be a phrase. Today, when my mind was overloaded the phrase “all will be well”, which comes from Julian of Norwich, helped me to remember this truth and find more balance, feel calmer,more hopeful in a stressed space.

Words are not always possible with severe cognitive dysfunction, even in your mind, but focussing innerly to a place within me not touched by angst or pain or suffering, lifts me to a higher place where peace resides.

Or just looking at something beautiful, like a flower or a picture, I have found that the beauty can touch you without any words needed, comforts, brightens, helps in some mysterious, wonderful, healing sort of way.

 

It is easy to let this moment pass by without giving it  any or enough attention. Yet life is only ever lived in the present.

Each  moment is infinitely precious. 

Each breath is infinitely precious. 

Each choice we make infinitely matters, but how can I choose if I am not present?

Living in this  moment gives me the space, I need,  to see clearly, be grounded, be still, be centered. 

I see smaller,  seemingly insignificant things, that would not have been noticed, like a ladybird in a bud or a minute hovering insect, it is the hope for the planet and I am humbled.

Time seems to slow, awareness seems to open

I look up when I hear the Red Kite cry as it swoops low over my head.

The bird gives me a  vastly different perspective on where I am. 

There is peace in beauty, the light through the trees, the shadows on the road.

I  am calmer,  more connected.

I am more aware, more conscious of my inner as well as my outer self.

I am more hopeful,  less compulsive , less fearful.

I am caught up in the wonder of it all.

Embraced.

By this, the only moment we will ever have, which touches the whole of creation.

Prayer Is…

 

Sometimes prayer is words

Sometimes prayer is silence

Some times prayer is laughter

Sometimes prayer is song

Other times prayer is tears

Sometimes prayer is dancing

Sometimes prayer is gardening

Sometimes prayer is stillness

Other times prayer is doing the washing up

All times prayer is service

All times service is prayer in action

Always pain can be felt as prayer

Always compassion is prayer

Always life is prayer

Living itself in all aspects of life is prayer

Any action can be prayer

Any thought can be prayer

For we are all one in Spirit

A blessing for the earth the flowers the seeds

 I am delighted to share this beautiful piece of music composed by Greg, with a blessing for all the earth, so much needed right now at this time of difficult heat waves.

May the video and the blessings go out and touch the earth bringing healing and hope for us all. Amen.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L56uGCVPPhQ

Here is the full blessing that I wrote a few years ago.

I bless the earth 

Where lies the seed 

I bless the rain 

Which wakes the seed 

I bless the sun 

That calls the seed to life 

I bless the roots and leaves that feed the seedlings 

I bless each plant, each weed, each blade of grass 

That pierces through the darkened soil 

I bless all plants within creation 

That sustain us all I bless the food, the flowers, the trees 

That bring us the energy of life itself 

I bless each stem, each, root, each leaf and fruit 

I bless their struggle to survive the destructive forces of nature and mankind 

I bless the ground in which they stand 

May all that lives be tenderly blessed.

Peace

 When you have a body that is chaotic with intense symptoms and indescribable pain, peace is the least likely thing that you will feel, yet it is also internally and externally in your environment, the most essential thing to try and find and cling on to. This is our Prayer every day. May it bless you all too.

Praying

Let us always pray in confidence,

Knowing that you hear us

And will answer,.

Amen

 

Restore me

When I lose my peace

And get lost in hurt, loss, distress,

Lord, guide me to a place

Where grace can fill me once again

And restore calm and balance to me. Amen

A blessing for all those we have loved, now gone

 

A Blessing

We bless the people we have loved

No longer in the world

We hold each treasured memory up

For grace to bless and bind with love

We remember them with heart-felt sorrow

That they are no longer here

We bless each precious moment that they lived

And rejoice for all they were

The good, the bad, the sad, the hopeful

May their song sing out a blessing here

May they find  peace beyond this life

May they comfort us, ever near

In thought and word

And heart-filled treasures

Of kindnesses along the way

Or special moments of inspiration:

A blessing for that day.

Put out into the deep

 

Put Out into the Deep

Put out into the deep dear friend.

Put out deep and trust in the Lord

Immerse yourself in His Spirit

For you will then travel a new path,

You will find a new way,

Abundant with Love

Guided by Truth

Inspired by His Wisdom,

For, He says,

My Way is always Light.

My way is always True.

My Way is always Love

And above all, My Way is filled with Mercy.

Therefore feel safe as you journey.

Be of good peace in your heart.

Trust in that which is yet to come.

Be filled with compassion for each other.

My Love knows no bounds.

Remember that I am always with you

And thus, you cannot fail to find me.

So put out into the depth of your own heart, dear friend

And Know that I am with you.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

  

The gifts of the Spirit are many and given as needed to fulfil God’s work here on Earth. Do not be afraid of God’s gifts, freely given, to benefit mankind, but use discernment to know what truly comes from God. Discernment is a gift of the Spirit, so that you know that what you seek and what you speak is true.

Therefore let us not be afraid, for when we look with

fear, we cannot see clearly the wonder and power of Love

that trans!gures and transforms everything, bringing new

Light, new Hope, New Possibility, where none seemed

possible or likely.

Come Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit

Come!

Come in Power and Might!

Touch and heal us.

Renew and strengthen us

Heal and save us,

Protect and comfort us,

All in the Power of Your Love.

Amen

Path

 

As I accept my path

May it be !lled with Grace

And may that grace bring Peace

And !free me with the Truth

Of the ever-present God-with-me.

The only way

 

We have learned that so often the only way is through, that wanting anything other than what is, is not necessarily helpful, or possible. Pushing against it creates resistance, instead we must accept the moment, however painful, for each moment is a moment of life, and seek that inner peace not of the world that lifts and transcends.

Healing Blessing

Bless the past

May all hurt be healed

Bless the future

May it unfold in love

Bless the present

May you find peace,

May peace remain.

Amen