Studying the feminine aspect of God, and Goddess energies, has deeply transformed my life, my personal spiritual identity and practice. I never realized how permanently infantilized and dependent I was within the patriarchal paradigm. It's been a wonderful surprise to me to discover my own inner authority, power, wisdom, light. It is has been such a joy to be supported in this journey from both heavenly and earthly sources.
The Dalai Lama said, "This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple. The philosophy is kindness." It feels good to be in such good company.
I recently walked past a stack of Young Women's journals in a local bookstore that had "Stand Ye In Holy Places" artfully drawn on the cover. I stopped in my tracks as I absorbed the truth that hit me like a bolt from the blue, "The holiest place I can stand is within my own body." Another moment of pure light and knowledge flowing to me, through me without compulsory means.
To pull from my own Christian writ, James 1:27 says, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
The first part of this scripture is easy. Love One Another. The latter part is more nuanced and hidden, though its meaning may seem clear. More and more I have come to discover that "the world" includes patriarchal church structures built over time by men. Over and over again, I have a prayed with my whole soul with true intent, to have pure light and knowledge distilled upon my soul, to discover that the truth I sought is the exact opposite of what I've been taught? I am finally internalizing the message. Finding the courage to be my own prophet. To live a God filled creative life of truth, light, and organic ritual.
The Dalai Lama said, "This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple. The philosophy is kindness." It feels good to be in such good company.
I recently walked past a stack of Young Women's journals in a local bookstore that had "Stand Ye In Holy Places" artfully drawn on the cover. I stopped in my tracks as I absorbed the truth that hit me like a bolt from the blue, "The holiest place I can stand is within my own body." Another moment of pure light and knowledge flowing to me, through me without compulsory means.
To pull from my own Christian writ, James 1:27 says, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
The first part of this scripture is easy. Love One Another. The latter part is more nuanced and hidden, though its meaning may seem clear. More and more I have come to discover that "the world" includes patriarchal church structures built over time by men. Over and over again, I have a prayed with my whole soul with true intent, to have pure light and knowledge distilled upon my soul, to discover that the truth I sought is the exact opposite of what I've been taught? I am finally internalizing the message. Finding the courage to be my own prophet. To live a God filled creative life of truth, light, and organic ritual.
BAPTISM
I cry a fountain of holy water
Sourced from wells beyond fathom within my soul
An Immersion of warm subterranean tears
Webbing my eyelashes, spilling down my cheeks,
Filling the channels alongside my nose, cresting my lips,
Bubbling into my mouth, wet crystals of salt on my tongue
Filling the cups of my hands, my tears flow in rivulets down my arms, "
Pooling in the soft wells inside my elbows
Tears trickle down my chin and flow on to my neck,
My shoulders, my chest,
A waterfall plunging between my breasts, rushing in rapids onto my stomach,
Washing my hips, my thighs, my knees, my feet,
Runnels streaming between my toes.
Water from Within Vests me with Authority
I am Baptized, Cleansed, Redeemed
In the name of the Mother of Waters, the Mistress of the Seas
and my own Holy Ghost.
Lily May 2018
I cry a fountain of holy water
Sourced from wells beyond fathom within my soul
An Immersion of warm subterranean tears
Webbing my eyelashes, spilling down my cheeks,
Filling the channels alongside my nose, cresting my lips,
Bubbling into my mouth, wet crystals of salt on my tongue
Filling the cups of my hands, my tears flow in rivulets down my arms, "
Pooling in the soft wells inside my elbows
Tears trickle down my chin and flow on to my neck,
My shoulders, my chest,
A waterfall plunging between my breasts, rushing in rapids onto my stomach,
Washing my hips, my thighs, my knees, my feet,
Runnels streaming between my toes.
Water from Within Vests me with Authority
I am Baptized, Cleansed, Redeemed
In the name of the Mother of Waters, the Mistress of the Seas
and my own Holy Ghost.
Lily May 2018
