What does Sacred mean to you?

What happened to Sacred Ceremony?

There are still remnants of the rich tapestry of Ritual and Ceremony lingering...

The wedding ceremony, baptism, bar/bat-mitzvah, graduation are some of the remaining threads of culture marking our passage through life's doorways.

Many of us have left the religions of our heritage and in doing so, we have thrown out Ceremony and Ritual.

Can it still exist without religion? What if it could be larger, inclusive, modern, ancient, serious, fun, or anything you desired it to be?

Inside the details, lives the cause to be witnessed, celebrated, and supported.

Ritual is an act of consciously opening ourselves to the presence of our own Spirit. Pressing pause on the rushed routine of life to say, "Hey wait a minute. Check this out, something is happening and this matters!"

We design rituals to bring ourSelves to a deeper place of reverence. Creating physical metaphors to signify, acknowledge, and honor the change that is underway.

Ceremony holds ourSelf, loved ones, and our Ritual, in celebration.

Western Culture is starving for the PAUSE. We are begging to be witnessed, upheld, and supported as we embark on our conscious journey of Life!

In this melting pot we are privileged by the influence of so many cultures. If we have no link to the ways of our ancestors, we can still can learn, divine, and collage our own rituals, lush with all that speaks directly to our own soul.

More Than A One Story House

I recently fell in love with the left handed no looking technique.

I drew, painted, laughed and wept. (Special Thanks to Barbara Krauss creativity Coach and artist! www.barbarakrauss.com)

As I prepare to move out of my home that I love, and open up to my next, this came out of me and I am grateful for the medium.

Here is the story, spotted inside the house:

"I have held children growing, tea kettle whistles, and turkey's roasting. I heard the snoring, sobbing, as well as the muffled moans of so much lovemaking. I have worn your bright colors, been caressed by laughter. I could not help but to fall deeply in love with all of you. You have been my family.

I will move with you, hidden in the photo albums, and forever the back drop to your child's memories. Just as you will be kept safe here. Your dance deeply impressed upon my floorboards. Your dreams and your gratitude, the sweetest residue, tucked neatly into my nooks and crannies.

I am well seasoned with love and celebration, prepared to wrap myself around the arriving hearts, dreams, and the next story.

I am more than a one story house."

Thank you for witnessing

The Gift

This stunning painting is called "Sunburst". The beautiful artist is Terri Gerard.



If we are lucky; if we are intentional; if we are growing; if we are
searching; if we are relentless; we may, in our lives be offered a gift.
That gift will not necessarily be wrapped with shiny paper, ribbons and a
big satin bow. That gift may look like anything but a gift. But indeed it
is a gift. The gift I am talking about is the gift of self-reflection.



It may come in the form of a loved one who reacts to you, or who attacks
you. It may come in the form of a friend who embraces you, or rejects you.
The gift may arrive as a business deal that you close, or that you lose. IT
may come with the loss of a loved one that is close to you, or with the
success of a stranger on American Idol. But if you are fortunate, or
intentional; if you are relentlessly searching, and hell-bent on growing, it
will come to you. And this gift will be the realization that your response
is all about you.



For the uninitiated, the prayerless, those victimized by life and those who
are simple not ready, the fit will be offered. It has been offered to each
of us a hundred times a day, a thousand times a month.
How is this possible? That we would be offered a gift but say "no"? This
is part of the gift. A gift can be offered, but until I am ready to receive
it, the gift will be sent back: no such number. Moved, left no forwarding
address.



The beginnings of receiving are those moments where we notice: boy, I really
got hooked there. Or, I wonder why that upset me so much? These are the
beginnings of the gift that keeps on giving: the gift of noticing, of
awareness. Of taking responsibility for our own experience of life and
seeking to expand our ability to receive more and more, so that we can
become more and more. Being responsible for more and more is the game.
One cannot receive without being simultaneously able to hold more, and less.



The alternatives to receiving the gift? A blameless life full of blame for
others. Judging others and remaining separate from them. Pitying yourself
or others and becoming pitiful. Criticizing others and becoming
unacceptable to yourself. Playing alone in the sandbox for fear of exposing
your weakness to yourself.



Here we are, on our journey. If you find yourself in tears, in the flow, in
the arms of another man or woman, know that you have found yourself, with your
million and one reactions, predictions, declarations and early dismissals.
Know that these are not the gifts. Your receiving of these happenings with
your awareness is the gift. To be able to receive the ripple effects of
every action and reaction is the gift and it is offered to you in every
moment. This is a treasure. You are the mine.



IT happens for those persistent enough to look
into the next dimension, where life is the mirror of you.



May you continue to expand your tenderness, your ability to feel, your
asking for and receiving, and all the ins and outs of a life lived fully.
This is my prayer for usall tonight. Amen. Awomen. Aho.

Writing by Karen Blum RadicalDander@blogspot.com