Friday, November 29, 2013

Shine the Divine Gratitude Quilt by Laura




Please visit Laura's blog
Shine the Divine : Creativity is a spiritual practice
for the most amazing
Gratitude Quilt
http://www.shinethedivinecreativityisaspiritualpractice.com/2013/11/2013-gratitude-quilt.html

Two hundred and ten contributions from across the planet!
You may want to make a cup of tea before you sit down
and don't leave the tissues behind!

Reading this quilt humbled me yet again
witnessing such open hearts and
such a powerful reminder that we were
all created in the same Image.

Thank you Laura!

Monday, November 25, 2013

Mornings with Mary - Mary of Avalon


In the arms of
Mary, Our Lady of Avalon,
mystical isle of sacred apples.

A few years back I followed the Michael and Mary leylines
through the countryside of England.

My journey started with a pilgrimage to Monte Sant'Angelo in Italy to the grotto
of Archangel Michael which led me to Glastonbury, also known as the Isle of Avalon in myth and lore.
Mystery works in many strange ways.

I read the book The Sun and the Serpent by Paul Broadhurst and Hamish Miller and was so inspired
that I decided to do the Michael and Mary pilgrimage. They dowsed the energy lines across
the entire England, discovering the 'solar' Archangel Michael line
which interweaves with the 'lunar' Mary line.  The Mary line flows
through all the sacred wells and through many many churches
including the great St Mary's Churches and Cathedrals.  It was obvious
that the ancients understood the flow of energy and built their
sacred wells and altars on this ley line.

Here is a map of the St Michael alignment
On each of these major crossing points stand a church today and these were all
ancient places of worship before that.

The pilgrimage starts at St Michaels Mount, at the seaside
This picture of the beautiful statue of Mary I took in the church at Penzance - needless
to say the Mary line runs right through this church.


The Michael and Mary leylines run from St Michaels Mount, through
Cornwell, Avebury, Glastonbury and the east coast.

This is the famous St Michaels tower on the Tor in Glastonbury.  The leylines circumambulate
this entire man made mount.  This was built even before the time of the Abbey.


A side view of the ruins of the old Glastonbury Abbey with an apple tree in blossom.


 Blossoming apple trees in the Glastonbury Abbey orchard.



And this is my pendant that I created for Mary of Avalon.


With a glistening red apple for the sacred orchards of Avalon,
a pomegranate as symbol of the eternal feminine,
a sword for the Archangel Michael and a chalice to drink deeply
from the sacred wells of Our Lady.




for mornings with Mary

Please visit and pay it forward

blessings,
Hettienne

Monday, November 18, 2013

The Call to our True Selves - Poetry Party - Abbey of the Arts





Image Credit: © Brent Bill#
Courtesy of Abbey of the Arts
Used with Permission


A ladder of light
stretching mind and body
into infinity

A spine becomes fluid
inspiration
sending branches
of love into
ancient limbs

My fingers move in the breeze,
touching the
loving gaze of God



I am participating in the Poetry Party
at www.abbeyoftheheart.com
Click on the link in the side bar and participate!
or click here
http://abbeyofthearts.com/blog/2013/11/17/invitation-to-poetry-the-call-to-our-true-selves/



#Brent Bill is a Quaker minister, photographer, and author. His blog isHoly Ordinary: Musings and Photography from a Quaker Perspective. He lives in rural Indiana.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Miracle Thinking

Miracles - Soulcollage card by Hettienne

A miracle is when the cross of suffering
blooms with roses of forgiveness, healing, courage and wisdom.

As lovers of the mystical and divine mythos and living event
of Divine Love we are daily reminded
of Miracles -
and its ability to triumph over
the darkness of life -
we celebrate an immaculate conception,
a resurrection, an assumption into Heaven
and so much more.

But maybe we feel too far removed from these
cosmic events to realise that they reflect such
wisdom for our own daily living.

And we are taught that we need to be special
to have a miracle in our lives! Yet, there are many
who can testify to miracles!.
But still we do not believe that these miracles
are our right - they belong to saints, or holy ones,
or sages or the enlightened ones, or such.

Faith and the belief in miracles,
is a way of thinking :
A way of thinking that allows for miracles to happen.
Inner peace is one such miracle.

Have you ever observed your mind, and its endless
monologue, or dialogue with itself?
How it never admits that it is wrong?
How it switches sides in order to avoid being wrong?
Or how it supports your decision in one moment
only to oppose it in the next?
If you observe your mind closely, and you move
into the 'witness', the one who is listening,
you will notice that the mind moves from side to side,
looking for a place to rest.

If you stay in the witness and you observe your
mind and your body, you will notice how
these thoughts are not without effect -
you will notice how your breath becomes shorter,
or how you even stop breathing because
of a thought;  how your stomach tightens
and your heart beats faster!
All because of some random thoughts
which are not you.
If you are the one listening, how could you be the
one talking??

So why not create a place of rest for the restless mind?
A pool of peace and tranquility;
a garden within which miracles are possible.
But in order to do that, you have to change your mind
and you have to abandon your mind;
you have to let go of the misplaced loyalty that you
have to your thoughts, believing that they are your
thoughts.  

Have you noticed how fickle the mind is at times
and how stuck it is at other times?
So why even bother with following its train??
When you hook your coach to that engine
you will end up in distress and confusion
and soon the old familiar feelings of hurt, betrayal,
sadness and loss will follow.

Once you have become aware of your mind
and its ability to draw a veil of fear
over the reality, one nail in your cross
will bloom into a rose of courage!

When you forgive yourself ,
another rose will sprout.

The rose of healing appears,
seemingly out of nowhere this miracle takes place
and we are amazed!

The rose of Wisdom is handed to us by Grace
as we realise that the uprooting of the mind
is the key


Om Shanty, Shalom, Peace