Friends,
Sending you deep green, lush Irish blessings from "the waters and the wild" of Ireland! I trust you are well. I receive e-mails and FB messages from many of you and I want to say how good it is to stay in touch. Your encouragement is sustaining. Thank you.
I'm writing to you on the day of turning or the winter solstice: the shortest, darkest day of the year. But immediately following , each day receives more and more light. The ancient Celts and those megalithic peoples before them were very much aware of this moment in time, a turning point for them.A threshold and a time of wonder. Out of this darkness - light. In the midst of our deepest darkness -a light shines. Here at Ireland's New Grange, the 5,000 year old ritual site, on this day a single shaft of light enters and illuminates the whole inner chamber. Are we not this chamber? And doesn't the Celtic Christ , the Cosmic Christ shine even now in all of us?
It seems like a long time since we have been together. Living here in Ireland these past months has been a time of study, reading, writing, journaling and much reflection. In my own darkness...searching for light. Living on a relatively small island gives one a keen awareness of the mystery and powers of nature. The winds, rains, and surrounding sea seem at times to want to carry this little island away. So far we're still here with our feet on the earth.
Starting this past August immediatley after returning from two weeks at Rolling Ridge/Stillpoint in West Virginia for the Pilgrimage of Peace I began post-graduate studies in spirituality at a little college called All Hallows in Dublin. It is a fine place, a lovely little garden surrounded by a rock wall. Remember the story of the shepherd and the sleeping king and the opening in the rock wall? A very good place to think, pray, imagine and generally go inward. About twenty people from all over the world have come together here to pursue their studies in spirituality. It is a joy and an education to meet and listen to stories and perspectives from Ethiopia, Brazil, Africa, Indonesia, Myranmar, India... Deep listening to one another, one to one, and in small groups is a regular practice here, part of the program. My own focus is on Irish Celtic Spirituality. There is much to learn and being here in this ancient Celtic land of light and darkness , wind and waves, being with the Irish people, is a very good way to learn it. The Irish have much to teach us. The implications of this earthy, lyrical, imaginative and community centered way are profound both for individual and societal transformation, not to mention my own. And being in spiritual direction again is an essential part of it all. More light... more darkness...
One of the authors/teachers whom I would share with you is that of John Moriarty. He died some years ago. He was a great story teller , a philosopher and a mystic. You can check him out on youtube or find a copy of his book called Invoking Ireland ( Maybe Tom at Potter's House has a copy). But be warned- he is a wild man! At any moment he may leap off the page on you! Several of the stories that I tell now are from him. I'm coming to see these ancient stories as more than mere tales. They are ways of seeing; ways of being in the world. They take us back and in and out. Back to ancestors and earth, into depth of soul and spirit, and then outward to engage and to even re-create the world, knowing perhaps a little bit more of who we really are. By entering these stories we can re-mem-ber something of our soulful self that once lived( and still does) in harmony with wind and wave. I love these stories and look forward to sharing them with you.
Another author, full of light, whom I have encountered is Etty Hillesum. Writing at the time of the Nazi occupation in Holland around 1942 this young woman's Diary is full of insight and wisdom; a liberated and liberating companion , for sure. Especially worth noting is her capacity to always see the beautiful, the good, the meaningful . Her love of life is voracious. And her continual decision to love and to learn to love in response to the horrors of the Nazi persecution is something to take slowly, gratefully into the body, like light in the early morning.
One last name I want to share with you is that of Vaclav Havel, a shining light in the midst of a politically repressive society in the 1960s and 70's. His essay called " The Power of the Powerless" is full of the most beautifully clear and penetrating thoughts on what it means to be a free human being within the structures of any society. I heard that he died just the other day. During this season of darkness and light we honor this man who dared to shine a great light into a terrible darkness.
Each one of these authors offers us a way of responding to the ongoing violence in our society. Each one a unique path of peace and companion along the way.
The light continues to shine... The democratic risings continue to grow calling more and more people in every country to wake up and see the urgent need for economic justice and a more fair distribution of resources. Over the past few months I have been encourgaged by the Occupy movement as more and more people join in with body and soul to ask important questions and raise issues of fundamental significance. Some have criticized the movement for not having the answers and being too diverse in their concerns. But I see all this as a strength. They don't have the answers. But in their diversity they are rasing the questions of justice and equity. Essential questions. Urgent questions. And they can be very creative. I love the "mike check" they create in order for one person to speak to a large gathering. And many of them, perhaps most are from the younger generation. " And the young shall lead them..." Shall we not join in and support them in our common democratic struggle?
I look forward to seeing many of you in the U.S. this summer in retreats and workshops. Here are some dates and places:
JUNE 23
Seattle
Brigid's Circle
JUNE 30 - JULY 1
Los Angeles, CA
St. Matthew's Parish
JULY 6-8
Denver, CO
Holy Family Parish
AUGUST 3-5
Maryland
Retreat of Song and Silence
Bon Secour Retreat Center
August 10-26
4th Annual Pilgrimage of Peace
Still Point Retreat Center
Harpers Ferry,West Virginia
The 4th annual Pilgrimage of Peace is sponsored by the Friends of Silence and held at Stillpoint Retreat Center in West Virginia from August 10- 26. This year we are creating a fund to help support those who wish to come but need financial assistance. If you wish to contribute to a solidarity fund for the Pilgrimage of Peace you can make checks to: ""Friends of Silence", memo line Pilgrimage Fund, And mail to: Lindsay McLaughlin FOS Retreat Ministry 120 Jubilee Lane Harpers Ferry, W. Va. 25425.
This year 2012 we hope to create a new CD here in Ireland. Should be ready by May. For other CDs keep in mind that you can download them at:
www.cdbaby.com/cd/sawaligur Blessed are the Peacemakers
or-
www.cdbaby.com/cd/sawaligur2 Celtic Mass/Songs and Chants
or-
Purchase at the Potter's House in Washington, D.C.
and Episcopal Bookshop in Memphis , TN
In the midst of these days of darkness I send you the love of my heart, dear friends, and I wish you the ever present blessings of Light at Christmas time!
P.S. A poem ,by Seamus Heaney, beloved poet of Ireland, appropriately called "Postcript":
" And some time make the time to drive out west
Into County Clare, along the Flaggy Shore,
In September or October, when the wind
And the light are working off each other
So that the ocean on one side is wild
With foam and glitter, and inland among the stones
The surface of a slate grey lake is lit
By the earthed lightning of a flock of swans
Their feathers roughed and roughling, white on white,
Their fully grown headstrong-looking heads
Tucked or crestin or busy underwater.
Useless to think you'll park and capture it
More thoroughly. You are neither here nor there,
A hurry through which known and strange things pass
As big soft buffetings come at the car sideways
And catch the heart off guard and blow it open.
Peace of Christ Always,
Your little brother,
Macushla
http://www.songsofpeace.net/
9.10.2011
A Call to Silence and Soul, and a Fast from Sales and Violence
Friends,
Writing to you on the eve of September 11 , 2011, ten years after the horrific event that caused thousands of deaths and thousands more untold grief and suffering. As I sit here in my little room in Ireland I cannot help but wonder and reflect . After ten years it feels like many of us are still struggling to come out from behind a cloud of shock. Many are still searching themsleves to find a response that is deeper than reaction. Perhaps our very first response , as I remember it, was a clue that we can hear even now these many years later. For many of us, and I was one who was in Washington, D.C. on that day, there was an immediate and deep response. It was the call to enter the silence of the soul. We became wordless. There was no immediate reaction. Our eyes closed. Tears may have flowed. We sat. We collapsed. We felt the weight of grief and loss. We fell into soul.
I wonder how it would have been if we had remained in this soulful place for a while longer. Now, I'm speaking about those of us who lived in the United States and to those of us who formed , in one way or another, the official response to what we now call 9/11. For a moment , out of the silence, many of us asked the question: "WHY? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?" It was a question that rose from ashes and soul. And for a moment we pondered this question in openness of heart and deeply felt grief. However, very quickly , it seemed to me, our politicians and media presented the American people with a new question: " HOW DO WE EXACT REVENGE?" In truth, the first question of why was never truly answered.
Very soon after 9/11 our American President encouraged us to " live life as normal. Go out and shop." We were instructed to return to the buying and selling that defines much of our American way of life. We were told also that we were attacked because our American way of life was " hated" and our "freedoms" were the very thing that was under attack. And that was that. Soon afterward plans were formed and executed to launch an invasion on Iraq as our response to 9/11.
In all of this , I see two very different responses and calls. The first is a call to soul and to silence. The second is a call to violence and to buying and selling. It is a huge over-simplification, I know, but there is something here that connects soul to silence. And there is something here that connects violence to buying and selling, especailly in our set priced world where everything has a set price that welcomes some and excludes others.. Furthermore, we take every opportunity to buy and sell, believing that this is at the heart of our very lives and existence as a people.
Today, on the eve of 9/11, as I receive this notice from Facebook and that e-mail offering this book, that documentary, this new CD , all about Iraq, Afghanistan, and the meaning and implications of 9/11, I am reminded of our former President's imperative to " go out and shop." There was a violence in those words not unlike today , only ten years after 9/11 when the buyers and sellers appear once again . It's like we were in the Temple two thousand years ago. Do you remember the Gospel story? In the midst of great suffering the buyers and sellers appeared there too. Then, according to the story, Jesus walks in. He sees the suffering of the people and how the sellers are taking advatage of the moment to sell their CDs, books, documentaries... This is one of the rare times when gentle Jesus flies into a rage. He becomes a wild man on a mission. His anger knocks over CD and book tables, baskets full of money, and chairs of power and prestige as he calls the people to a deeper , more soulful response- a call to prayer.
It seems to me that we are still in this Temple., this holy ground of humand suffering. It has only been ten years. Not long for those whose suffering remains raw. Can we choose a response that is counter to our consumer driven culture? Can we now join in solidarity with those whose tears are not yet dry? Can we find within ourselves a deeper response? Rather than offering them the newest CD, book, documentary, with a reduced rate or discount, can we not offer them the silence and prayers and love of our hearts? And in that silence perhaps we may find something . Something that we may have lost ten years ago when we rushed to war and onto the streets to buy and sell.
Perhaps we can . Tomorrow is Sunday, the 10th anniversary of 9/11. During the day or evening can we sit in soulful silence? Can we enter that place and be in solidarity? Perhaps for 1 hour of our day or evening. Just one hour. It will not be broadcast on any media. No bookstore will be able to sell it. No celebrity will have their picture on the cover. And can we fast? Can we fast just for tomorrow from buying and selling? Can we live our lives without this? Can we offer this as well in solidarity with the thousands who have died and with the thousands more who feel their loss?
Peace,
Your Little Brother,
Macushla
Writing to you on the eve of September 11 , 2011, ten years after the horrific event that caused thousands of deaths and thousands more untold grief and suffering. As I sit here in my little room in Ireland I cannot help but wonder and reflect . After ten years it feels like many of us are still struggling to come out from behind a cloud of shock. Many are still searching themsleves to find a response that is deeper than reaction. Perhaps our very first response , as I remember it, was a clue that we can hear even now these many years later. For many of us, and I was one who was in Washington, D.C. on that day, there was an immediate and deep response. It was the call to enter the silence of the soul. We became wordless. There was no immediate reaction. Our eyes closed. Tears may have flowed. We sat. We collapsed. We felt the weight of grief and loss. We fell into soul.
I wonder how it would have been if we had remained in this soulful place for a while longer. Now, I'm speaking about those of us who lived in the United States and to those of us who formed , in one way or another, the official response to what we now call 9/11. For a moment , out of the silence, many of us asked the question: "WHY? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?" It was a question that rose from ashes and soul. And for a moment we pondered this question in openness of heart and deeply felt grief. However, very quickly , it seemed to me, our politicians and media presented the American people with a new question: " HOW DO WE EXACT REVENGE?" In truth, the first question of why was never truly answered.
Very soon after 9/11 our American President encouraged us to " live life as normal. Go out and shop." We were instructed to return to the buying and selling that defines much of our American way of life. We were told also that we were attacked because our American way of life was " hated" and our "freedoms" were the very thing that was under attack. And that was that. Soon afterward plans were formed and executed to launch an invasion on Iraq as our response to 9/11.
In all of this , I see two very different responses and calls. The first is a call to soul and to silence. The second is a call to violence and to buying and selling. It is a huge over-simplification, I know, but there is something here that connects soul to silence. And there is something here that connects violence to buying and selling, especailly in our set priced world where everything has a set price that welcomes some and excludes others.. Furthermore, we take every opportunity to buy and sell, believing that this is at the heart of our very lives and existence as a people.
Today, on the eve of 9/11, as I receive this notice from Facebook and that e-mail offering this book, that documentary, this new CD , all about Iraq, Afghanistan, and the meaning and implications of 9/11, I am reminded of our former President's imperative to " go out and shop." There was a violence in those words not unlike today , only ten years after 9/11 when the buyers and sellers appear once again . It's like we were in the Temple two thousand years ago. Do you remember the Gospel story? In the midst of great suffering the buyers and sellers appeared there too. Then, according to the story, Jesus walks in. He sees the suffering of the people and how the sellers are taking advatage of the moment to sell their CDs, books, documentaries... This is one of the rare times when gentle Jesus flies into a rage. He becomes a wild man on a mission. His anger knocks over CD and book tables, baskets full of money, and chairs of power and prestige as he calls the people to a deeper , more soulful response- a call to prayer.
It seems to me that we are still in this Temple., this holy ground of humand suffering. It has only been ten years. Not long for those whose suffering remains raw. Can we choose a response that is counter to our consumer driven culture? Can we now join in solidarity with those whose tears are not yet dry? Can we find within ourselves a deeper response? Rather than offering them the newest CD, book, documentary, with a reduced rate or discount, can we not offer them the silence and prayers and love of our hearts? And in that silence perhaps we may find something . Something that we may have lost ten years ago when we rushed to war and onto the streets to buy and sell.
Perhaps we can . Tomorrow is Sunday, the 10th anniversary of 9/11. During the day or evening can we sit in soulful silence? Can we enter that place and be in solidarity? Perhaps for 1 hour of our day or evening. Just one hour. It will not be broadcast on any media. No bookstore will be able to sell it. No celebrity will have their picture on the cover. And can we fast? Can we fast just for tomorrow from buying and selling? Can we live our lives without this? Can we offer this as well in solidarity with the thousands who have died and with the thousands more who feel their loss?
Peace,
Your Little Brother,
Macushla
8.25.2011
Each Morning, Each Evening...Into Love
Friends,
Apologies for being away so long. It's been about a year. A lot has happened in all our lives. God bless us! So, without any further, I wish to invite us into a simple practice of meditation and prayer. Each morning and each evening we'll sit in silence and stillness and meditate. There's a lot of talk about prayer and meditation. I thought it would be good to make an invitation here and on Facebook and Twitter for those who wish to come together each morning and each night in the quiet. I suggest an amount of time of twenty minutes each time we sit. Some people find choosing a word or a phrase helpful as a focal point. Others do well by focusing on the breath. Others use a mantra given them or chosen. May I suggest each time that we sit for twenty minutes. However we do it, let's do it.
The idea is that we will practice stillness together in our respective places. In the stillness we learn many things. An old monastic saying from centuries ago said ," All we need to learn we can learn in the stillness of our little monastic cell." Perhaps , the most important thing we can learn is to love. Here (or there) in the silence we do indeed learn to love. For as we practice we begin to strip away illusion and violence. The illusion and violence within that prevent us from loving. As we sit in stillness, thoughts and emotions, sensations of all kinds come and go. And we let them come and go. Personally I like to use the words of Jesus on the cross -" Into Your Hands..." For me everything that comes up in meditation I offer into God's hands with these words as I return over and over again to my center. Each thought/feeling is a welcomed guest. Kinda like this: " Welcome to my house. And Farewell as you leave." There are four good guidelines here in the practice of this kind of meditation. They are the four R's of meditation:
1. Reject no thought/feeling.
2. React to no thought/feeling.
3. Retain no thought/feeling.
4. Return to your chosen word, phrase or breath.
This practice is many things. It is in reality the practice of non-violence and love. We do not react violently to anything that comes and we return in trust and love giving our attention to our chosen focus. This is indeed a powerful practice. It is practicing life.
In meditation, we begin to see more and more clearly who we are and who God is. This can be both a liberating experience and a painful one. It is a call to reality. Not escaping reality , but entering more deeply into what truly is.
There will be bumps along the way, no doubt. But let's keep on. I invite you to try this out until September 11, 2011. It seems that this is one way we can bring the realities of self, world and God together in a practical, daily way.
So, there it is. You are most invited to join a small international community as we sit each day in the wordless silence, learning what we need to learn, seeing what we need to see, hearing what we need to hear. Always be gentle with yourselves. In this way we practice peace. In this way we enter into the depths of Love.
Are ye in? Shall we go on this little journey together?
Pace e Bene,
Peace and Goodness,
Your Little Brother,
Macushla
www.songsofpeace.net
www.speakingofpeace.blogspot.com
Apologies for being away so long. It's been about a year. A lot has happened in all our lives. God bless us! So, without any further, I wish to invite us into a simple practice of meditation and prayer. Each morning and each evening we'll sit in silence and stillness and meditate. There's a lot of talk about prayer and meditation. I thought it would be good to make an invitation here and on Facebook and Twitter for those who wish to come together each morning and each night in the quiet. I suggest an amount of time of twenty minutes each time we sit. Some people find choosing a word or a phrase helpful as a focal point. Others do well by focusing on the breath. Others use a mantra given them or chosen. May I suggest each time that we sit for twenty minutes. However we do it, let's do it.
The idea is that we will practice stillness together in our respective places. In the stillness we learn many things. An old monastic saying from centuries ago said ," All we need to learn we can learn in the stillness of our little monastic cell." Perhaps , the most important thing we can learn is to love. Here (or there) in the silence we do indeed learn to love. For as we practice we begin to strip away illusion and violence. The illusion and violence within that prevent us from loving. As we sit in stillness, thoughts and emotions, sensations of all kinds come and go. And we let them come and go. Personally I like to use the words of Jesus on the cross -" Into Your Hands..." For me everything that comes up in meditation I offer into God's hands with these words as I return over and over again to my center. Each thought/feeling is a welcomed guest. Kinda like this: " Welcome to my house. And Farewell as you leave." There are four good guidelines here in the practice of this kind of meditation. They are the four R's of meditation:
1. Reject no thought/feeling.
2. React to no thought/feeling.
3. Retain no thought/feeling.
4. Return to your chosen word, phrase or breath.
This practice is many things. It is in reality the practice of non-violence and love. We do not react violently to anything that comes and we return in trust and love giving our attention to our chosen focus. This is indeed a powerful practice. It is practicing life.
In meditation, we begin to see more and more clearly who we are and who God is. This can be both a liberating experience and a painful one. It is a call to reality. Not escaping reality , but entering more deeply into what truly is.
There will be bumps along the way, no doubt. But let's keep on. I invite you to try this out until September 11, 2011. It seems that this is one way we can bring the realities of self, world and God together in a practical, daily way.
So, there it is. You are most invited to join a small international community as we sit each day in the wordless silence, learning what we need to learn, seeing what we need to see, hearing what we need to hear. Always be gentle with yourselves. In this way we practice peace. In this way we enter into the depths of Love.
Are ye in? Shall we go on this little journey together?
Pace e Bene,
Peace and Goodness,
Your Little Brother,
Macushla
www.songsofpeace.net
www.speakingofpeace.blogspot.com
7.03.2010
A Sudden Scream in a Public Place
Sitting in a cafe today enjoying my lunch when a sudden scream is heard. I look around and there in the corner is a young girl about 13 years of age sitting in a wheelchair, her body twisted and her head looking down and to the side. Her parents feeding her and not saying a word. Then suddenly another scream, and another. More will follow that. I sit back realizing that for this girl there are probably many screams in the course of her day. But each time she screams something in me responds. The waves of painful emotion seem to wash up against my body each time like a relentless tide. I begin to pray...for her, for me, for all of us in that cafe. Somehow , I pray, may we all feel something. May we embrace this young girl, her suffering, her parent's suffering, our own suffering, in some secret loving way . And if possible, may we communicate to her our gratitude and respect. For this person and her parents are people of courage. Perhaps, in some sense, her screaming is a reminder . It may be that our silence in the midst of all the insanity and needless suffering in this world is indeed the stranger response. God give me the courage to scream, to cry out in a public place when everything in me says -" Enough !"
Br. Stefan
Br. Stefan
3.18.2010
The Story of a Great People Who Lost Their Soul...and Found It Once Again
This is the story of a great people who lost their soul...and found it once again. It happened this way:
A long time ago, an invading people landed on the shores of Ireland. They were a fierce people, mighty and shrewd. They believed it was their right to conquer and take whatever they pleased. And so, a great battle ensued. Many on both sides were maimed and killed. And it seemed that there was no end in sight. But then, one night, the chief wizard from the invading people crept in to the Irish camp while they slept. It was as though he was invisible. He went straight to the center of the camp and stole their most prized possession -the sacred harp. This harp was a great comfort to the people. Every day and night they played upon this harp and souls were soothed and spirits inspired. In fact this harp had a name: HARMONY WITH ALL THINGS.
Now, in the morning, when the people discovered their sacred harp had been stolen, a great lament went up. Weeping and wailing throught the entire camp. It was as thought their very soul had been removed. And the piper tried to play but no sound came . The flute player picked up the flute but no melody was to be heard. The chief singer opened her mouth but no song could be sung. A great despair spread among the people.
Just then, a small boy came forward. His name was Owen. Owen announced that he would go to the enemy camp and bring back the sacred harp. " You're mad", they said. " You'll be killed". But that didn't stop Owen. He had made up his mind , and that was that. So he gathered enough food and drink for the long journey and off he went.
It was indeed a very long journey, especially for a small boy. All day and night he walked. And while he walked he sang and chanted. And it was the song that kept him company. Now, something happened to Owen as he walked along with a lovely melody and a steady rhythm by his side. And we'll tell that later.
When he arrived at the camp of the enemy he walked straight passed the armed guards, right into the heart of the camp , found the sacred harp and walked back out again and while all saw him , no one raised a hand to stop or harm him.
Arriving back among his people there were great cheers that went up. " Hooray, Owen has returned. And he's brought back our sacred harp!" That night gathered around the fire the question that everyone was eager to ask was put to young Owen: " How did you do it? How did you walk right into the heart of the enemy camp and come out alive?" Owen thought for a minute and then said: " It was a long journey. So, to comfort myself I starting to sing some of our songs. As I did, something strange began to happen to me. I fell into a kind of trance. The song took me to a place I had never been before. The further I walked the deeper the song became . It was like the song was singing me! Then images began to appear in my mind. Faces of the enemy. Their children's faces. Beautiful faces all. It all became blurred and I could not tell their faces from my own. So that when I walked in to enemy camp they were no longer my enemy and I was completely visible. When they saw my face I believe that they saw the faces of their own children. They smiled . Some cried. And no one did me any harm."
"Rubbish", cried an old man. C'mon tell us what really happened. You snuck into the camp and stole it. Didn't you?" But there were some who believed his story.
Now Owen never spoke about it again as long as he lived.
As for the invading people...they were so moved by what they saw that they decided to leave Ireland and end their war-making altogether. And they erected a standing stone which, if you look hard enough, you can still see to this day. For they had learned the most valuable lesson: to make war and to do violence on another people is to make war and to do violence on yourself.
A long time ago, an invading people landed on the shores of Ireland. They were a fierce people, mighty and shrewd. They believed it was their right to conquer and take whatever they pleased. And so, a great battle ensued. Many on both sides were maimed and killed. And it seemed that there was no end in sight. But then, one night, the chief wizard from the invading people crept in to the Irish camp while they slept. It was as though he was invisible. He went straight to the center of the camp and stole their most prized possession -the sacred harp. This harp was a great comfort to the people. Every day and night they played upon this harp and souls were soothed and spirits inspired. In fact this harp had a name: HARMONY WITH ALL THINGS.
Now, in the morning, when the people discovered their sacred harp had been stolen, a great lament went up. Weeping and wailing throught the entire camp. It was as thought their very soul had been removed. And the piper tried to play but no sound came . The flute player picked up the flute but no melody was to be heard. The chief singer opened her mouth but no song could be sung. A great despair spread among the people.
Just then, a small boy came forward. His name was Owen. Owen announced that he would go to the enemy camp and bring back the sacred harp. " You're mad", they said. " You'll be killed". But that didn't stop Owen. He had made up his mind , and that was that. So he gathered enough food and drink for the long journey and off he went.
It was indeed a very long journey, especially for a small boy. All day and night he walked. And while he walked he sang and chanted. And it was the song that kept him company. Now, something happened to Owen as he walked along with a lovely melody and a steady rhythm by his side. And we'll tell that later.
When he arrived at the camp of the enemy he walked straight passed the armed guards, right into the heart of the camp , found the sacred harp and walked back out again and while all saw him , no one raised a hand to stop or harm him.
Arriving back among his people there were great cheers that went up. " Hooray, Owen has returned. And he's brought back our sacred harp!" That night gathered around the fire the question that everyone was eager to ask was put to young Owen: " How did you do it? How did you walk right into the heart of the enemy camp and come out alive?" Owen thought for a minute and then said: " It was a long journey. So, to comfort myself I starting to sing some of our songs. As I did, something strange began to happen to me. I fell into a kind of trance. The song took me to a place I had never been before. The further I walked the deeper the song became . It was like the song was singing me! Then images began to appear in my mind. Faces of the enemy. Their children's faces. Beautiful faces all. It all became blurred and I could not tell their faces from my own. So that when I walked in to enemy camp they were no longer my enemy and I was completely visible. When they saw my face I believe that they saw the faces of their own children. They smiled . Some cried. And no one did me any harm."
"Rubbish", cried an old man. C'mon tell us what really happened. You snuck into the camp and stole it. Didn't you?" But there were some who believed his story.
Now Owen never spoke about it again as long as he lived.
As for the invading people...they were so moved by what they saw that they decided to leave Ireland and end their war-making altogether. And they erected a standing stone which, if you look hard enough, you can still see to this day. For they had learned the most valuable lesson: to make war and to do violence on another people is to make war and to do violence on yourself.
2.16.2010
It's Been A While... Thoughts from on the road...
It has been a while since I've made a blog entry. A lot has been happening.
For the past three months I've been on the road visiting colleges, retreat centers, churches and gatherings sharing a simple prayer of song and silence. The simplicity and beauty of this is something that nourishes and inspires. The music seems to be going deeper and deeper. And it's been very good to see old friends and to make new friends. How to express my gratitude ? The journey continues. Next stop - Harrisonburg, VA tomorrow night where a gathering of students, pastors, and friends will sing and pray the beginning of the season of Lent.
This Lent is a time to look inward and to realize even more deeply the direction and purpose of my life. " Deep Within a Song is Heard..." is the title of a new song. It expresses the joy and peace of hearing and following one's calling, no matter how confusing and contradictory it seems at times. This Easter time I plan to take traditional monastic vows as a first public step in living the life of a monk and in forming a monastic community here in the U.S. I cherish your prayers.
Why be a monk? To respond to this question I refer you to an interview between Oprah Winfrey - yes, Oprah Winfrey - and the Zen Buddhist monk Thick Nhat Hanh. His response to this question is simple: " to transform and heal oneself so that I can share this transformation and healing with others." A monk is someone who takes time to do this. There is no greater joy than this.
Looking ahead... I encourage you to be in the quiet during Lent, to be still, in the moment, to listen even more deeply to all that is within, and to be open to the voice of the One who loves you passionately, completely and always. This is the purpose of Lent - to let go of everything , yes, everything and choose that " one thing". There's a lovely phrase - " It's always been between you and God .." Lent is a time to renew this relationship and this love. Lent is a time to ignite the fire and become - a living flame.
Remember the story: Two monks were sitting quietly one evening when the younger monk said to the older: " What else should I do? I pray every day. I give money to the poor. I study the Bible . I work hard. I visit the sick. What else should I do? Upon hearing this, the older monk stood up and raise his hands to the sky . As he did his whole being became like fire and he said, " You could become a living flame."
In the Midst of It All...
The Love of God,
Your little brother,
Stefan Andre
For the past three months I've been on the road visiting colleges, retreat centers, churches and gatherings sharing a simple prayer of song and silence. The simplicity and beauty of this is something that nourishes and inspires. The music seems to be going deeper and deeper. And it's been very good to see old friends and to make new friends. How to express my gratitude ? The journey continues. Next stop - Harrisonburg, VA tomorrow night where a gathering of students, pastors, and friends will sing and pray the beginning of the season of Lent.
This Lent is a time to look inward and to realize even more deeply the direction and purpose of my life. " Deep Within a Song is Heard..." is the title of a new song. It expresses the joy and peace of hearing and following one's calling, no matter how confusing and contradictory it seems at times. This Easter time I plan to take traditional monastic vows as a first public step in living the life of a monk and in forming a monastic community here in the U.S. I cherish your prayers.
Why be a monk? To respond to this question I refer you to an interview between Oprah Winfrey - yes, Oprah Winfrey - and the Zen Buddhist monk Thick Nhat Hanh. His response to this question is simple: " to transform and heal oneself so that I can share this transformation and healing with others." A monk is someone who takes time to do this. There is no greater joy than this.
Looking ahead... I encourage you to be in the quiet during Lent, to be still, in the moment, to listen even more deeply to all that is within, and to be open to the voice of the One who loves you passionately, completely and always. This is the purpose of Lent - to let go of everything , yes, everything and choose that " one thing". There's a lovely phrase - " It's always been between you and God .." Lent is a time to renew this relationship and this love. Lent is a time to ignite the fire and become - a living flame.
Remember the story: Two monks were sitting quietly one evening when the younger monk said to the older: " What else should I do? I pray every day. I give money to the poor. I study the Bible . I work hard. I visit the sick. What else should I do? Upon hearing this, the older monk stood up and raise his hands to the sky . As he did his whole being became like fire and he said, " You could become a living flame."
In the Midst of It All...
The Love of God,
Your little brother,
Stefan Andre
11.27.2009
Black Friday: Unplugged - A Meditation on Our Contemporary Matrix
Today is called Black Friday in the entire United States. A term that encompasses a culture that cris-crosses California to Maine and New York to Florida. Black Friday were the words chosen by the Philadelphia police back in the 1960s to describe a new phenomenon of massive numbers of people creating a traffic jam in the desperate attempt to get out to the stores and buy products on the day after Thanksgiving. Since then we have more than lived up to the name in the ever multiplying numbers of products and the ever increasing numbers of people desperate to buy them. Ours is a culture determined to consume more and more things and people without any wise limits in sight. Black Friday is really a national symbol of the way we think, and relate to things and each other- the way we live our lives.
Flashback some years ago to a popular film called the Matrix. Here was a movie about a culture where everyone was plugged in to a network of machine and computer. The machines controlled those plugged in and created a fantasy world where individuals could get and have anything they wanted. Of course all of the getting and having wasn't real and the price of all this was the loss of our very humanity and freedom. The story follows the adventures of a small group of people who have become unplugged and who are determined to resist the dominant culture and lead a rebellion to free others from the control of the Matrix. Good story.
Like most science fiction this story says more about our present situation than it does about some future one. Our day has seen the rise of a corporate political and economic system that is truly global, reaching into every life everywhere. We are all plugged in to what some have called a consumer and consuming culture. Others have called it by different names. President Eisenhower once called it the military-industrial-congressional complex. Some today would add to that list the media ,which is seen to be the mouthpiece of this complex . And others would add to that list our religion as well. Our contemporary Matrix is very effective and all pervasive indeed. Just watch any TV or read any magazine.
What's especially insidious is that this Matrix invades and controls not just our politics, our economy, our congress, our religion, and our media but it penetrates and lives inside each one of us in the ideas and feelings, values and beliefs we think are our own. Recently I came across a book. Actually it is being loaned to me by a young person who recently visited and who is out to change the world and become more and more unplugged. The title of the book is : SEX , ECONOMY, FREEDOM and COMMUNITY. The author is Wendell Berry. Without a doubt, this is one berry worth picking.
Here's how Berry begins the book:
Dear Reader,
"This is a book about sales resistance. We live in a time when technologies and ideas(often the same thing) are adopted in response not to need but to advertising, salesmanship and fashion. Salesmen and saleswomen now hover about us as persistently as angels intent on " doing us good" according to instructions set forth by persons educated at great public expense in the arts of greed and prevarication. These sales people are now with us, apparently, even in our dreams."
Berry goes on to say that:
"... the first duty of writers who wish to be of any use even to themselves is to resist the language, the ideas, and the categories of this ubiquitous sales talk, no matter from whose mouth it issues. But then, this is also the first duty of everyone else."
So, how might we creatively resist ? There are many excellent responses to this question. Let me offer just one that is not original at all but is gleaned from the lives of individuals like Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King. More and more we need to see things as they really are. All these people struggled to do just this. They spent hours and days, weeks and months in silence, prayer, inner searching, thought and study to see what was happening both within themselves and in the so called world outside. Gandhi is said to have spent one hour every morning and one hour every night in meditative silence. Each week he devoted every Monday to complete silence and prayer. As they began to see more clearly they began to discern what way they wished to go in order to bring about a greater freedom and fulfillment in their own lives and in the lives of those around them. In their discernment they learned to distinguish the good from the better, the false from the true. In many ways they moved toward a greater simplicity and focus of life. And as they acted on this discernment they gained even more wisdom and more peace: the wisdom and peace of lived experience. So, one simple way forward is to give ourselves to this inner work every day. For a few moments each day to consciously unplug, to be in the silence, to pray, to meditate so we can grow as they grew.
A caution: with all these individuals their wisdom and peace came at a great price. In various ways, they were all rejected by family and friends, by the religious and the highly educated, by the cool and hip culture of their day. The Matrix reacted. Their wisdom led them to be with those who suffer and struggle the most in society. Their lives were lived against the current grain of their culture and they experienced the consequences.
Perhaps when the next Black Friday comes around we will be more deeply rooted in the freedom of our inner life and more unplugged from the culture that compels us to consume.
From Long Island , New York with Love,
Your little brother,
Stefan
Flashback some years ago to a popular film called the Matrix. Here was a movie about a culture where everyone was plugged in to a network of machine and computer. The machines controlled those plugged in and created a fantasy world where individuals could get and have anything they wanted. Of course all of the getting and having wasn't real and the price of all this was the loss of our very humanity and freedom. The story follows the adventures of a small group of people who have become unplugged and who are determined to resist the dominant culture and lead a rebellion to free others from the control of the Matrix. Good story.
Like most science fiction this story says more about our present situation than it does about some future one. Our day has seen the rise of a corporate political and economic system that is truly global, reaching into every life everywhere. We are all plugged in to what some have called a consumer and consuming culture. Others have called it by different names. President Eisenhower once called it the military-industrial-congressional complex. Some today would add to that list the media ,which is seen to be the mouthpiece of this complex . And others would add to that list our religion as well. Our contemporary Matrix is very effective and all pervasive indeed. Just watch any TV or read any magazine.
What's especially insidious is that this Matrix invades and controls not just our politics, our economy, our congress, our religion, and our media but it penetrates and lives inside each one of us in the ideas and feelings, values and beliefs we think are our own. Recently I came across a book. Actually it is being loaned to me by a young person who recently visited and who is out to change the world and become more and more unplugged. The title of the book is : SEX , ECONOMY, FREEDOM and COMMUNITY. The author is Wendell Berry. Without a doubt, this is one berry worth picking.
Here's how Berry begins the book:
Dear Reader,
"This is a book about sales resistance. We live in a time when technologies and ideas(often the same thing) are adopted in response not to need but to advertising, salesmanship and fashion. Salesmen and saleswomen now hover about us as persistently as angels intent on " doing us good" according to instructions set forth by persons educated at great public expense in the arts of greed and prevarication. These sales people are now with us, apparently, even in our dreams."
Berry goes on to say that:
"... the first duty of writers who wish to be of any use even to themselves is to resist the language, the ideas, and the categories of this ubiquitous sales talk, no matter from whose mouth it issues. But then, this is also the first duty of everyone else."
So, how might we creatively resist ? There are many excellent responses to this question. Let me offer just one that is not original at all but is gleaned from the lives of individuals like Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King. More and more we need to see things as they really are. All these people struggled to do just this. They spent hours and days, weeks and months in silence, prayer, inner searching, thought and study to see what was happening both within themselves and in the so called world outside. Gandhi is said to have spent one hour every morning and one hour every night in meditative silence. Each week he devoted every Monday to complete silence and prayer. As they began to see more clearly they began to discern what way they wished to go in order to bring about a greater freedom and fulfillment in their own lives and in the lives of those around them. In their discernment they learned to distinguish the good from the better, the false from the true. In many ways they moved toward a greater simplicity and focus of life. And as they acted on this discernment they gained even more wisdom and more peace: the wisdom and peace of lived experience. So, one simple way forward is to give ourselves to this inner work every day. For a few moments each day to consciously unplug, to be in the silence, to pray, to meditate so we can grow as they grew.
A caution: with all these individuals their wisdom and peace came at a great price. In various ways, they were all rejected by family and friends, by the religious and the highly educated, by the cool and hip culture of their day. The Matrix reacted. Their wisdom led them to be with those who suffer and struggle the most in society. Their lives were lived against the current grain of their culture and they experienced the consequences.
Perhaps when the next Black Friday comes around we will be more deeply rooted in the freedom of our inner life and more unplugged from the culture that compels us to consume.
From Long Island , New York with Love,
Your little brother,
Stefan
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