Poem by Ellen Bass

Pray for Peace

Pray to whomever you kneel down to:
Jesus nailed to his wooden or plastic cross,
his suffering face bent to kiss you,
Buddha still under the bo tree in scorching heat,
Adonai, Allah. Raise your arms to Mary
that she may lay her palm on our brows,
to Shekhina, Queen of Heaven and Earth,
to Inanna in her stripped descent.

Then pray to the bus driver who takes you to work.
On the bus, pray for everyone riding that bus,
for everyone riding buses all over the world.
Drop some silver and pray.

Waiting in line for the movies, for the ATM,
for your latte and croissant, offer your plea.
Make your eating and drinking a supplication.
Make your slicing of carrots a holy act,
each translucent layer of the onion, a deeper prayer.

To Hawk or Wolf, or the Great Whale, pray.
Bow down to terriers and shepherds and Siamese cats.
Fields of artichokes and elegant strawberries.

Make the brushing of your hair
a prayer, every strand its own voice,
singing in the choir on your head.
As you wash your face, the water slipping
through your fingers, a prayer: Water,
softest thing on earth, gentleness
that wears away rock.

Making love, of course, is already prayer.
Skin, and open mouths worshipping that skin,
the fragile cases we are poured into.

If you're hungry, pray. If you're tired.
Pray to Gandhi and Dorothy Day.
Shakespeare. Sappho. Sojourner Truth.

When you walk to your car, to the mailbox,
to the video store, let each step
be a prayer that we all keep our legs,
that we do not blow off anyone else's legs.
Or crush their skulls.
And if you are riding on a bicycle
or a skateboard, in a wheelchair, each revolution
of the wheels a prayer as the earth revolves:
less harm, less harm, less harm.

And as you work, typing with a new manicure,
a tiny palm tree painted on one pearlescent nail
or delivering soda or drawing good blood
into rubber-capped vials, writing on a blackboard
with yellow chalk, twirling pizzas--

With each breath in, take in the faith of those
who have believed when belief seemed foolish,
who persevered. With each breath out, cherish.

Pull weeds for peace, turn over in your sleep for peace,
feed the birds, each shiny seed
that spills onto the earth, another second of peace.
Wash your dishes, call your mother, drink wine.

Shovel leaves or snow or trash from your sidewalk.
Make a path. Fold a photo of a dead child
around your VISA card. Scoop your holy water
from the gutter. Gnaw your crust.
Mumble along like a crazy person, stumbling
your prayer through the streets.

Spring Equinox

March 20th is the Spring Equinox, and we are at the height of the season, at Mid-Spring. The first half of Spring, from the beginning of February until today, has been a time of clearing out the dry leaves and twigs from last year and preparing the ground for this year’s sprouts. And now comes the surge of the robust and relentless energy of growth.

The growth energy of Spring breaks over me in waves. Each day a new set of daffodils unfold their brilliant yellow leaves, a bright reminder that the time is nigh. I find myself in these last few days rushing about gathering up bits of detritus, pieces I do not want to bring into this year’s growth. But that moment is quickly eclipsing, replaced with the keen surge of growth.

Today at the equinox we experience the brief moment of balance on the earth, when day and night are virtually equal. At this brief moment of balance, consider your direction, in a personal and global sense, both the individual you and the you that is one of the beautiful threads in the tapestry of our cosmos. Breathe in the revitalizing growth energy of Spring, nourishing your individual self. Then reach out and join in this moment of global balance, and breathe out your love and compassion.

And get ready to be swept into the heady and glorious flood of new life.

Brightest Blessings at the Equinox -- Anne



A bit about the Spring Equinox: The Spring Equinox is the height of Spring. Equinox means “balance”, and this is the point when the dark and light of the day are most at balance. On a global scale, the equinoxes are at the points of the year when the entire world is in balance, with both Southern and Northern hemispheres receive almost the same amount of light. The equinox has another important feature as well: it is the only point during the year that the Sun rises in exact east and sets in exact west. For while the Sun “stands still” at the solstices, the Sun moves very rapidly across the horizon at the equinoxes leaving only one day to calibrate to the directions (see http://www.archaeoastronomy.com/seasons.html for an animated demonstration of the Sun moving across the horizon). The Mid-Spring festival is also called Ostara (Germanic in origin). Astrologically, the Spring Equinox may be calculated as the date the Sun is at 0° Aries, which currently Falls around March 19-20. This is the beginning of the astrological year in the Tropical system.

My brain

I am not my brain. Sometimes I get confused or even tricked by my brain into thinking that I am my brain and only my brain, but I know now that that's not right. I am that which observes my brain. Last night I dreamed that I was floating in a dark cavern; it seemed like I was underwater in a strange way. Above and to the left a bit I saw my personality. It was like a ball made up of all kinds of things and I woud put it on like a set of clothes. I began to slowly take it apart and see what was there. As I worked on it I eventually realized there was nothing there. It was empty, unreal. I suspect yours is the same way.

thoughts on the approach of the equinox

It feels to me like the first half of spring -- feb 3 until march 21 -- is a time to finish the "ground prep". For me, that means getting rid of all the stuff that keeps things from growing, so weeding, pruning, clearing away. And then from Spring Equinox on, it just feels like an unrelenting surge of growth. So just a few more days to prep the space before the wild ride starts. I feel like I'm standing in line for a roller coaster ride.

Hi everyone! Well, it’s finally looking like Spring is here. Crocuses are blooming and the daffodils are ready to pop any day. Let’s get together and celebrate the Spring Equinox, this time of year when we are surrounded by yellow, red, purple, green, growth, sun and rain.

When: Sunday March 21 at 6:30 pm
Where: Anne and Ben’s house, 2003 Sherman, in Hood River
What to bring: a little food or drink to share, and a music instrument if you are so inclined.
Contact info: Anne Key 541.399.3731

If you’d like to help out with the ritual, please let me know. The more involved, the deeper we go.

Best to you all in this season of Spring -- Anne

Programming

I’ve been noticing the programs running in my brain. An example of what I mean is the act of learning a piece of music. You have to learn it intellectually, but to be able to play it you have to figure out a way to communicate with the part of your brain that controls your muscles and nerves, the fine motor program. It’s not the same program as the intellectual one. This program doesn’t understand that intellectual part of your brain. It doesn’t understand words. Otherwise you could just think “I want to be a concert pianist” and it would happen. But it doesn’t work that way. It only understands and responds to repetition of muscle groups. Perform an action enough times and that program will learn the action and allow you to perform it much more efficiently. Keep at it enough and you’re a concert pianist.

This isn’t the only subprogram. Maybe what we think of as our “personality” is nothing more than a program and who we really are is deeper, higher, broader, wider than any program. If you just let it go, the personality program will make decisions based on history. That could be good or bad depending on your history. It’s not that the program is bad, it’s your own personal program and should love it and take care of it. It’s just that if you let it run the show it will likely make decisions you’re not thrilled about. It’s doing the best it can. Ideally, we would run the program rather than have it run us.

When we chant and meditate it seems like we’re using repetition to communicate with the subprograms that make up our brain. We’re taking control and putting the programs on hold for just a little while so that they all understand who really is in charge here. I think that only when we get all the programs settled down do we begin to understand the subtle, earthshaking truth of who we really are.

I’m spending time exploring my brain. I’m trying to stand back and see what’s really going on here. You can do it; you can find an impartial perch on which to place your consciousness, a vantage point to observe the workings. You start to see patterns. You start to get a feel for how to control these things.

Next Resonant Vibration: Sunday March 21

Join us for our next Resonant Vibration -- Sunday March 21 at 6:30pm. Let's celebrate the Spring Equinox, the time of equal light and dark, agreat day of balance in the midst of growth.

Today is the first day of Spring

Today is the first day of Spring, the mid-point day between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. I call this day the “Greeting of the Light,” the day when Winter passes and Spring emerges and we begin to notice the longer days.

This is the beginning of the end of the dark season, the end of hibernation. It is a good time to reconnoiter and plan. What else do you need to do in these days of quiet? What do you need to do to prepare for the burst of spring growth that will accompany the Spring Equinox – which is only 6 weeks away? What do you need to clear away so that the new growth can emerge? And there is planting to consider. What do you want to grow this year? What areas of your life need to be tilled up or weeded to make way for your intentional plants this year?

So let’s take advantage of the end of the season of the dark. Listen deep within the earth – listen deep within ourselves. Be open to new plans, new growth, and be willing to clear out what doesn’t serve us anymore.

Bright Spring Blessings to all, without exception-- Anne

tarot readings...

On Wednesday, January 20th, I'll be at Small Planet Trading from 5:00-8:00 reading tarot. Donations for the readings will be going to support local Hood River nurse Amanda Kohlwey's upcoming medical mission to Bolivia. It's girls night out in Hood River -- come by and see what the cards have to tell you!

Monday Morning Chanting

For the next few weeks, we'll be getting together at Anne & Ben's on Monday mornings to chant, from 9-10am. Stop by if you can. Here are the dates:
Monday Morning Chanting Days: 1/18; 1/25; 2/8

Death

I was listening to Terry Gross today on the radio and she was interviewing people who knew Vic Chesnutt. He was a singer/songwriter that committed suicide this Christmas. He was in a car wreck at 18 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Somehow he was still able to write. He had a difficult life and had attempted suicide 3 times before. One of the people being interviewed, and I apologize that I didn't hear who it was, said that Vic Chessnut had lived much closer to death than most of us and that it was his artistic response to death that moved people.

Last night I came across a book called Japanese Death Poems. Apparently, there's a tradition of Japanese Zen and Haiku Masters to write poems at the moment of their death. This book is a compilation of some of these poems.

We live our life trying to ignore our impending death when, in fact, it is our best friend. It focuses us in a way that only it can do. Death may well be the single most important event in our life. We should probably all focus on it and think about it every day. There's really nothing to be afraid of.

Next Resonant Vibration: Sunday January 31

Hi everyone! Here we are, still in the depths of winter. Thanks to everyone that came over to celebrate Mid-Winter at the Solstice. It was really wonderful. OM is still resonating through our house, and I’m thinking about not being afraid to prune off the dead branches and rockin' to the Tara action mantra.
But spring is around the corner, and we are ready to celebrate. The day between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox signals the beginning of Spring, usually around February 3. It’s at this time we begin to notice that, hey, it’s getting lighter outside. So, let’s get together and Greet the Light of Spring.
When: Sunday January 31 at 6:30 pm
Where: Anne and Ben’s house, 2003 Sherman, in Hood River
What to bring: a little food or drink to share, and a music instrument if you are so inclined.
If you’d like to help out with the ritual, please let me know.
Best to you all in this season of Winter -- Anne and Rick