It was an uncharacteristically mild day, and I took a long bike ride. The recent inclement weather left the roads with gravel and debris in many spots–quite a danger for a cyclist. My riding buddy commented that a good rain would wash away the problem, and make it right again to ride more safely. It made me think of the cyclical system of nature–the rains that clean and restore. And also the approach of springtime. Rebirth. The theme of regeneration (and seasons/cycles) is ever present with us. It’s ingrained into the fabric of our experience, and I think our human nature. We want to start over. We crave rejuvenation. though change can be frightening, it also means liberation–and we know it deep down in the marrow. It is a reminder–all around–that the spiritual, and the Divine, is as close as one allows it to be.
Category: Podcast
Released on the Spark My Muse podcast
Confession-fridays
I blogged at lisadelay.blogspot.com about the British Secretary getting smacked with custard pie. Maybe he’s the one who has something to confess. (?)
Each friday I’m opening up a “confession booth” – It’s good for the soul.
There is something deeply freeing about casting your secrets or your burdens away through the act of confession. It is a practice sometimes scorned, perhaps because it has been misunderstood, made trite, or undervalued. But, with the right reflection, it may be a powerful way to gain perspective, and renewal, or just blow off some steam.
Feel free to be anonymous, (or reveal yourself) and leave a confession of any sort.
I’ll start: Today, I purposefully listened to my van stereo (close to) full blast for quite a while. It was enough to frighten people.
Being "in love"-
Could be defined as…The knowledge and experience of loving and accepting another while knowing one is loved and experiencing that love at the same time.
what do you think?
guilt good-shame bad?
From recent reading, James M. Bowler Shame: A Primary Root of Resistance to Movement in Direction, “Presense” (Vol 3, # 3, Sept. 1997)
“Guilt is associated specifically with an action–something one has said or done. Shame, on the other hand, refers to the feeling one has about one’s very self… believing one has a fundamental flaw.” (p. 26) (italics mine)
We need (a sense of) guilt to correct ourselves and change our ways, but shame is damaging, and hinders progress. Guilt is about our doing. Shame is about our being.
All people struggle with shame at some point in their process of growth. Feel free to comment.
Confession Booth- (fridays)
There is something about confessing that renews us. It purges us. We really are suppose to do it. It’s not just because authorities or the Bible say so. I think it’s because (also) as a part of human nature we want and need to be rid of things that hurt us, and begin a process of recreation.
A new service allows for secret confessions. SecretTweet This may help people free their consciences a bit, and some leave very odd things. The trouble though with secret confessions is that there isn’t too much hope for healing and restoration in the support of community. We aren’t meant to go it alone.
If there’s anything you’d like to confess. I invite you to do it here. It can be ANYTHING. From the serious, to the silly. Feel free. And you can make up a name, if you’d like.
I’ll start.
I bawled my eyes out yesterday in spiritual direction (which was done in “real play” in front of classmates, yes awkward and nerve-wracking at times, and other times comforting). It was because I realized I felt that God had “hurt my feelings” and I was angry with “him”. It ended in the embrace of God. Strangely enough…In a visualization, (prayer with a visual imagination) he came and sat with me, and played jacks with me, of all things. It was so unexpected and kind. I told him my hurts, and he sweetly stroked my hair. I wanted to hug him, so I did, and he hugged me back. It was warm and big. And my hurts melted. He took out the ugly ball of hurt from my heart and tossed it over his shoulder, so it would not ruin me any more. It was a powerful experience, which I haven’t had before. I felt vulnerable, even silly, at times. But, in the end, I was glad I confessed these feelings, even as I am now doing now.
For a silly (non serious) confession-I worn my hair in pigtails today, in the privacy of my home.