Thursday, November 15, 2012

11/15/12 - Had breakfast at a Jemez Springs restaurant.  I surprised myself when I put Chilula hot sauce on my burrito.  I tried it in the spirit of openness.  Typically, I wouldn't even consider it.

Today's reminder
Change yields Openness/ Openness yields Change
even in the smallest and seemingly insignificant ways

Ahhh......the sun is brightly shining ~ the warmth is blessing my body and soul.

Tonight I am attending a community Giving Thanks event where the Jemez community is invited to bring along food stories, poems, songs, jokes, and of course gratefulness.

Excerpts from Jemez Thunder newspaper article
Jemez Giving Thanks  by Rabbi Shefa Gold:

"Gratefulness as the Foundation of Practice - For Jews, the first prayer of the morning says, I gratefully acknowledge Your Face.  The word face in Hebrew is plural, so even more literally Your Faces.  This is the formula for awakening. The very first thought as I emerge from sleep:  When I open my eyes, I will see Your many Faces, God. You wear the mask of this world.  I am so grateful to be able to recognize You. Today I promise not to be fooled by your elaborate and imaginative disguise.  I will see and acknowledge You everywhere and in everyone.
By waking up in gratefulness, we set the tone for the day; we step into a particular groove; we open our eyes in search of both the obvious and the hidden blessings that God has set before us.  
Meister Eckhart said, If the only prayer you ever say is 'Thank you,' that would be enough.  That one small thank you opened the door to an encounter that changed my life by showing me what prayer can accomplish.  I will never again settle for nice, easy, sweet, comfortable words that decorate an abstraction, when I know that real meeting is possible.  
Gratefulness is the foundation of my practice, because it wakes me up and gives me the strength and clarity to face my challenges, resistances and obstacles.  Gratefulness gives me access to the gifts I'll need to meet those challenges.  
The flow of gratefulness begins with a sense of surprise.  You might be stopped in your tracks by a rainbow or a sunrise or the most ordinary sight of a child playing, or your partner deep in thought.  Unexpectedly, the beauty, poignancy, sweetness and depth of a moment touches you and you are suddenly ALIVE; the world around you takes on a shimmer and a mystery.
Gratefulness, beginning in surprise, gradually expands into a sense of wonder.  When you are in a state of wonder, you remember what a miracle this life is.  You are able to enjoy the absurdities; you let yourself be astounded by the enormity of Creation; your mind is blown by synchronicity and a glimpse of the infinite. Then your heart opens.  From a state of wonder, it's impossible to judge another or commit a crime against this amazing Creation.  Living in this way we look for ways to respond to this gift of life that we are given.  Our eyes are opened to the suffering around us and we realize that we are not separate from then, we are all a part of this gorgeous tapestry... and as even one thread unravels, the whole pattern is diminished.  Instead of judging one another we begin serving one another.  We look for ways to give in response to how much we have received."


 *
 I AM open to the present moment and meeting the face of God
*
the many faces of God.
*

No comments:

Post a Comment