Hasidic wisdom

"The man who thinks he can live without others is mistaken; the one who thinks others can’t live without him is even more deluded." 
- Hasidic saying

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Liz Taylor said...

"I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them."

- Elizabeth Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011)

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Happiness by Anthony de Mello

"Why is everyone here so happy except me?" 
"Because they have learned to see goodness and beauty everywhere," said the Master. 
"Why don't I see goodness and beauty everywhere?" 
"Because you cannot see outside of you what you fail to see inside." 

– Anthony de Mello

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Iona prayer praising God for the new day

O Sun behind all suns,
I give you greeting this new day.
Let all Creation praise you,
Let the daylight
and the shadows praise you.
Let the fertile earth
and the swelling sea praise you.
Let the winds and the rain,
the lightening and the thunder
praise you.
Let all that breathes,
both male and female, praise you.
And I shall praise you.
O God of all life
I give you greeting this day.

- From 'Celtic Prayers From Iona'

Being loved

 

“The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved -- loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.” 

 

- Victor Hugo (February 26, 1802 - May 22, 1885)

 

 

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A Celtic prayer of light

As the sun rises, Lord,
Let your Light shine on me :
Destroy the darkness about me,
Scatter the darkness before me,
Disperse the darkness behind me,
Dispel the darkness within me;
Let your Light shine on me.
As the sun rises, Lord,
Let your Light shine on me :
The warmth of your Presence,
The brightness of your Love,
The radiance of your Joy,
The shining of your Hope;
Let your Light shine on me.
As the sun rises, Lord,
Let your Light shine on me :
Your Light to guide,
Your Light to lead,
Your Light to direct,
Your Light to brighten;
Let your Light shine on me.
O Lord Jesus, You said :
“I am the Light of the World”,
Amen. Be it so ! Amen.
- From ‘Celtic Prayers’ in Power Lines by David Adam

 

Photo by myself...

Hospitality

"I pray that none will be offended if I seek to make the Christian religion an inn where all are received joyously, rather than a cottage where some few friends of the family are to be received.” - Attributed to Richard Hooker

 

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Night

“The world rests in the night. Trees, mountains, fields, and faces are released from the prison of shape and the burden of exposure. Each thing creeps back into its own nature within the shelter of the dark. Darkness is the ancient womb. Nighttime is womb- time. Our souls come out to play. The darkness absolves everything; the struggle for identity and impression falls away. We rest in the night.”
― John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

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Skin

“Human skin is porous; the world flows through you. Your senses are large pores that let the world in. By being attuned to the wisdom of your senses, you will never become an exile in your own life, an outsider lost in an external spiritual place that your will and intellect, have constructed.”
― John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

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Blessing

On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.”
― John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

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Your inner life..

“No one else has access to the world you carry around within yourself; you are its custodian and entrance. No one else can see the world the way you see it. No one else can feel your life the way you feel it. Thus it is impossible to ever compare two people because each stands on such different ground. When you compare yourself to others, you are inviting envy into your consciousness; it can be a dangerous and destructive guest.”
― John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

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an acorn planted

"Blessed are you
who walk with goodness,
who stand for the right,
who live in truth.
You are like an acorn planted
in fertile soil
that grows into a mighty oak.
Your life blesses others,
you radiate love;
joy delights your heart."
- Nan C Merrill

 

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Celtic blessing prayer

"Bless to me, O God
My soul and my body;
Bless to me, O God
My belief and my condition

Bless to me, O God
My heart and my speech
And Bless to me, O God
The handling of my hand

Strength and busyness of morning,
Habit and temper of modesty,
Force and wisdom of thought
And Thine own path, O God of virtues,
Till I go to sleep this night"

- Celtic blessing

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Seeking the voice of God

 

"I sought to hear the voice of God and climbed the topmost steeple, but God declared: 'Go down again - I dwell among the people.'" 

- John Henry Newman 

(February 21, 1801 - August 11, 1890)

 

Photo by me....

Blessing prayer

"May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers,
half-truths and superficial relationships,
so that we will live deeply in our hearts.
May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression
and exploitation of people and the earth,
so that we will work for justice, equity and peace.
May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer,
so that we will reach out our hands
to comfort them and change their pain to joy.
And may God bless us with the foolishness to think that
we can make a difference in our world,
so that we will do the things which others say cannot be done."
- Franciscan blessing prayer

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Almond blossom

"I said to the almond tree, 'Sister, speak to me of God.' And the almond tree blossomed.” 

 

- Nikos Kazantzakis (February 18, 1883 - October 26, 1957)

 

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Giving love away

"If you send out goodness from yourself, or if you share that which is happy or good within you, it will all come back to you multiplied ten thousand times. In the kingdom of love there is no competition; there is no possessiveness or control. The more love you give away, the more love you will have." 

- John O'Donohue, 'Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom'

 

 

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St Valentine's day blessing

"Beauty of friendship grow between us
Friendship;
without guile
without malice
without striving
Goodness of Friendship grow between us
Friendship;
with light
with wings
with soul sharing
Be the eye of each friend
of my journey
to bless and teach each one.
The eye of the Father be upon us
The eye of the Son be upon us
The eye of the Spirit be upon us
The eye of the Friendly Three
be upon us forever."
- Celtic friendhip blessing

 

 

Happy Valentine's day!

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A prayer for Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the first day of the season of Lent in Western Christianity

"O Lord and Master of my life,
take from me the spirit of sloth,
despondency, lust for power, and idle talk.
But grant unto me, Thy servant, a spirit of
chastity, humility, patience, and love.

Yea, o Lord and King,
grant me to see mine own faults
and not to judge my brothers and sisters.
For blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen."
- Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian

 

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The great "I am" by Amergin

According to the Celtic oral tradition this poem was written by Amergin, a Milesian poet who came to Ireland hundreds of years before Christ:

I am the wind that breathes upon the sea

I am the wave of the ocean

I am the murmur of the billows

I am the ox of the seven combats

I am the vulture upon the rocks

I am a beam of the sun

I am the fairest of plants

I am a wild boar in valour

I am a salmon in the water

I am a lake in the plain

I am a word of science

I am the point of the lance of battle

I am the God who created in the head the fire

Who is it who throws light into the meeting on the mountain?

Who announces the ages of the moon?

Who teaches the place where couches the sun? (If not I?)

 

 

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A celtic poem about the new moon...

New Moon - In Celtic culture, the new moon was greeted in this fashion:

May thy light be fair to me!

May thy course be smooth to me!

If good to me is thy beginning,

Seven times better be thine end,

Thou fair moon of the seasons,

Thou great lamp of grace!

He Who created thee

Created me likewise;

He Who gave thee weight and light

Gave to me life and death,

And the joy of the seven satisfactions,

Thou great lamp of grace,

Thou fair moon of the seasons


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Wisdom from Niebuhr

Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime;
therefore, we are saved by hope.

Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
therefore, we are saved by faith.

Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone;
therefore, we are saved by love.

No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own;
therefore, we are saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.

Reinhold Niebuhr in 'The Irony of American History'

 

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Prayer from Hildegard

"O, You who are ever
giving life to all life,
moving all creatures,
root of all things,
washing them clean,
wiping out their mistakes,
healing their wounds,
You are our true life,
luminous, wonderful,
awakening the heart
from its ancient sleep."

- Hildegard of Bingen

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Carry each others burdens..

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” 

 - Charles Dickens (February 07, 1812 - June 09, 1870)

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Dreaming - Hélder Câmara quote

“When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality.” 

 - Hélder Câmara (February 07, 1909 - August 27, 1999)

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True greatness

"The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively." 

- Bob Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981)

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Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
   and the swallow a nest for herself,
   where she may lay her young, at your altars,
O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
   ever singing your praise. Selah
Happy are those whose strength is in you,
   in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

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Friends...

"With friends you grow wings.
Alone
You are a single feather in disgrace.
With them you master the wind,
but alone
you're blown in all directions."

Rumi

Happy...

"If you want to know what it means to be happy, look at a flower, a bird, a child; they are perfect images of the kingdom. For they live from moment to moment in the eternal now with no past and no future." 

 - Anthony de Mello

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Remind us of Jesus...

"On a day of many responsibilities,
a day of niggling details,
a day of blessed encounters,
remind us of Jesus, who sat at the table.

On a day of rushing here and there,
or sitting too long at a desk,
or juggling home and church,
remind us of Jesus, who sat at the table.

On a day that lasts too long,
with work stretching beyond sunset,
with always one more chore to perform,
remind us of Jesus, who sat at the table.

On a day ending sooner than seems possible,
with dinner to prepare or papers to write,
homework to complete or check or grade,
remind us of Jesus, who sat at the table.

Bless our work and our prayers,
our hearts and our minds,
our bodies and our souls, we pray. Amen."
- A prayer for a busy day

 

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Fire in us...

 

"Give us courage to release the fire you have shut up in our bones, and strength to withstand the burning."

Janet Morley. "All Desires Known."

 

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St Anselm's prayer...

"O Lord my God,
teach my heart this day
where and how to see You,
where and how to find You.

You have made me and remade me,
and You have bestowed on me
all the good things I possess,
and still I do not know You.
I have not yet done that
for which I was made.

Teach me to seek You,
for I cannot seek You
unless You teach me,
or find You
unless You show Yourself to me.

Let me seek You in my desire,
Let me desire You in my seeking.
Let me find You by loving You,
Let me love You when I find You."

- A prayer of St Anselm

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God be in me...

God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at my end, and at my departing...

~ Sarum Primer, 1538

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Saint Brigid's Prayer

(10th century Poem attributed to St Brigid herself)

I'd like to give a lake of beer to God.
I'd love the heavenly
Host to be tippling there
For all eternity.

I'd love the men of Heaven to live with me,
To dance and sing.
If they wanted, I'd put at their disposal
Vats of suffering.

White cups of love I'd give them
With a heart and a half;
Sweet pitchers of mercy I'd offer
To every man.

I'd make Heaven a cheerful spot
Because the happy heart is true.
I'd make the men contented for their own sake.
I'd like Jesus to love me too.

I'd like the people of heaven to gather
From all the parishes around.
I'd give a special welcome to the women,
The three Marys of great renown.

I'd sit with the men, the women and God
There by the lake of beer.
We'd be drinking good health forever
And every drop would be a prayer.

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Best known Celtic hymn

Be Thou My Vision
Traditional Irish melody/8th century Irish words (Rop tú mo baile)
The words of this great hymn were a part of the Irish monastic tradition for centuries before it became one of the world's most beloved sacred songs. In 1905, on the wave of the Irish Literary Revival it was translated into English by Mary Byrne, an Irish researcher and educator, and versified in 1912 by Eleanor Hull, founder of the Irish Text Society. The melody is called Slane and was named for Slane Hill where Saint Patrick defied the High King Lóegaire in 433 A.D. by lighting candles to celebrate Easter Eve.

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Love and Charity....

"Charity. To love human beings in so far as they are nothing. That is to love them as God does." 

 

“Love is not consolation. It is light.”

 

-two quotes from  Simone Weil (February 03, 1909 - August 24, 1943)

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