About once every six weeks, sometimes more often, I meet with a powerful group of women to explore books on spirituality and/or to have a unique experience with the vast theme of Spirituality. Before the holidays at the end of 2016, I hosted my group’s Spiritual Book Club. We hired Rory Link, an urban shaman, author, poet, visual artist, musician, Renaissance man, and friend, who guided us on a Spirit Quest with loud rhythmic drumming and visualizations. We made wonderful discoveries and we can’t wait to have Rory come back for another round of spirit quests.
On Wednesday evening, my group celebrated the Vernal Equinox with poetry, quotes, and other Spring inspired readings. We also brought to the table a seed or intention that we would like to “plant” for this SPRING season of rebirth.
Colored eggs (done up with markers and colored pencils)
Michele brought eggs and a chart explaining what various images depict or symbolize. Me, being me, had to cover my egg with at least one of every image on the list below. I brought the egg with me to Ocean Shores this weekend. After doing a lot of gardening and planting of vegetable seeds, I took time to plant the decorated egg! Rick joined me in planting it right next to my dad’s fig tree, which grows big lush leaves and tiny starts of figs, but has yet to produce a ripe fig in this wet rain forest we call second home. Together Rick and I shared our intentions for this season of renewal!
SHARED READINGS: We next shared the following readings. It was pretty magical place for me to be, drawing on the egg and listening to everyone read. I used to do a lot of art, but, for some reason, I rarely draw anymore. As I was drawing, I was reminded of how lovely it is to draw. Below you will find some of our shared readings. The first three are the ones I read.
One of the spring ritual suggestions I read about is to end your days with prayer. “The earth is always a good teacher- and especially in spring. End your days this season with this prayer from the Native American Tradition.”
as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering
as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility
as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth Teach me caring
as the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage
as the tree which stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation
as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom
as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation
as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration
as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself
as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness
as dry fields weep in the rain.
Ute, North American
The Gift
Lift one foot. Surrender
Place the other. Claim
Step by step life unfolds behind me
The future beckons me forward
The path wasn’t clear until I chose it.
It will be gone once I have passed.
The gift is in this choice to surrender and claim
This choice to create my life one step at a time.
The gift is right here where I am.
And I found this lovely poem by Mary Oliver called Spring:
Spring
Somewhere
a black bear
has just risen from sleep
and is staringdown the mountain.
All night
in the brisk and shallow restlessness
of early springI think of her,
her four black fists
flicking the gravel,
her tonguelike a red fire
touching the grass,
the cold water.
There is only one question:how to love this world.
I think of her
rising
like a black and leafy ledgeto sharpen her claws against
the silence
of the trees.
Whatever elsemy life is
with its poems
and its music
and its glass cities,it is also this dazzling darkness
coming
down the mountain,
breathing and tasting;all day I think of her—
her white teeth,
her wordlessness,
her perfect love.
And from the genius of Goethe:
When I take part in shared readings, I always make discoveries. The book below is one such gem. Kristen brought this book and read from it. The poem is from the book is below.
And here is the poem by Marge Piercy about the promise of spring:
And an inspirational quote by our 28th President, Woodrow Wilson:
And lastly, an inspirational spring poem by Li-Young Lee:
From blossoms comesthis brown paper bag of peacheswe bought from the boyat the bend in the road where we turned towardsigns painted Peaches.From laden boughs, from hands,from sweet fellowship in the bins,comes nectar at the roadside, succulentpeaches we devour, dusty skin and all,comes the familiar dust of summer, dust we eat.O, to take what we love inside,to carry within us an orchard, to eatnot only the skin, but the shade,not only the sugar, but the days, to holdthe fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite intothe round jubilance of peach.There are days we liveas if death were nowherein the background; from joyto joy to joy, from wing to wing,from blossom to blossom toimpossible blossom, to sweet impossible blossom.
What an amazing practice Fran – a spiritual experience book club. xo