Awaken the Divine Within: Spiritual Reflections for a Soul's Journey

                Spirit of Divine Indwelling Oh sweet Holy Spirit Divine presence of God  Dwelling within the world And in our souls Judaism calls you Shekhinah Female aspect of God You hovered over the waters During creation You came upon Jesus In the form of a dove You glowed upon the apostles In the form of fire You are God's ruach, pneuma That is God's wind, breath As the Wisdom of God You instruct and enlighten You inhabit our souls Clay becomes flesh  With one breath You are one with the Triune God One aspect of the Eternal One Spirit of God Oh Holy One Help us recognize you As God's power, wisdom and presence In us and around us You truly are Love Blessed and holy Sweet loving Shekhinah  As a mother cares for her young Cover us with your maternal wings And be with us always Amen

              Luke 20:38 "... and He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive."      I am convinced that we do not die, that we only transform upon our earthly physical death. We are not simply our bodies, but our essence is our soul and our soul is eternal. Just like the clouds that change into rain, hail or snow, our body changes into spirit and light.      When my husband Michael passed away, his soul emerged and was free to become pure essence. I feel this essence surrounds me, encircling my heart and soul. God of the living has allowed Mike to show me glimpses of his soul in various ways (in nature, music, books, through others and in dreams). I feel Mike and God holding my hand as I walk the rest of my earthly and spiritual journey. I feel their presence in my life.      Everything has that spark of life as God is in everything, and it all is in God. He is the creator of ...

  Prayer for Courage Sweet and kind God  You who dwell in my soul Give me courage to face life With all its ups and downs Encourage me to call upon you When all is progressing smoothly As well as when things go wrong With your help Adversity will not prevail Give me courage To weather the storms of life With grace and hope Kindly look upon me When I find myself despairing Or in the darkness of fear May your light pierce The deepest recesses of my heart And lift me up Like a feather lifted in the breeze Give me courage to praise you At all times And in all circumstances May I endure hardship And always embrace Your gentle guidance Amen.

  Seed of God  A seed of God is in us. Now a seed of a pear tree grows into a pear tree, a hazel seed into a hazel tree. A seed of God grows into God.  ~  Meister Eckhart As I see it, growth is essential in all that is living.  It is the expansion of nothing into something, which occurs naturally from the small into the large. Seeds that are planted contain the universe, they contain life. God is constantly creating from the seed, from the origins of the universe to the seed of faith planted in our souls and hearts. Seeds mature and ripen into their intended form. Nature teaches us that all that is living grows in darkness into flourishing life. From darkness comes light and life. It is in the darkness of the soil or in the darkness of the womb, or in the dark times of our souls that transformation happens. Our souls are fertile ground for the seed of God. The Divine Gardener plants the beginnings of life and scatters seeds to see them take root, develop, grow, ...

 We're All Connected  We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. ~ Martin Luther King How is it that we are all one in the Spirit? How are we tied together? All our souls are interconnected and God is the common thread. What affects one affects all. Just like the World Wide Web connects this world we live in, the web we share in our souls connects the universe in its entirety. When we spread love or compassion to one individual, we are spreading love throughout. On the other hand, some may choose to spread hate or divisiveness affecting the whole as well. We are all one in this one universe. Jesus said that what we do for the least of our brethren, that we do to him. God is in us as we are in Him. Saint Paul wrote about us being one body. Each part of the body with its diverse talents makes the whole body work in unison. As the heart pumps blood, the body is able to function, ...