Lent Meditations

•March 23, 2023 • Leave a Comment
Meditation 1: Not by Bread Alone
Meditation 2: The Road is Made by Walking
Meditation 3: Living water
Meditation 4: Light
Meditation 5: Eternal Sound

Temptation

•February 21, 2023 • Leave a Comment

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these… Matthew 4
Prove yourself.
You know what people are saying.
You’re a fraud.
You talk the talk but you,
Don’t walk the walk.
Show them who’s boss.
Make them respect you,
Bow to your authority.
Go on,
Command them,
And they will worship you,
Give you everything you could
ever dream of,
And you can rule your world,
Yes, you heard me,
Control your destiny, rule your world.
You are entitled to this.
It is your birthright. Go on. Take it……

The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.”’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ Genesis 2
Hey humans,
You’re the cleverest of all God’s creatures,
And yet you live in darkness and ignorance,
Tilling the land, scrabbling for food.
You superstitious fools.
You have such great talent,
You’ve created artificial intelligence,
To do all the work, fight your wars,
And tell you the News it knows you need.
So feed your mind with the little devices,
You hold in your hands.
You have the world at your fingertips,
Press the button,
Plug yourselves in,
Eat the Apple, newest upgrade of course,
And know that you are gods,
Walking streets without even needing,
To look where they’re leading………

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Matthew 4
Programmes for happiness,
Too numerous to name.
The snake sneaks and slithers in the brain,
Get this, do that, earn the right to be………. loved…….
Ah, you’re not good enough.
Worship the method.
Try your luck. You gotta be in it to win it!
Trusssst innn meeeee………………

~ breathe ~

Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”’ Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. Matthew 4
Through the forty days and fort nights,
In the prayer and in the fasting,
Chewing God’s Word, slowly, faithfully,
Unconsciousness will be made conscious,
And there will be pain, soul searching, and Crying. There will be hunger and thirst.
Breathe, in the breath of God, drink,
Of the Living Water, not fed,
By bread alone. Be patient. Wait, in the
silence, for the Lord.

A conversation at the beginning of Lent, with Professor Malcolm Peet and Nur Jamila Parsons

On the Road to Enlightenment (Advent 4)

•December 13, 2022 • Leave a Comment

…do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’

                                                                Matthew 1

Conceived of Holy Spirit,

In the purity of simplicity,

I AM saves,

I AM restoring,

I AM renewing,

God within human,

God in the manifestation,

God in All…….

The prophets tell this,

Mary yesses this, and so it is,

That Christ is and was and is to come…….

God our redeemer, you prepared the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the mother of your Son:  grant that, as she looked for his coming as our saviour, so we may be ready to greet him when he comes again as our judge      Collect

In the flow of God’s Grace,

We sit in our morning prayer,

Here, in the holy temple of us,

In the inmost part of us,

Where comes the Christ,

In our laying bare of self.

This One will judge what is to stay,

And what in us must burn away.

We cannot decide this,

Our judgement is compromised,

By false beliefs,

Half-understood moral codes,

Programmes for happiness,

And self-surviving, self-serving,

Self-sufficiency, mingling with,

Neediness, unconscious attachment.

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way…When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took Mary as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus        Matthew 1

In the flow of God’s Grace,

Stands the one who listens,

To angels……………………………………………..

Angels never lie;

Listen to them, in the wind, in the forest,

And on the seashore.

They speak in the mountains,

And whisper in your heart,

“Beloved, The One you seek,

Is among you,

Surrounding you,

And within you.”

Look into the soul of lover and stranger,

Dance with the natural,

Gaze deep at the life that beats,

Your own heart,

Ba-doom, ba-doom, ba-doom…

Angels speaking, angels dancing………………

~ breathe ~

Through Christ we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles            Romans 1

Angels are speaking to all beings,

All the time, of God’s love,

To believers and non-believers,

The not even knowing ones, that there is anything to believe, more than the obvious, which is not real,

however insistent it may seem.

In listening,

Is our practice,

From listening, may we speak,

And ears may be opened,

To the music of angels,

And the Cosmic song of Peace.

just the music (stereo and high quality)

The Reed and the Wind (Advent 3)

•December 6, 2022 • Leave a Comment

Be patient, beloved, until the coming of the Lord.  The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.  You also must be patient.  Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.              James 5

Like a seed in the warm-womb earth,

Beneath the frost-cold surface of appearance,

Wait for the I AM,

For the I AM is near.

Winter before Spring,

Spring before Summer,

The seed does not complain,

But keeps silent and waits.

She is nourished by the rain,

When the rain comes,

And when it is delayed,

She does not moan.

A seed has no expectation,

No agenda,

No sense of entitlement,

She simply trusts,

In the Natural One,

In whom all nature,

Has its being….

As The Baptizer’s disciples went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?  A reed shaken by the wind?  What then did you go out to see?  Someone dressed in soft robes?  Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces…This is the one about whom it is written, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.”                        Matthew 11

The one who waits, in the practice,

Of life and presence,

In the silence,

And the breathing,

No stranger to wildness,

Rooted in the stillness,

Is not shaken,

By sudden change of circumstance,

Or by fearful shouts,

Of social impatience.

This one is prophet.

This one is teacher.

This one is true.

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear!  Here is your God.  Isaiah 35

From the silence,

I AM calling,

You,

To be teacher now,

And prophet true.

Take my Love,

And open the hearts,

Of the hurting ones,

Who have been blown dry,

In the wilderness of lost dreams…

~ breathe ~

 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.                Isaiah 35

When you speak,

From the seeded root of the eternal Tree,

My Word embedded in hearts of people,  Will awaken in the stream of living water,

From the truth in you to the truth in them,

And the crocus, lotus child of God,

Will walk in beauty once again,

Paradise restored,

A Christed Prometheus Unbound……

The I AM looses those that are bound; the I AM opens the eyes of the blind;  the I AM lifts up those who are bowed down;  the I AM loves the ones who wait in faith Psalm 146 

The Fire, The Axe And The Sword

•November 29, 2022 • Leave a Comment

Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.  May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.   Romans 15

                                                                

People of faith, share your faith,

With each other, with people of different faith, and with people who don’t think they have any faith.

I don’t mean impose your doctrines,

But share your faith,

The Love that is inside you,

The Love born in the experience,

Of God, I AM,

That in you, which is authentic,

Uncluttered by ideas or ideals,

Spoken of by the Prophets,

And written for you in your Scriptures.

Speak of this, share it,

And be ready to listen.

Listen deeply,

Celebrate what speaks into your heart,

Share what you know, witness,

With steadfast integrity,

To the Christ in you

But when (John the Baptizer) saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruit worthy of repentance.  Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.  Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees…            Matthew 3

The One who Loves is coming,

With the Christed axe of freedom,

To cut away the trees of arrogance in you,

In me,

All sense of entitlement,

Attachments to religious or philosophic,

Preferentialism,

Self-justifying reason,

Or slanted manipulation of heritage.

No expert knowledge about Abraham will open the gates of heaven, nor about Buddha, Mohammed, Shiva or Christ.

It is faith like theirs,

That holds the key,

That unlocks the sacred Life in every heart.

So let’s wait here, you and me,

Sadducee and the Pharisee,

In the Advent earth beneath our trees,

While the axe of redemption,

Swings at the feeble roots,

Of our fear-constructed,

Self-delineating expertise………………..

~ breathe ~

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’    Matt cont.

When the cutting and the burning is done,

Our beautiful selflessness will be laid bare,

And all that marks us out,

In the imagination selfhood,

Will be like ash and splinter,

And I will behold you,

Sister,

Brother,

And you will behold me,

And we will come to know,

That I am you and you are me…………………. 

Let The Rivers Clap Their Hands

•November 9, 2022 • Leave a Comment

‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and, “The time is near!” Do not go after them.  When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.’  Luke 21

Armageddon, Apocalypse now,

Drama, disaster, distraction,

Tools of the deceiver, the faker, the thief.

Don’t be flattered by the celebrity evangelist, with the gold and the suit, who tells you that you are the chosen, and the foreigner is damned, and the kingdom is yours, if you will but “follow me; simply send me your money, it is for a good cause, the building of God’s kingdom, a school of Christ for the conversion of savages, leather-bound Bibles properly annotated with the doctrines of the favoured ones to whom sound theology is bestowed, oh and of course the well spent funds for our private-jet transport to all the places we need to go to give instruction to the needy, and our swimming pool mansions God wants us to enjoy, because God is the God of Prosperity, don’t you know?”

This is the religion of worldliness, and it sleeps with the rich and the powerful, who will seek to destroy you, if you stand in faith and won’t bow to the game….

they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict   Luke contd                                                                 

The players of the game, have their arguments composed for them, by cunning and wily minds, who live in think tanks and iron out the details, rig the votes, choose the choosers, profile the desirable and the deviant, who should be promoted, who expelled. Don’t fight the game by playing the game.

Learn to listen with your heart,

find the voice inside you,

Be still,

In the Vibration,

Of the kingdom,

Within

Let the sea thunder and all that fills it, the world and all that dwell upon it.  Let the rivers clap their hands and let the hills ring out together before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.  In righteousness shall he judge the world and the peoples with equity.

                                                                         Psalm 98

~ breathe ~

Be still, stand firm,

While all around is panic and chaos,

Let the noise be the noise,

Even violence and destruction, will pass.

Speak the peace you know

in the temple space

of your morning prayer,

And do not be afraid,

Only believe,

In the One who is coming,

To unchain the Love,

That lives in the soul,

Of the sea, and the earth, the birds and the trees,

In you and in me,

And in all the gentle ones, who

Wait for the Lord,

His day is near………..

The Rebellion Comes First

•November 1, 2022 • Leave a Comment

Let no one deceive you in any way; for (the Day of the Lord – I AM) will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction.   2 Thessalonians 2

                                                   

Question what you think you know.

Your most cherished doctrines,

Are the handpicked ones,

Which you choose,

For the comfort and security

they pretend to bring you.

Be wary of that which closes your mind,

And anaesthetises your heart,

In order that pain be diverted,

Nailed to another man’s sin,

Another woman’s woes.

It is in the castle of philosophic knowing,

That your false self resides,

Skulking in great halls of certainty,

Hiding among battlements of defensiveness,

Staring out through arrow-crack, fear hollowed eyes.

It is in the rebellion,

The casting down of the chains of religious self-obsession, the tyrannical logician,

That your deceiver self is exposed,

To the white Light,

Of the one true I AM

‘And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the I AM as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.’ Luke 20

Dying to self, delusion’s power retreating,

The kingdom of heaven opens within,

And a living one’s eyes,

Opening in the Light,

Bleary in the Brightness,

Slowly behold the Christ…………

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.   Job 19

~ breathe ~

Deep within you,

The heart of the Lover beats,

To the rhythm of the Malkutah d’Alaha.

‘The kingdom of heaven is within you’,

Says Jeshua, The Free I AM.

Your freedom is here,

Where the Lord moves,

In and out,

Of your breathing, temple heart,

Like breath,

Like wind,

Like Spirit.

Enter the rhythm now,

And dance…………..

We are compelled always to give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth 2 Thessalonians 2

                                                

By God’s Grace,

The listener hears,

The voice of Salvation,

Through the many whispers,

Screams and shouts,

Of suffering and doubt,

Inherited from fearful parents and guardians of certainty,

‘The kingdom is within you’, repeats the Voice, through the ages, through eternity

‘…the kingdom is within…………………..’

Primal Voice a New Song

•October 26, 2022 • Leave a Comment

Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed. Then he wrote down the dream: I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another… and the visions of my head terrified me…I asked one of the attendants what does it mean, he said, : ‘As for these four great beasts, four kings shall arise out of the earth. But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever — for ever and ever’                                                           Daniel 7

Ev’rybody’s talking ’bout / Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism / This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m…..             John Lennon

American Empire, Russian, Chinese, United Nations…

Well that’s four,

Might as well be them;

Used to be British, French, Spanish, Roman, Turkish, Egyptian, Huns and Vikings, Ancient China… Ffoow……….

Empires come and go,

Their kings and queens, their governments, oligarchs, magnates and warlords return to dust,

And blow away in a wind that cares,

Not a lot,

Who they were or ever thought they might be….

But the kingdom of Heaven,

Malkutah d’Shamayim

Kingdom of God,

Malkutah d’Alaha

Eternal realm,

The Way,

Of the Christ,

Into whom,

May enter,

All who Love,

Is forever, and ever, and ever……

Alleluia. O sing to the Lord a new song;  sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful… Let them praise his name in the dance;  let them sing praise to him with timbrel and lyre

Sound praises to the Lord, all the earth.

Psalm 149

Listen to the birds singing unto heaven,

Dance in the wind,

And let the sound of the rain,

Bathe you, mind and soul;

Tangle with the rhythm of your fragmented mind,

Jangle with the beat of indigene time

Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ‘Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. ‘Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven’                Luke 6

When you wake up one morning, and find you cling no more to any thing,

No wealth,

No reputation,

No pretence,

Or struggle with what you’re meant to be,

No longer trying to be what someone expects you to be,

When you finally understand, you just can’t please all the people, all the time,

And you don’t even need to please some of them some of the time,

So you walk the walk,

Way, Truth and Life,

Then,

Yes my sister, my brother, then,

You will know what it is to be Free

~ breathe ~

tangle with the rhythm

Open the Door

•August 2, 2022 • Leave a Comment
recorded version

He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’

   And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

                                                         Genesis 15

צֶדֶק  ~ ts-ed-ek ~ rightness,

I AM reckons Abram’s faith, rightness.

Judging appearances amounts to wrong thinking,

Judging in this way negates possibility,

Closes the self to providence, blocks the flow of Grace,

But Abram meets the The One Who Is

In meditation,

And Abram knows, in this moment,

That which Abram is………………………………..

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible…Our ancestors died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth… seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.                              Hebrews 11

Hiraeth,

The longing for our true home,

The unbounded vastness,

From which we came.

“Listen,” says the sage,

“To the wail of the reed-flute,

As she cries in her agony,

Having been ripped from the reed bed,”

Sound of human soul,

Torn from the Oneness,

Split by the axe of duality,

She yearns for her freedom,

Like Son of Man with no place

To lay his head……………………………………….

‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom…Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks…                                               Luke 12

~ Breathe ~

Return to the Beginning.

The one who stands at the beginning, stands at the end.

She will not be extinguished by death,

But will find herself already, in eternity.

Be still in the morning,

Be still in the evening,

Breathe in the presence of Presence.

Wait for the Lord…

Wait For The Lord,
Whose Day Is Near.
Wait For The Lord,
Keep Watch, Take Heart!”  x 3        
(Taize)                  

Our soul waits longingly for the Lord;  he is our help and our shield.  Indeed, our heart rejoices in him;  in his holy name have we put our trust.  The earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord.           Psalm 33

5 minute sound meditation: Bb bansuri flute recorded at St Gwynour’s church in North Gower today (2 Aug 2022)

Teach Us To Pray

•July 21, 2022 • Leave a Comment
teach us to pray

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’                 Luke 11

Without and within,

The holy place blessed,

A certain place,

Any place,

Becoming still,

Breathing in, Presence,

Return to Source,

Breathing out, open your heart,

And pray…

He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Abwoon d’bwashmaya, Source of All Being, Teytey malkuthakh, Enlighten in us Your realm of Love. Give us each day what bread we need to live and to grow in Love. Loose the cords of error and misdirection binding us, as we release the strands we hold of others’ guilt. And keep us from the tendency to forgetfulness, that we may be present, as you are always present.’

Luke 11 continued (Aramaic based paraphrasing from Neil Douglas-Klotz)

~ Breathe ~

No need to heap up words,

God knows what you need.

Simply direct your heart to Source,

And be open to receive,

Light.

Walk in that Light,

And hold the Light,

With your life,

For others to see,

Into their lives,

And so find the Christ there,

Here,

And there,

In you,

In them,

And everywhere,

I Am…

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells              Colossians 2

Persist in your prayer,

Keep it simple,

Keep it flowing from the heart,

Never give up,

Even when you come to the dryness,

When it feels like you are present and God is not,

When you feel deserted and abandoned by everyone and everything, know this,

You are never alone,

I Am with you always,

Whatever blocks you, it is never permanent, it too will pass,

And you will know yourself more than before,

And you will know human being,

You will know the Divine,

And you will love, just as I have loved you

Your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart;  before the gods will I sing praise to you.  I will bow down towards your holy temple and praise your name, because of your love and faithfulness;  for you have glorified your name and your word above all things.             Psalm 138

 
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