On the serious business of happiness....

Riot clean up, St John's Hill, Clapham Junction

Hello readers! I'm back. I've been on a field trip and then when I returned to Windhoek I was distracted by the terrible news of the riots, violence and looting in UK's towns and cities. I was gobsmacked and worried about my family and friends and I wondered how this could happen? Even my home community, Clapham Junction, was badly affected, shops and businesses were smashed up.  But then I was encouraged by the outpouring of real community spirit and love as people flocked onto the streets of our towns and cities, in their marigold gloves and waving their brooms to join hundreds of others in riot clean up.

Scenes of calm but strong defiance. Anyway I'm still processing my thoughts and feelings about these events.

Meanwhile I've been contemplating happiness again and you may remember a few posts back that I suggested that happiness is a choice. Well I've just stumbled across a trailer to a film on YouTube called "Living Luminaries - on the serious business of happiness" which explores this further. You may have seen it already but it is the first time I have and I now would like to watch the whole film.  Here's the clip to whet your appetite. Are you ready for the journey to happiness?

Still mutant and still proud - wayseers manifesto

Watch this! Yeah, this is me......makes me feel normal ha ha

Join the movement!

Encountering crows

When you see a crow, what springs to mind? Do you shrink back in Hitchcock-induced fright imagining it is watching you and sending signals to its brethren to come and launch an imminent attack?

Do you view it as a cheeky kleptomaniac with a fondness for bright and shiny things? Or do you perceive it as a guardian, like the ravens, standing sentry at the Tower of London, as the video below explains?

I had two encounters with crows within 24 hours before I came out to Africa for my present mission.  The first one happened when I took a leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll towards Putney and decided to cross Putney Bridge, turning left into Bishops Park. I wended my way through the lovely courtyard rose garden, past the memorial dedicated to the soldiers from Fulham who had died in the Spanish Civil War and on to the path down by the river. I continued walking under the trees until I came to a viewpoint. I stopped for a while to look out over the river and a crow flew down on to the ground a meter or so away from my feet. He stood there, cocked his head to one side and stared. It seemed like he contemplated me for a while. I moved a step, he moved a step, quite tame really.  It was nice to have some company! The weather turned colder and it began to drizzle so I said "Goodbye Mr Crow" and walked home. I know what you are thinking....."she's bats, she talks to animals", well hear this, I talk to animals often and, like Prince Charles, I talk to plants too! ha, so there! And I haven't been carted off to the funny farm yet....

Anyway I digress, the very next day, two crows flew down on to my balcony at my little flat in Battersea. I came to the patio door but they were not fazed, they chattered merrily and stared at me for a while and after some minutes flew on their way. I pondered these encounters. Were they just a coincidence or a synchronicity?

In shamanism, animals are considered sacred spiritual guides, teachers and protectors. And why not? Why should God or the Universal Life Force only speak to us through human beings why not through other animate created entities? These animal spiritual teachers are called animal totems.  Wisdom attributed to crows and rooks include

• Guardian of the place before existence
• Ability to move in space and time
• Honoring ancestors
• Ethics and Ethical behavior
• Carrier of souls from darkness into light
• Working without fear in darkness
• Guidance while working in shadow
• Moves freely in the void
• Understands all things related to ethics
• Shapeshifter

I find this fascinating, inspiring and uplifting at the same time. I began to think about animal messengers further and was reminded of several instances in the bible including the white dove of peace carrying the olive branch to Noah after the flood, signalling the appearance of dry land, Balaam's donkey that saw an Angel and was given the power to speak to its master and the ravens who brought food to Elijah by the brook Cherith. 

We are all one

Hello readers!

I would like to share this video with you as it fairly warmed my heart! Please watch and listen to the kids of today speaking out confidently about shalom, unity, peace and love. It's great! You just have to share it.

The Wisdom of the Ancients 2 - Making room for Rumi

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rumi was a 13th century Muslim poet, jurist, theologian and Sufi Mystic. After his death his followers founded the Sufi order of the Whirling Dervishes.

I discovered his poetry quite late really, during the film "The Kite Runner" in which some of his verses were quoted. I say late but is it 'late' to discover something that is already there? I was transported through time and marvelled at how his wise and beautiful words and phrases transcends time and space. For him God is the ground as well as the goal in life. To have once been cut off from the divine root, love propels us forward through our spiritual journey to evolve and be reunited with the divine. 
Enjoy one of his poems here, set to music and beautiful pictures

I bought a book of his poems called "Swallowing the Sun" which I have brought out to Namibia to meditate on. Will you join me across time and miles? Say I am You.

Happiness is.....

....a choice.  When you wake up in the morning you have a choice. You can start the day believing it to be a day of opportunities, filled with hope, love, laughter, adventure and interesting encounters or you can get out of the bed the wrong side, dreading the day ahead, thinking that it will be full of unwanted challenges, irksome people, stress, mistakes and anguish. Why even choose the latter? Why do we do this to ourselves? We can be our own worst enemies by succumbing to negative patterns of thinking and behaviour. Yet the alternative is there to be grasped. We don't have to wait to be happy. Happiness can be found, here, now in the present moment if we choose it to be so.

Breathy bendy stretchy flexy

I am very much a newcomer to yoga. I started beginners classes (open hatha yoga) at a little church hall in Wandsworth town, just round the corner from where I live, last year. Owing to travelling abroad on assignments I couldn't attend complete terms but picked it up again a few months ago. I found it challenging at first but immediately beneficial, calming my mind and gently stretching and energising my body as well as improving my balance.

I'm determined to continue this practice, and in case I can't find yoga classes on my current mission in Namibia, see fellow blog page Tall Tales from Windy Corner for updates, I have brought a yoga DVD with me. I used it for a mini-relaxing workout while I was in Johannesburg and it enabled me to wind down and get ready for sleep.

Creation is alive and kicking - it's evolving

Hello! Have any of you watched the 4thoughtTV series on "Is it possible to believe in God and Darwin?" last week? It was like a breath of fresh air to me, especially this short film with Dr Ruth Bancewicz, a geneticist, click here to watch. As a biologist by training I've been passionate about Charles Darwin's theory of evolution for years.

Studying plants and animals both in the wild and through the microscope enabled me to revel in the wonderment of a complex, yet perfectly intricately woven creation in which new species were being discovered all the time. However in the many churches I happened to venture into during my spiritual journey I have only ever been told that evolution does not exist, only creationism as described in the book of Genesis.

I feel for Darwin's dilemma, when as a devout Christian and natural scientist, the brought his theory of evolution into the public domain through this groundbreaking book "The Origin of Species" knowing full well the backlash he would face from the church. 

This dichotomy, between science and faith did not sit right with my intellect or intuition. It seemed as though evolution and creation in the worlds of science and Christianity were mutually exclusive. But are they really? I began to ponder on this. I remember having a lively debate about this topic one evening, in french, with my Congolese french teacher in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo in 2009, who was also a follower of Jesus which brought my thoughts to life.  

In my mind the six days of creation described in Genesis represent periods of time, not necessarily strict diurnal days. So just as  'the day of the lord' can represent over 1000 years, a day in the creation process could mean thousands and thousands of years.  It is interesting  to note that the order in which God created living creatures has been backed up by paleontology, geology and archeology, it's just that in Genesis it is written in a much simpler form for people to understand! I struggle to grasp the notion that God created the universe, our planet and everything in it and then stepped back. The creation was finished. That's that and God took a well earned coffee break. When God told Adam and after the flood, Noah to "be fruitful and multiply" it is clear to me that creation was still ongoing. To me our planet is something which is dynamic, living, breathing, ever changing but tightly interconnected, I suppose I think of it more in terms of James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis.

I conclude that evolution is God's creative process unfolding throughout time and history and therefore is still going forwards: in fact creation is alive and kicking - it is consciously evolving. 

Being outside the box: mutant and proud

Hello! I went to see the latest X Men film called X Men First Class a few days ago. I'm not normally into Sci Fi movies but I really enjoyed this one and thought that, as well as being full of action and a good story, it was a very clever portrayal of the struggles encountered when coming to terms with being perceived as different - the 'other' i.e. not conforming to the 'norms' of the day, and how this situation can be one of opportunity and hope or threat and fear. The phrase which has stayed with me is the X Men's slogan "Mutant and proud!"

Two TV dramas which I think also explore this theme about being 'an other' well are Lost and True Blood, and I must confess I enjoy both!

Along my own spiritual journey I have been fascinated by the compulsion of people I meet to try to categorise me. In encountering church communities as a newcomer or visitor, the first question I was often asked was "Are you believer?" followed quickly by "Oh, you are, good, which church do you go to?" It is as if the most important thing is to find out whether I am 'in or out'. If you were 'in' then there was a big sigh of relief but if you were 'out' then wariness ensued followed by a lightbulb moment as the interrogator realised that this presented an opportunity and you are ripe for change and a conversion to conformity in order to belong.

I wonder whether this compulsion is a hangover from the Age of Enlightenment when scientists of the day rationalised, identified, classified and compartmentalized everything in to the great filing cabinet of life or perhaps it speaks of a much deeper and more ancient human instinct.

Since my early 20s I've tried to follow "The Way" of Jesus and his disciples and their teachings but in doing so I haven't really alligned myself to any particular denomination so I couldn't honestly answer that second question of 'which church do you go to?". Doing the humanitarian work I do means I have the privilege of travelling all over the world and meeting many people from all sorts of cultural and faith traditions. So wherever I have ended up I've hooked up with fellow followers of "The Way" or a similar way and questions about which church quickly became irrelevant. I've always thought of church as a global and diverse body of followers on the move not as separate entities framed by denominational doctrine and confined within stone walls. It's funny but I attended a learning circle with other followers a few years ago in 2002 I was trying to explain this and someone in the circle piped up and said 'oh so you are a post-denominationalist?' And I think I responded by saying something like "I haven't thought of myself in this way, I am just me and I thought this was normal."


Last week I went to a reiki share circle and the meeting opened with a Cree traditional song which pays homage to the uniqueness of every individual. I found the song uplifting, inspiring and because it had been passed down through the ages by the oral tradition there was something beautifully timeless about it that spoke of the connectedness of all human beings whilst celebrating uniqueness. Uniqueness infers being outside of the box and not confined by the cardboard constraints of society's perceptions of conformity.

Reflecting on this I am happy to continue my life being outside the box and therefore can rejoice in the notion of being "Mutant and proud!"

Sittin on the dock of the bay.....musical oneness

Hello!

Here's another fine example of musical oneness from around the world brought to us by the amazing Playing For Change family. Let your heart sing as you watch this video.

Peace and blessings

Sarahxx

Only love

....And while reflecting on being grateful, I can honestly say I am truly grateful (to bursting point) for all the amazing musicians in this world who are blessed with the natural talent for breaking down barriers and spreading messages of hope and love through a universal language.

Check this out! I love this song called "Only Love" by Simon Webbe.

Enjoy!

Shalom,

Sarahxx

Gratefulness

Hello. I have been reflecting on the concept of gratefulness for a while now. I think many expressions of faith and spirituality seem to have gratefulness as a core value which allows us time to give thanks and be grateful for the positive things and experiences in our lives from day to day.

Ignatius Loyola

One practice I came across a few years ago, whilst working with a diverse range of churches (and therefore theologies) in inner city London, was the Daily Examen which Ignatius Loyola promoted in his spiritual exercises.  This is a simple practice which can be carried out once or twice a day and involves contemplating on two questions. For example, "what am I most grateful for today?" and "what am I least grateful for today?" or they can be framed in slightly different ways such as "what has given me life today?" and "what has drained life today?". By doing this and noticing and accepting emotions that crop up without trying to change how we feel, enables us to identify our blessings,  i.e. what we are truly grateful for and draw towards more of the 'life-giving' elements in our lives. In turn this helps us to discern whether we are on the 'right path' and can make changes accordingly.  It is like a divine inner compass.

Last year, after having received reiki treatment which helped me recover from the effects of an illness, I decided to attend an introductory reiki course. Reiki is a natural form of energy healing which was re-discovered in Japan in the early 20th century.

Reiki practitioners are taught 5 simple principles which guide daily living, one of which is "show gratitude to every living". I love this principle because it teaches me about the connectedness of all living things on our planet, that every creature has its place and purpose, and through our connectedness we are blessed.

So let us find a moment to be grateful for the wonders, blessings and miracles that are there in our daily lives.

Let's give some love away.....

I've been a big fan of the Playing for Change movement for a few years now, ever since my cousin in Canada posted a link to their video "Song around the world" on my facebook wall -  I've been hooked!

Watch it here

Playing for Change brings together musicians of all ages together from around the world in celebration and with a purpose of spreading love and hope and raising funds to build music and art schools in developing countries.

Here is another awesome offering from the Playing for Change family. Please watch, enjoy then share.

Let's give some love away people!!

Click here  to play Gimme Shelter

Shalom

Sarahxx

The Wisdom of the Ancients 1 - The Toltecs

I came across a beautiful little book a couple of years ago now called "The Four Agreements" written by Don Miguel Ruiz who is descended from the Toltecs of Mexico. In his book he has captured the wisdom of his people which has been passed down through the ages in an evocative story which encompasses a timeless prayer of love and guidance in the form of four key agreements he invites us to make with ourselves.

One of my facebook friends recently sent me the link to this video on youtube which sums up the essence of his message to the world. I hope you will enjoy watching it!

Shalom

Sarahx

Return to blogdom

Hello readers!

Well after a long break from blogging I've decided to return to the blogosphere and resume jotting down my thoughts on faith and spirituality (and related esoteric subjects) on these pages. So I guess this space will be devoted to reasonably serious reflections! However I have also created a lighter blogspot called blondebombshellincrises.blogspot (or b.b.c. for short ha) for my tongue in cheek and slightly irreverent observations on the eccentricities of the humanitarian world around which I orbit on a regular basis. Feel free to join in with me along both of these journeys. You are welcome.

Love and shalom

Sarahx