Vengence is not mine

"Now it is time that gods came walking out
of lived-in Things...
Time that they came and knocked down every wall
inside my house...

                                                       O gods, gods!
who used to come so often and are still
asleep in the Things around us, who serenely
rise and at wells that we can only guess at
splash icy water on your necks and faces...
once again let it be your morning, gods.
We keep repeating.  You alone are source.
With you the world arises, and your dawn
gleams on each crack and crevice of our failure."

~Rainer Maria Rilke

After all

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

~Romans 12:19

And

"Surrounded by artifacts, by illusory and seductive sirens of popular culture, our task is to intuit the presence of the gods, to lift soul up and out of that delusory surface texture."

~James Hollis

Many of you who have experienced the desire for vengence know the significance of the words posted herein.  Some of us will pay a high price to get it.  Others will know that lived-in things rumble with the energy of the gods and will make a beautiful place to house their wrath. 

...blessed are those who stay put with the gods in beautiful lived-in Things?  Can you hear the rumble of their energy knocking down the walls? 

Awakening

"Our vision will become clear only when you look into your heart . . . Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens."

                                                                                    ~Carl Jung (1875-1961)
 

The Exchange of Gold

How much of your gold have you given to others to bear?  Did they keep it for themselves, throw it away or reveal their own gold by encouraging you to take yours back so you might dare to radiate your own brilliance?  

 

"The exchange of gold is a mysterious process. It’s our gold, but it’s too heavy for us, so we need someone to carry it for a time, and he becomes synonymous with meaning. We follow him with an eagle eye wherever he goes. His smile can raise us to heavenly heights; his frown hurls us to hellish depths, so great is the power of meaning."

From Alchemy and Inner Gold, a post at the blog Inner Work by Jungian speakers and co-authors Robert A. Johnson and Jerry M. Ruhl, who invite us to "gather round the cyber campfire, share a dream from last night or your waking dreams for a more meaningful life." 

Unexpected Altars

"I have found malaise in the midst of plenty and stirring hope in circumstances that should have produced despair. I have found evil in the most unexpected places, and also God."

~Philip Yancey, Finding God In Unexpected Places

Wait...

Concerning Sonia Sotomayer:

"How dare she be smart and aggressive? Wait, she’s a lawyer and a judge."

by alphafeminist at Feminist Philosophers blog

Love and the Restraint of Power

The Christian mantra to "love your neighbor as yourself" is an interesting one.  In my opinion it is also completely and totally misunderstood and practiced less in church settings than anywhere I know.  That is because so much of church "politics" is power mongering, and the church is just a xerox copy of the world with pious-sounding accompaniment.  It is mongering with a mantra; crawling over people to stand big and tall on platitudes.

Love is not only about what one does; it may be about what one can do but does not do.  Working in the justice system, I have known this for a long time.  I finally found a Christian writing that recognizes the value of some things left undone:    

"While reactive victims are primarily known by their 'against' stances, proactive people do not demand rights, they live them.  Power is not something you demand or deserve, it is something you express.  The ultimate expression of power is love; it is the ability not to express power, but to restrain it.  Proactive people are able to 'love others as themselves.'"

From Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

Mist and Fire

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

"There is a powerful kind of silence that engages my consciousness during my most centered and productive moments.  This inner space has a quality of active, very alive, utter stillness.  It is where I hear the voice of my creative muse most clearly."

~Leslie Montana

There are not enough days of stillness, but when they come, my insides hum with clarity and ideas.  The dogs sleep, the TV sleeps, no music floats on the air.  Only the gurgling noise of coffee brewing and a train whistle in the background can be heard.  I wear my robe all day; I forego makeup; I have never been more beautiful.  I cannot say that I am at peace, but I am at something somehow better...a joy of clarity.  I know things I have not known and am grateful for the insight.  I am a crucible of creativity, and there is mist and fire in the crucible. 

Our Finest Moments

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." ~M. Scott Peck

Defending Thought

I know it sounds insane, but in the last several years I have actually felt the need to defend intellect as I have witnessed a groundswell of bad will toward use of the brain, complete with the assumption that intellect contains no "heart".  I cannot separate heart and mind taking a cue from Jesus who taught that as we think with our hearts, so we are. 

Likewise, I agree with Richard Blackstone who indicates that as we think, so we create: 

"As a master creator here on the plain of manifestation you understand that all of your creations have their genesis in the thoughts you think. The beauty of thoughts is that if you are thinking a thought that doesn't serve you it can always be changed."

Now that's good thinking. 

Within

Mens regnum bona possidet