“Spirit can be made by other spirits, but matter is bound with divinity itself.”
~Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

These orbs belong to an artist whose spiritual path clearly lies in his manipulation of matter. When I asked him why spheres and balance figure so prominently in his work, he said, “I don’t know, I guess I’ve just always sought balance in my life.” And he does. His corner of the world is whole, balanced and beautiful. His generous spirit shines and transforms. He doesn’t preach “the word” to everyone in an attempt to manipulate his world and feel safe, he just takes care of his little corner and it shows.

For some people prayer comes in the form of going to church, praying, meditating or some other formal practice.

For some of us, it is a matter of staying present and letting each moment inform us. My worship comes in the glory of tasting life. I touch it, smell it, taste it, fuck it.

I breathe in Life and send it back out alchemized.

I find wholeness in the moment.

Divinity resides in the mundane.

This goes out to all of us facing being alone and gazing into the emptiness and the sweet darkness. We know who we are. I salute you, support you and silently love you through it; we’re all in it together. May the light inside of us be our beacon in the darkest places. May we remember how lovable we are and may we truly taste the sweetness of the darkness.

Sweet Darkness
by David Whyte

When your eyes are tired
The world is tired also.

When your vision has gone
no part of the world can find you.

Time to go into the dark
where the night has eyes
to recognize its own.

There you can be sure
you are not beyond love.

The dark will be your womb tonight.

The night will give you a horizon
further than you can see.

You must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in.

Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn

anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive

is too small for you.

I found this written in an old journal today. The author is unknown.

A storm blew through Seattle a couple of days again with winds reported at 70 mph. A storm like this creates a lot of damage but also offers cleaner air, blue skies and a fresh feeling of newness.

I’ve been co-creating an intense, fiery storm for the past several months. It’s over now and I feel the mix of sadness, hope and cleansing that comes with the end of a relationship. As I try to make sense of it all and move forward with my life, I’m doing a lot of mental, spiritual, emotional and physical housecleaning. It feels very good.

Today, many things are being put in order. I cleaned up the branches and leaves that were scattered everywhere, washed windows, put my office in order, updated my web pages as well as many other things.

I found this little, tattered quote from Oprah’s magazine which I had cut out long ago. The words are from Oprah herself.

I also found these affirmations from my therapist tucked away in a drawer. This was truly a gift from my angels today:

I am filing for divorce this week. While I am mourning what could have been with many different relationships, I am facing the future with hope and with peace in my heart.

I am gathering the strength to fill myself with love. My empty, shattered spaces need it. (At least my car is cleaned, my windows washed and my office is ready for action.

I have a wonderful checklist I got from my therapist on “Maintaining Personal Boundaries in Relationships” by David Richo. He has a free E-book which you can access here. It’s very worthwhile reading if you are on a healing path. I found this wonderful piece of writing by him on the building blocks of healthy self-respect. They are our potentials for goodness, our human virtues.

A suggestion he makes is to ask yourself how closely you approximate each of them on a scale of one to ten. Make an enlarged copy of this list and hang it where you will see it often. Show it to your partner, your best friend, and one family member and tell them you welcome their feedback about your progress. This addresses the authentic humility dimension of the healthy ego. Re-rate yourself in six months to see a change for the better.

I am sincerely looking for my own truth and design my life accordingly.

I am happy when I appear as I am without pretense and no matter how unflattering.

I notice times when I am not in touch with my adult powers. I do not feel ashamed of myself nor do I blame others. I simply acknowledge my inadequacy, ask for help, or try something new.

I occasionally resist the challenges on my path. I accept this as part of the journey. I make room for occasional mistakes and procrastination.

I am not perfect but I am committed to working on myself. I welcome feedback that shows me where I am less loving than I can be, where I am less tolerant, where less open. I make a plan to change for the better in accord with what I learn.

Rather than pass through important experiences of life unconsciously, I choose to pause long enough to address and process what is happening. This often leads to resolving and personally evolving. I am noticing that the more conscious I am about my personal work the more do I care about the world and the part I can play in its co-creation.

I ask for what I want without demand or expectation, take responsibility for my feelings and behavior, have personal boundaries, and at the same time I act gently toward others.

I have standards of rigorous honesty in all my dealings and I live in accord with them. If I fall down in this, I admit it and make amends. I easily and willingly apologize when necessary.

I act toward others not as they act toward me but in accord with personal standards of fairness. I am committed to resisting evil and fighting injustice in non-violent ways. In this way, I focus on restorative justice not retributive justice.

I do not knowingly hurt others. If they hurt me, I do not retaliate only open a dialogue and ask for amends.

I am less and less competitive in relationships and find an abiding joy in cooperation.

I look at other people and their choices without censure.

I am able to say “Ouch!” to inappropriate pain in jobs, relationships, and interactions with others. I take action to change what can be changed and to move on when things remain abusive. I do this without self-pity or the need to make others wrong.

I confront the inherited or habitual governing principles of my psyche rather than placate them. For instance, if I operate on a scarcity model—being ungenerous because I fear there will not be enough for me—I admit it and act as if I believed in abundance.

I keep my commitments and finish the tasks I agree to do. More and more I can tell what my limits and skills are. This helps me set sane yet generous boundaries on how much I offer to do for others.

I have reason to be proud of some accomplishments. Thoreau wrote in his journal: “A man looks with pride at his woodpile.” (Our serious commitment to the practices on these pages is our “woodpile.”)

I ask this question as I enter any relationship or task: Is this a context in which I can fulfill my life purpose?

I am responding to an inner call to me to find and live out my vocation and my personal potential. I make the choices in life that make room for new possibilities.

I am engaged enthusiastically in something meaningful and this is the source of my bliss.

I am always aware of the pain and poverty of those less fortunate than myself. I find ways to respond that combine generosity and personal contact. I can see goodness and something touching in any person.

Confronted with the suffering in the world, I do not blame God or man but simply ask: “What then shall I do?” I respond to pain in others with a plan to help, even if it has to be minimal. Meeting needs with resources is lighting one candle rather than cursing the darkness. T.S. Eliot said: “I sat upon the shore with the arid plain behind me. Shall I at least set my lands in order?”

I have an unwavering sense of myself as a person of conviction while still being flexible. I am able to change my behavior, to drop outmoded beliefs, and to make alterations in my lifestyle that fit the ever-evolving demands of my world. I see an identity crisis as an opportunity for enlightenment!

My love of nature makes me tread gently on the earth with what St. Bonaventure called “a courtesy toward natural things.”

I live in accord with my deepest needs, wishes, values, and potentials while remaining attentive to the needs of others too.

I notice that I am no longer stopped or driven by fear or desire though I still feel them—and that is all right with me.

I learn from my own reactions: Tears at a movie invite me to look at my personal griefs. Attraction and repulsion invite me to look at my shadow. Memories and images that tug at me invite me to stay with them and to follow their lead into my own unopened spaces.

I have spiritual self-respect as I honor the divine life within me that activates any love, wisdom, or healing power I may show. I say thanks for these graces and yes to these challenges.

“To be human is to be born into the world with something to achieve, namely, the fullness of one’s human nature, and it is through the virtues that one does so… The virtues are the only guarantee against a wasted life. “-Paul Wadell, C.P.