WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS
+ This is the final post on the style of The Way of
Nature (for now) as we continue to explore Heavenliness through the lens of the
12 styles of the Mandala process created by Edward Bastian. There are 4
more styles to explore. Prayer is next, followed by Reason, Relationships and
Wisdom. Soon we will move on to the 9 Attributes of Heaven.
+ My friend Naomi Kelly submitted this post. Nature is one of her primary spiritual
styles. She often shares photos &
reflections & questions for us on the Weaving Home Facebook page and the Weaving
Home website. She took the photo
of the rock in this post.
Walking in the
woods can be a heavenly experience. Recently we took the familiar walk around
Moss Lake, yes there were a lot of people camping, walking, recreating, but the
forest is so vast that in minutes you can be alone with hardly a sound of
civilization. The path looms ahead of you arched with pine, birch, maple - tree
after tree. A tree was even growing on top of a rock. Up hill and down hill,
crossing a brook that feeds into the lake, ferns, witch hobble, lichens and
moss are everywhere that the eye takes time to look upon. At noon, you can hear
the Eagle Bay fire siren reminding you to eat, distant voices and laughter are
heard here and there, but other than that when you are far enough from the
road you think you’re in a very secluded
place. When you listen in stillness, there is the haunting sound of the wood
thrush, a few chickadees, and above all there is peace.
There are huge
rocks along the trail, and you wonder where did they come from, how did they
get there? The answer is they were pushed in place by the huge glacier that covered the whole area in the
last ice age which receded about ten thousand years ago. Ancient rocks, rocks
of ages, it is awesome to think of how long they’ve been there, and how long
you have not. John Wilde’s words to mind:
We are
intimately,
intricately,
infinitely
connected
by a matrix of
unconditional,
unlimited,
uniting
LOVE
which is
miraculous,
mysterious and
marvelous.
and that we, like the rocks are made up of star
dust. We have our heavenliness in common.
The hush of the
forest whispers many stories, that we have passed this way before, that this is
new, that we are a part of something that is much bigger than we think, that we
are known intimately. We drink in the quiet, we let is surround us and in that
present moment we are experiencing heavenliness.
-- Naomi Kelly
+ The 12 styles of Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual
Path: An InterSpiritual Process by Edward Bastian are listed in SE206.
+ To get inspired and illuminated by Ed Bastian, I invite you to set aside some time for these videos: Seven Steps of InterSpiritual Meditation (11 minutes) | 15 minute introduction to InterSpiritual Meditation and the Mandala Process | 2 hour lecture & conversation
+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice. And, I have work to do on my Heavenliness page. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness” or “Love” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.
+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html
