Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love. – I John 4:8
The wind is breezy, moving and swaying the long grass in the field. As I lay a track for Carlie, I decide which portions of the track will follow ‘downwind’ and which part will have a ‘cross wind’. I choose terrain of various grass lengths because scent is held, pooled and travelled depending upon terrain and vegetation and I want to lay track that is both challenging and yet achievable, encouraging her to be confident in her skill to “follow the trail”.
The sun is bright and it is a wonderful Friday afternoon, heading into summer’s first long weekend. When I return to the house, Carlie is sitting at the door, patiently waiting for me. She knows ‘the game’ that is about to take place. I putter around the house waiting for Nature to do ‘Her thing’ with the track, moving the scent here and there with the wind. Nature loves joining in on our tracking adventures, sometimes as an aid, sometimes as a trickster.
Finally, it’s time. I put on her tracking harness, clip on the long line and put a few treats in my pocket. Carlie starts tracking before she even gets to the track. (She is always seeking the advantage.) Her tail is up and wagging, her eyes are bright and she is panting with anticipation and joy. We get to the start area and I tell her ‘search’. Down goes her nose and into another world she enters. She finds the trail, pulls forward and begins. I walk behind her. She maneuvers the corners, the wind, and the different terrain with delight in the game and in her skill. Challenges arise and become solved. We find the first two items. The gravel poses a difficulty and I have to direct her to follow scent on gravel, across bricks and then wahoo, the tug toy is hidden under a plant in the garden, the final ‘lost item’. We play tug. She tugs and growls and pulls and shakes the tug. What joy! A truly glorious moment.
The moment grabs my heart. My heart opens with love for Carlie. I feel an expansiveness in my chest and I know we are connected. I feel a complete harmony with her joy, and as we return to the house, we celebrate one another and the best we bring to each other. I feel the laughter of the sun and the humour in the wind who created just enough challenge to stretch our minds about what is possible. In this moment of love, of expansiveness and harmony, I feel Goddess ~ I feel Love, or in the words of Pema Chodron, Compassionate Abiding, connected with the Mystery, one with all Essence.
It was that simple. An openness to loving another. A pure joy. Unitive harmony. A surrender which takes me deep into my Self and beyond my ego. And for a moment, reality changes. For a moment, I transform. For a moment, I plant my feet in the land of blessing, and I am home in love. I accept I am accepted in Goddess Love. I recall Tillich’s words: “Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: ‘You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted! If that happens to us, we experience grace. After such an experience we may not be better than before, and we may not believe more than before. But everything is transformed. In that moment, grace conquers sin, and reconciliation bridges the gulf of estrangement. And nothing is demanded of this experience, no religious or moral or intellectual presupposition, nothing but acceptance.” – from Paul Tillich’s sermon You Are Accepted.
In Reiki Ryoho practice, we say Reiki is Love, Pure Awareness, the Essence of Everything. Goddess is Love. Love is pure acceptance. The core of our meditations is to surrender whole heartedly into this Universal Love and Harmony, into this Abiding Compassion, into Goddess who is within us and is the Essence of Everything. And gently, we are changed and change. Love changes everything. Accepting Pure Acceptance transforms us.
Create a moment and return to Love yet again. And if you have wandered far or fallen down, and are estranged from that Holy Love, I share this invitation of our Peace Circle:
Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again, come, come. – Rumi
Know Love. Be loved. Love. It is the alchemy of life.
Namaste,
Shirley Lynn
About our next Peace Circle:
Loving Mother Earth, Loving Self
Saturday, June 24th, 2017
12:00 – 4:00 pm in Waterloo, ON
Weather permitting, this Circle will be outdoors
Cost: $60 (+HST)
Co-Facilitators Shirley Lynn Martin & Karen McCarthy have put together an inspiring Peace Circle during which participants will have the opportunity to reflect on and draw wisdom from Thich Nhat Hanh’s article “Falling Back in Love with Mother Earth”.
During our time together in Circle, we will:
- learn ‘to do’ self love by ‘loving Mother Earth’
- expand, enhance and deepen our meaning of self love as we learn to expand/deepen our meaning of loving Mother Earth
- create deeper connection and integrated awareness of the path to loving ourselves, to loving Mother Earth
Come join us and spend the afternoon in a community who chooses to love ourselves, Mother Earth, and each other. Experience the healing power in the Circle ceremony and stories that collectively transform our being and our relationships. Register today!