The Welcoming Prayer

The purpose of the WELCOMING PRAYER is to assist in healing the wounds of the human condition as they emerge in the midst of daily life. It is a practice of letting go of feelings, emotions, thoughts, commentaries and body sensations, and welcoming the present moment, and all it can bring, in the here and now.

The Welcoming Prayer



Gently become aware of your body and your interior state.


Welcome, welcome, welcome.


I welcome everything that comes to me in this moment


because I know it is for my healing.


I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons, situations and conditions.


I let go of my desire for security.


I let go of my desire for approval.


I let go of my desire for control.


I let go of my desire to change any situation, condition, person, or myself.


I open to the love and presence of God and the healing action and grace within.

today's post is especially with my 12 step sponsor (and trusted and beloved friend) in mind. he has been diagnosed with an unusual cancer and is facing surgery this friday. he has been fluctuating between acceptance and anger around this issue. i have no doubt it would be the same (or heavier) for me. he has been a longtime follower and admirer of father thomas keating. he has been to several contemplative outreach and prayer workshops and retreats in boulder over the years. he wrote to father keating a month or so ago to share his struggles with him. father keating wrote back with kindness and this same message. let go and open yourself up to the power within.... i love you paul....

here are a few more quotes around this poem and contemplative prayer:

What we are “welcoming” is the Indwelling Spirit’s Presence amongst the ALL of life

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The welcoming prayer is a practice of ‘letting go’ in the present moment in the ordinary routines of daily life.

“. . . the ordinary events of daily life become our practice . . .

The routine of daily life is the path to holiness for lay folks.

Contemplative prayer is aimed at transforming daily life with its never-ending round of ordinary activities.”

Father Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart, p. 125
 
 
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The reason for paying attention to your body and your interior state is that The mind deceives.

The body never lies.

Listen to the wisdom of your body.

Hear its truth.
 
 


today's sound choice is the incredible aretha franklin with a version of "bridge over troubled waters"

never too late

there are sooo many ways i could talk about this idea. the one that speaks to me today is the 12step phrase- "more will be revealed". that is truly my experience. sometimes i think i've got the situation pegged and then "WHAM!", something come up or shows up and lets me know that i don't have it all in my scope at all. this keeps me humble and that is always a lesson. and most times a welcome lesson to boot. and then those times when i feel my life might as well be over, i find that the wonders of this life have only just begun. again this reminds me- don't give up. it's never too late. the lesson here for me is clear: there is more than one side to any story and situation. stay calm, because there is always more.

most of this falls under Step 3

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives our to the care of God as we understood Him.

when i do this on a daily basis with all my afairs, i can usually find peace. if not peace, then hope for peace. i have been reading a book which says-

hope without a plan for change is actually hopelessness and avoidance of change.

step 3 is a plan for change.

and here is my favorite news today. i googled "more will be revealed" and this is what i came across: click here

decision

so today, i am reminded that i am attempting to live by ideals in my life. somehow, i seem to have gotten off of my path. i suppose this is a natural course of events, as i am not following a set of clear footprints, but merely the map of some, which means i am taking my own steps.

i know that i feel better when i walk away from any situation without the sting of selfishness and self pity, but sometimes i seem to forget that. i will try to find my way back to this ideal again. and the best way i know how to do this is by asking for some bigger guns to come on board.

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.

i am everybody

Tonglen - receiving and letting go
Tonglen is the Tibetan practice of sending and receiving. Tong means sending out or letting go, len means receiving or accepting.

This is an active practice of loving kindness, not a navel gazing exercise in self-absorption. With it we can calm the waters within and on the other side of the world. Western thought can embrace it through chaos theory's butterfly effect.

i have begun to practice tonglen in my daily life. by no means, think that i am an expert, because that just isn't so. but i have begun to consciously include compassion for others in my everyday to a degree i haven't done before.

i know that i feel as if i have just survived a tsunami and i am so filled with awe and gratitude that i am beginning to include this practice as part of my daily spiritual practices.

it seems to me that my daily spiritual life (which now includes my blogging) really sets the tone for my day. and if i am not participating in those spiritual practices, i already have a heads up that something is definitely not working in my life. this "heads up" can be a real life saver.

and if i practice letting go (both after giving and after receiving) then i make room for something better to move into my life. and i have just seen that happen for me this week. it is something so fantastic that i never could have manipulated or calculated something as quiet and as powerful and as fulfilling as i have received.


love, acceptance, and support.

and this was too delicious to not support- this week on lifelube

prayer

i am sitting at home on saturday evening preparing to speak at a meeting in a short while. i review in my head just what i might say and i find myself at a loss. this is completely funny to me, as i have been blogging for over a year now and have certainly not run out of things to say. how can it be possible for me at this juncture to be without words. perhaps i won't. perhaps i should not organinze, but pray for the right words to come.

just got back from dinner after the meeting. no one walked out. good words were shared. people showed up. the round up rustled up a bit of cash. i got to be of
service once again. this is the blessing i receive. this is the prayer i offer.

let thy will (not my will) be done...

strength in numbers

SIN is an international organization for hiv positive men that was started in los angeles by a guy named bryan levinson. it is a social organization that lends itself to being more than just a pick-up mechanism. there are parties, kaffe-klatches, dinners, movie nights, dinners, and more. and i think there is some hooking up that happens, too. after all, boys will be boys. or more appropriately, men will be men.

the denver chapter has eluded me. i joined the organization earlier this year and have received many notices of all these events, however after about march, any particular details about the wheres, the whens, and the other details have never come in the emails. and i had resigned myself that perhaps the organization may just not be for me.

but i also happen to co-chair a committee for the planning council to the mayors office of hiv resources, and having input from members of this organization could and most likely would be beneficial to at least one person in SIN and definitely be good for our committee. so i have been wrestling with a dilemma. how do i invite these men to participate or become part of the process i am in, without interfering with the general function of the group itself. to clarify, are all these guys aware of all services available to hiv positive persons in denver? do any of them have needs that are not being met? can our committee facilitate a change in any regard to this? do you know where to go if you need help with insurance continuation? are your dental needs taken care of? do you struggle with depression?

anyway, a friend on the committee who joined SIN independently was reiterating the same frustrations about the information dissemination of this group just last week. i assured him that the guy who was coordinating the activities had recently moved and probably just busy.

then i opened up my email this morning to this:

It is with deepest regret that I announce the death of Chuck Lane.
Chuck died on Monday, August 13, 2007 of a stroke.

There is going to be a celebration of Chuck's life at the residence
of Rodney Allen's parent's house. Rodney is Chuck's ex-partner.

If you would like to attend, the Celebration will be held on Sunday,
August 19, 2007 @ 0900Mountain. The location is: etc,etc, etc

this mail was then followed up with this from Bryan Levinson:

Thank you Joe for letting us know this incredibly sad news. I had
the fortune of speaking with Chuck on the phone a number of times as
he started up SIN Colorado and built it into a successful and active
poz social group. I'm really hurt by the news. He was an incredibly
sweet caring guy. Poz guys everywhere have lost a truly great friend
in Chuck.

Let me know what, if anything, I can do as well as what guys in SIN
around the world can do.

i am humbled at how quickly things can change and how little i really know. i also am in admiration of anyone who extends themselves in anyway to bring people together and throw light in a dark place. especially in denver, it is not easy to meet other poz men, and so SIN offers a really important breath of fresh air, and the fact that chuck used his energy for a greater good is admirable. my hat is off to you chuck lane. thank you for expanding the possibilities in my life.

and i offer a salutation, because you were a soldier in the fight to survive and thrive with hiv. i thank you because it can be a tough battle at times.

twacked

i had forgotten this clip. this is my brain on tina.

dear god-

i can't go back there. please don't let me. there's no way i'll survive.

warrior scout

mike jones

colorado springs pride parade 2007

in memorium

this is the latter part of 2 part post. i wasn't sure how to follow up the 1st and this seemed most appropriate.

a wish for blessings, abundance, and smiles from the heart for you. and may you find the way to understanding, acceptance and forgiveness.

The Prayer - Dion et Bocceli
Uploaded by Misreya

I pray you'll be our eyes, and watch us where we go.
And help us to be wise in times when we don't know
Let this be our prayer, when we lose our way
Lead us to the place, guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe

La luce che tu hai
I pray we'll find your light
nel cuore rester¨¤
and hold it in our hearts.
a ricordarci che
When stars go out each night,
eterna stella sei

The light you have
I pray we'll find your light
will be in the heart
and hold it in our hearts.
to remember us that
When stars go out each night,
you are eternal star
Nella mia preghiera
Let this be our prayer
quanta fede c'è
when shadows fill our day

How much faith there's
Let this be our prayer
in my prayer
when shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

Sognamo un mondo senza più violenza
un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino
Simbolo di pace, di fraternit¨¤

We dream a world without violence
a world of justice and faith.
Everyone gives the hand to his neighbours
Symbol of peace, of fraternity
La forza che ci d¨¤
We ask that life be kind
è il desiderio che
and watch us from above
ognuno trovi amor
We hope each soul will find
intorno e dentro se
another soul to love

The force his gives us
We ask that life be kind
is wish that
and watch us from above
everyone finds love
We hope each soul will find
around and inside
another soul to love
Let this be our prayer
Let this be our prayer, just like every child

Need to find a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe
Need to find a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

È la fede che
hai acceso in noi,
sento che ci salver