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In the thin places between worlds
I catch glimpses of You in the cracks.
In the translucent shimmering spaces
I hear hints and whispers on the wind.
Here in this portal between light and dark,
birth and death,
hope and destruction,
fairies and the malevolent ones,
I feel You everywhere,
illuminating the deepening darkness
as the world prepares to enter the long sleep,
the patient holding time that is winter.
Tea lights and lanterns
light up the world,
keeping the hobgoblins at bay.
The sacred fires have been lit
to burn away all that no longer serves,
all that is no longer welcome.
Durga presides over this bonfire –
fierce love and protectiveness
refusing to let me settle for anything less
than my best possible future self.
Her eight warrior’s arms
ward off all the old unconscious patterns
and habits I choose to no longer be slave to:
people-pleasing, putting my own needs last,
not resting enough, not giving myself enough alone-time,
saying yes when I mean no, procrastination,
avoidance, addiction.
These, my eight deadly sins
she encourages me to release to the fire
so that these dead weights may be
alchemically transmuted and transformed
into life-giving gold for my soul.
As the world becomes darker and yet darker,
and we enter the witching time, a liminal time, an in-between time,
this dark aspect of the Mother
helps me to stay focused and clear
as She warms me up with her passion, love, and power.
Meanwhile You smile and nod,
as I catch a fleeting flash of You through the keyhole
into the secret garden.
In the play of light and shadow on the grass at twilight,
in the groan of a labouring mother,
in the sigh of a person taking their last laboured breath,

in the tears of Jesus as He looked upon Mary and Martha mourning the dead
Lazarus,
in the infinite intricacies of the harmonies of Bach,
helping me to remember
that all is in balance,
the light will return after the dark,
life follows death
as surely as Spring follows the long sleep,
and soon the veil will be lifted
and I’ll enter the garden
and the worlds will be one.

ES Samhain/Diwali/Hallowe’en 2016

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Peace begins with me ....Susanna Micaelis 27/2/22

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Peace begins with me ....Susanna Micaelis 27/2/22

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If peace begins with me

then war must also begin with me

Beloved One, please help me

Where my mind holds conflict

may I calm my thoughts

and welcome stillness

Where there is tension in my body

may I breathe light into every cell

and welcome healing

Where there is war in my heart

may I breathe forgiveness

and welcome peace

Where my soul is restless

may I remember love

and welcome grace

May I be love

may I be light

may I be forgiveness

may I be peace.

Amen

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The Gifts of Christmas by Susanna Micaelis

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The Gifts of Christmas by Susanna Micaelis

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From Joseph I receive trust, loyalty, protection
the fervent love of a good father
from Mary I receive acceptance
an invitation to ponder things in my heart
the tender love of the Holy Mother
from the donkey I receive steadfastness
the ability to carry what is necessary
and from the innkeeper I receive shelter,
a resting place, a sanctuary

from the angel on the hillside over Bethlehem

I receive a message of hope
and a star to guide me on the path to Love
from the shepherds I receive humility,
care for animals, connection to earth
and the courage to follow guidance
from the Kings I receive the gold of Love Divine,
frankincense, the fragranced air, the breath of Truth
and myrrh, to consecrate the willingness to serve
from the host of angels singing joy
I receive exultation, affirmation, celebration
and from the Christ-child in the manger
I receive the light of wonder,
the miracle of new-born life

the invitation to open my heart to love more
and the promise of eternal connection.

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Read by Wies 12/12/21
Within the vast expanse of the cosmos
you are a tiny, warm and pulsing spark.
Your birth was a brief awakening
from silent eons spent sleeping in the dark.
The reason your heart swells with wild wonder
at the dazzling diamond chandeliers of night
is that your body is built from ancient star dust.
The universe now sees itself through your eyes.
So let the breath of sweet gratitude fill you,
as the light of each new day begins.
For this moment itself is a miracle,
and to live it is your privilege, my friend.

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A Blessing For Travelling in the DarkBy Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace

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A Blessing For Travelling in the DarkBy Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace

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Go slow
if you can.
slower.
More slowly still.
Friendly dark
or fearsome,
this is no place
to break your neck
by rushing
by running,
by crashing into
what you cannot see.

Then again
it is true:
different darks
have different tasks,
and if you

have arrived here unawares,
if you have come
in peril
or in pain,

this should be no place
you should dawdle.

I do not know

what these shadows ask of you,
what they might hold
that means you good
or ill.
It is not for me
to reckon

whether you should linger
or you should leave.

But this is what
I can ask for you:

That in the darkness
there be a blessing.
That in the shadows
there be a welcome.
That in the night
you be encompassed
by the Love that knows
your name.

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I.
Alone but never lonely
trees rise rooted
in a web of life.
When I cut a branch of cedar
all the pines sigh.
I find my way back
into those green fellowships.
Celebrate
the chrysalis of dark
with green branches.
Close to Solstice,
sun broods distant.
Our hearts weigh in
for the last race of the year.
Have we light enough to share?
It is a matter of choice.

II.
Triumphant in the depths of every human soul
Lives the Spirit of the Sun:
Quickening forces, Angels’ wings
Waken our feelings to this Presence
In winter’s inner life.
Hope leaps in our hearts
As we behold the Spirit victory of Sun
In the Blessed feast for the Inner Child of Light,
Sign of highest life
In winter’s deepest night.

Auriol de Smidt
9 December 2018

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Peace in our time: Forres Big Choir 2014

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Peace in our time: Forres Big Choir 2014

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Before the service started a beautiful video could be seen of people gathering around in a room and singing together "Peace in our time". So nice to seen again how we could do this in pre-covid times.
The sons is written by Nick Prater at the time of the big anti-war demonstrations in 2004. The Forres Big Choir sings it on its 10th birthday Big Sing. Kinloss Church Hall, near Forres, Moray, Scotland. Saturday 15 February 2014.

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Falling in love with where you are by Jeff Foster

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Falling in love with where you are by Jeff Foster

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Dying to all
you think you know

Letting go of the image
of how life 'should’ be

Sinking into the vast mystery
of the present moment

Embracing change and loss
as misunderstood friends

Falling in love
with where you are

This is the path
for those who know
there is no path

Only endless destinations
and never-ending beginnings

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Barbara Swetina holds a singing celebration every Friday evening at 8pm GMT, more convenient for those in the American time zones. Please email swissangel@bluewin.ch for inclusion on the mailing list. To purchase an immediate pdf download of Barbara's Songs of Heaven and Earth (the Findhorn Community) songbook as used in our sessions click below.

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Barbara Swetina holds a singing celebration every Friday evening at 8pm GMT, more convenient for those in the American time zones. Please email swissangel@bluewin.ch for inclusion on the mailing list. To purchase an immediate pdf download of Barbara's Songs of Heaven and Earth (the Findhorn Community) songbook as used in our sessions click below.

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The Heaven and Earth Community
Songbook from Findhorn

A Treasure of heart opening Songs and Dances from around the World.

In many months of loving work John Rees and myself have put together a beautiful book of spiritual songs from all around the world. There are more than 180 songs, many with harmony parts as sung in Findhorn and other spiritual communities. For those who already know my songbooks, it has all the little books under one cover plus as many new ones. It contains music, words, chords, harmonies, dance descriptions, background information and other useful stuff. There is an index of songs by:
-musical form (unison, rounds, 2,3,4,6,8 part songs)
-spiritual & geographical origin and subjects (like peace, love, Goddess etc)
-sources, authors & arrangers.

It is spiral bound for easy use, with environmentally friendly paper and ink and has beautiful illustrations by my friend Francois Monnet.

My mission is to bring beautiful spiritual music to the planet. I hope you will enjoy the book and please let anyone know, who could benefit from such a collection!

The Heaven & Earth Community Songbook from Findhorn (£17.00)

The Heaven & Earth Community Songbook PDF Version (£15.00)

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Barbara Swetina - The Heaven and Earth community Songbook from Findhorn

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A Treasure of heart opening Songs and Dances from around the World. In many months of loving work John Rees and myself have put together a beautiful book of spiritual songs from all around the world. There are more than 180 songs, many with harmony parts as sung in Findhorn and other spiritual communities.

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Mother Earth, Father Sky – A Body Prayer for Peace

As Mother Earth and Father Sky make love in the garden of my heart
I stand in balance – here, now - in this moment - in peace
I stand rooted in the rich soil of Mother Earth
I breathe in Her Essence - I breathe out grounded peace
I breathe in Her Beauty - I breathe out awe and wonder
I breathe in Her Abundance - I breathe out deep gratitude
from deep within the Love of Mother Earth I draw up Her gifts
and welcome them into the garden of my heart
***
As Father Sky and Mother Earth make love in the garden of my heart
I stand in balance – here, now - in this moment - in peace
I am connected through Sun, Moon and Stars to Father Sky
I breathe in Heavenly Light - I breathe out grounded peace
I breathe in Cosmic Fire - I breathe out awe and wonder
I breathe in Great Spirit - I breathe out deep gratitude
from deep within the Love of Father Sky I draw down these gifts
and welcome them into the garden of my heart

I stand in balance

a beloved child of Mother Earth and Father Sky

I breathe - I smile - I pray
may there be peace in my heart
may there be peace in all beings
may there be peace in our world
deep peace - deep peace - deep peace

Susanna Michaelis
Autumn Equinox 2021

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This lovely video has now reached 328,000 views on YouTube - an amazing achievement!

The comments about Ian and the nature sanctuary are heartwarming; well done Ian, your enthusiasm for this special building shines through.

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Man Builds Earthen Hobbit Inspired Building in Scotland

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Read by Jasmine Sunday Taize 8/8/21

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean - the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down - who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

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Forgiveness Poem                Margot Henderson             From Sunday Taize 25 June 2021 

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Forgiveness Poem                Margot Henderson             From Sunday Taize 25 June 2021 

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Dear Fabien asked me again the other day

“Can you share one of your poems at Taize?”

It seemed a simple task until I asked

“What is the theme. He said “Forgiveness".

I had to say, “I don’t have a poem on Forgiveness

But I said yes anyway

...maybe its time for me to write one

This set me wondering,

Why have I not written a poem on forgiveness yet?

Is this another cause for self recrimination or regret?

Is this a problem to be solved?

Does it mean I am not sufficiently evolved?

So I set myself a quest

to contemplate forgiveness

What is that movement of forgiveness in the human heart?

How do we tend each wound and hurt?

Without becoming bitter, shut down or stuck in the past.

How do we “drop the knife” as Hafiz says

the knife whose blade is double edged

pointing at ‘the other’ yet piercing our own flesh.

How do we have compassion for the hurt that we have caused.

really seeing the other and feeling true remorse.

How do we sense the difference between guilt and regret

as Pema Chodron says

where guilt is toxic and weighs heavy on the heart.

while regret means embracing our own tenderness

How do we extend compassion to the one who hurt us?

knowing they are human just like us

knowing every action has its cause.

How do we forgive what we may not be able to forget?

I don’t know about you but I know that often I need help

Forgiveness doesn’t happen all at once.

It takes time. It happens day by day.

Sometimes it helps to pray

Give us this day how shall we live it?

Our daily bread who shall we share it with?

May we forgive each other and ourselves all of our trespasses

May we live on this Earth which is in Heaven. May we receive and share the gifts.

I have a Jewish friend who trained in medicine

hoping to ease the suffering of both sides in Palestine.

Before long he realised that he was simply helping people mend

so they could go and fight each other again.

He wanted to do something that would help them more

so he became a storyteller...believing this

would help us see our shared humanity

and put an end to the desire for revenge.

I was so touched by this I wrote a song to bless his wish

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind

so how can we try to be more human kind

We all feel the pain that is the dying proof

Of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

So lets sit down together in this Once upon a time

tell me your story and I will tell you mine

Then you can see me and I can see you

There’ll be an I for an I and a truth for a truth.

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Raindrops fall like footsteps, softly tip-toeing
Blackbirds’ songs tremble the stems
Leaves whisper tender lullabies to the sky
Everything sings
Wild geese call the four winds
their wing-beats strumming bass lines
from shoreline to shoreline
Everything sings
Branches reach out from the trees
humming like cello strings
Crows caw and croak picking over the bones
Rivers ripple rhythms over the stones
Everything sings
Deep sea creatures stir and undulate
Herons rise up in flight and skrake
as distant stars vibrate
Everything sings
Snowflakes whisper perfect haiku to the spring
buds pause in their unfolding, rapt in listening
Everything sings
Every thing sings
This silence

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This Being Us                      by Margot Henderson  

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This Being Us                      by Margot Henderson  

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Maybe we were all in such a rush to incarnate, we couldn’t wait.
We didn’t hear or didn’t listen to the words the angels whispered in our ears.
We were so curious, wondering what would it be like being us?
So inquisitive, how would it feel to live on Earth? In a body? On
breath?
We didn’t stop to think. We didn’t read the small print, the bit that said,
“When you choose to live a life on Earth,
you will experience, Old Age. Sickness and Death.”
We were all so taken by the other stuff.
So busy tasting apples in Eden, taking more than we needed
and never quite feeling that we had enough.
We forgot that as time goes on, things might get a bit rough.
This is when we are most likely to feel hurt
“I didn’t sign up for this.”
“I just wanted happiness and bliss.”
(there is no doubt these too exist)
But maybe this is where the healing really is.
When we feel our suffering and let it in.
When we see what we are up against doing this human thing.
Knowing one day we will all lose everyone and everything we love.
How can we not feel compassion for ourselves
and for each and every one of us?
Maybe this is how we learn what it really means to love.
This is how our hearts are tenderised.
This is what opens up our eyes to the preciousness of human life.
The mystery of consciousness, the miracle of being us.

Poem for Sunday Taize 28/2/21

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Our pilgrim age                   by Margot Henderson               

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Our pilgrim age                   by Margot Henderson               

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These days we can’t travel far to holy places or to foreign parts

but all of life is always here, wherever we are

and we can still be pilgrims in our hearts.

Today we have a mountain in our living room to meditate upon.

Arunachala, of which Lord Shiva said,

“As the moon derives its light from the sun

so all holy places derive their light from this one.

For it is here that I have taken form.

This is the I the Holy Ohm, the Heart of the World,

the place to which true pilgrims come.”

Can we hope to find this heart as we stay home?

What are these strange untimely days,

if not a kind of pilgrimage.

A sacred solitary journey into the unknown,

a vision quest where we are put to the test

to see what we are made of.

Where we may find ourselves, so often lost.

Where we may meet other pilgrims as our paths may cross.

Yet still our deepest encounter is as ever with ourselves

Now at the Winter Solstice, we hold the point of stillness

balanced between dark and light

before the world turns towards the light again.

At this time the stars are finally aligned,

as the Age of Aquarius dawns at last

as promised in the songs of the 70’s

(a dawning that well and truly took its time

before the starry dancers fell into rhythm and into line)

What of us? How will we dance?

How will we live this time?

These coming days will be our pilgrim age

for we have a mountain yet to climb.

May we count our blessings and learn our lessons

May we each walk in a sacred way.

May we remember each other as we pray.
Poem for Sunday Taize 20/12/20