Rumi-nations....

     Well-my new favorite read is Rumi--the 13c Persian mystic. How I got a copy of "The Essential Rumi" ( a 300+ page collection of his works/translated by Coleman Barks) is a great story. I was in a bookstore, looking at a small collection/sample (less than 50 pages) of his poetry. I felt guilty--the inner voices said "he is a Muslim mystic--wont you be unfaithful to God if you read it?" So--I put it back on the shelf and went up to the checkout with my other purchases. THREE DAYS LATER, I was with a good friend having brunch, when she whipped out a bag and said--hey--I got you a Christmas present--I hope you don't already have it...and it was--you guessed it: THE ESSENTIAL RUMI !!!! :) I laughed out loud right there and felt God saying--"Well, if you can't buy it for yourself, I will GIVE IT TO YOU!!! YOU NEED TO READ THIS!!!"

     Rumi's work--prose and poetry is simply some of the most incredible work I have ever read. His reflections, or pardon the pun, Ruminations :), on God, the contemplative life, and spiritual growth, are like a glass of refreshing ice water to the soul...I don't even know where to start--my words would seem effusive unless you have read it and know what I am talking about...so, here is an appetizer for you all: one of his poems, called "The Pickaxe:"

The Pickaxe
Some commentary on "I was a hidden treasure,
and I desired to be known"; tear down
this house. A hundred thousand new houses
can be built from the transparent yellow carnelian
buried beneath it, and the only way to get to that
is to do the work of demolishing and then
digging under the foundations. With that value
in hand all the new construction will be done
without effort. And anyway, sooner or later this house
will fall on its own. The jewel treasure will be
uncovered, but it won’t be yours then. The buried
wealth is your pay for doing the demolition,
the pick and shovel work. If you wait and just
let it happen, you’d bite your hand and say,
“I didn’t do as I knew I should have.” This
is a rented house. You don’t own the deed.
You have a lease, and you’ve set up a little shop,
where you barely make a living sewing patches
on torn clothing. Yet only a few feet underneath
are two veins, pure red and bright gold carnelian.
Quick! Take the pickaxe and pry the foundation.
You’ve got to quit the seamstress work.
What does the patch-sewing mean, you ask. Eating
and drinking. The heavy cloak of the body
is always getting torn. You patch it with food,
and other restless ego-satisfactions. Rip up
one board from the shop floor and look into
the basement. You’ll see two glints in the dirt.  --Rumi

So, start digging for your treasure my friends--don't settle for anything less. --Pam

Top Reads of my 45 Year Life....

Hi gang! Thought I would share with you my favorite books, i.e., those texts that have been the most formative in my own personal life. These are the books that I revisit and have re-read regularly over the past decade or so. Ironically, two of them were purchased from "sale racks" which given their incredible content, I can only assume the bookstore owners never read them or they would have instead charged triple! Nonetheless--here they are:

       1. New Seeds of Contemplation (by Thomas Merton) a wonderful, thoughtful read on being a contemplative.

       2. The Impact of God (by Ian Matthews) A very accessible primer on St. John of the Cross--basically his profound ideas for the regular person like you and me. I have never read his actual stuff--I understand it is thick to wade through.

       3. A Clearing Season:Refections for Lent (by Susan Parsons) A gentle approach on Lent...good for those of us who tend tend to live an introspective life...and can overdo it if not careful during lent :)

       4.The Suffering of God (Terrence Frietheim). Highlights all the verses about God's deep love in the Old Testament that "Hellfire" preachers unfortunately seem to have forgotten...I am changed each time I read it.

       5. Gospel of John--my fav gospel. How can you go wrong reading the reflections of the disciple whom "Jesus loved?" Interestingly enough, John's main theme is indeed love. How much God loves us and how much God wants us to love one another. A mystic if there ever was one!

Keep Warm!  :) Pam

Ah....Advent...

Advent is truly my favorite time of year. Although many people experience this season as a rather chaotic swirl of parties, meetings, travel plans, gift wrapping, food prep etc...I am most entranced by the fact that this season celebrates God coming to us. God comes. Why is this so important to me?

I think at various times in my life--I am not sure where I am or where I am going. It brings me immeasurable comfort to know that in these times, God can come to me. God does not always expect me to figure everything out on my own and do all the work by myself. In fact, many times God comes to us--and for me, Advent is the representation of all those times when God comes when I need it the most.

Advent is also about waiting for this coming...I can get all flustered and look for bells,whistles, and fireworks--but often God shows up in things that you might miss if you were not attending to them. One thing about Mary...once she said "Yes" to God it was set in motion and was going to happen. She really couldn't do anything to make it all happen faster or slower--9 months is the general waiting period for pregnancy--but it was going to happen. I think the same is true for us. When we really say "Yes" to God--even if it is inaudible to others and is only whispered in our hearts--God hears, and the plan begins to unfold. It is going to happen.

So, in this waiting time...when God's arrival is immanent, what do we do? We prepare. Just like new parents who begin dreaming of how their lives change (they have NO IDEA really...), they get a room ready, purchase a crib, find clothes, diapers, dishes, bottles, etc...to do all they can to be READY--even though people who are already parents know all this preparation is mostly to give nervous people something to do. Because when the truth is told...could we ever really be ready for such a coming?

We think we know what it is going to look like. The people between the testaments had 400 years to prepare. You would think they would be ready. Or maybe they got tired of waiting. Or maybe they thought God forgot and had moved on. Or maybe they thought they had heard God wrong..or....whatever. Nobody thought a baby born in a stable could be God. THAT couldn't be the plan...and yet, that was EXACTLY the plan. And for those who were listening and watching for it--God let them know that indeed--it was happening before their very eyes.

So to me, Advent is a time of watching, waiting, and preparing--for surely God will come to us.