Newsletter -- April 2010

This newsletter is a publication of the Mystical Order of the White Rose, a multifaith devotional and spiritual support organization. We support and share information about mystical, monastic, contemplative and creative ways of living. We encourage prayer, the reading of sacred scripture(s), lectio divina, meditation, journaling, solitude, fasting, silence, kindness, hospitality, worship, simplicity, creativity, active involvement in spiritual and/or religious communities, and loving service to others. You can view past issues here and you can subscribe to it here .

Theme: Spiritual Spring Cleaning; Spring

Table of Contents

-- "Shoveling Rubble" by Cynthia Kiteley Lee

--   Spiritual Spring Cleaning

--   April Resources for Gardeners, Walkers and Lovers of the Green Way

--   Poem/Hymn: "Now the Green Blade Riseth" (Christian and Wiccan lyrics)

--   Daily Devotionals

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Shoveling Rubble

         There is an ancient Hermetic axiom that states: "as within, so without." If you accept and apply this axiom to domestic (and other) matters, as I do, you can understand why details of domestic life can have great spiritual and psychological significance.

         This brings me to the rubble. Rubble is my code word for all the stuff that piles up on many of the surfaces in my home. My stuff consists of papers, file folders, magazines, mail, assorted small objects, and bags; lots of bags. Bags are a key component of my domestic and professional infrastructure. They function as portable file drawers and task specific centers of operation. Until recently, I had managed to shovel most of the rubble into the least used room of our home, my former office and library.

      After acquiring my first laptop computer last summer, my base of operations shifted to our living room, where I could be with my husband, who had been patient but unhappy with the many hours I spent in my office working on my desktop computer.

      I dubbed the office-library the Final Frontier and taped a sheet of paper to it requesting that our new cleaning ladies (a team of two sisters) refrain from entering or cleaning the room. It was wonderful to have our home cleaned professionally. These ladies did industrial strength cleaning, not fluff and buff and swish and swipe stuff. Fan blades were cleaned, the oven and refrigerator were scoured, windows washed, the gross stuff in corners and between the washer and dryer was removed along with every dust encrusted spider web dangling from our celings.

      All this cleaning and ordering inspired me to do a book and knick knack purge and add my own efforts to creating greater and greater cleanliness and order in our home.

      All was going well, I thought, until one of my wishes re: domestic improvement was granted. This wish was that the ugly, soiled (we're talking animal soil here) outdoor carpet glued to the floor of our guest room be removed by a team of handymen. We have few guests, so most of the time this bedroom functions as Cynthia's Sanctuary. I use it for meditating, journaling, reading, my altar, devotional books and yoga practice.

        The sanctuary is the smallest of our three bedrooms and I never imagined that removing every single stick of incense and furniture from it would turn our living room and dining room into areas that looked like they had been hit by a hurricane.

      The floor that was revealed by the carpet's removal was white oak instead of the particle board we had been expecting to see. The floor was sanded (twice) and this resulted in a fine film of sawdust throughout our home; as in everywhere. Then the floor had three coats of polyurethane applied to it. The stench of the varnish permeated the house and, combined with dust, led my husband to come down with a head cold. We finally got the bright idea of opening the windows in the sanctuary a few inches (this required a crowbar) to let noxious fumes out and fresh air in,

       After a week of living in chaos, we are looking forward to having the furniture moved back in tomorrow morning. And there's the rub. The next wish being granted is that the thin indoor carpet on the wooden floor in the Final Frontier will be removed, and that floor refinished. Although I had succeeded in clearing a path through the rubble in the office-library, the rubble was far from gone. Tomorrow morning is also the time when the handymen (a father and son team) will start the process of removing everything from that room. No more shoveling rubble in that room. No more careful shifting and sifting of papers, magazines, greeting cards, and much much more. No more time to get it straightened out.

       They say be careful what you wish for. Well, I'm delighted to have my home improvement wishes granted, but I realize that the divine forces that be have, in the process, almost literally painted me into a corner re: the disorder in my life. I can no longer get away with hiding it, shoveling it, sifting through it and generally piddling around in my efforts to establish order in my "personal effects." And this a good thing, a deeply yearned for thing. It is also a traumatic thing.

        My outer expression of inner "overwhelm" and chaos is being forcibly ended. Ah, you may say, just give it a few weeks or months and you'll be right back shoveling rubble again. I don't think so. Although this was not an entirely conscious process, I set in motion the energies and activities of establishing order in my home and home business activities and personal projects.

        I expect major and lasting improvements in my domestic and non-domestic home-based task management once the sawdust has settled and the furniture has been returned to its place. I have come to a phase in my life where I not only want but need order to function effectively and handle my increasingly complex and demanding tasks and responsibilities.

        In times past, I was the only one who got stressed and suffered because of the disorder. Now, with the number of people and clients I serve, I am not and would not be the only one to be negatively impacted by it. Funny, isn't it, how some of us will exert ourselves more strenuously to assist others than ourselves.

         The dynamic dance between our inner and outer worlds has the power to transform our lives in positive and negative ways. I choose a dance of joy, love, beauty, service and, yes, order.

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Spiritual Spring Cleaning

Early Spring is traditionally a time for Spring cleaning. We want to throw open windows, welcome warm, fresh air into our homes and shake out and shake off the dust of winter.

Spiritual spring cleaning is not a familiar or traditional practice, but it offers us the chance to bring fresh energies into our spiritual lives and to grow and blossom in unexpected ways.

A Collection of Articles:

-- Spring Cleaning for the Soul

-- Rituals for Springtime Soul Cleansing

-- Spring Cleaning as a Spiritual Act

-- Spring Cleaning for Your Dreams

-- Removing the Deadwood

-- Clearing Spiritual Clutter

and more.....

Spiritual Spring Cleaning by Deborah King

Spiritual Spring Cleaning (Christian) by Stacy R. Miller

Spiritual Spring Cleaning (New Age) by Lauren D'Silva

Spiritual Spring Cleaning (Christian) by Mary Fairchild

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April Resources for Gardeners, Walkers and Lovers of the Green Way

Click here to read: Poems, Quotes, Folklore, Myths, Lore, Customs, Holidays, Traditions, Celebrations, Sayings, Poetry, Quips, References, Links, Ideas, Gardening Chores

Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo
The Librarian of Gushen Grove
Red Bluff, California

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Poem/Hymn: "Now the Green Blade Riseth"

Christian and Wiccan Lyrics

Video: Love Is Come Again by St. Barnabus Anglican Church Choir

Christian Lyrics

now the green blade riseth
from the buried grain
wheat that in dark earth
many days has lain
love lives again
that with the dead has been
love is come again like
wheat that springeth green

in the grave they laid him
love whom hate had slain
thinking that never
he would wake again
quick from the dead
my risen Lord is seen
love is come again like
wheat that springeth green

forth he came at Easter
like the risen grain
he that for three days
in the grave had lain
quick from the dead
my risen Lord is seen
love is come again like
wheat that springeth green

when our hearts are wintry
grieving or in pain
thy touch can call us
back to life again
fields of our hearts
that dead and bare have been
love is come again like
wheat that springeth green

Wiccan Lyrics

Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain,
Wheat that in the dark Earth many days has lain.
Love lives again, that with the dead has been.
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.

Now the spirit stirreth at the stricken root
From the rotted tree stump springs a living shoot
Mold, muck and clay bring for the green of May
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green

In the Earth they laid them in a barren place
Witches from the burning nameless and erased.
Rising again, their ashes feed the grain.
We are come again like wheat that springeth green.

Now the wasteland bloometh from the hidden bud
in the rocky desert, rivers brim and flood
Dry bones will sing, the quickening of spring
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green

© The Lansing Spinster's Guild

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Daily Devotionals for April 2010

   Each day we should expose ourselves to the inspiration of others. Thousands of saints and wise men and women have left us messages of hope and encouragement. Read what is honest. Read the scriptures and the commentaries. Read great literature and poetry. Read the psalms. Read that which expresses the anguish and the exhilaration of experience, and teaches us that we are not alone.

      - John McQuiston II, p. 88, Always We Begin Again--The Benedictine Way of Living

These devotionals also serve as excellent "journaling prompts" for written reflections.

April 1      April 2      April 3      April 4      April 5      April 6      April 7      April 8      April 9

April 10 April 11 April 12 April 13 April 14 April 15 April 16 April 17

April 18 April 19 April 20 April 21 April 22 April 23 April 24 April 25

April 26 April 27 April 28 April 29 April 30

Additional Resources

Moon Phases for April 2010 Daily Celebrations Living In Season Astronomy Picture of the Day

The Gnostic Calendar--A Mandala of Wholeness

The Writer's Almanac:-- Poems, prose, and literary history every morning from Garrison Keillor direct to your inbox. Delivered daily.

Orthodox Calendar from Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Celtic Wheel of the Year Druidic Holy Days

Esoteric Christo-Pagan Calendar of Events and Observances The Liturgical Calendar of the Celtic Catholic Church

Pagan Calendar The Goddess Lunar Calendar Islamic Holy Days & Calendar

Church of England Calendar of Saints Calendar of the Church Year According to the Episcopal Church