The Mystical Order of the White Rose Newsletter

Glitter Graphics & Comments

This newsletter is a publication of the Mystical Order of the White Rose, an emerging multi-faith cyber-community for people interested in--or actively involved with--traditional and/or new, post-modern, expressions of mysticism, monasticism, and contemplative living. The newsletter is published about every two weeks and each issue contains two weeks of daily multi-faith and multi-media devotional readings as well as writings and profiles of mystics, contemplatives, artists and visionaries. If you are not already a subscriber, you may become one by clicking here.

Our intention is to encourage, support and educate people about mystical and contemplative ways of living with special emphasis on prayer, meditation, lectio divina (reflective reading of sacred or uplifting texts), journaling, fasting, hospitality, simple living, creative and artistic expression and service.

Table of Contents

-- News

-- Daily Devotionals

-- "Morris Dance" by Jonathan Kraus

-- Poem: "Spring" by Edna St. Vincent Millay

-- Links of Interest

"Since I was as small child I have always felt close to God. At the age of six or seven I created my own church in a corner of the yard, with a little cemetery for the various small dead creatures I found to bury. As I grew older and made my way through a series of religions and teachings, I gradually came to the conclusion that God is within, and that humbly listening for a clear message when guidance is needed, together with gratitude for that presence in our lives, is the essence of worship. As Brother Lawrence taught so long ago, any and every loving action, reverently performed, is a prayer. To learn to live wtih that attitude may take time, but it is very rewarding."

- Tasha Halpert (used with permisson)

Visit this link for more quotes from Tasha and information about her activities. http://www.heartwingsandfriends.com/

News

Mystical Order of the White Rose Blog

The Internet offers many ways of connecting, sharing and supporting those who share similar interests and values. A website and e-newsletter are stardard means of communicating, but blogs offer a more frequent and interactive way of sharing and creating community. Encouraged by the example and advice of Carl McColman, I have set up a blog for the Mystical Order of the White Rose at: www.mysticalorderwhiterose.com. It is still in its infancy and needs more tweaking and content, but it is "live."

I am exploring the possibility of placing the Order's daily multi-faith, multi-media devotional readings in the blog rather than as a section of the newsletter. I think this might make it easier to maintain regular and current content. I believe that the blog can be set up so that newsletter subscribers will have the daily devotional (and other) blog postings delivered to their email inboxes daily. If you have any preference re: the "delivery" of the daily devotionals, please let me know.

Carl McColman, an authority and well known author on mysticism, was gracious enough to allow me to interview him earlier this month. It was a very stimulating conversation. You will be able to read all about it in our second May issue of the Mystical Order of the White Rose's newsletter. Be sure to visit his blog at: www.anamchara.com

Mystical Order of the White Rose Banner

Here is a Mystical Order of the White Rose animated gif banner that you can use on your blog, website, links directory, or social networking profile if you would like to let people know about it. Just copy and paste the html code below the banner. Do NOT copy and paste the banner itself.

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Daily Devotionals

Multi-Faith, Multi-Media Readings for April 15-April 30

You can access the daily devotional readings by clicking here. In addition to one or more quotes or poems for each day, you will find videos, audio files, and links to relevant websites for many (but not all) days. Our daily devotionals have been described as "engagingly eclectic" and "delightfully quirky." Take the time to explore them for yourself.

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Morris dance, ritual folk dance performed in rural England by groups of specially chosen and trained men; less specifically, a variety of related customs, such as mumming, as well as some popular entertainments derived from them.

Similar customs are widespread throughout Europe and extend to the Middle East, India, and parts of Central and South America. Notable examples are the Perchten dancer-masqueraders of Austria; and ritual dances such as the moriscos, santiangos, mawchinas and Moors and Christians fo the Mediterranean and Latin America, and the cdlutari, a Romanian dance of healing and fertility.

The wide distribution of such dances suggests an ancient Indo-European origin. A common feature of many of them is that of a group of dancing men atendant on a pagan God who celebrates his revival after death (as in the cdlutari dance); or a battle between opposing forces of good and evil (as in the Moors' and Christians' dances).

Often the dancers wear white clothes and dance with felts fastened to the legs or body. A feeling that the dances have magic power or bring luck persists wherever they are traditionally performed.

The central figure of the dances, usually an animal-man, varies considerably in importance. In some cases, he may dominate the rite; in others--as in many English Morris dances--the young men in the corps d'elite may dominate, with the animal-man and other dramatic characters either relegated to the subsidiary role of comics or omitted.

The name Morris is also associated with the horn dance held each year at Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire (England). This dance-procession includes six animal-men bearing deer antlers, three white and three black sets; a man-woman, or Maid Marian, and a fool, both carrying phallic symbols; a hobby horse; and a youth with a crossbow who shoots at the leading “stags” whenever possible.

A comparable surviving animal custom is the May Day procession of a man-horse, notably at Padstow, Cornwall. There, the central figure, “Oss Oss,” is a witch doctor disguised as a horse and wearing a medicine mask. The dancers are attendants who sing the May Day song, beat drums, and in turn act the horse or dance in attendance.

The name Morris is also associated with groups of mummers who act, rather than dance, the death-and-survival rite at the turn of the year.

Throughout history, the Morris seems to have been common. It was imported from village festivities into popular entertainment after the invention of the court masque by Henry VIII. The word Morris apparently derived from “morisco,” meaning “Moorish.”

Cecil Sharp, whose collecting of Morris dances preserved many from extinction, suggested that it might have arisen from the dancers’ blacking their faces as part of the necessary ritual disguise.

Among specific Morris dances are Bean Setting, Leap Frog, and Laudnum Bunches. The few solo Morris dances are called Morris jigs; an example is the Shepherds’ Hey. The name Morris dance is sometimes loosely applied to sword dances (q.v.) in which a group of men weave their swords into intricate patterns. Such dances are closely related to dances of the Morris family.

Morris dancers performing at Stratford-On-Avon in England, May 2005

More info on Morris Dancing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_dance

Video of Morris Dancers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1gPT6pTTB8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoLExQ893HI&feature=related

"St. Ambrose said, 'Just as he who dances in the body ... acquires the right to share in the round dance, so he who dances in the spirit acquires the right to dance in the round of creation.' During the sacred dances of the Mysteries, man becomes aware of his own divinity, and equates himself with God as he dances the Universe into being."

- Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, p. 37 First Steps In Ritual; Chapter 4; the Orphic Tradition

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Poem

Spring by Edna St. Vincent Millay

To what purpose, April, do you return again?

Beauty is not enough.

You can no longer quiet me with the redness

Of little leaves opening stickily.

I know what I know.

The sun is hot on my neck as I observe

The spikes of the crocus.

The smell of the earth is good.

It is apparent that there is no death.

But what does that signify?

Not only under ground are the brains of men

Eaten by maggots.

Life in itself

Is nothing,

An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs,

It is not enought that yearly, down this hill,

April

Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.

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Links of Interest

The Yongey Foundation - "The Joy Of Living--Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness"

"In a recent study on the effects of meditation on the brain, scientists discovered the part of the mind linked to happiness increased by over 700 percent. The subject of this groundbreaking work was Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, a revered Tibetan Buddhist master that Time and National Geographic both called "the happiest man on earth." - One Spirit Book Club Review

Contemporary Native American Music: www.silverwave.com

Visionary art of Mellissa Harris on greeting cards, prints, magnets, t-shirts, journals.

Visonary music for wellness and health: http://www.earearthrecords.com

Celebrate Peace http://www.celebratepeace.com

Peaceful Earth spiritual resources for inner peace and world peace. http://www.peacefulearth.com/links.html

Light On Life - www.lightonlife.org B.K.S. Iyengar

New Monasticism http://www.newmonasticism.org/