This newsletter is a publication of the Mystical Order of the White Rose, a multi-faith 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 religious communities, and  loving service to others.  You can view past issues here and you can subscribe to it here .

Themes for this issue:  Snow, Endings, Beginnings, Winter

Table of Contents

-- Editor's Update - by Cynthia Kiteley Lee

-- Reflection:  The Gifting of Snow by Peg Gotthold

-- Poem:  Gestalt at Sixty by May Sarton

-- Article:  The Mystical White Snow by Rabbi Boruch Leff

-- Poem:  The Journey by Robert Longley

-- Article:  Snowflakes Reflect the Diversity of God by Peggy Gotthold

-- Poem:  Shoveling Snow With Buddha by Billy Collins

-- Poem:  January Morn by Nelda Hartmann

-- Links of Interest

-- Daily Multi-Media Multi-Faith Devotionals for January 2011

 

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Editor's Update

by Cynthia Kiteley Lee

          We have very little snow in this part of the world, but I have always found snow enchanting.  I remember reading a Japanese poem about a snow watching party and thinking: "what a lovely idea."  I vividly recall watching several African students that attended my college experiencing their first snow. 

         I also remember living in places where snow was plentiful and learning how to make snow ice cream, snow men and snow balls.  The recipe for snow ice cream is:  scrape off the top one half to one inch of snow; get a bowl full of fresh snow; add white granualated sugar, vanilla extract, half & half cream and a pinch or two of salt--to taste.  Stir well and eat immediately.

          I hope you will enjoy exploring the many aspects of snow touched upon in this issue and this month's daily devotiionals.

          The year just ending has been one of great clearing, purging, releasing, achievement and prosperity for my husband and me, especially on the home front. The releasing included the death of my father last January and the death of a beloved 16-year old dog this January.  Endings and beginnings, entwined, inseparable.

            Bright Blessings and Best Wishes for a Joyous, Fruitful New Year,

                                                                                         Cynthia

 

 

The Gifting of Snow

by Peggy Gotthold

 

     Everything stopped. No mindless rushing for last minute trinkets or ingredients for the upcoming feast. No jangling ring tones to map out last minute strategies. No sound of showers, hair blowers or bathroom cabinets flying open. Just the sound of a great wind muffled by the curtain of falling flakes.

      Upon the dawn, nature was in contemplation’s silence. The sound of traffic was stilled. No tweeting birds. No barking dogs. Inside, even household sounds were muted. A true Christmas peace wrapped in a box of white.

      “How silently the wondrous gift is given” a carol’s verse begins - the wonders of heaven are imparted to the heart. Silence is intimidating. It keeps us in the present. It gives our minds permission to listen to the stirrings of that “still, small voice” of the Great Spirit within.

      Decide to make a journey this year into the whiteness of silence. The mechanics of contemplation are easy. The difficulties are many. To release fear and embrace silence. To give silence priority as a task of value. To risk transformation.

Source:  http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=118563

 

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Gestalt at Sixty

 

For ten years I have been rooted in these hills,
The changing light on landlocked lakes,
For ten years have called a mountain, friend,
Have been nourished by plants, still waters,
Trees in their seasons,
Have fought in this quiet place
For my self.

I can tell you that first winter
I heard the trees groan.
I heard the fierce lament
As if they were on the rack under the wind.
I too have groaned here,
Wept the wild winter tears.
I can tell you that solitude
Is not all exaltation, inner peace
Where the soul breathes and work can be done.
Solitude exposes the nerve,
Raises the ghosts.
The past, never at rest, flows through it.

Who wakes in a house alone
Wakes to moments of panic.
(Will the roof fall in?
Shall I died today?)
Who wakes in a house alone
Wakes to inertia sometimes,
To fits of weeping for no reason.
Solitude swells the inner space
Like a balloon.
We are wafted hither and thither
On the air currents.
How to land it?

I worked out anguish in a garden.
Without the flowers,
The shadow of trees on snow, their punctuation,
I might not have survived.
I came here to create a world
As strong, renewable, fertile. As the world of nature all around me—
Learned to clear myself as I have cleared the pasture,
Learned to wait,
Learned that change is always in the making
(Inner and outer) if one can be patient,
Learned to trust myself.

The house is receptacle of a hundred currents
Letters pour in,
Rumor of the human ocean, never at rest,
Never still....
Sometimes it deafens and numbs me.

I did not come here for society
In these years
When every meeting is collision,
The impact huge,
The reverberations slow to die down.
Yet what I have done here
I have not done alone,
Inhabited by a rich past of lives,
Inhabited also by the great dead,
By music, poetry—
Yeats, Valery stalk through this house.
No day passes without a visitation—
Rilke, Mozart.
I am always a lover here,
Seized and shaken by love.

Lovers and friends
I come to you starved
For all you have to give,
Nourished by the food of solitude,
A good instrument for all you have to tell me,
For all I have to tell you.
We talk of first and last things,
Listen to music together,
Climb the long hill to the cemetery
In autumn,
Take another road in spring
Toward newborn lambs,

No one comes to this house
Who is not changed.
I meet no one here who does not change me.

How rich and long the hours become,
How brief the years,
In this house of gathering,
This life about to enter its seventh decade.

I live like a baby
Who bursts into laughter
As a sunbeam on the wall,
Or like a very old woman
Entranced by the prick of stars
Through the leaves.

And now, as the fruit gathers
All the riches of summer
Into its compact world,
I feel richer than ever before,
And breathe a larger air,

I am not ready to die,
But I am learning to trust death
As 1 have trusted life.
I am moving
Toward a new freedom
Born of detachment,
And a sweeter grace—
Learning to let go.

I am not ready to die,
But as I approach sixty
I turn my face toward the sea.
I shall go where tides replace time,
Where my world will open to a far horizon.

Over the floating, never-still flux and change.
I shall go with the changes,
I shall look far out over golden grasses
And blue waters....

There are no farewells.

Praise God for His mercies,
For His austere demands,
For His light
And for His darkness.

 

by May Sarton

 

 

The Mystical White Snow

by Rabbi Boruch Leff
 

     Few experiences in life compare with waking up in the morning after a snowfall and looking outside. The sight is stunning, the landscape glorious and beautiful, and the feeling one has is nothing less than sublime. Only after modernity with its high-powered engines, tampers with winter's wonder, does the snow become filthy and unpleasant.

     Where does this feeling of awe come from? What is this unique creation -- snow -- that only appears in the winter?

     First, another question. Why are all the biblical holidays crowded into the spring and summer? Wouldn't it have made more sense to space the holidays more evenly throughout the calendar year?

     The Maharal, the great 16th century philosopher, comments that the Jewish calendar can be divided into two sections. Half of the year, from Passover until Sukkot (spring through summer), has the force of spiritual Ohr (light) as its primary power, while Choshech (darkness) rules the fall and winter months.

    We actualize growth during the summer and then maintain and that growth during the winter.

     The implications are clear. The season for Spiritual Light is the spring/summer, and it is only then that one can actualize the greatest amount of spiritual energy. Fall/winter is a time for Spiritual Darkness and is not ideal for tremendous spiritual growth. In fact, the Maharal actually describes the winter as being "outside of the realm of time." This is because winter does not offer growth, neither agriculturally nor spiritually, thus in a certain sense the winter cannot be acknowledged as being part of any "real existence" due to its lack of spiritual developmental value.

     We can now understand the uneven arrangement of the biblical calendar. The holidays mentioned in the Torah all take place during the spring/summer months, because it is then that the potential for a real, profound, spiritual growth exists due to the power of Ohr (light). God wanted us to actualize growth during the summer and then to maintain that growth during the winter.

WISDOM: ABSORBING AND REFLECTING

     Why did God create the world to live under Darkness -- lack of growth -- for half the year?

     Because it is extremely difficult to “get high” and stay there constantly. You can't expect a baseball team to play every single game as if it's the World Series. It's just too hard to remain on that high level of intensity all the time. So too, in the spiritual realm God does not expect us to be growing constantly at a high, fast pace. Every day can't be Yom Kippur. Therefore, God set aside half the year for strong spiritual growth, and the other half for maintenance of that spiritual growth.

      How were we to hold on to that growth? Did God leave us without any assistance? The answer leads us full circle to our most fascinating subject – snow, as described in the Midrash:

    From where was the dry land of the earth made? From the snow that is under God's Throne of Glory. God took it and threw it upon the water, the water then froze, and the dust of the earth was formed. As the verse states (Job 37:6) "To snow, God said: Become land!"

     The Midrash implies that snow at its very essence is closely related to God's Throne of Glory and thereby, to God Himself.

     The Zohar, the chief work of Jewish mysticism, tells us a remarkable insight. It states that God actually wears Tefillin. And in the same manner in which our Tefillin must be perfectly black in color, so too God's Tefillin must be perfectly white.

    As our Tefillin must be perfectly black in color, so too God's Tefillin must be perfectly white.

     A possible explanation is based on some basic facts we know about the colors black and white. Black absorbs all other colors within light rays, while white reflects all other colors. We must wear Tefillin that are completely black because we must absorb all of God's wisdom and direction. God "wears" Tefillin that are white because He reflects all wisdom and guidance.

     We sense from the Zohar the meaning and symbolism of the color white. Snow, in being the purest form of white, also represents the idea that God, who is sending the snow from the heavens, is the "Reflector of all Wisdom." White snow is the object which descends from God's "wearing white Tefillin" to remind us that God created and maintains the world and we must serve him wholeheartedly.

CLIMACTIC REMINDER

     The Maharal describes snow as being an illuminating force that is tantamount to Spiritual Light. This is why God made the earth from snow (as mentioned in the Midrash earlier) because people on earth need to be reminded of God's involvement in man's affairs. By creating the earth from snow, God has placed a spiritual force that is present at all times in the earth, enabling us to actualize spirituality. And by causing snow to fall at certain times, God sends us a reminder to actualize this spirituality.

    Snow's profound meaning helps us feel connected to God once again.

     This is why God makes snow in the winter. In the winter we do not experience biblical holidays, it is our lowest point of spiritual inspiration. God, therefore, sends us snow; contemplating snow's profound meaning helps us feel connected to Him once again. Snow descends and covers the ground as if to shout, "Remember that it is God that is constantly “covering” the ground and providing everything in our life. Draw closer to Him!"

     So the next time it snows, instead of being upset that you're going to be late for work, be reminded of the deeper truths of this world. It is wintertime, time to bask in the glory of God, as reflected in the pure, white snow.

From:  http://www.aish.com/sp/k/48949736.html

 

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The Journey
 

Where is it you journey?
Where it is you've been?
You're focused on the future
The question though is when
 
All of it reflective
Of days no longer here
Clinging to the memories
Of things you once held dear
 
The piece that you are missing
Is what you see each day
It is the now you're living
Which prepares you for your way
 
So close your eyes to future
Or days preceding now
And focus on the present
For today will show you how

 

by Robert Longley
 
http://www.sacredpoems.com

 

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Snowflakes Reflect the Diversity of God

by Christine Fitzgerald

 

Click here to read this article and enjoy other resources.

 

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Shoveling Snow With Buddha
 

In the usual iconography of the temple or the local Wok
you would never see him doing such a thing,
tossing the dry snow over a mountain
of his bare, round shoulder,
his hair tied in a knot,
a model of concentration.

Sitting is more his speed, if that is the word
for what he does, or does not do.

Even the season is wrong for him.
In all his manifestations, is it not warm or slightly humid?
Is this not implied by his serene expression,
that smile so wide it wraps itself around the waist of the universe?

But here we are, working our way down the driveway,
one shovelful at a time.
We toss the light powder into the clear air.
We feel the cold mist on our faces.
And with every heave we disappear
and become lost to each other
in these sudden clouds of our own making,
these fountain-bursts of snow.

This is so much better than a sermon in church,
I say out loud, but Buddha keeps on shoveling.
This is the true religion, the religion of snow,
and sunlight and winter geese barking in the sky,
I say, but he is too busy to hear me.

He has thrown himself into shoveling snow
as if it were the purpose of existence,
as if the sign of a perfect life were a clear driveway
you could back the car down easily
and drive off into the vanities of the world
with a broken heater fan and a song on the radio.

All morning long we work side by side,
me with my commentary
and he inside his generous pocket of silence,
until the hour is nearly noon
and the snow is piled high all around us;
then, I hear him speak.

After this, he asks,
can we go inside and play cards?

Certainly, I reply, and I will heat some milk
and bring cups of hot chocolate to the table
while you shuffle the deck.
and our boots stand dripping by the door.

Aaah, says the Buddha, lifting his eyes
and leaning for a moment on his shovel
before he drives the thin blade again
deep into the glittering white snow.

- by Billy Collins

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January Morn

Bare branches of each tree
on this chilly January morn
look so cold so forlorn.
Gray skies dip ever so low
left from yesterday's dusting of snow.
Yet in the heart of each tree
waiting for each who wait to see
new life as warm sun and breeze will blow,
like magic, unlock springs sap to flow,
buds, new leaves, then blooms will grow."

 

-   Nelda Hartmann

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Links of Interest

 

The Dark Side of Snow (article)

Saving Snow Leopards

Snow Crystal Photo Gallery

Bentley Snow Crystal Collection

The Symbolism of Snow in Dreams

Symbolism in "Snow White" (the fairy tale)

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Video of Rose Windows with songs: The Rose and Silent Night

Video:  Prayer of Communion - Loren Juan Zerimar

Endless Satsang - Free Ebooks

AllRivers -- Promoting and Supporting the Universal Values of the World's Religious, Philosophical, Spiritual and Wisdom Traditions

Abbey of the Arts - Free 7-day E-course on Being A Monk In the World

Daily Om - Nurturing Mind, Body & Spirit

A Year of Rumi

Fractal Art and Visionary Art Screensavers

21 Day Consciousness Cleanse

Sounds True - Ken Wilbur Workshop & more

Indigenous Prophecy

Words that Shimmer

Ka Gold Jewelry - where sacred science, art and spirit meet.

Prayer Card for Virgin Mary-Mystical Rose

Learning Strategies Blog

Spiritual Enlightenment Magazine

Mysticisms & Modernity

 

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Daily Multi-faith, Multi-media Devotionals for September 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 

 

 

January 1

January 2

January 3

January 4

January 5

January 6

January 7

January 8

January 9

January 10

January 11

January 12

January 13

January 14

January 15

January 16

January 17

January 18

January 19

January 20

January 21

January 22

January 23

January 24

January 25

January 26

January 27

January 28

January 29

January 30

January 31

 

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