Thursday, December 31, 2009
a neat article about blue moons
http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/cristine_russell/2009/12/once_in_a_new_years_eve_blue_moon.php
enjoy a new year's eve candlelight labyrinth walk
Join us tonight for a lovely outdoor labyrinth walk from 8-10pm immediately following Holy Eucharist and the Wedding Vow Reaffirmation Ceremony at 7pm. There will be a beautiful and rare Blue Moon to accompany us.....
http://www.goodsheponline.com/
Peace for your Path and for your New Year
http://www.goodsheponline.com/
Peace for your Path and for your New Year
Friday, December 18, 2009
the gift of song
Before our labyrinth walk yesterday, we enjoyed a lovely sing-a-long to the Old English Carol, "The Friendly Beasts." http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/f/r/friendbe.htm . Father Bob was kind enough to learn the tune on his guitar for me (in five minutes no less!) so that the excited group of first graders could have a surprise gift on a very, rainy day. Father Scott joined us along with Mac, Father Bob's Golden Retriever (no stranger to visitors of this blog).
The Friendly Beasts
Jesus, our Brother, strong and good,
Was humbly born in a stable rude,
And the friendly beasts around Him stood,
Jesus, our Brother, strong and good.
“I,” said the donkey, shaggy and brown,
“I carried His mother uphill and down,
I carried His mother to Bethlehem town;
I,” said the donkey, shaggy and brown.
“I,” said the cow, all white and red,
“I gave Him my manger for His bed,
I gave Him hay to pillow His head;
I,” said the cow, all white and red.
“I,” said the sheep with curly horn,
“I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm,
He wore my coat on Christmas morn;
I,” said the sheep with curly horn.
“I,” said the dove, from the rafters high,
“I cooed Him to sleep that He should not cry,
We cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I;
I,” said the dove, from the rafters high.
Thus all the beasts, by some good spell,
In the stable dark were glad to tell
Of the gifts they gave Emmanuel,
The gifts they gave Emmanuel.
After the song and a lovely prayer, the rain let up so that we were finally all able to walk the labyrinth together. The students had carefully colored labyrinth ornaments they had made with their teacher. Each child listed their special gifts to baby Jesus on the back of the ornament. Sixteen pairs of precious feet walked into the Center one-by-one to hang the ornaments with yarn ties on the awaiting Christmas tree. Afterward, they gathered once again for a brief prayer, candy canes and the picture you see here with their treasured teacher, Mrs. M.
And I am still smiling.....I may never stop!
The Friendly Beasts
Jesus, our Brother, strong and good,
Was humbly born in a stable rude,
And the friendly beasts around Him stood,
Jesus, our Brother, strong and good.
“I,” said the donkey, shaggy and brown,
“I carried His mother uphill and down,
I carried His mother to Bethlehem town;
I,” said the donkey, shaggy and brown.
“I,” said the cow, all white and red,
“I gave Him my manger for His bed,
I gave Him hay to pillow His head;
I,” said the cow, all white and red.
“I,” said the sheep with curly horn,
“I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm,
He wore my coat on Christmas morn;
I,” said the sheep with curly horn.
“I,” said the dove, from the rafters high,
“I cooed Him to sleep that He should not cry,
We cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I;
I,” said the dove, from the rafters high.
Thus all the beasts, by some good spell,
In the stable dark were glad to tell
Of the gifts they gave Emmanuel,
The gifts they gave Emmanuel.
After the song and a lovely prayer, the rain let up so that we were finally all able to walk the labyrinth together. The students had carefully colored labyrinth ornaments they had made with their teacher. Each child listed their special gifts to baby Jesus on the back of the ornament. Sixteen pairs of precious feet walked into the Center one-by-one to hang the ornaments with yarn ties on the awaiting Christmas tree. Afterward, they gathered once again for a brief prayer, candy canes and the picture you see here with their treasured teacher, Mrs. M.
And I am still smiling.....I may never stop!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
join me at the Good Shepherd labyrinth
Drop by anytime TODAY between 10am-12pm for a special Advent walk.
Sent from my iPhone
Monday, December 14, 2009
the newest edition of THE SPIRIT OF VERIDITAS, VOICES FROM THE LABYRINTH is now on-line!
I am learning just how much work goes into learning to become an editor! I was blessed to work on this issue with an absolutely incredible and creative Team.
Here is the link to our latest edition entitled "Incorporating Labyrinths - Facilitators Help Businesses Embrace the Path" which was just posted on the Veriditas website a few hours ago:
http://www.veriditas.org/newsletters/archive/labjour_fall_09.pdf
Please share this publication with others to help us spread the message of the labyrinth.....
Peace for your Path!
Robin
Here is the link to our latest edition entitled "Incorporating Labyrinths - Facilitators Help Businesses Embrace the Path" which was just posted on the Veriditas website a few hours ago:
http://www.veriditas.org/newsletters/archive/labjour_fall_09.pdf
Please share this publication with others to help us spread the message of the labyrinth.....
Peace for your Path!
Robin
Friday, December 4, 2009
enjoy the December issue of Tidings from the Church of the Good Shepherd
http://goodsheponline.com/TidingsDec2009.pdf
Exciting labyrinth events are listed on page three. It is such a pleasure to contribute to Tidings each month!
Exciting labyrinth events are listed on page three. It is such a pleasure to contribute to Tidings each month!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
solitude day
Join me at The First Presbyterian Church of North Palm Beach this coming Saturday, December 5th, for a special Solitude Day. I will be there in the chapel with my labyrinth for walkers to experience from 9am to 12pm. Other spiritual activities and tools will also be available for participants to try in addition to the labyrinth.
Visit www.firstpresnpb.org for more information.
Visit www.firstpresnpb.org for more information.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
thank you for this reminder....
its most loving Gardener) just sent me this picture she took in
Ireland. Such a beautiful reminder of the purpose of the Path. Thank
you, Marcia!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Welcome to the Labyrinth
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
Welcome to the Labyrinth
View more presentations from LabyrinthWellness.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
labyrinth walk tomorrow at Good Shepherd!
Drop by anytime between 10 am and 12pm. See you on the Path!
Sent from my iPhone
Saturday, November 14, 2009
from one of my favorite books.....
"The transfiguration of anger is a movement from rage to outrage. Rage implies an internalized emotion, a tempest within. Rage, or what might be called untransfigured anger, can become a calcified bitterness. What rage wants and needs is to move outward toward positive social purpose, to become a creative force or energy that changes the conditions that created it. It needs to become out-rage.
Outrage is love's wild and unacknowledged sister. She is the one who recognizes feminine injury, stands on the roof, and announces it if she has to, then jumps into the fray to change it. She is the one grappling with her life, reconfiguring it, struggling to find liberating ways of relating. She is the one who never bores God or Goddess."
- Sue Monk Kidd
from The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine
Monday, November 9, 2009
seeking the symmetry of the soul: a reflection on an amazing week
I hope you have enjoyed viewing my numerous photos (33 and still counting) posted here on my blog of my trip to my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky the week before last. I had the incredible opportunity of attending SEEKING THE SYMMETRY OF THE SOUL: BIENNIAL LABYRINTH CONFERENCE October 26-30th at the Louisville Seminary. It was truly an amazing week.....
Our first three days consisted of intense lecture and hands-on learning exercises with Robert Ferre of Labyrinth Enterprises. Robert is one of the best known and most respected labyrinth builders in the world. His "Labyrinth Making MASTER CLASS" was very intense as we studied in-depth about sacred geometry and labyrinth history and construction techniques.
The final two days we had the pleasure (and physical challenge!) of actually BUILDING a permanent labyrinth. This building project was a joint effort of three well-known, very highly respected Louisville establishments: The Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, Sullivan University and Historic Farmington. Long hours of planning and intense work went into this team endeavor long before any of us took our first measurements or laid our first brick.
Though I had to leave to catch my flight back here to Florida a couple of hours before our labyrinth was completed, I thoroughly cherished every moment of the construction process. I loved taking measurements, lugging sand, troweling trenches, carrying bricks and placing them in place to make our brick and grass path.
I am sure I left part of my soul in the soil....and I know I am a better person for it.
Special thanks to David Sawyer of Louisville Seminary, Renee Rust-Yarmuth of Sullivan University and Robert Ferre of Labyrinth Enterprises. Thanks to the staff of Farmington as well....Thanks, too, to all my new labyrinth friends around the world. I will always remember our fellowship.
My trip could not have been possible without the love and unending support of my husband, Scott, and the prayers of our son, Dylan, who kept things going here at home during my five nights away (and met me at the airport with flowers - thanks, Loves!). Ann, Steve, Jake, Davis and Matthew, thanks for your hospitality and for all your love, too. Virginia, you are the BEST!!! Lisa and Maddie, I loved seeing you guys, too. Ann Mary, what would I do without you? I treasure you all....
Our first three days consisted of intense lecture and hands-on learning exercises with Robert Ferre of Labyrinth Enterprises. Robert is one of the best known and most respected labyrinth builders in the world. His "Labyrinth Making MASTER CLASS" was very intense as we studied in-depth about sacred geometry and labyrinth history and construction techniques.
The final two days we had the pleasure (and physical challenge!) of actually BUILDING a permanent labyrinth. This building project was a joint effort of three well-known, very highly respected Louisville establishments: The Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, Sullivan University and Historic Farmington. Long hours of planning and intense work went into this team endeavor long before any of us took our first measurements or laid our first brick.
Though I had to leave to catch my flight back here to Florida a couple of hours before our labyrinth was completed, I thoroughly cherished every moment of the construction process. I loved taking measurements, lugging sand, troweling trenches, carrying bricks and placing them in place to make our brick and grass path.
I am sure I left part of my soul in the soil....and I know I am a better person for it.
Special thanks to David Sawyer of Louisville Seminary, Renee Rust-Yarmuth of Sullivan University and Robert Ferre of Labyrinth Enterprises. Thanks to the staff of Farmington as well....Thanks, too, to all my new labyrinth friends around the world. I will always remember our fellowship.
My trip could not have been possible without the love and unending support of my husband, Scott, and the prayers of our son, Dylan, who kept things going here at home during my five nights away (and met me at the airport with flowers - thanks, Loves!). Ann, Steve, Jake, Davis and Matthew, thanks for your hospitality and for all your love, too. Virginia, you are the BEST!!! Lisa and Maddie, I loved seeing you guys, too. Ann Mary, what would I do without you? I treasure you all....
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
a great article on labyrinths
Enjoy this wonderful article by artist and author Meryl Ann Butler, by clicking the link above. It is all about touring the Portland, Oregon area labyrinths while attending The Labyrinth Society's annual conference earlier this month. Thanks, Meryl Ann!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
preparing the circle
light of Christ
Reverend Ron Hilliard led all the parents and kids in communion after a time of fellowship and singing. As we circled around the campfire to receive the sacraments, I was (naturally) reminded of a new type of labyrinth walk.....
"and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat...."
...."for Max (or me, or you, or whoever) and he sailed off through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are."A couple of weekends ago I had the blessing of accompanying my son and my husband on a church youth group camping trip to Peanut Island. I do not camp. When I learned, however, that most all the other moms were going to be roughing it, I became a very last minute, wary and somewhat reluctant, tag-a-long.
- Maurice Sendak from WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (with my own emphasis added)
I was sitting alone on the beach contemplating sleeping outside in 90 degree Florida heat when I first saw this little boat sail past in the distance. I had no idea at the time that anyone from our church group owned it or even dreamed that they had built it completely by hand!
Immediately, I was struck with an incredible sense of peace and tranquility. On that crowded beach which was teaming with boaters, snorkelers and swimmers, the sight of the miniature boat felt timeless, authentic - sacred. The noisy world around me fell completely and inexplicably silent.
This little vessel continues to sail the spaces of my heart almost daily now, carrying me to visit my own Wild Things and then thankfully "back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of (my) very own room...."
My prayer is that your private boat will soon sail into the harbor of your heart, too.
Peace for your Path.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
join me tomorrow at "third thursdays on the labyrinth"
We'll be walking the labyrinth in the lovely outdoor garden at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd between 10am and 12pm. Drop by anytime!
Join us to discover Peace for your Path.....
Join us to discover Peace for your Path.....
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
listen to "the wisdom of the labyrinth"
Tomorrow at noon Pacific time, Dr. Lauren Artress, the founder of Veriditas, will be interviewing Daniel H. Pink, author of the amazing book A Whole New Mind. Don't miss it! (But just in case you do, all of the radio shows are archived so check it out anyway when you get a chance).
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
thank you good shepherd friends!
It was a beautiful sunny Sunday here in South Florida for The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd's annual "Blessing of the Animals" on October 4th. My yellow lab, Lily, finally met Father Bob's golden retriever, Mac, for the first time.
A lovely ceremony was held in the church courtyard for the sixty or more people and pets in attendance. Each pet's name was spoken aloud to the group by his or her human family member. Dogs, cats, and rabbits (all leashed and crated) greeted one another cordially and in the spirit of true friendship. After beautiful scripture readings by the clergy staff, each animal was blessed with a sprinkling of Holy water and prayed for individually.
Several attendees enjoyed snacks and conversation afterward while others ventured over to the labyrinth. This was the first "Paws on the Path" event to coincide with "The Blessing of the Animals".
Though Lily did not walk with the same contemplative spirit as her elder friend Mac, she did bring her own brand of youthful exuberance to the Path. All together, Lily and I estimate about 12-14 dogs and their people (plus one brave cat!) walked the outdoor labyrinth together.
St. Francis himself was most surely smiling down upon our happy gathering!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
the feast day of st. francis of assisi
Do something beautiful for the earth and its wild creatures today.....
DOES EVERY CREATURE HAVE A SOUL?
A tool
in your hand I am, dear God,
the sweetest instrument you have shaped my being into.
What makes me now complete -
feeling the soul of every creature against
my heart.
Does every creature have a
soul?
Surely they do: for anything God has touched
will have life
forever,
and all creatures He
has held.
- St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)
DOES EVERY CREATURE HAVE A SOUL?
A tool
in your hand I am, dear God,
the sweetest instrument you have shaped my being into.
What makes me now complete -
feeling the soul of every creature against
my heart.
Does every creature have a
soul?
Surely they do: for anything God has touched
will have life
forever,
and all creatures He
has held.
- St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)
Friday, October 2, 2009
st. francis of assisi
A prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi as recorded in the collection of legends surrounding his life called The Fioretti:
"My sister birds, you owe much to God, and you must always and in everyplace give praise to Him; for He has given you freedom to wing through the sky and He has clothed you... you neither sow nor reap, and God feeds you and gives you rivers and fountains for your thirst, and mountains and valleys for shelter, and tall trees for your nests. And although you neither know how to spin or weave, God dresses you and your children, for the Creator loves you greatly and He blesses you abundantly. Therefore... always seek to praise God."
paws on the path was inspired by the veriditas labyrinth journal
Read our Spring 2009 edition with the special theme "Tails of Spirit: Animal Friends on the Path" in The Spirit of Veriditas, Voices From the Labyrinth. (Extra-special thanks to writer, Maia Scott and her dog Tessa for lending us the wonderfully creative title, "Paws on the Path"!) Learn how labyrinths have inspired people and animals to connect in countless, special ways.....
or, walk with us in spirit, wherever you are in the world!
Visit the World-Wide Labyrinth Locator to find a labyrinth in your neighborhood.
paws on the path
Please plan to attend the annual Blessing of the Animals this Sunday, October 4th at 4pm at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. All are welcome to experience this lovely ceremony in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. Bring your pets, leashed or crated, and receive a special blessing from the pastoral staff. Father Bob Taylor will be there with the event's ambassador, his golden retriever, Mac (pictured above leading me through the labyrinth), along with other clergy members.
Immediately following the blessing ceremony, meet me and my yellow lab, Lily, along with other members of the Good Shepherd Labyrinth Committee in the outdoor labyrinth garden. Enjoy walking the stone pathway with your beloved animal companions. Lily has chosen some special snacks for her four-legged friends (cats, too!), so be sure to stop by to say hello!
Read more on page 8 of the October 2009 edition of Tidings by clicking "Paws on the Path" above. This promises to be a memorable family event!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
theMotherhood
It was such an honor to be interviewed this morning on theMotherhood. I have been enjoying editing my blog there, "Moms on the Labyrinth" since April. So, I was completely thrilled to be asked to talk with Deborah this morning in the "Up Close and Personal: A One-on-One Interview" circle. It was a great experience and I wish to personally thank this amazing community of women for their interest and support.
Log onto theMotherhood today and join the conversation!
Peace for your Path,
Robin
Monday, September 28, 2009
don't miss this new PBS series
The National Parks: America's Best Idea began last night on PBS. I hope you can watch this latest series by Ken Burns. Visit their site for more info and to check your local listing....http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/
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