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books, music, and videos recommended by Spirituality Stories.Spirituality Is For Those Who Have Already Been There Page 1 2 3
"Religion is for those who are afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for those who have already been there." Cheryl's Home Webrings
Cheryl's Collection of Spirituality Stories Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
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AN INVITATION
By Oriah Mountain Dreamer, An Indian Elder
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if
you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the
adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrows, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain!
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or
fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness
and let ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be
careful, to be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty everyday, and if you can
source your life from God's presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.
It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
A True Story of Courage and Love
Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia in 1977, I saw a water puddle ahead on
the path. I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't
covered by water and mud. As I reached the puddle, I was suddenly attacked!
Yet I did nothing for the attack was so unpredictable and from a source so totally
unexpected. I was startled as well as unhurt, despite having been struck four or five
times already. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Instead of
attacking more, he hovered in the air on graceful butterfly wings in front of me. Had I
been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing, but I was unhurt, it was funny, and I was
laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!
Having stopped laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again. He rammed me
in the chest with his head and body, striking me over and over again with all his might,
still to no avail. For a second time, I retreated a step while my attacker relented in his
attack.
Yet again, I tried moving forward. My attacker charged me again. I was rammed in the chest
over and over again. I wasn't sure what to do, other than to retreat a third time. After
all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly. This time, though, I
stepped back several paces to look the situation over. My attacker moved back as well to
land on the ground. That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments
earlier.
He had a mate and she was dying. She was beside the puddle where he landed. Sitting close
beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love
and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it upon himself to
attack me for his mate's sake, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He
did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been
careless enough to step on her.
Now I knew why and what he was fighting for. There was really only one option left for me.
I carefully made my way around the puddle to the other side of the path, though it was
only inches wide and extremely muddy. His courage in attacking something thousands of
times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety justified it. I couldn't
do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the puddle. He
had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed. I left them in peace for those
last few moments, cleaning the mud from my boots when I later reached my car.
Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see
huge obstacles facing me. I use that butterfly's courage as an inspiration and to remind
myself that good things are worth fighting for.
by Mr. David L. Kuzminski
The Rainbow Bridge
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all our special friends so that they can run and play
together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine.
Our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were
hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of
days gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very
special to them, who has been left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into
the distance.
His bright eyes are intent; suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the
green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend meet, you cling together in
joyous reunion, never to be parted again.
The happy kisses rain upon your face, your hands caress the beloved pet, and you look once
more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from
your heart.
Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together.
Each person is a unique representative of the Divine. The Sufis say, "If human beings knew their own inner secrets, never would they look elsewhere for seeking happiness, peace and inner light." Therefore the essence of the Path is to find oneself. "Know thyself, know thy Lord!" is an imperative of the Sufi Way.
"Through love we are destroyed and recreated. This is the ancient mystery of the Sufi path. To reach God you have to be turned inside out, burnt with the fire of love until nothing remains but ashes."
Sufis believe that your deepest heartache radiates outward like a beacon of light to attract the teacher -- and the teachings -- that you need.
A man distraught by all the pain and suffering he saw all around him broke down and
banged his fists into the dirt. His head turns upward and he yells at his God. "Look
at this mess. Look at all this pain and suffering. Look at all this killing and hate. God.
Oh God! WHY DON'T YOU DO SOMETHING!!"
And his God spoke to him and said "I did. I sent you."
God with skin on.
"In the Buddhist view, the greatest ignorance is believing the world exists in the way it appears to exist...we do exist but in a relative way, not in an absolute way. The closer you look, the more we recede. We can't be found." Pilgrim by Richard Gere
My favorite quote about Wicca and Wisdom
A different slant on the Our Father
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ACOA Redondo Beach incest survivor MBW Family known for Harry Potter Easter Party wedding pranks, divorce pranks, redhead jokes, the Oh No A Bear Picture, Colorado resident Marvin the Martian, Spirituality Stories, Casper, Aaron's Galaxy, Angela's Taz, Amaryzingrace's Tweety Brittny's and Drew's Angelica and Tommy from Rugrats Playground. The guys won't want to miss my co-worker and model Marina Blackwell's photo gallery.