A St. Patrick's Day Tribute
In March we celebrate St.
Patrick’s Day with food, music, and dance and
green everything. While I enjoy these fun
expressions of Irishness, my own exploration of
Celtic heritage has more to do with a taste for
mystery, raw beauty, paradox, spiritual
adventure and appreciation for the natural world
that I find inherent in the Irish spirit.
John O’Donohue was an author, poet, scholar and
mystic who carried the spirit of ancient Ireland
into a hustle bustle modern world hungry to
remember the meaning of life. His words and
ideas were a portal to the Otherworld for me and
for many.
He died suddenly and unexpectedly a few months
ago at the young age of 53.
O’Donohue was one of my earliest mentors in the
exploration of Celtic Spirituality. His
writings on death were especially beautiful and
instructive for me. I have listened to the
“Death” chapter from his audio book,
Anam
Cara, many times. When I heard that John
had died, I felt a sense of regret and longing
because I never got around to hearing him speak
in person—I always thought I would do it later.
I’m comforted by O’Donohue’s teaching that those
who have left their human bodies are all around
us, that any given space is thick with the souls
of our beloved dead. I like to think of him
close by, teaching me still, offering me some
brilliantly beautiful bit of wisdom or solace in
his Irish brogue.
O’Donohue never shied away from the dark, scary
or difficult. His books do not offer pat
answers or platitudes. Instead, his words speak
to the Truth that is big enough to hold terrible
pain and vast beauty in the same space.
Here is one of my favorite John O’Donohue
prayers, which I’ve shared with many people and
also received myself in times when I was in
desperate need of comfort:
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the
earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
So this St. Patrick’s season, I offer deep
appreciation and admiration for the life of John
O’Donohue. And I’m happy to recommend his final
work,
To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book
of Blessings,
just released this
month. In this little volume you’ll find
profound poetic prayers to bless all the seasons
and situations of your life.
Éirinn go Brágh!
May this season of early spring and resurrection
awaken you to the beauty and wonder waiting to
burst forth in your life.
Negative Emotions: The Key to
Getting What You Desire?
If you've
been working with me or reading
my newsletters you're familiar
with the idea that you
are creating your own reality
with your thoughts, feelings and
actions.
But how
exactly does this work?
And once
you know it's happening,
how do you deal with negative
emotions and thoughts when they
arise and prevent them from
manifesting?
As I
recently wrote to my
Manifestation Mastermind
members, those "negative"
feelings are like monsters
guarding a storehouse of
treasure. They can be scary,
but if you run away from them
you
will never
get the goods!
Join us this month on the next
Manifestation Mastermind
TeleSeminar when we will explore
how to use negative emotions
to help you realize your dreams
more quickly!
CALL DATE: Thursday, March 20,
2008
CALL TIME: 12:30 CST
(The dial in info will be
emailed to you if you are a
Manifestation Mastermind member.)
I created the
Manifestation Master Mind to
help you discover the wisdom in
your own life experiences that
can bring you more health, love
and money!
You must be a MEMBER
to join the call!
REMEMBER, even if you can't attend
the calls, that's OK as we'll mail
you the CD and
give you the links to the web page
to view the material that was
covered on the call.
