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Song of Avalon:
A Newsletter for Spiritual Seekers
Published by FindsForSeekers.com
Published by FindsForSeekers.com
Song of Avalon:
A Newsletter for Spiritual Seekers
Published by FindsForSeekers.com |
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Spring Greetings to all of our readers!
Whether you celebrate Passover, Easter, Spring Equinox or just the
return of the warm weather, you can't help but smile when you step
outside to sunshine, gentle breezes and daffodils. We hope you'll
take a little time each day to appreciate the earth's re-awakening
and reflect upon what is emerging in your own soul. This month our
newsletter focus is on women's spirituality. "Women's
Spirituality" can mean many different things. For our
purposes, it is an invitation (whether you are a woman or a man) to
set aside cultural assumptions about heaven and earth and explore
humanity's relationship to the Divine through a feminine
lens. Peruse the enclosed articles, poems and prayers and notice
what happens inside of you. If you want to move more deeply into
this area of exploration, we've gathered some of our favorite
selections in books, music and gifts celebrating women's
spirituality, as well as some special featured products.
May all the blessings of She Who Is be yours,
Kim and Mary Lou Resurrecting the Divine Feminine © Kimberly Schneider, 2005
“Whatever words we use to name, describe, or address God,
they are only a means to an end. That end is to speak of God.
And to speak of God is to speak of mystery. We know that each
of us is created and loved by God. Much else we do not know.
We can only deduce, only imagine. But in the imagining of God,
we draw closer to her (or him) and learn to love her children as
she has loved us.”
—Baptist Pastor Peter King, Enysham,
England
“The hands of God hold us up, they hold us tight,
they give us strength. But at the same time they give us comfort,
they console and caress us. They are the hands of a father and a
mother at the same time.”
—Pope John Paul II, speaking to pilgrims
in Rome, September, 1999.
“Until women can visualize the sacred female they
cannot be whole and society can not be whole.”
—Elinor Gadon, author of The Once and
Future Goddess
Many people in modern western culture are
prepared to entertain the idea of a genderless God. Far fewer are
willing to consider that the Divine might wear a feminine face.
I’ve been in many conversations with people who will argue that I
should not be offended by anyone referring to the Divine as “He”
because God is beyond gender, and it does not matter. When I
suggest, however, that if it really doesn’t matter, we could
just as easily refer to God as She, or (scarier yet) Goddess, people
are often surprised by how strange and threatening the very idea
seems to them.
God as Mother
copyright 1997, 2007 When I first encountered women’s spirituality and read about imaging God through a feminine lens, it seemed so foreign to me. As a child God had always been a fatherly presence which I experienced as authoritarian and awesome. As an adult I embraced an image of God as Spirit, which worked well for me as I moved on in my spiritual journey. Yet, the word spirit also conjured up a sense of God as elusive and always out of reach. As we grow in our relationship with God, we discover that like any relationship it is fluid never static. The Divine can never be enclosed or explained by one image or word, one explanation or experience.
Introducing Astarte Designs, Susan Gash
Calling Susan Gash a dancer would be too
limiting. Susan is one of those rare people who is able to
expand beyond her own talent to make art accessible to others.
As a co-founder of the Gash/Vogt Dance Company, she brought
poetry and myth to life. Susan is also a gifted facilitator. I
have had the privelege of participating in one of
Susan's movement retreats She created a safe space within which
each of us was able to find meaning within movement, an
experience that expanded my ability to "dance my own story."
Susan has designed an exquisite line of clothing to wear during
movement work, or for the pure joy of feeling stretchy, flowing
silk against your skin. Kim and I wore these at a retreat we
facilitated and they enhanced the joy of movement for us. Go to
Susan's site to view her beautiful clothing and don't forget to
check for upcoming movement retreats. MLS
Audio CD - Resurrecting the Divine
Feminine: Radio Interviews with Kimberly Schneider, LPC and
Mary Lou Schneider
In these candid and informative interviews,
Spiritual Director Mary Lou Schneider and her daughter, Kimberly
Schneider, LPC, reflect upon the re-emergence of the Divine
Feminine in Western culture. Drawing upon personal and
professional experience, Mary Lou and Kim explain how expanding
images of divinity can positively impact women, men,
relationships and society. Includes poems and prayers written
by Kim and Mary Lou as well as discussion of their working
relationship as a mother-daughter team. Inspiring and thought
provoking. You'll want to share this with your friends. 58
minutes.
Price: $20.00
 Music
One of the most important and liberating aspects of women's
spirituality for us and many of our clients has been to claim the
power of creating our own rituals of celebration, loss, gratitude
and connection. While we still enjoy participating in the
sacraments of our Catholic anscestors, there is a special awareness
of the sacred alive in each of us when we allow ourselves to say,
"this is sacred. This is important. This is worth marking, and
this is how I want to do it." Music can move energy and get us out
of our heads and into heart and body experiences. These are a few
of our favorite women's spirituality cds for ritual,
journaling, dancing or just listening.
 Books
Archaeologist Marija Gimbutas gave birth to a new era
in religious thought with her work in the 1980s, questioning some
long held assumptions about how humanity had perceived the Divine
throughout history. Although scientists had been unearthing
feminine figurines at digs for decades, Gimbutas was the first to
ask whether they might be religious objects, rather than "fetishes"
or cave-man pornography. Not surprisingly, her controversial
findings elicited ridicule along with praise, but Gimbutas'
revolutionary ideas have since been felt in art history, theology
and fiction. Here are a few of our favorite books published in the
wake of her work.
Gifts
Our material world reflects our inner reality. Surrounding ourselves with beautiful objects and tools for connecting with the Divine has been an important part of the feminine unfolding in our lives. Here are a few specifically feminine gifts for yourself or a friend on the journey--don't forget to check the rest of our website for many more ideas. Featured Products
This exquisite necklace,
with its freshwater pearls, sterling silver, and pendant of Mary,
does justice to the miracle and the love that inspired it. Whether
or not you are a devotee of Our Lady of Guadalupe, its beauty will
uplift you and those who see you wearing it.
Moonrise for Your Marvelous Garden This lunar beauty is captured in its crescent phase with "The Man" sleepy-eyed yet watchful over your patio or garden. Handcrafted by California artists of aluminum with a textured surface and a rich, natural-rust finish.
Catherine Holmes is a visionary artist whose collage work brings
together beautiful images in unexpected, thought-provoking and
breathtaking ways. Each of her works, available as 3-D originals or
prints, is a wonderful gift for any woman exploring her relationship
with herself and the Universe. This month in honor of women's
spirituality we are featuring the print "Original Blessing" because
it re-visions the destructive idea that Eve (and woman) is
responsible for the downfall of humanity. Instead, drawing perhaps
on the concept of Original Blessing proposed by Pelagius (an ancient
Celtic theologian whose ideas have recently been popularized by
Episcopal Priest Matthew Fox), Holmes presents the eating of the
apple as an awakening. For a simple and beautiful discussion of
this idea, also see the children's book,
"The Blessing Seed" by Caitlin Matthews
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| Copyright 2007 |
Our
Lady of Guadalupe Necklace
New
Moon Wallhanging
Inspirational
Art by Catherine Holmes