(I read this on beliefnet.com this morning and felt it imperative to pass along):

Mother Teresa: My Saint of Darkness and Hope
“If I ever become a saint—I will surely be one of ‘darkness,’” Mother Teresa wrote in September of 1959. “I will continually be absent from heaven—to light the light of those in darkness on earth.”

Two years earlier she wrote this to Archbishop Perier of Calcutta:

There is so much contradiction in my soul.—Such deep longing for God—so deep that it is painful—a suffering continual—and yet not wanted by God—repulsed—empty—no faith—no love—no zeal.—Souls hold no attraction—Heaven means nothing—to me it looks like an empty place—the thought of it means nothing to me and yet this torturing longing for God.—Pray for me please that I keep smiling at Him in spite of everything. For I am only His—so He has ever right over me. I am perfectly happy to be nobody even to God. . . . .

As a person who battles despairing, intrusive thoughts during many of her alert (caffeinated and non-caffeinated) hours, I found great consolation in the personal writings of Mother Teresa included in a compilation entitled “Come Be My Light,” edited by Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C. And I wept many times throughout the book, mostly at her graciousness toward God in her suffering. “I want to smile even at Jesus and so hide if possible the pain and the darkness of my soul even from Him,” she wrote.

I spent a week with Mother Teresa and her Sisters the winter of 1994. I stood beside her for about two hours as we distributed Christmas gifts to orphaned children. I sensed a sadness in her. But her light overshadowed it. Unlike a person wrapped in severe depression, wearing the expression of despair, she exuded light and hope. When she prayed, her deep love for God was visible, even contagious.

This saint of darkness has much to teach me about how to live with inner anguish.

First of all, I should stop referring to my depression and anxiety as the “Black Hole,” (singular and capitalized), and call it, as Mother Teresa described her difficult places, the “dark holes.” Because the darkness is never black, or without any light at all. Her legacy is proof that hope and faith and love prevail, even in the dark night.

And depression isn’t one place of despair with capital letters. It changes every minute we breathe, especially as we enter into deeper communion with God, even if we don’t feel that communion. It’s plural because we always get to try again, the same reason my son David’s pencils don’t have erasers. His kindergarten teacher doesn’t believe in mistakes, just “happy accidents.”

And, most importantly, all of our suffering can be used for the good. I’m not sure how Mother Teresa was able to regard her times of spiritual agony as the meeting place for she and God, or how she appreciated her pain in order to bring souls to God. Because when I’m in that place I can’t stop cussing him out.

I remember my own conversation with God one afternoon over a year ago. I had just flunked out of a six-week outpatient program for depression (”You are in no way ready to be discharged, but your insurance won’t cover you anymore, so goodbye”), having tried 21 different medications, plus every alternative method imaginable (acupuncture, magnets, Chinese herbs, fish oil, vitamins, craniosacral therapy, yoga), counseling, cognitive-behavioral worksheets, gratitude journals, prayer and meditation, and daily six-mile runs. The conversation, which happened while I was swmming laps, went like this:

Okay, God. I’m finally starting to accept the fact that I will live the rest of my life wanting to die. And I’ve already promised you that I won’t take my life. Since enjoyment of life is pretty much ruled out, I’m going to just devote all my time to your cause. In exchange, I’d like you to take me earlier rather than later. Deal?

When Mother Teresa told him about her darkness, this is what he wrote:

With regard to the feeling of loneliness, of abandonment, of not being wanted, of darkness of the soul, it is a state well known by spiritual writers and directors of conscience. This is willed by God in order to attach us to Him alone, an antidote to our external activities, and also, like temptation, a way of keeping us humble in the midst of applauses, publicity, praises, appreciation, etc. and success. To feel that we are nothing, that we can do nothing is the realization of a fact. We know it, we say it, some feel it. That is why stick to God and like the little Bernadette at the end of her last retreat wrote: God alone, God everywhere, God in everybody and in everything, God always.

According to St. John of the Cross, the Carmelite mystic who composed the poem, “The Dark Night,” the deepening of love is the real purpose of the dark night of the soul. The dark night helps us to love more deeply.
And Meister Eckhart once wrote, “Truly, it is in the darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.” How appropriate, then, that Mother Teresa’s writings be entitled “Come Be My Light.” This saint of darkness is my light.

Read more on Dark Night of the Soul in Flower Essences: Sweet Chestnut.

Reiki and a Meaningful Life
by William Lee Rand

Many have values, potentials, and dreams that haven’t been fully expressed. This usually happens because of fear; fear of rejection by friends, family, co-workers and others, fear of failure, or of losing financial security, or simply fear of change. Whatever the reason, the result can be a misalignment between what we truly believe about life and ourselves, and how we are actually living our lives.

Reiki has the potential to not only heal our bodies, it can also heal our lives. This can take place through its ability to transform our values and redirect our lives toward a more complete expression of our true needs and potentials. The need for this deeper kind of healing often becomes apparent as a result of a Reiki class or because of repeated Reiki sessions. Healing on this deeper level can sometimes mean a change in career, a change within a marriage or even a divorce, a change in religious affiliation, or a move to another part of the country or to another part of the world.

When we look at our lives, if we feel stuck in a dead end job, or a marriage or relationship that doesn’t support our real needs, or if we have “friends” who invalidate our beliefs, or have other experiences that are unsupportive of our core needs, then it’s likely that we are in a place where a significant healing can unfold for us - if we are willing to accept it.

Remember that Reiki always respects free will and will not force healing changes into our lives unless we are ready to accept them. But if we find ourselves seemingly poised in this place, not enjoying our current life, but not yet having decided to change, Reiki is present to help us. By focusing on Reiki, giving ourselves more treatments, exchanging treatments with others, or taking additional Reiki classes, we can receive the inner strength necessary to move forward and make the healing changes needed to create a more meaningful life.

These steps may not feel easy at first. In fact, this level of healing often represents a major healing crisis. Although it may be experienced as a challenging and difficult time while it is taking place, it will often be seen later as a major turning point. As this level of healing unfolds, Reiki can provide the insight, the motivation and the energy necessary to help you move forward and make the significant adjustments necessary to more fully express what we truly believe and to more fully embrace what we need to be healthy and happy individuals.

Because these necessary changes are part of our life purpose and are calling forth from our inner being, once we decide to make them, the forces of life will rise up to support us. People will reach out to help, fortunate circumstances will develop, and while it may still require effort on our part, it will end up being easier than we thought. Once the changes have been made, we will be in a whole new place with greater freedom and a feeling that the stagnant, suffocating air that surrounded us has been replaced with a fresh ocean breeze. We will have room to breathe and to grow and to be free.

Life has the potential to be a never-ending process of unfoldment, growth and increasing value. By being open to the enriching possibilities that Reiki can create in our lives, we develop the habit of being ready to take that next step, to learn new skills and to allow the healthy changes that bring an increasing level of meaning into everything we do.

Reiki is an amazing healing technique, we encourage you to try it.
http://www.reiki.org/
Experience Reiki

Thursday, August 16th 2007

The Moon enters Libra the Scales at 12:04 am EST for our monthly reminder that a balanced perspective is a healthy one, even when we have a particular point of view. Our willingness to see both sides of an issue can take the pressure off otherwise stressful situations and should not be confused with indecision. Graceful Venus, Libra’s key planet, is moving toward a conjunction with chatty Mercury, adding a flirtatious edge to our social interactions.

Some of us watch the moon closely as she circles round, waxing and waning effecting our tides, moods and lives.

A handy way to know where the moon is is to utilize an Astrological Calendar so that you can see the moon’s rotation as well as all of the planetary positions. This way when you are planning an event you can also check the moon’s station… for example if you are a Capricorn its great to plan events while the moon is in Capricorn, especially if it is new, waxing, or full. That will bring great energy to your event.

Can you imagine…

OK, first clear your mind.
Take a breath.

WE ARE GOING ON A JOURNEY!

Imagine you are living in the year 1640. You have just finished making the bread dough and have set it to rise in the brick warmer. Your main morning task is complete. The children have had their honeycakes and are out playing in the yard. You have been coughing all through the breadmaking process and your sister points it out. (Your sister, mother, and grandmother all live in the same house with you and your husband, thats how many hands were needed to keep a household running in those days).

Its decided, you need to go to the doctor. You must go see Dr. Culpeper at his home in London. There is no phone, no telegraph. You simply walk to where you go in order to get something done. Sounds simple doesn’t it? You enjoy the walk and the time off from chores.

You enter into his crowded waiting room and tell the receptionist your name and your ailment. She thanks you and asks you to sit. You wait for almost 2 hours.

Upon seeing Dr. Culpeper, he looks at you and notices your complexion, the bags under your eyes, the brightness of your eyes themselves, and he pretty much already has an idea of what needs to be prescribed just by looking at your features. He asks you to stick out your tongue, he feels your pulse, and asks what kind of cough you have. Its a wet productive cough with no sore throat or post nasal drip..

His prescription? Something like this:

On your way home, you will go past the field at Smith’s Country Estate, beyond the pond just south of the big elm tree, pick some dandelion plants - leaves and roots. Take them home, put them in a pot of water and steep them… don’t boil them. Store the whole pot of tea in a jar, and drink it over the next 3 days. This will clear your liver congestion.

About 20 rods down the road from the Smith Estate, you will see a cow pasture on the left, filled with red clover (the blooms are actually pink). Pick three large handfuls of these - about a half bushel. Eat the first handful right away. When you get home, take the other two handful and steep them in some water. Breathe the steam in deeply.

Tonight, take the steep and put it on a washcloth (while it is still hot) and place it on your chest and go to sleep. Tomorrow, drink the rest until it is gone.

We have survived thousands of years without drugs, and we can continue to survive without them. Before drugs, doctors utilized herbs as prescriptions. For some reason, nobody in the generation in America seems to know that. I think its precious information lost that we can regain. Drugs are a wonderful invention, and we need them in some cases, but not to the degree that they are being prescribed for every sniffle and precaution.

Nicholas Culpeper (18 October 1616 – 1654 in London) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician, and astrologer. His published books, The English Physitian (1652) and the Complete Herbal (1653), contain a rich store of pharmaceutical and herbal knowledge.

This famous physician, herbalist, and astrologer spent the greater part of his life ranging the hills and forests of England and cataloguing literally hundreds of medicinal herbs.

If you could bottle love, this would be it.

Here you see Milky Oats tincturing (the green jar), as well as Calendula flowers (the yellow jar). In the middle is a handy little concoction I made, Meadowsweet Vinegar. Meadowsweet contains salisylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin. So I combined the healing power of Meadowsweet with the alkalyzing effects of vinegar and am hoping for a pain free winter! In a few days it turned the vinegar pink which is just fine with me!

Aren’t they beautiful?
Medicine.
This is medicine.