Emerald City Gnosis

The Guillotine: You are SO Stupid That You've Killed Your Planet

2009-03-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

The Guillotine: You are SO Stupid That You've Killed Your Planet

Save the Humans

2008-11-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

Fist Happy Thanksgiving Day to all.
This is a cross post from my other blog Rain City Gnosis. If you have read the rants over there don't worry. I haven't either.

Now I know that is an odd way to start a blog that is so full of gloom and doom but today is Thanksgiving. I have been ranting for weeks now about the sad state of affairs that is our planet. I have not offered any solutions. Why you ask? Because no one likes to be told what to do. No one wants a solutions or we would have one already.

This is what I do know. When I was a child everyone threw everything away. Newspapers, cans, Ok the bottles went back to the store to get the nickel deposit back but then they stopped requiring a deposit and those went into the trash as well. Things like 'Love Canal' happened. DDT was sprayed on all the food. Slowly people took notice. But what to do?
You can't just change the way everyone does everything overnight. It takes time. When people are concerned it seems overwhelming. It is too much at once. So you have to come up with some little something that EVERYONE can do. Not just some people.
Everyone can recycle. Everyone can reduce. Everyone can reuse. Ok so that is just the boy with his thumb in the dyke trying to prevent the water from rushing in and destroying the village. It is a stick in a raging torrent pretending to be a damn.
BUT, it is a start. Eventually the three R's become the norm.

so now everyone is in a huff about the economy. Why? Do I need 14 pairs of shoes? Do I need to whine about my next door neighbor when she puts up a chicken coop? I can support Urban Sustainability. I can give spiritual gifts at Christmas instead of expensive things that are forgotten about four months later. I can drive the same old car that I have had for the past 11 years and repair it rather than buy a new one.
Ok, so this doesn't stimulate the economy. I know. However it stimulates the spirit. Not only of me but of those around me. Maybe if enough of us twigs stick together we can create a damn that stops the flow of destruction.
Will it be enough? Will change come fast enough? If not, then the planet will continue with out our species. You see it isn't the planet that we need to save. The planet will go one. the question is will it go on with or without humans?

Most people I have known fall into one of two categories. They either think that no matter how bad things get, that in the end God won't let the planet be destroyed. Jesus will come back on clouds of glory with trumpets blaring and the 'bad' people will be thrown into a fiery pit and the earth will be returned to some sort of paradisiacal state. The others seem to think that modern science will take care of all our woes. The planet will be able to continue to support our ever growing population on to infinity. We will produce more food, live longer, had still have large families. Some how the other species that live on this planet will be content to live in a zoo or an aquarium or terrarium.
We are in a closed environment people! We live on a rock that is hurling through space. Where are ya gonna go when it is a trash heap? Save the planet? I say:

Save the humans.
1: Stop breeding like flies. Quality of people over quantity.
2: Stop treating our planet like a giant toilet.
3: Value education over war. i.e. put the money into education not wars.

So what will I do for Thanksgiving? To show that I am grateful for what I have I will not over indulge in food. I will not cook more than we can eat. I will not get wrapped up into the hype that the holiday season is about shopping, spending, giving material gifts or GETTING THEM. I will spend time with a joyful heart with friends, family and strangers. I will pray, meditate and give back to the planet.

What will you do? The future is in YOUR hands. If not you then who? If not now then when?

Has Buddha Been Reincarnated?

2008-11-11T20:03:00.000-08:00

Dia De Muertos

2008-11-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

I find it interesting that we have Halloween on October the 31st, then Dia De Muertos or Day of the Dead on November 1st, but the church uses November the 1st for All Saints Day and puts off All Souls Day until the 2nd.

I have to ask myself why this is. the pagan origins of celebrating the time when the veil between the world of the living and that of the dead is common in so many cultures. Today at a Dia De Muertos celebration in Seattle Center I was privileged to witness a group of South American Native dancers dance an ancient dance and preform part of the old religious traditions of this time of the year. One of the members of the dance troop said that originally this took place over forty days of dance and ritual.

In the Celtic calendar, and today for many Neo-pagans and modern day Wiccans Samhain is one of the holiest days of the year. The modern celebration of Halloween is only a sad reflection of what the rites really meant. The harvest aspect of Samhain is mostly lost in modern city society. Still it warms my heart to see all the kids dressed up in costumes and running around begging for candy. I still look at this as the day when every little girl wants to grow up to be me. When they come to the door dressed in long black dresses and wearing pointy hats I love to look at them and say "you, know, we don't really wear those silly hats". The look on their mothers faces is priceless.

Once again I have gone off on a tangent. Where was I. Ah yes, complaining that the church as co-opted a pagan sabot by calling it All Saints Day. Why All SAINTS on November 1st!!! Sure have a day for all the saints, that's fine, but NOT on the day for ALL the dead. You will notice that they couldn't get the festival out of the hearts of the people. They couldn't keep native peoples from Ireland or France way over to Brazil or Mexico. Honoring our ancestors and celebrating the Turning of the Wheel is a natural part of who we are as a part of nature as opposed to being outside of nature.
But then here we have the Church telling people that this day is only for the super special people that lived lives that were expectable in the eyes of the Church. Since they couldn't wipe it out, they relabeled it as All Saints Day. But since they really couldn't get it out of the psyche of the people they tacked on All Souls Day after. Why not let October 31st and/or November 1st as the Day of the Dead, the time when the we reflect on our own mortality and how fleeting our time is on this earth.

Let's look at what wikipedia says:
The custom of setting apart a special day for intercession for certain of the faithful departed is very old. But the celebration of general intercession on 2 November was first established by St. Odilo of Cluny (d. 1048) at his monastery of Cluny in 998.

All Saints Day used to be on May 13th and coincided with another pagan festival, so when it was moved to it's current date, why chose Nov. 1st? If it was too close to one pagan holiday why not pick something else all together? Or is that to the pagan every day is a holy day so it would have been hard to pick one that wasn't?

At least with the harvest festival of Samhain that has it's connections to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth that can be seen in the changing of the seasons on a yearly basis if not in our own lives until we come closer to the end of them, then with the Dia De Muertos on the following day, moving from harvest to death, then All Souls on Nov 2nd we can see the same sort of need to feel close to our dead being played out in the Requiem Eucharist. The three days flow so well together, community, pagan, christian. Yet when we try to toss All Saints in the middle of it, for me it takes away from the inner connections with the dead by narrowing it to only some day.

What really baffles me is that modern Gnostic churches don't see this. They continue to follow the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar. OK, to put it even more plainly, The Ecclesia Gnostica is the largest modern Gnostic church and since they have put so much into their website and maintain such a great liturgical calendar, theirs is the calendar that seems to get followed.

In my parish we are guilty as charged of doing this. I am proposing that a different date be found for an All Gnostic Saints Day. I have no idea when in the Church year this could be squeezed in but it is worth looking into. After all why are Gnostic Churches trying to just duplicate the Roman Church from the rituals to the Archonic hierarchal system of authority.

I don't mean to throw the baby out with the with the bath water. The liturgical calendar follows the life of the Christos and the cycles that it runs threw serve a purpose that we need to follow. I am simply saying that we don't need to just follow the bouncing ball and do everything that the Roman church does. If anyone in the Gnostic community has a good idea as to when All Gnostic Saints Day should be celebrated, send me an email. I too will be pondering and praying on this. If nothing else I can see All Souls Day being moved to Nov 1st to be the days the Day of the Dead and putting All Gnostic Saints (or All Saints of the Gnosis Day if you will) to November the 2nd.

Just a thought.

Rev. Mother M+

The Beauty of the Gnostic Sophianic Eucharist

2008-10-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

The Eucharist is such a beautiful ritual. It uplifts my spirit and I touch the Divine during the service. It was at mass years ago that I first felt that connection and wanted to become a priest so that I too could perform the sacred rites and help others come to that same place that is beyond time and space yet ever present and now. It is the Eternal Now.
Today's mass was one of those days that the Eternal Now felt eminent and close in a way that I can not describe in words. The Real Presence of God among us. The ebb and flow of all the cosmos flowing around. Angelic energies gathering around and aiding us in the Great Work.

It was all of this yet something more, and none of that. I was reminded of the scripture "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."–Matt. 18

Today's mass was like that; there was only my server and myself in the chapel today, but the Divine was tangibly there. You could feel it like electricity in the air. That is a horrid description but I can't think of a better one at the moment.

Tomorrow I will have been ordained a priest two years. I still know that it was the right choice for me.

If you are in the Seattle area, I hope you will make it to mass some time soon. We are a fledgling parish but participation in the eucharist can and will help uplift you into the Light and increase in you the Gnosis of the Divine. This I know.

Blessings,
Rev. Mother Marsha+

Ecumenical Buddhism: Burning Incense Is Psychoactive

2008-10-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

Ecumenical Buddhism: Burning Incense Is Psychoactive

All I can say is it is about time that science has acknowledged that which priests and priestesses throughout history around the world have always known. Burning incense puts the spiritual practitioner into an altered date of consciousness. By studying alchemy we can learn how to create blends that aide the seeker in reaching different inner planes. It can also boost the work of the magician to bring about the results that he/she is seeking when in ritual.
Each blend of incense has it's own spirit. Some hang low to the ground, others waft to the heavens quickly. One blend will burn off quickly and leave a hint of a scent behind and another will burn slow and fill the room with it's essence. Scent is our most powerful sense. It can transport us to a place we haven't been to in years with just a small whiff of oder. If it can do this, how can one even doubt it's ability to aide us in rising on the planes or increasing a magickal working?

This is all a part (but not the whole by any means) of why we use incense in the Gnostic Liturgy of Divine Light or Eucharist.

Rev. Mother Marsha+

Boo Fun in B-Town

2008-10-25T18:01:00.001-07:00

B-Town Boo Fun.

As usual we went some where without a camera. I know your shocked. Erik and I decided to go to 'down town' Burien today for the Boo Burien festival. Last year I just happen to be there because I was picking out wine at Vino Bello
This year my next door neighbor invited us well in advance so we could join the fun and watch the great dane across the street compete in the dog costume parade. Last year Libby won first place dresses as a ballerina. This year she went as a army soldier and took two prizes. 'Scariest' and 'Professional' I don't know how it was scary, but I am glad she won. She has had a hard life and it is nice for her to have a day that is all about her.

We start out by parking a ways off and walked over to Vino Bella for the Saturday wine tasting. I have wanted to do this ever since we moved back to Burien. It was about time. We ordered the Cheese Flight of artisan cheese and crackers and let the wine pour.

The first wine was a Drius Pinot Bianco 2005, a lovely white that wasn't too sweet or two dry. I'd love to serve it on the porch in the summer with fruit. Next came the Sanbastian Barbera d'Asti 2006. Not Erik's favorite but I enjoyed it. A very light red wine that was fresh and fruity. I'd buy it but at 23 bucks a bottle why buy something that I love and he won't drink.
Our waitress got number three and four reversed for us, so that is how I will review them here.
We next had the Sudtiroler Lagrein Dunkel 2006. all I can say is Luscious!!! But Erik like the Reverdito Dolcetto d'Alba 2006 better.

The Dolcetto is an Austrian red that is so far north that it seems more like an Italian. Or that is what she told us. To be honest I enjoyed it, but while she said there is nothing really like it, it reminded me of the basic wines we usually get. We bought a bottle at $23.00, but I would rather have splurged on the Lagrein Dunkel at $37.00.

Next came the Zardini Amarone Classico 2003. WOW!!! So this is what a $68.00 bottle of wine tastes like! We got a bottle and are going to save it for a special occasion. It is unusual and has a depth of character that I am not used to getting in the $9.99 a bottle stuff that is my normal fare.

Lastly but certainly not least was the dessert wine, a golden colour wine called Nontiscordardime 2004. The word means "Do not forget me" and it would be hard to forget this amber treat. Honey, dried figs and apricots, sweet and just a bit is all you need. I love the description that said "It is elegant, harmonious, warm and intriguing". That sums it up perfectly. So we bought that one too. $64.00.

I have never done anything that opulent in my live, spending that kind of money on one day out much less on wine. She waived our tasting fee (of ten each) when we bought three bottles so it was like getting the Dolcetto for three dollars. Oh yeah, I can justify anything. :)

Now that we were warm and glowing (ok a bit buzzed) from the wine we walked back to the car and put the bottles away so we wouldn't be clicking about Burien like a couple of winos then went to our favorite coffee bar. 909 Coffee and Wine I love this place. I love that my friend Heather is their pastry chef. Heather if you read this the brownies were the best today! We got some coffee and a treat used the restroom before popping out to watch the Dog Parade.

So in lieu of photos from our own camera here is a link to the Burien Bog aptly call the B-Town Blog

So for all you Burien locals that have promised to come to Holy Gnostic Eucharist it is tomorrow, maybe we will open one of those nice bottles after mass.

Rev. Mother Marsha+

Slow to Write

2008-10-23T06:02:00.000-07:00

I have been slow to write lately. No real reason. Mostly I have been sucked into 'facebook' and can't seem to come up for air.
Fall has come to the Emerald City and so have the rains. The leaves are such wonderful colours. I love walking underneath them this time of year. On this trip to Seattle Center we went to the Lucy's Legacy exhibit. If you are in Seattle or if it comes to your town, go see it. It was wonderful.

I am training a new person at work and busy with the little parish, but I hope to be posting more in the not to distant future.

Until then,
Blessing be upon you.

The Fire and the Light

2008-09-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

One of my nuns in the Order of St. Esclarmonde recently post on our forum regarding work of historical fiction on the Cathars and our patron saint; St. Esclarmonde. I have ordered my copy and I hope to have it in my hands in a few days. I am excited to see the attention that the Cathars are receiving in the media and film lately. Please consider ordering a copy when you can.

The Fire and the Light

Blessings,
Rev. Mother M. Anastasia

Warm Summer Days

2008-08-03T18:38:00.001-07:00

Now that summer may have actually arrived I find it time to sit back sip something cool on the porch and be lazy. It must be summer because Sea Fair is almost over even if it isn't hot yet.
Yesterday Erik and I headed down to the park. We strolled under the tress and through the paths.
The sent of pine, fir and thistles along with the salt water all wafting past and mixing together. We found a bench on the trail toward the top of a high bluff. We sat in silence for some time watching the Ferry Boats go back and forth across Puget Sound. We both agreed that it just doesn't get any better than this.
There is something about being outside like that, even if for only a few minutes a day that refreshes my soul. The cares and stresses of the work week drop off and are gone, like feathers on a blacksmiths fire.
I gave myself a spa treatment this afternoon. I can't go to a day spa, they are way to expensive, but I soaked in a long bath, painted my toe nails.
I gave the chapel a spa day too. After mass (since I had no way to the book club) I took it all apart and put it all back together. It is too warm for the large amounts of candles this time of year, so I removed most of them. I polished the brass candle followers and put them up for the rest of the summer.
next I made new curtains for Erik's bathroom. (did I say something about being lazy?
Erik got home from a long day at Sakya and we decided to explore a new place to eat. Usually this is a painful experience for us. We like what and where we go and are not to adventurous when it comes to food. But the place he wanted to go was closed. So we found a nice little pub with good pizza and had a great time.
Enjoy your summer. I may not be posting much, but the little Gnostic Chapel that could is doing well and steadily gaining members here and there.
Anyone is welcome to join us. Just let us know.

Marsha+

BRAGGING AND BRAGGING!!

2008-06-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce you all to my new grandson Jaden Seth Fountain born June 19th at 5:15 in the morning. Now this is bragging!

Proud Grandmama+

Speech the Gnostic Way or Just the Right Way?

2008-06-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

In responding to a comment on my previous post I decided that a follow up post to “Bragging or Complaining” was needed. I spent some time thinking about just as I promised J.P. I would do. Here is what I came up with:
I stated in that post that “Very little of our every day speech is needed. When I think of just how little functional speech we use and how much is just extra prattle it amazes me. “

So just what sort of speech is needed? What type of talking doesn’t fall under my lump categories of braggin’ and complainin’?

I remembered learning some things about speech in two of the spiritual paths that I have traveled. On is Al-Anon, the other is Buddhism. They both seem to agree with each other on this subject but they express it in different ways. So here is the gist of what they both have taught me. You will need to study “Right Speech” as part of the Eight Fold Noble Path for more details from the Buddhist perspective and then spend some time in Al-Anon to learn what that program taught me. You may come up with your own criteria for deciding what to say and when. I think that may be the best way.

From Al-Anon I learned that I have to THINK before speaking. In other words before I open my mouth and say anything I need to examine my mind and my motives.
T thoughtful
H honest
I intelligent
N necessary
K kind

If what I am about to say meets all of these criteria then it is fine to say it. If it only meets some of them, then it is Braggin’ or Complainin’ at best it is only bragging or complaining. If it is gossip or slanderous or harmful in anyway then in reality it is even worse than my two little broad categories. Let me give you an example of how some speech may not be all of these things.
If my coworker does not take out the trash and vacuum and I say something about it I first need to look at why am I saying it? What are my motives? Who am I saying it to?
Simply because it may be true doesn’t mean I need to say it. When I say it am I judging him? Do I know why he didn’t do it? Do I really know how busy he was or am I assuming that he just didn’t bother. Even if I know that he just didn’t bother why do I need to say it to anyone? If a supervisor asks me if it he did it I can just say ‘No’. There is no need to elaborate unless she asks for details. So in this case it is better for me to keep my mouth shut.
If I am on a Spirtual Path, what right do I have to say something that doesn't build up others.
Of course this doesn't meen that I need to be a doormat. Just that I need to use correct speech.

The Five Keys to Right Speech.

"Monks, a statement endowed with five factors is well-spoken, not ill-spoken. It is blameless & unfaulted by knowledgeable people. Which five?

"It is spoken at the right time. It is spoken in truth. It is spoken affectionately. It is spoken beneficially. It is spoken with a mind of good-will."

— AN 5.198

Blessings,
M+

Are You Bragging or Complaining?

2008-06-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

I have taken about a week or so to process internally the time spent on our Gnostic retreat. Not only as a participant but also as the organizer. This is not the time or place for me to go into the things that I learned on hosting a retreat or what I will do differently next time. Rather, this blog is my personal blog so I will only focus on my own experiences and insights.

One of the things that I like most about retreat is the silence. It takes me no time at all to settle into the silence. Don't get me wrong, there was some talking, we had to speak to say our daily offices and mass as well as I had to give some instructions on the different meditations that we were doing. I can't expect everyone to simply read my mind. We also had to have some basic functional speech to get meals prepared. Even with the recipes out on the counter it still become necessary for people unfamiliar with a kitchen to ask where to put the mixing bowl and where the trash bags are kept. I have been on retreat were every drawer had labels on it so you could just look and figure it out. Most of the time everyone was able to look around and make a good guess as to where to find things or where to put them back so there was very little of this type of speech.

I discovered that because I have to be so outgoing and chatty on my job that I relished not having to talk. Very little of our every day speech is needed. When I think of just how little functional speech we use and how much is just extra prattle it amazes me. There is nothing quite like a silent retreat to really point this out. So just what is the rest of our speech for?
As I am sure you can guess from the title of this post I have come to the conclusion that it is all bragging or complaining.

Now before you get all defensive and jump all over me let me explain what I mean by this. If you really think about how and why we communicate things to other people around us it will make sense. When ever we tell others about the events in our lives we always tell it in a certain light. Not only do we only have our perception to tell, we tell it in the light in which we want others to see it. Obviously we can't tell it from the vantage point of anyone else since we only have our own experiences. As any one that has ever dealt with the courts can tell you eye witnesses are very unreliable. We each see things differently. We each have our own reality. Now lets add to this the idea of telling things in a 'certain light'. By this I mean that we choose which details to emphasize and which parts of the story to leave out. We paint a picture of ourselves as heroes, victims. martyrs, fools, lovers, or any one of any number of other possibilities. We blame the cop that gave us the ticket and complain about what a jerk he was and down play or even ignore the fact that we were speeding. We blame our boss for our low pay rate and pass over the part about how much time we spend slacking off every day. The opposite can also be true. We can brag about how much time we spend doing anything but our job and paint our boss as a fool and ourselves as clever.

Complete and total honesty (bearing in mind that honesty with out compassion is cruelty) is not used all that often. Now obviously if someone we love has spent hours making us a fine meal and it isn't really what we wanted to eat it would be rude to just blurt out "But I wanted to go out instead!" Perhaps in that sort of case it is better to simply say "Thank you." So take into consideration such things and ponder this idea for a bit.

I wont bother you with other examples of just how this can work, but leave it to you the reader (do I have readers?) to see if this holds true for your life as well as mine. I do have other things that really struck me while on retreat that I will post at a later time.

M+

Ecumenical Buddhism: The Golden Rule: The Ethic of reciprocity

2008-05-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

Ecumenical Buddhism: The Golden Rule: The Ethic of reciprocity

Spring Goddess Garden

2008-05-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

Spring has finally come to the Emerald City and with it I have finally had a couple of days to work on the Goddess Meditation Garden that will one day be out behind the garage. I had had grandiose visions of it being complete by this time. The Gnostic Retreat starts in just a couple of days. I had wanted it to be a place of solace that those participating in the retreat could go and sit, pray, meditate, say the Gnostic Rosary or chant the Tara mantra. Hmm, not gonna happen.

The previous owners of our property used that area as a dumping ground. Now I don’t just mean that they had the compost bin out there, I mean that they literally did not have trash service for seven years. Once every few months they would load up a truck and make a run to the city dump. Why???
I have this image of them as looking something like Ma and Pa Kettle with chicken coops and rabbit hutches and a hound dog out back. Nothing quite like the sound of a rooster at five AM to start the day.

So last year my husband pulled out several dump load of garbage and we racked and put down bark. I purchased a nice bamboo plant and an archway to go at the entrance. I pulled up all the weeds and thought. This is good, over the winter it will all just sit here and in the spring I can plant some flowers, set up an altar and a mediation bench. Oh yeah, I thought I could put a labyrinth in the back yard too. hahhahahahhaha

Then reality set it. The first warm day I went out and found that some how even in the snow and rain the weeds were back. But they had shallow roots and were not to hard to pull up. On the advice of my father in-law I dug up all the dirt that was resting against the side of the garage so that the wood will not rot. Good idea. This however uncovered even more layers of garbage. Candy wrappers, old gloves, broken window panes, some carpet, tampons. WHAT!! Ahhh man!

I have placed some used concert bricks that my neighbor didn’t want anymore (they are fairly hideous) along the garage wall to keep the dirt from piling back up on it. Now I need to level it out, I need to remove a large quantity of dirt (mixed with trash) in order to make it reasonably level. The back of the yard is higher so it will slope, but with any luck I can make it a gentle sloping mound rather than a big step or a hill all sloping back to the garage wall. I am not sure what to do with the excess dirt. Erik has some ideas.

One of my neighbors was separating some bulbs and left them in my yard for me to plant. OK, I have no idea where to plant them since the soil isn’t ready but they are going in the ground by the start of the retreat. They will be dead if I wait.

The lawn might not get mowed again before the retreat either. I think we missed our window of opportunity the other day. The grass is just a tad too tall now, but the grass is also damp. It is nice and grean however and that is a huge improvement over last year.
Oh yes, the lilacs are in bloom!! I thought that they would have died off by now, but so far they are doing great. We may have fresh flowers for the chapel every day. That would be so nice. Don't plan on it though. My cat likes to eat them and then she throws up, so we may be skipping the indoor flowers all together.
My cat rules the house. You have been warned. Or in the words of Wendsday Adams: "Be afraid, be very afraid."

M

Cereal Bowl and Calm.

2008-05-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ahhh,

I feel so much better.
I do apologize for my rambling post last evening. It was meant as a way for me to express my relief that I had taken a step back and was breathing and relaxing now after stressing for a week only to come across as more stress.
Sorry 'bout that.

My husband and I spent the day putting some finish touches on the cottage prior to Gnostic Retreat '08. He cleaned the garage out and we took two car loads of stuff off to the dump. I reopened my Pier One Imports charge card and purchased new rugs for in front of the kitchen sink and both restrooms. I got a new table runner and replaced the curtains that separate the kitchen from the entryway and living room. It really lightened up the place! The old ones looked good in the last place I lived in but they were way to heavy and dark here. Our ceilings are only around 8 feet and the rooms are small that the heavy goth look just has to change. I have a vision of 'Cottage Goth' but it will take time. We hung up a curtain to be a 'door' over the entrance to the upstairs closet space so it doesn't look junky. I have one to put over the entry way to the 'Crows Nest' room that one of the retreatents will be sleeping in to give her some privacy. I can't hang it up yet as it does cut off the air flow to the rest of the upstairs and it will get way to warm.
We put the old folding chairs out on the deck for people to enjoy. They are kinda dirty but they are there.

I picked up more food. WHY? I have no idea. OK I do know. I have this urge to feed the whole world so I start with those around me. Yet for some reason I try to live on a 1200 (or less) calorie a day diet myself. I am completely nutts of course.
OH yes, I have four new cereal bowls so we don't have to eat in shifts.

I wish I had time to paint the bathrooms and the chapel before the retreat starts. Oh well. However! I have a new red altar frontal! The chapel looks great!!! Why did I make new white vestments when we are in the red season during retreat? h well, I will wear the white and and use the red stole and chalice veil. It will be fine.

M+

Mediation

2008-04-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

I like to meditate. OK, Some times, I hate to go do it and have to remind myself of its benefits before I can go sit on my cushion with a joyous heart. I try to not push myself or get overly enthusiastic about meditating. I have found that if I go at something as if I was shot out of a canon I will fall like a lead ball before very long. So I am taking the slow and steady approach to my meditation practice. A few minutes a day, every day, I can’t say that I have never skipped a day either, I have. In fact during the height of a recent illness I am sure I missed at least one day, but I do not have a good recollection of those two weeks so I can’t be sure.

Meditating gets me outside of myself. For a few minutes to universe stops rotating around my own head. I feel an ‘at oneness’ with the Pleroma. I let go of the ‘me-ness’ (if that is a word) and grow in love and understanding for my fellow beings. I try to carry this with me throughout my day. I am usually only partially successful. I find that when I drive to work the people that don’t understand the definition of ‘merging’ don’t bother me as much. I am less apt to be phased by a late or lax co-worker than I was ten years ago…two years ago. In the past things other people did would greatly effect ‘me’. ‘How dare that lady cut me off on the freeway’ or ‘the nerve of him to say that to me’ and on and on and on.

I made mountains not out of molehills but out of a grain of sand. I would tell my woes to anyone and everyone that would listen. In fact I would do it again and again and again. Now when I see people turning the little slide shows of their lives into an epic movie with themselves as the producer, director and star I smile. Not to laugh at them, I know that they really believe that the melodrama in their life is all that, no but because I can see my old self in them. Some times I still do this.

Meditation has become for me in many ways it is like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and knowing that is really isn’t a train. Hope grows, peace abides. I am centered but no longer the center of the universe rather I am just one more speck of star dust shinning for a microsecond in the course of events that make up the All that arose from the No-thing. The more time I spend on the Path that leads to Liberation. The Way of the Gnosis of the heart, the more I love, the more I learn, the less i am an I and the more I just 'am'.

May the Peace which passeth all Understanding be with you.

Amen+

Cross Post From Meat Flavored

2008-03-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

washing the rock again...

I guess ultimately in our own minds were never wrong. We look for ways to justify the things we do that we know are wrong. We figure that if we can convince someone else that what were doing isnt really so bad then it must be okay. Reason, we`ve in a sense confessed and obsolved oursleves before another. Is it to save face to appear that we are not weak ? Or is it something more intimate and personal. Like appeasing our own beloved ego. Assuring ourselves in some small way that we are not like them. Not like the others who are weak and pitiful,pathetic and undeserving. Why should I so much as lift a finger to help another ? What have they done for me for that matter. I dont know them, there is no connection to them, they are an unkown, someone different. Little white lies dont hurt anyone. Im just getting the job done. Just getting by, just like my neighbor, and the person in the cubicle next to me. Remember though they dont matter, we dont like them this week. Or that person who crossed me yesterday, how dare they do this to me, right ? Of course its a different story when we come home, to our place of solace. Thank whatever god we believe in at last Im home. Of course home is where the heart is. Lately home is alittle empty, alittle too quiet as of late. Maybe theres something good on t.v., alittle something to shut out the recurring thoughts in my head. I mean you know man, if I could just get this one thing, why everything else would be just fine. It doesnt really matter what the latest obsession is, just so long as I can possess it. Then its mine. It will fill the holes, make me whole again, at least for alittle while. I often hear that quiet dark voice, whispering to me. I often try to ignore it, its always the worst though at night, again when Im by myself, sitting there just starring out the window, wondering why me, why do I have to be alone ?
S.

Cross Post From Father Troy's Blog "Path of Gnosis"

2008-02-27T06:03:00.001-08:00

I loved this post on Father Troy's blog so I thought I'd share part of it here.

"Questions: Practices for Gnostics

It is a mistake to simply equate Gnosis with enlightenment. Gnosis is the method/means of liberation, not the liberated state. The state of redemption or liberation would be more equivalent to the enlightened state. The one who is liberated has Gnosis, it being the means of liberation, and the texts use it in that way as well, but it is not the only way that the term is used.

In short, Gnosis is not in itself a state of being (though you can use it to indirectly refer to that), it is a way to refer to a fundamental spiritual growth/transformation/liberation process.

The methods for progressing in Gnosis that are referred to in ancient scriptures, and that we use today in the EG,( And in the Gnostic Church of St. Mary Magdalene*) are richly poetic and symbolic forms of personal transformational experiences that are either focused upon an individual or are generally participated in by a group. They produce changes in consciousness, and have both initiatory (pivotal) transformative effects, and also gradual transformative effects from regular participation (such as meditation has).

They involve participating in the sacred stories (myths) of the tradition and applying them directly to yourself through having a form to experience them in, so one can gain gnosis of them. In our practice, many aspects of these are revisited every year. There are also times in one's life when there is a more direct need/use of a deeper application/experience of some of them. And there are traditional methods for this as well.

One can also go through a long process of learning how to offer these methods in service to others, which involves participation at gradually higher levels of responsibility, while undergoing a further transformative process. They are not something you can try on your own without training and experience.

These methods are what we do as a church. They are richly symbolic liturgical services, that primarily consist of the mysteries/sacraments that are listed in the Gospel of Philip. The regular transformational method we use is the Holy Gnostic Eucharist. The methods we employ as a church are the mysteries/sacraments and other liturgical rituals.

I know Christian churches generally use striped-down versions of the sacraments and largely understand them in a theological manner that is quite different from their origin as mystery practices in the ancient world. But that is not our approach. We take care to follow the traditional forms and traditional requirements for conveying the mysteries. And, in my own experience and experiences of others reported to me—these forms serve that purpose. .........* It isn't that we hold services and then do the real transformational work later on, the services are real transformational methods—our services are public group spiritual practice.

Individual spiritual practice is also encouraged. Contemplation, prayer, meditation, active imagination, and dream work, are among practices commonly used by individuals in our tradition. Education in the tradition and related topics is also a part of our ministry through the Gnostic Society. All of these activities fit under the ancient understanding of spiritual exercises and aid our personal development, as well as preparation and integration of the mysteries. Yet, the spiritual practices that are more oriented towards attaining Gnosis are the mysteries instituted by Christ.
POSTED BY TROY W. PIERCE AT 9:49 PM 0 COMMENTS
LABELS: GNOSTICISM, MYSTICISM

* additions and alterations by Rev. Marsha of Our Lady Star of the Sea a parish of the Gnostic Church of St. Mary Magdalene.

I completely agree with Father Troy's post. I would like to add that wile he is speaking for his church alone I have to say that the transcendent experience of the the Mystery of the Eucharist have taken place for me not only at the EG services or the GCMM mass but at the AJC mass and at traditional Latin mass as well.

What Father Troy speaks of in his post are the very reasons that that I creted my last post on the importance of not watering down the Eucharist. The Novus Order is one example of a watered down version. An Agape Feast is another. An Agape Feast is wonderful and has its place, however I do not find it to be a replacement for the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist any more than Vespers or Noturns replaces Holy Eucharist.

Pax,
M+

Danger Will Robinson

2008-02-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

WARNING: Danger Will Robinson this post is not politically correct. Read at your own risk and do not bother to complain to the author if you don’t like it.

It has become quite popular in Gnostic and Independent circles for each denomination of Gnosticism indeed in some case each Gnostic priest to write their own version of the mass. I was not only encouraged to write the mass that I would say for my ordination I was told that at some point it would be required of me to do so. I am used to going to different churches and hearing and participating in what ever version of the Eucharist they are doing.

Over coffee the other day I was speaking to two other ladies about the wording of the Eucharist and the symbols that it invokes with in the participants. One of the points brought up was that many people in our society are ‘uncomfortable’ with the symbolism of a ‘sacrifice’. It was pointed out that at least one other Gnostic group uses the symbolism of the ‘Wedding Feast’ for its service.

I mentioned that one of these Sundays it would be nice for us as a group to use that mass version. I am open to this but after thinking it over a bit more I have some qualms about it. This will not stop me from trying it out as my misgivings could be wrong and I am not afraid to be wrong.

HOWEVER:

I see the Holy Eucharist as one ‘Sacrament’ and the Wedding Feast as another. Just as the sacrament of Baptism is not the same as Reconciliation and while many churches have all but done away with Reconciliation and simply give a general absolution to their members once a month at mass; the sacrament is still practiced in most liturgically orientated churches in one form or another.

I understand that some are ‘uncomfortable’ with the imagery of the sacrifice and would like an alternative to it. But after all the Holy Eucharist IS a sacrifice. So if we take that out, do we even have a Eucharist left at all? I have been to some places where the wording of the mass as been so watered down that the service is more of a place to go to feel good about ourselves. If you need to go to church to feel good about yourself GET A THERAPIST! The point of the Eucharist is to make something Holy not to give you a warm fuzzy. If it does give you a warm fuzzy good for you, but that is not what it is for.
Sacrfice means to make holy! Get over it
The sacrifice in the mass is not about the crucifixion and it is more than turning a piece of bread or cup of wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord. It is turning YOU the participant into something holy as well.
Each of the seven sacraments does just that. Some of the sacraments are more initiatory in nature but they all take the mundane and make it more than what it was before. And that something is YOU.

I can go to or host the wedding feast mass at my chapel. I look forward to doing so. It will be nice to see and feel the different energies of the service. I have read it over and it is beautiful. I don't see myself ever giving up the weekly Eucharist for a weekly Bridal Chamber rite, though that day may come. Each serves its own purpose in our lives, hence the reason they were two seperate rites 2000 years ago.

Perhaps there are those that 'need' a different set of symbols and would avoid a Eucharist with 'sacrifice' language like the plague. I posit the argument that these people are not however 'gnostics'. For any 'Knower of the Chosens Mysteries' knows that one set of symbols is a good as the next. They are just as at home with the symbolism of the Tibetan Buddhist as the Roman Catholic Mass. They would see the underlying sameness of the pagan sabot and the Holy Gnostic Eucharist. They know (or Gknow) that All is One and One is All.

I would say that avoiding the 'sacrifical languge' of the Eucharist is like avoid the Mahakala or Chod practices of Buddhism and never doing anything beyond Chenrizi or Medicine Buddha becouse the first two are harsh in wording and imagrey and the later two are warm and fuzzy.

I am not saying that there is anything wrong with the Wedding Feast Mass. In fact it is very very good. So don't anyone get their panties in a wadd over it OK. I am really just saying that there are many many other 'masses' out there that are quazi masses. Written by people with no understanding of the magic that underlyes the surface, they leave parts out, or move them around until the energies are either swirrling about with no direction or lost altogether. I am NOT suggesting that this is true of the Wedding Feast Mass that brought this rant to my mind. It was more like a stack of dominos tipping over.

Rant Over, for now. :)

Gnostic Notes: Who Are You Trying To Convince?

2008-01-23T18:54:00.000-08:00

Gnostic Notes: Who Are You Trying To Convince?

Once again Leland Kaiser has hit the nail on the head.

Gnostic Novena to the Holy Spirit part 2

2008-01-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

I have changed the access to the Novena to 'Direct'. this means that if you plan on purchasing it you will have to click on the link rather than search for it on the Lulu market place. Once I am sure that it is free of errors and that all of my sources are sited I will change it back.

Let me know if the link doesn't work for you.

Thanks for understanding.

A+

A Gnostic Novena to the Holy Spirit

2008-01-21T16:47:00.000-08:00

So, I have been telling everyone for over a year now that I was going to begin adapting prayers and novenas to reflect the spirit of Gnosis that if my faith. While I can see the All in all and use the orthodox versions it is nice to have prayers that are resonate with the inner knowing of Gnosticism. I do not claim authorship, I have really just adapted existing prayers. It is on Lulu if anyone is interested. I did not set it up for down load since it is in a small pocket format. You would need special paper to get it to print out correctly.

Gnostic Novena to the Holy Spirit by Rev. M. Anastasia

Making a Home a Sacred Space

2008-01-20T16:23:00.000-08:00

While visiting my in-laws in Florida this past weekend I have the great honour of blessing their new home. I have been a bit apprehensive about blessing a family members home. All of the nervous jitters that go with performing rituals are tripped for me when it is for friends or family than when it is for strangers. I was uncertain of just what to take with me to Florida for this. Would I need my vestments or should I just wear my bathing suit? After all one of Florida's catch phrases is "The rules are different here". If I do it too casually will my family feel like it wasn't a 'real blessing'? Would my new sister in-law just think I was some sort of religious nut? I am a spiritual nut, I don't think I am a religious nut, still I can see how she would get that idea.
I must have put my clergy shirt and white collar in that suitcase six times only to take it back out again.
I finally decided to bring the shirt and collar but use a less formal surplice. I brought the largest nicest pectoral cross since it helps me to look like a 'real' priest. Seven years of training and studying and yet still some people think your not a 'real' priest unless you get paid for it.
I crammed a trurible, charcoal and incense into my small bag and figured I could make would make the Holy Water there. I have no idea what on earth they will ever do with all that left over Holy Water. It could probably keep the water fountain at the entrance to their home with running holy water for six months. Lacking an altar server my husband and mother in-law stepped in. Erik handled the censer while Vicki held the bowl of holy water for me so that I could asperge all of the doorways and rooms while deftly stepping out of the range of the camera so as not to have her picture on the internet.
We went room by room through they home and it was very nice. We finished up out by the pool. The pictures didn't come out well. My brother in-law refused to use the flash so these three are the best of about 20 shots all together. If the ones my father in-law come out better when I get them I will add to the post later.

Pax,
Rev. Mother Anastasia

Gnostic Icons and Mandalas

2008-01-06T16:13:00.000-08:00

This post comes out of a topic of over on the Palm Tree Garden. We were talking about The Secret Book of John and in that text it describes Barelo being in the center of a circle with Foreknowledge, Incorruptibility, Everlasting Life and Truth around her. There is more than one of these descriptions in SBJ such as the one with the Son (Autogenes) in the center with Mind, Goodness, Will and Word around Him. The translation by Steven Davies has line drawn graphs of these descriptions.
This got me to thinking. If the line drawing and the annotations explain it as being like a Buddhist Mandala, have any Gnostic Artists ever painted them as such?

I remembered the Sophia Fellowship's website and there beautiful Gnostic Iconography so I went poking my nose around on it some more to see if they had done so. I didn't find any more on the site than the icons that I knew they had. I have made a few inquiries to some artists with Gnostic leanings either overtly or otherwise. To the best of my knowledge this hasn't been done yet.
So here is what I am proposing to all you artistic types out there. I would love to see Gnostic Mandalas painted for a focal point when studying and meditating on the concepts of the Mind of God. This is an open invitation to collaboration! We could and perhaps should have Gnostic Mandalas and more Gnostic Icons (as opposed to just using the ones that the orthodox church has available. We could have our own practices to go along with them that would include prayers, chant meditation, mantra and mudra. I am not proposing that we have a whole set of separate 'empowerments' that we charge fees to teach that then allows the Gnostic practitioner to then do as is done in the Tibetan Buddhist system. Just that it would be nice for us as Gnostics to develop along Eastern lines in the same way we have developed our own versions of the Mass based off the Catholic Mass which is from the West.

Bishop Lewis Keizer from the Home Temple in his book on Priesthood for a New Age describes the need for the Priesthood's of the future as needing to be one in which the best of the traditions of the East and the West have come together for the benefit of humankind.
Gnosticism is often described by its some of its practitioners as Catholic on the outside and Buddhist on the inside. So what if our outer forms of practice reflect the spiritual heritage that we have received from the East. What would it 'look' like then? What would those practices entail?
I for one plan to explore this idea more and would love your input and your artwork!

Pax,

Rev. Mother Marsha+

PS. I m trying to use my ordination name more and in the future plan on signing by that name. Rev. Anastasia+