Oh my Beloved Adonai

Oh my Beloved Adonai
You are alive for me today.
Seeing the wind caress
the branches
Of the trees
I am delivered by Your grace into the infinity
of Your existence.

- ronald bedrick

O love

O love, O pure deep love, be here, be now.
Be all; worlds dissolve into your stainless endless radiance,
Frail living leaves burn with you brighter than cold stars;
Make me your servant, your breath, your core.

~Rumi

With your feet I walk

With your feet I walk
I walk with your limbs
I carry forth your body
For me your mind thinks
Your voice speaks for me
Beauty is before me
And beauty is behind me
Above and below me hovers the beautiful
I am surrounded by it
I am immersed in it
In my youth I am aware of it
And in old age I shall walk quietly
The beautiful trail.

american indian - navajo

We need to find God

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence...

~Mother Teresa

A billion stars

A billion stars go spinning through the night,
blazing high above your head.
But in you is the presence that
will be, when all the stars are dead.

~Rainer Maria Rilke

Let your thoughts flow

Let your thoughts flow past you, calmly;

keep Me near, at every moment;
trust Me with your life, because I
am you, more than you yourself are.

~Bhagavad Gita

All that matters

All that matters is to be at one with the living God
to be a creature in the house of the God of Life.


Like a cat asleep on a chair
at peace, in peace
and at one with the master of the house, with the mistress,
at home, at home in the house of the living,
sleeping on the hearth, and yawning before the fire.

Sleeping on the hearth of the living world
yawning at home before the fire of life
feeling the presence of the living God
like a great reassurance
a deep calm in the heart
a presence
as of the master sitting at the board
in his own and greater being,
in the house of life.

~D H Lawrence, "Pax"

Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit,
giving life to all life,
moving all creatures,
root of all things,
washing them clean,
wiping out their mistakes,
healing their wounds,
you are our true life,
luminous, wonderful,
awakening the heart
from its ancient sleep.

~Hildegard of Bingen

Everyone is looking

Everyone is looking for a miracle outside rather than looking at the power within.

– from Gems of Wisdom

Are you looking for me?

Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.
My shoulder is against yours.
You will not find me in stupas, not in Indian shrine rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals:
not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but vegetables.
When you really look for me, you will see me instantly-
you will find me in the tiniest house of time.

Kabir says: Student, tell me what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath.

Self is

Self is everywhere,
shining forth from all beings,
vaster than the vast,
subtler than the most subtle,
unreachable,
yet nearer than breath,
than heartbeat.
Eye cannot see it,
ear cannot hear it nor tongue
utter it;
only in deep absorption can the mind,
grown pure and silent,
merge with the formless truth.
As son as you find it,
you are free;
you have found yourself;
you have solved the great riddle;
your heart forever is at peace.
Whole,
you enter the Whole.
Your personal self
returns to its radiant, intimate, deathless source.

Mandaka Upanishad

Within man

The Cone Nebula

Within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related; the eternal ONE. And this deep power in which we exist and whose beatitude is all accessible to us, is not only self-sufficing and perfect in every hour, but the act of seeing and the thing seen, the seer and the spectacle, the subject and the object, are one.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The same stream

The same stream of life
that runs through my veins
runs through the world
and dances in rhythmic measure.

It is the same life that shoots in joy
through the dust of the earth
into numberless blades of grass
and breaks into tumultuous waves
of leaves and flowers.

It is the same life that is rocked
in the ocean cradle of birth and death
in ebb and flow.

My limbs are made glorious
by the touch of this world of life.

And my pride is from
the life throb of ages dancing
in my blood at this moment.

~Rabindranath Tagore

Say Quietly

Say quietly to God: "Now, Thee alone I seek. Send what is best."

~Sri Gyanamata

Father within me...

Father within me, so much closer to me than breathing and nearer than hands and feet, You are the all-knowing intelligence of this universe, the intelligence which created it. You are the divine love which has supplied this earth with vegetables and flowers, diamonds, uranium, oil, gold, silver, and platinum. You have filled the heavens with Your glory -- the stars, sun, and moon -- and the oceans with the rhythmic activity of the tides. I acknowledge Your presence in all things and as all things.

Even before I pray, Father, You know my needs. Even before I lift my eyes or thoughts to You, You not only know my needs, but it is Your good pleasure to give me the kingdom. I turn to You now, not to tell You my need, but to receive the fulfillment of my need. I come to You now, not seeking things, not seeking persons, but seeking Your grace, Your benediction, the gift of Yourself.

Let the peace that passeth all understanding descend upon me -- Your peace, an inner peace, an inner grace, an inner joy, and an inner harmony. Let the Holy Ghost enfold and envelop me. Let the Christ-Spirit fill my Soul, fill my mind, fill my being, and fill my body. In quietness and in confidence shall be my strength, because the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. It is a power of peace and grace to all who touch my consciousness.

from Practicing the Presence
by Joel Goldsmith

God First

Let us go to God for the joy of experiencing God and then see what God does.

~Joel Goldsmith

The concept of this project is to tune into, come into alignment with our "source"... to allow the infinity of "all that is" to express through us. Not to ask for things, not to look ourside our selves for fulfillment, but to look within and and ask only to be close to "God".

Instead of focusing on money and "stuff", our goals for these next 30 days will center around feeling connected with our "source", having a sense of peace and security despite appearances, finding clarity and guidance with regard to how to best manage our energy and our lives... etc...

Our next project

Daniel and I have been working with a Joel Goldsmith prayer that feels really powerful, and I would really like to use it as our next project. I know that we have already done a "prayer" project - but this is so powerful, and feels so right, that I thought we might want to give it a try.

The concept is to tune into, come into alignment with our "source"... to allow the infinity of "all that is" to express through us. Not to ask for things, not to look ourside our selves for fulfillment, but to look within and and ask only to be close to "God".

He says: "Let us go to God for the joy of experiencing God and then see what God does." The prayer is found in the book, Practicing the Presence by Joel Goldsmith.

My idea is to post the prayer in much the same way that the Ganesh Mantra was posted - always at the top of the page. And I thought I would scour the internet for uplifting "God Source" images, quotes, and poetry and post them under the prayer so that there would be something new and interesting every day to look at.

Instead of focusing on money and "stuff", our goals would center around feeling connected with our "source", having a sense of peace and security despite appearances, finding clarity and guidance with regard to how to best manage our energy and our lives... etc...

What do you guys think? Does that sound OK?

What is luck?

I found this little essay about luck, and since today is our last day of the Lady Luck project, I thought I would share some thoughts about luck.. and what it might mean.

Luck can mean fortune, force that operates for good or ill, advantage or an object of good fortune. .

What is good luck?Is it chance? Is it something we are born with? Is it good planning? Maybe it is a little bit of all these things. Is it something we can control?

Fortune is definitely good luck.The word fortune brings to mind financial success. Having enough money is certainly lucky. Again, money is something we can be born with or we can accumulate it by work and planning.

Force that operates for good or ill, please, make it only good. There are many forces and vibrations flowing about us all the time. Putting quartz crystal points in the home helps make the life force much more good luck friendly. An aventurine gemstone in the left pocket makes the chance of getting more money better odds. So, we can influence the forces to be kinder to us.

Having advantages in as many areas of life as possible is a very good thing. Being born with beauty is an advantage, but learning to cultivate charm and wit is a greater advantage. Being born with money is an advantage, but arranging to get a good education and keep learning all your life is even a better advantage.

I want to be the object of good fortune. I want to have many objects of good fortune. Is being the object of good fortune and having objects of good fortune the same thing? There is a connection. First I have the intent to have good fortune. Intent is a strong word. It is living my life with a great deal of attentiveness and purpose. I must intend to have luck. Every day I must design to have good luck. This intent helps bring the friendly life forces to flow around me. I keep several objects and symbols of good luck in my home, my car and often in my pocket. I have a little pig on my nightstand by the clock. This pig was given to me to remind me to have a new idea each day of how I can make my life better. The pig is the first thing I see when I wake. That little pig is a symbol of good luck to me.

Now, what is luck? It is paying attention. Luck is planning. Luck is chance. Good luck is influenced by our paying attention to everything around us, so we are able to take advantage of any opportunity that can make us a better life. Good luck is influenced by planning not just for today but for the years to come, such as saving some money every week. There is always an element of chance in life, but this only makes life more exciting. Good luck in influenced by intent and having objects of good luck around us to remind us all the time of the intent.

GOOD LUCK!

Winding down

The vanilla milkshake - three weeks later and it's a whole new world!

Art by Shirley Gibson

Well, our 30 days with Lady Luck is winding down, we only have a couple of more days left. Time to take stock, look at our results, and think about how well "she" worked for us. Here are some questions to consider:

• What were your expectations?
• Were they realized?
• How much did you win?
• How many lottery and/or scratcher tickets did you buy?
• What did you learn?
• What was the best part of this month's experiment?
• What did you least enjoy?
• Would you do it again?

Lucky Lady

The bright scarlet ladybug is a luck-bringer, probably because it is traditionally associated by its color with fire. It is a sign of good fortune if one lands on a person's hand or dress. It must, however, be allowed to fly away of its own accord, and must not be brushed off. It is permissible to speed it onwards by a gentle puff, and by the recitation of the rhyme which runs:

Ladybird, ladybird,
fly away home.
Your house is on fire
and your children are gone.

The deeper the ladybird's color, the better luck it brings. The number of spots on its back are also important. The more spots...the better the luck!

Happy Mother's Day!

Going Batty

A bat means long life and happiness, a good omen, to the Chinese and Poles. If a bat lands on your head, you should hope the Cricket sees rain coming because the bat won't get off until it hears thunder. At which point you might be wishing you had your horseshoe up as a cure for the resulting lunacy!

Jimminy Cricket!

It is a widely held belief that a cricket is a lucky house spirit that takes it's luck away when it leaves. So the trick is to find a way to keep your house cricket happy.

In Asia, during the summer cricket season, you can buy crickets in cool little cages like these. Nifty huh?

Lucky Journal

I have been thinking about this idea a while now, and then I found the above image on the internet. Cool idea huh? Let's try it!

Putting a Hex on our project

This hex sign is a double creator's star which binds the blessing of prosperity centered on natural good fortune and bounded with growth.

Each design is a "painted prayer," the purpose of which was to manifest on Earth (in the physical realm) that which was asked of the Spiritual realm.

found at Dutch Hex Sign

Horseshoes are lucky too!

Throughout Germany the belief obtains that a horseshoe found on the road, and nailed on the threshold of a house with the points directed outward, is a mighty protection not only against hags and fiends, but also against fire and lightning; but, reversed, it brings misfortune.

In eastern Pennsylvania, however, even in recent times, the horse-shoe is often placed with the prongs pointing inward, so that the luck may be spilled into the house. The horse-shoe retains its potency as a charm on the sea as well as on land, and it has long been a practice among sailors to nail this favorite amulet against the mast of a vessel, whether fishing-boat or large sea-going craft, as a protection against the Evil One. The shoe of a "wraith-horse," the mythical off spring of a water-stallion, is especially esteemed by Scotch mariners for this purpose.

In Bohemia only exists the superstition exactly opposite to that elsewhere prevalent, namely, that whoever picks up a horse-shoe thereby ipso facto picks up ill-luck for himself,--a notable example in folk-lore of the exception which proves the rule. The Bohemians, however, believe a nailed-up horse-shoe to be a cure for lunacy.

As a general rule, the degree of luck pertaining to a horse-shoe found by chance has been thought to depend on the number of nails remaining in it: the more nails the more luck.

In Northumberland the holes free of nails are carefully counted, as these indicate, presumably in years, how soon the finder of the shoe may expect to be married. The peasants of northern Portugal prefer mule-shoes having an uneven number of nail-holes, as counteractives of the evil influences of the dreaded, omnipresent witches known as the Bruxas.

In Derbyshire it is customary to drive a horseshoe, prongs upward, between two flagstones near the door of a dwelling. This position is sometimes explained by saying that, so placed, the luck cannot spill out.

You can read even more about horseshoes at: Sacred Texts

photo by John Carlton

Lucky Stars

Origami stars have a long tradition in Asian cultures. They bring good luck when you make them and when you give them away. Making them is fun -- and addictive! They're also an opportunity to become aware of, focus on, and share your hopes and dreams.

The colorful, 3-D origami Dream Stars each have a special wish or thought of the person making the star written inside. The completed stars are about the size of a dime or nickel. Here are instructions (found at the Legacy Project) on how to make them.


Ideas for Dream Stars:

Make a special Dream Star with your most important hope, dream, or goal written inside. Keep it in a special place -- like on your desk, windowsill, or bedside table -- to remind you of the power of dreams and keep you focused on achieving that particular dream.

Make dozens and dozens of the tiny, colorful stars. Each can be for the same hope or dream, or you can write a different wish in each. Fill up a tall, clear glass Dream Star jar or bottle. Place a ribbon around the neck of the jar or bottle. Use it as a decoration on your desk or in your room.

Have some Dream Stars in your pocket and give them to people you meet during the day for good luck.

Fill a bowl with Dream Stars and give them to guests who visit.

String stars together with a needle and thread to create a lucky Dream Star necklace.

Make a knot in one end of a length of thread (clear or black work best) and use a needle to run the piece of thread through a Dream Star. Hang a bunch of Dream Stars in the window so that the stars are always out.

Using larger Dream Stars, create a mobile. Vary the size and colors of the stars.

Make dozens of Dream Stars and glue them onto construction paper in different patterns to create DREAMy pieces of art.

A teacher can have a bowl of Dream Stars on his or her desk and give them out to students who show initiative during class. Remember, dreamers are the people with the creativity and courage to try new things, overcome obstacles, and make a difference in their own life and the lives of others.

Do a BIG DREAMS event (you can even combine it with a Legacy Project Peace Party). What one thing would you change or improve in the world if you could? Write it on a strip of paper and make a large Dream Star. Mix up all the Dream Stars and then everyone in a group can choose a star, open it, and read it aloud. Discuss all the dreams. Can the group choose one of the dreams and take some steps to help make it a reality?

Participate in the World Dream Chest. Submit your total number of stars to us. Share your stories about what happened when you made the Dream Stars and what you've done with them. You may be chosen for the Legacy Project monthly Dreamer Award!

Lottery Trivia

The three highest multistate Lottery jackpots awarded nationwide were:

• $365 million (one ticket) in Powerball on Oct. 19, 2005;
• $363 million (split two ways) in the Big Game on May 9, 2000;
• $340 million (one ticket) in Powerball on Feb. 18, 2006.
  
  

The largest Powerball prize awarded in the state of Missouri was $254 million, won by a St. Louis family on Jan. 24, 2007. Forty-four co-workers at the Independence Power & Light Department shared a $5.4 Million Powerball jackpot on May 23, 1998.

The largest Lotto jackpot was $9.5 million cash ($19 million jackpot) won by Phillip and Margaret McClurg of St. Louis on June 10, 2000.

The Missouri Lottery has averaged more than 16,843 Numbers Game winners per day and awarded more than $489,242 per day! An average of 17,861 players win per draw in SHOW ME 5 Paydown. An average of 923 players win every day playing Pick 3. An average of 130 players win every day plaing Pick 4.

THE TYPICAL MISSOURI LOTTERY PLAYER IS:
between the ages of 25 and 54;
has a household income between $25,000 and $40,000;
is a high school graduate;
is married;
is employed.

Here are some cool links that might help us win:

• Winning Numbers: This link gives a difinitive listing of the percentage of times particular powerball numbers are drawn. You can use this information to pick your numbers.
• Scratchers: Before you buy a scratchers ticket check here to see how many prizes are left, and find out which ones pay off most often