The seeker's way blog

cultivating awareness

A spirituality that can nourish the soul emerges out of a cultivated awareness of the present moment. This time of the year evokes our attention, whether because of our faith tradition or simply because of the unique texture of the days that lead up to Christmas. We do all sorts of things during this time of the year to heighten our sense of the present. We put trees inside our houses and lights on the outside. We prepare special food and create moments for celebration.

All of this, it seems to me, is meant to heighten our senses, which can easily grow dull throughout the year. If this time of year teaches us anything, it teaches us to see the ordinary with wonder and joy--a wonder and joy that makes it extraordinary.

All great traditions call us to pay attention. No matter your faith tradition, let the texture of this season bring you to a deeper experience and appreciation of the present moment. It is the NOW within which we live and our nourished.

dave

The Soul of Christmas

A number of years ago, I purchased Thomas Moore's, The Soul of Christmas. It has gone out of print, but it is worth finding. Moore's perspective on Christmas is substantive and meaningful.

Here's where you can buy it used.

dave

I've always been fascinated by the DH Lawrence poem, God is born. It seems to me a reconciliation of two longstanding foes: creation and evolution.

Here it is:

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The history of the cosmos
is the history of the struggle of becoming.
When the dim flux of unformed life
struggled, convulsed back and forth upon itself,
and broke at last into light and dark
came into existence as light,
came into existence as cold shadow
then every atom of the cosmos trembled with delight.
Behold, God is born!
He is bright light!
He is pitch dark and cold!

And in the great struggle of intangible chaos
when, at a certain point, a drop of water
began to drip downwards
and a breath of vapour began to wreathe up
Lo again the shudder of bliss through all the atoms!
Oh, God is born!
Behold, He is born wet!
Look, He hath movement upward! He spirals!

And so, in the great aeons of accomplishment and debacle
from time to time the wild crying of every electron:
Lo! God is born!

When sapphires cooled out of molten chaos:
See, God is born! He is blue, he is deep blue,
he is forever blue!
When gold lay shining threading the cooled-off rock:
God is born! God is born! bright yellow and ductile
He is born.

When the little eggy amoeba emerged out of foam and nowhere
then all the electrons held their breath:
Ach! Ach! Now indeed God is born! He twinkles within.

When from a world of mosses and of ferns
at last the narcissus lifted a tuft of five-point stars
and dangled them in the atmosphere,
then every molecule of creation jumped and clapped its hands:
God is born! God is born perfumed and dangling and with a little cup!

Throughout the aeons, as the lizard swirls his tail finer than water,
as the peacock turns to the sun, and could not be more splendid,
as the leopard smites the small calf with a spangled paw, perfect.
the universe trembles: God is born! God is here!

And when at last man stood on two legs and wondered,
then there was a hush of suspense at the core of every electron:
Behold, now very God is born!
God Himself is born!

And so we see, God is not
until he is born.

And also we see
there is no end to the birth of God.

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