Grounding and Prayer Circle

I've mentioned once or twice before that I have a friend who is fighting cancer. She is in an acceptance stage, but the acceptance is in the terms of "everyone dies sometime, no one gets out alive." I respect her for taking the news and communicating it to friends and family so gracefully, however I don't want her to give in too easily.

Weekly a group of spiritual friends are gathering at my house to send prayers and energies to our friend with a focus on energy that is needed. Another of our friends has looked cancer in the eyes and kicked it's ass to the curb, so I am leaning on her to help guide us to a focus that will be most beneficial based on our friends unique needs. Our first circle was held last night, and the focus was grounding.

I've never been a good prayer writer, other than my own casual prayers I say daily, so I did a bit of searching. I was unable to find any Pagan prayers that met our needs, so I found some prayers from other religions and reworded them to fit our focus. I have included my adapted prayers below. Once we called the quarters we began the circle with a guided meditation for grounding. I felt this was appropriate, because how can you you send someone else grounded energy if you are not grounded yourself. Again, I am not good at writing meditations, so I used this Tree of Life Meditation after a search online.

Our circle went well, and I hope we can continue sending positive, supportive, beneficial energies to her when she needs them. We plan on her being here for a long time, and won't give in without a strong fight!

Prayers:

Earth my body, water my blood, 
Air my breath and Fire my spirit
We welcome the elements of the directions, we thank you for your presense as we send our healing and grounding energies to our spirit sister, (insert name here). Hail and Welcome.
~Altered from well known Pagan chant to a specific focus quarter call.

*************

Goddess Mother
Nuturer
Healer
We come to you seeking help
Help to rid of these nasty cells
they have forgotten what their purpose is
they have lost their health
restore the health
destroy the sickness
heal
Find the healthy cells
Find them and guide them
Guide them to destroy the sick cells
Put chaos in it's place.
Remove it from this body
Remove it from the cells
Help the body heal
This we ask of you, Mother
So mote it be.
~by Luna Skye

*************

Lord and Lady, You invite all who are burdened to come to you. Allow Your healing Hand to heal our dearest (insert name here). Touch her soul with Your compassion and help to keep her grounded and strong. Touch her heart with Your courage and infinite Love. Touch her mind with Your Wisdom and inspirational breath. Most loving Heart of the Divine, bring health in body and spirit to (insert name here) as she fights this great battle to reclaim her body. Touch gently this life which you have impressed you message upon, now and forever.
Blessed Be.

*************

Lord and Lady, look upon our friend, our sister, (insert name here), with eyes of mercy, may your healing hand rest upon her, may your life giving powers flow into every cell of her body and into the depths of her soul, cleansing, purifying, grounding and restoring her to wholeness and strength. Blessed Be.

************

Nurturing Mother and Healing Father, by the power of your love, drive away from (insert name here) all forms of sickness and disease. Restore strength and stability to her body and joy and grounding to her spirit. Bless her with your masterful touch as she has touched many with the love you have graced her life with.
Blessed Be.

Healing With Prayer Shawls

Tonight I will be joining efforts with a friend of mine to create prayer shawls for a mutual friend of ours who has been diagnosed with cancer. We will be creating two beautiful shawls from the book The Prayer Shawl Ministry: Reaching Those in Need which tells the story of the Prayer Shawl Ministry from Grace Presbyterian Church in Arkansas.

There are a few things that I like to do when I create shawls and blankets for others.

1. I always say a prayer before I begin. This is sometimes done with a lit candle, sometimes it is not, depends on the situation, time, etc.

2. I cannot work on the shawl if I feel any negativity at all. While working on it is peaceful and puts me in a better mood, I do not want to risk putting any of that negativity into the work. Therefore, a positive demeanor is essential.

3. I like to meditate on the purpose of the shawl and who it is for, sometimes doing a chant quietly to myself while creating.

4. Colors are important in the creation process. I try to match a color that is right for the individual and the purpose.

Those are the main points I follow. It is important for me to focus on the person who will receive the shawl and put as many positive energies into the shawl as possible. I look forward to working on the shawls tonight. I am hopeful that we are able to create them quickly so they may be used as soon as possible.

Brightest Blessings!
~Ava

Welcoming Spring With Open Arms

It has been a long winter and the first of spring couldn't come fast enough for me. Don't get me wrong, I love winter for what it is and the life it supports, but I'm happy to get back to weather where I don't have to layer my children in clothing until they can no longer bend at the elbows and knees, and where I don't have to give myself a pep talk just to take the trash out or get the mail...yes, it gets bitterly cold here!

I was out of town visiting family yesterday so I missed the actual equinox which occurred yesterday evening, so I'll do a bit of celebrating today. Tonight I will be welcoming spring back with a few pastel colored candles and a bit of Spring meditation. I think I'll take myself into an open meadow of tall, soft grasses with a multitude of fragrant flower randomly scattered among the scene. I know I'll find a a little creek, clear water and smooth stones of varying sizes giving the water flow a natural beauty and personality. I'll find a little clearing and have a conversation with my spirit guide. I need to find a bit of balance in my life, now would be a great time for that conversation.

Welcome Spring! I am enjoying your return and thinking of Persephone. Lighting a candle in her honor.

How Will I Celebrate St. Patricks Day?

I have never been much of a holiday celebrator, I'm also am not much of a drinker. For those who know me, unless I'm expecting pictures to be taken, I rarely do much in the way of fashion and I've never eaten corned beef and cabbage. Why on Earth would I find this holiday important enough to write about? Well, it's because it's a holiday I have split feelings about.

This holiday is celebrated by millions of people, mainly for the good food, beverage and friends; but I would guess that not many people know exactly what this holiday is about, other than celebrating St. Patrick. Any holiday that starts with Saint, is going to be a Catholic holiday. Right there, that shows it's not in my realm of holidays, however I do celebrate a lot of holidays that aren't in my religion, such as I celebrate both November Eve and Halloween (same day, different holiday). I also celebrate Christmas for the family gathering, and Winter Solstice for my religious celebration. I'm okay with pulling from different traditions, I just want to know what they are all about first.

As I mentioned, St. Patricks day is a religious holiday, believe it or not. It celebrates the day St. Patrick died, not because he was bad, but because people wanted to remember him. I did a bit of research to see if my "common" knowledge on the subject was an accurate depiction of St Patrick, and it was. St Patrick was best known for returning to Ireland with a duel mission, both to teach the Christians who were already there and to convert the Pagans. This is where my indifference with the holiday begins to wane. I have never believed in converting people to any religion, no matter how long ago it happened. We are losing a lot of powerfully spiritual minority religions through the practice of converting others, and this is a practice I have a hard time finding a reason to celebrate.***

I hate to be a downer and refuse to celebrate a holiday that so many do for commercialized reasons; bringing the truth out just stops people for a moment then they return to their beer and laughs. I want to find a reason to celebrate this holiday, while feeling as though I'm addressing the issue I have against the holiday. As I've learned through social psychology, this is my attempt to work through the cognitive dissonance of the situation. I want to celebrate something I find appalling to celebrate. This is my answer to this conundrum.

While I typically take no part in the festivities of this particular holiday, I'm not saying I never will; this is the commercialized part of the holiday I have no issues with. The celebratory part I will add for religious purposes is to design a ritual promoting the diversity among religions and the harmony that can be created between them. Celebrating that which has been knocked down in the past is an appropriate way I feel I can add meaning to what appears to be a demeaning holiday.

***information regarding the origins of this holiday obtained from history.com: http://www.history.com/topics/who-was-saint-patrick