Tag: love

An Interconnected Life II & III

Connecting with another, human or non-human, is a radical act that can change the world.

March 1, 2024

Tagged Commonality, Diversity, Interconnectedness, love

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Once again I am going back to a previous blog and attempting to reframe it as poetry. I published An Interconnected Life as a blog on February 26, 2021. Below is a poem and a Haiku reflecting the thoughts in that blog. I do believe that each time I write the essay in poetry form that it brings me closer to the crux and the heart of the matter. It takes me out of my head and more into my heart. I hope it resonates for you.

An Interconnected Life II

They say that the flap of a butterfly’s wings can cause a tsunami on the other side of the globe.
That is how interconnected everything is in the world.

They say that we are all made of stardust, and we can track our origins to the first animal that crawled from the ocean depths.
That means that we are all connected – to the butterfly, the whale, the trees, the flowers, to each other.

We have the same hopes and dreams – to love and be loved, to have basic food and shelter, to see our families grow and thrive.
Does that not make us the same no matter the color of our skin, our gender, or where we were born?

Humans and animals bleed red, feel pain, care for our offspring, play, love.
Does that not make us the same, even if we are not the same species?

When I share my fears, my vulnerabilities, my inadequacies, my love with another
Like the flap of the butterfly’s wing, I can cause a ripple effect that flows outward.

Connecting with another, human or non-human, is a radical act that can change the world.
May I be conscious in that connection.

An Interconnected Life III

One radical act
of kindness can change the world
Let’s be radical!

March, 2024

When Does the Spiritual Become Political?

The Pregnant Void II & III

The first essay I wrote about the Pregnant Void was published in this blog on February 19, 2021. It was subsequently published in my book, WomanSpiritSpeaks, published in 2022 by Balboa Press. As I reread my book, I am being moved to […]

Goddess Inspired

February 24, 2024
2 Comments on The Pregnant Void II & III

Tagged goddess, Liminal Space, love

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The first essay I wrote about the Pregnant Void was published in this blog on February 19, 2021. It was subsequently published in my book, WomanSpiritSpeaks, published in 2022 by Balboa Press. As I reread my book, I am being moved to rewrite some of the essays in poetic form, first the poem, then a Haiku. Each time I condense the thoughts, they become more real, more deeply etched into my psyche. The poems take me from my head more deeply into my heart. They become less of an abstract idea and more of a visceral knowing. I would invite you to go back to the original blog and then feel into the poetry.

The Pregnant Void II
What is being birthed in the dark spaces
where the ground is shaking
and I have no place to put my feet?

In the pain-wracked endless night
where is the certainty I long for,
the cessation of this agony?

Where is the solid ground to stand upon,
where I hang suspended between the future and the past?
I can’t go back, but stepping forward feels like dropping into the abyss.

What can be birthed in this no man’s land of nothingness?
This pregnant void with its endless possibilities
I only have to choose to take the first step.

I step forward, one step, then one more
and come home to the arms of Goddess.

The Pregnant Void III

Goddess creates me
in the still, dark pregnant void.
I am not afraid.

February, 2024

Loving the Other

To be love to these (the other) requires me to look deep into the darkness of my shadow self to see that we aren’t so different after all.

Goddess Inspired

February 14, 2024

Tagged love, Other, Shadow, Tribe

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We witness other people’s storms from the shelter of our own perspectives. Let’s be mindful that we don’t add the cold rain of judgment to their already soaked spirits. – Liz Newman

It is easy to be love to the people we know,
Or to the people we think we know,
To the people we already love,
The ones who are like us,
Who share the same values, likes and dislikes.
It is easy to empathize with and have compassion for
The people we already hold in our hearts.
Even when these loved ones disappoint us, they are our tribe,
And love and compassion is easy to find.

But what about the others,
The ones who don’t fit in with our cozy group,
The ones who aren’t in our tribe,
The ones who think differently, who look different, who don’t speak the same language.
Can we be love to the outcasts?
Can we have compassion for those who don’t fit into our notions of right and wrong.
Those whom we label as less than?
To be love to these requires me to look deep into the darkness of my shadow self
To see that we aren’t so different after all.

February, 2024

A Walk with the Ancients

I came back convinced that if we could open to the spirit within, to the longing for the unnamed – if we could leave dogma and theology behind – we could actually come together in love and peace.

Goddess Inspired

November 12, 2023

Tagged Beauty, connection, love, Peace

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We returned last week from a two-week Mediterranean cruise from Rome to Istanbul. It fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine to see the ruins of ancient Italy and Greece. We walked on cobblestones where Julius Caesar walked and in the Forum where Paul preached to the Corinthians. It made me realize how amazing the ancient world really was.

As modern people we rely heavily on our technology, but the Colosseum in Rome was built in eight years, and the Parthenon was built in ten, with none of our modern equipment. Yes, there were an unlimited number of slaves, but the massive columns and stone pediments were moved without modern engines or machinery. It is truly a marvel.

As I walked the streets of the Roman Forum, Pompeii, Corinth, the Acropolis, and other ancient and medieval sites, I was so aware of history. Ancient peoples were intelligent and sophisticated. I felt dwarfed by the magnificence of these sites, while feeling a deep connection with those ancient people who lived their lives eerily similarly to the way I live mine. There were street cafes, public gathering spaces, temples, baths, and toilets. Homes were decorated with beautiful sculptures and frescoes. There were altars and temples to their gods and goddesses.

Human history is filled with war, slavery, and horrific atrocities. It is also filled with ordinary people who live their lives as best they can. People want to have their basic survival needs met; they want to love and be loved and to raise their children in peace; they long for a spiritual connection; and they long for peace and freedom to not just survive, but to thrive.

As I walked those ancient cobblestones, I realized on an even deeper level that we are all connected. We are all the same. In many ways those earlier people had a better grasp on the spiritual world than we do. They may not have understood scientific theory, but they understood that there is something greater than humanity. They understood the absolute necessity for connection with the gods (the ultimate Source). As we toured the magnificent ruins of temples, St. Peter’s Basilica, Byzantine churches, and Muslim mosques it was clear to me that the longing for Source is part and parcel of what it is to be human. We all long for a connection with that which is greater than ourselves. Although we call It by different names, we are looking for the same thing.

I came back convinced that if we could open to the spirit within, to the longing for the unnamed – if we could leave dogma and theology behind – we could actually come together in love and peace. For we are all the same, creations of the ONE, our purpose to love.

Barbara Garland
November 2023

Embodying Compassion

I don’t want to have to think about having empathy or compassion. Rather I want those characteristics to become my natural reaction to whatever situations arise in my life.

Goddess Inspired

August 27, 2023

Tagged compassion, empathy, love, Non-judgement

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This week I have been meditating on love, compassion and empathy. At the beginning of the week, I drew an oracle card depicting the Chinese Goddess, Kuan Yin, the Goddess of compassion or “she who hears the cries of the world.” She is the Goddess that many people pray to when they are in despair, and she is the archetype of the merciful, compassionate, deep feminine.

In my meditations this week I repeated the mantra – I am love, I am compassion, I am empathy. I wanted to completely embody these characteristics so that they become who I am. I don’t want to have to think about having empathy or compassion. Rather I want those characteristics to become my natural reaction to whatever situations arise in my life.

I also looked up the difference between compassion and empathy. Empathy is feeling the pain of another; compassion is feeling the pain and trying to alleviate it in some way. It is not enough to feel the pain of another. After I feel it, I must take some kind of compassionate action to alleviate that pain.

It is not that I have to save the world. It is easy to get caught up in despair about the state of the world, to feel helpless and hopeless because I can’t do enough. However I can do something. I can volunteer at my favorite charity; I can donate (according to my means) to causes which make a difference; I can join civic organizations; I can do my work with integrity; I can listen to my friend; I can be less judgmental; I can provide a smile or an encouraging word; I can love an animal; I can plant trees. I can use my gifts in some way to make a difference, to help alleviate suffering.

I must also not forget to shower the same empathy and compassion I show to others on myself. It is easy to judge myself much more harshly than others would judge me. If in fact I embody love, empathy, and compassion, then I must lavish it on myself just as I would lavish it on others. The first rule of survival is that to save others, I must save myself first. I am no good to anyone if I don’t treat myself with kindness and understanding.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about finding compassion for those who do terrible things. It isn’t easy, and it takes practice. It also seems to be a lesson that I need to work on. I still have a long way to go, but after this week of meditating on love, empathy, and compassion, I find that I am more open to seeing and hearing others. I more readily radiate love and understanding, to others and to myself, rather than judgment. I am freer to share a smile with a stranger and to give deep, warm hugs. I feel less stressed about the state of the world and more content with the things that I can do to make a difference.

Barbara Garland
August, 2023

Finding Compassion

My prayer today then is to be filled with compassion toward whatever causes suffering in me and in others.

Goddess Inspired

August 15, 2023

Tagged compassion, Consciousness, empathy, love, Suffering

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I don’t know about you, but in these chaotic times, I have a very hard time sending love to those people who appear to delight in spreading hate and divisiveness into the world. I see their lust for power, their greed, and their appalling hypocrisy, and the last thing I want to do is to try to love them.

Matthieu Ricard is an ordained Buddhist monk and French translator for the Dalai Lama. Recently, in an interview for the New York Times, Ricard talked about the concept of compassion. As I read the article I began to understand more fully that compassion might be an even more powerful tool than love. According to Ricard,

“Because this [compassion] is different from moral judgment. It doesn’t prevent you from saying that those are walking psychopaths, that they have no heart. But compassion is to remedy suffering wherever it is, whatever form it takes and whoever causes it. So what is the object of compassion here? It is the hatred and the person under its power. If someone beats you with a stick, you don’t get angry with the stick — you get angry with the person. These people we are talking about are like sticks in the hands of ignorance and hatred (emphasis mine). We can judge the acts of a person at a particular time, but compassion is wishing that the present aspect of suffering and the causes of suffering may be remedied.”

As I read that paragraph it suddenly became clearer that despising the acts of a person is different than hating that person. While I always knew this in my head, I have struggled with the concept as I work to grow spiritually. However, when I think of having compassion for those whom I see as evil, I am more able to send love in their direction. For example, if I can picture Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump as hurt little boys, I can feel love and compassion for the wounded child within them that causes them to do the terrible things they do. I can be more empathetic because I can see the causes of their suffering. It doesn’t excuse their acts, but it helps me to move away from hatred and loathing to a more understanding stance. It helps me to realize that they do what they do because they are suffering.

Compassion then opens me up to empathy and love. It allows me to understand that suffering is what motivates me to do the things I do whether or not I am conscious of that suffering. When I act unconsciously, I am trying to assuage the suffering that I may have carried for lifetimes. When I understand my own motivations, I can then empathize with the motivations of others. I can still abhor those acts that are immoral and repugnant, while at the same time recognizing the inner suffering that causes a person to do what they do. I can then direct love and compassion to the suffering that is at the root of the behavior.

My prayer today then is to be filled with compassion toward whatever causes suffering in me and in others.

Barbara Garland
August, 2023

Choosing Love Over Fear

We are all creations of the Divine, and it is my job to look at everyone through the eyes of love.

Goddess Inspired

August 4, 2023

Tagged Choice, Fear, love, Other, Shadow

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What is it that turns off in a brain so that reason cannot get in? When my dog, Hank, hears a golf cart, his fear response goes into overdrive. At that point, not even food can bring him back. All he can hear, see, or sense is the object that causes the reaction. At that point, he has no idea that he is snapping at me, whom he loves, in order to get to the object of his wrath.

So it is with some people – when the object of their hatred is in sight, no amount of rational thought can get into their brains. They are deeply into fight or flight. They are totally irrational.

It seems to me that our reactions to almost everything are based either on fear or love. There is nothing else. While it sounds simple, it is actually quite complex. We act out of fear because we are afraid, -afraid of not being loved and accepted – by others, by God, even by our own selves.

To further complicate the picture, we also fear our inner shadows. A shadow is that within ourselves which we perceive is unacceptable. Instead of accepting that I have the capacity to be a liar, thief, or even a murderer, I project all those parts of myself onto others. In doing so it is easy to lump types of people into certain categories. For example – all Muslims are terrorists, all black people are in gangs, all gay people are pedophiles, all women are emotional, all men are misogynist …you get the picture. Once our brains lump people into these categories, it is easy for us to see them as other, as less than human, as objects to be feared and reviled.

Politicians and marketers play on these fears of the other all the time. It is so easy to exploit our inner fears by pointing to others as the cause of all our problems. Because we are afraid that we will lose and the others will win, just like Hank, we become irrational, and no amount of reason can change our point of view. We project our own shadow selves onto those people, and those people become the cause of the ills of the world.

It is important then to do our shadow work, so that we do not fall prey to projecting our fears onto everyone else. Yes, I do have the same capacity as anyone else to be a liar, a murderer, a thief; but I also have the capacity to be a kind and loving human being. I have the choice of which path to follow – love or fear.

I choose to follow the way of love. It is in that choice that I can begin to empathize with all human beings, to understand that my experience and theirs may be different. I have the capacity for good and evil; it is my choice. I can choose the way of love by working with and recognizing my own shadows. I can choose the way of love by recognizing that the thing I abhor in others is the thing I abhor in myself. I can choose the way of love by recognizing that everyone is made in the image of the Divine – that we are all one. I am neither better nor worse than anyone else. We are all creations of the Divine, and it is my job to look at everyone through the eyes of love.

Barbara Garland
August, 2023

Who is the Divine?

Just by being present, we become that small sense of Presence for those in despair.

Goddess Inspired

July 2, 2023

Tagged compassion, Divine, love, Presence

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In the past couple of months, I have attended several funerals. Some were for folks who lived good long lives, and who contributed greatly to the good of their communities. Some were for good people whose lives, in our estimation, were cut short. No matter what the situation, family and friends were left in deep grief, in one of those situations where no relief from the pain is in sight. For those who are suffering, it is sometimes easy to feel that there is no Divine, no greater energy or force, and certainly nothing that can ease their pain.

Last week I wrote about a small sense of Presence in light of our own individual suffering. This week I want to posit that we can be that small sense of Presence to those around us who are suffering and grief-stricken. When people feel abandoned by the Divine, we are the ones who can be lovingly present to their pain. We are called upon to be that small candle flame that shines a light on the possibility that hope and healing might someday be possible. In these situations we become the living Presence through our thoughts, words, and deeds.

We can do the practical things – bring meals, clean the house, hold, listen, support, hug, encourage. We can do the quiet things by sending out loving energy and prayers for healing. We can show up and hold space for whatever emotions may surface in that deep grief. While we are not the healers, we can
be instruments for healing. Ultimately, we become the hands and feet, the
physical manifestation of the Divine. Just by being present, we become that small sense of Presence for those in despair.

In the same way that we find hope in a personal small sense of Presence, we can share hope by being that Divine Presence for others.

I SEE YOU

In the deepest dark, a small flame flickers.
So small, so small – I can’t believe my eyes.
It seems so far away.

My strained eyes focus on the light.
A kind word, an embrace
The light grows brighter.

I speak, pouring out my grief and pain.
A hand grips mine.
The light grows a little more.

My tears fall, a torrent, a river,
and ocean
I am held in a silent embrace.
The light grows.

The light of the flame burns bright
now.
I feel the Sacred Presence of the Divine.
When I look upon Her face, I see you.

Barbara Garland
July, 2023

Meditation for Compassion

Self-compassion is essential to help us let go of shame that blocks God’s love and peace from mercifying us.

Goddess Inspired

June 17, 2023

Tagged compassion, connection, empathy, love

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I posted my first blog at Womanspiritspeaks.com in September of 2020. Since that first posting, I have written and posted 131 blogs. Most of my themes have to do with finding wholeness within, balance, oneness, connection, and love. They are a call to find our connection to the Divine God/dess by going within and surrendering ourselves to the inner divine. They are a call away from the patriarchal, hierarchal religions to a more loving, compassionate inner source of divine love. They tell my story of how I have been led to a new way of living a spiritual life by recognizing that everything is sacred and that we are all connected in that sanctity.

After writing 131 blogs, my mind has hit a blank wall. However, as I read the week’s summary from Richard Rohr’s daily writings, I was compelled to share the meditation that was posted. I have been practicing and praying a version of this prayer for many years, but the meditation used in this particular way was new to me. While it is deceptively simple, I imagine that practicing it consistently will make a difference in how I relate to others. I give full credit to the Center for Action and Contemplation and to Sister Catherine Nerney.

Compassion Meditation

Professor and Sister of St. Joseph Catherine Nerney shares a prayer practice that strengthens our compassion for ourselves, one another, and the world:

We are called to be compassion for our world. But to grow in this capacity, we must practice, practice, practice the art of communicating from the heart where God and we are one. The Hindu blessing of Namaste, which has become universalized, reminds us that “when I am in that place of the Divine in me and you are in that place of the Divine in you, there is only one of us.”

For this purpose, Thich Nhat Hanh and other Buddhist practitioners recommend that we regularly engage in a Compassion Meditation that is also known as metta or loving-kindness.… Take a few moments to let yourself be drawn into this contemplative practice for your good and others. Picture in your mind’s eye, try to encounter as vividly as possible, someone for whom you feel deep love and unity. Let him or her be there with you as you express these desires.

May you be happy.
May you be blessed.
May you be free and peaceful.
May you be ever loved.
May you be always loving.

Now repeat the exercise, this time picturing someone you hardly know. Wish them the same loving desires. You may choose someone you saw on the bus, someone in the supermarket or a church group, or perhaps someone you’ve read about in the news. Make the image clear and pray for them as sincerely as you can. Your goal is to open to them/give them their humanity.

Finally, repeat the visualization, selecting a person with whom you are feeling alienated, hurt, resentful, vengeful. What happens as you try to enter this “compassion meditation” with them?

A fourth component of this compassion meditation that I think is often needed, if we are to become more compassionate listeners and speakers, is to offer this loving-kindness meditation for oneself. Self-compassion is essential to help us let go of shame that blocks God’s love and peace from mercifying us. From deep inside us, God is trying to get dug out. Listen to God trying to free you at the same time to love yourself.

Catherine T. Nerney, The Compassion Connection: Recovering Our Original Oneness (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2018),
184-185

Barbara Garland
June, 2023

Surrender: Accepting What Already Is

Surrendering then is not capitulation to something or someone outside of myself, but rather an acceptance of the divine spirit that lives within me.

Goddess Inspired

June 10, 2023

Tagged Accepting, Divine, Intuition, love, Surrender

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If you have been reading these blogs for a while, I am sure that you have noticed that I continue to struggle with the concept of surrender. What is interesting to me is that when I seem to reach a sense of understanding, there is always something more just out of my reach. I keep coming back to the puzzle, each time connecting another piece, in the hope that someday I will have a full and complete picture.

Last night, I was struggling to sleep. I kept thinking about surrender, and I kept coming back to the idea that surrendering to God/dess is not surrendering to that old man in the sky figure that most of us grew up with. It is not giving myself up to something or someone outside of myself. Surrender is truly giving myself to my own unique god-self. It is acknowledging that the divine lives within me. It is realizing that I was created as a unique being with unique abilities to make a difference in the world. Surrendering then is not capitulation to something or someone outside of myself, but rather an acceptance of the divine spirit that lives within me.

That acceptance, that surrender in this moment consists of three things – 1) trusting that I am loved and that I am lovable; 2) knowing I can trust my inner voice, my intuition to guide me; 3) opening myself to love. These three seem to be the essence of what it means to surrender to my divine self. Again, this surrender does not mean capitulation, but rather acceptance of what already exists.

I know myself pretty well. I know that I am a flawed human being. I am judgmental, opinionated, perfectionistic, selfish, and unloving. On the other hand I am also empathetic, compassionate, loving, and accepting. Trusting that I am loved in spite of my imperfections, and that I am lovable because I exist is a giant leap of faith. I go back to those childhood messages that tell me I must earn love by always doing more and doing it perfectly. It is not easy to surrender to the fact that I am loved unconditionally.

I have always had an inner voice but until the past few years, I never recognized it as my intuition. Part of surrendering to my divine self is to trust my inner voice. My intuition, the Divine inner voice, will guide me on this life’s path. My task is to trust that my intuition will lead me where I need to go.

Ultimately surrendering to my divine self requires opening myself up to love. This means that not only must I accept myself as lovable, but that I must accept the love that is offered. I must open myself to the divine love that is within me and all around me. In accepting myself, I will then be able to recognize the divine love in everyone else. I will recognize the connection between myself and all of creation.

I have often said that we are all cells of the Divine body, and our only purpose is to love. In surrendering to this divine love within myself and acknowledging the Divine love in others, I begin to fulfill my purpose of loving unconditionally.

A few years ago I wrote a prayer that began: “Holy Mother, I am yours. I invite myself to come home to myself, to come home to you. I invite the me that is you and the you that is me to join together in a joyous dance of co-creation. Holy mother I am yours.” This is my prayer of surrender to the Divine spark within me, so that I can co-create with the Holy. It is acceptance of what already exists within my deepest self, and it is my call to an authentic life.

Barbara Garland
June, 2023

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New blogs will be added to this post every Friday.

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About Me

I am a seeker of truth, a truth teller, a lover of the Divine Feminine, an aspiring writer, a mystery, an open book, a work in progress. I have lived a long and varied life, and now in my seventies, I am being called to share some of what I have learned over the years. I hope to share the wisdom of the deep Feminine that is being channeled through me.

If the Goddess has ever whispered to you, I invite you to join me on an incredible journey of love and discovery. May you hear Her wisdom through these words.

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