Thought for contemplation :
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”
– Nelson Mandela
CONTEXT (excerpt from Twinkle’s sermon)
“There is a story in the Hebrew Scriptures about the tribe of Amalek. The Amalekites were said to be semi-nomadic (wanderers) and lived in the land called Moab of ancient Israel. They were cause of significant worry to the tribes of Israel at the time because the Amalekites were notorious for their sneak attacks and targeting of the most vulnerable in the Jewish communities. (Deuteronomy 25:17,18) Amalekites always attacked the rear of their encampments where typically the sick, the elderly, and the children were. And, they were ferocious. Because of this, as the ancient story goes, the tribes of Israel were commanded to wipe out Amalek wherever they encountered them. (1 Samuel 15:18) As time went on,
it became clearer that this story was perhaps more allegory than history.Rabbi Daniel Bogard in a July 2017 social media post said, quoting a sermon he had recently delivered: “Sages realized that Amalek wasn’t an ethnic group– –they were an inclination.” And he says that, “In every generation, we are told, Amalek rises again, and in every generation, we are obligated to stand with the vulnerable against those who would oppress them.”
Contemplative Reading #1
Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan:
“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love,
everyone you know,
everyone you ever heard of,
every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.
The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines,
every hunter and forager,
every hero and coward,
every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant,
every young couple in love,
every mother and father, hopeful child,
inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals,
every corrupt politician, every ‘superstar,’
every ‘supreme leader,’
every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”
Contemplative Reading #2
Not to be Extinguished
by “Twinkle” Marie Manning
you close your eyes for a moment just a moment
for the will of the world
has exhausted you
and in that moment
you feel a seemingly benevolent caress at your cheek
in curiosity you lift your gaze to the touch to realize the lull was intended to deceive the tornado forming within eyesight’s range catches more speed
moment by moment whipping and whirling
the once gentle wind, now a raging gust
pushing you back even as you lean into safety
then beckoned elsewhere, it turns toward another target
you close your eyes for a moment just a moment
for the will of the storm
has exhausted you
and in that moment silence enters
you feel a seemingly benevolent caress at your heart in curiosity you lift your gaze to the touch
to realize the lull was intended to deceive
the storm has returned, and brought with it friends
two, then three more
emerging from the dust and debris of the prior thrashings the pushing, now pulling
whipping and whirling
until
you cannot
catch your breath
and you cannot
close your eyes
for a moment, you think to risk it all by emptying your heart for that which is empty cannot be stolen
but then you remember You are a light to this world
And you face the storm and shine.
* * * * *
Take time now as you breathe in and breathe out to contemplate how you shine in the storms of life.
* * * * *
Additional Quotes:
“Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is….. if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets corrected.” – Carl Jung
“We have a companion for life…We have a predator that came from the depths of the cosmos and took over the rule of our lives. Human beings are its prisoners. The predator is our lord and master.” – Don Juan as Carlos Castaneda
“The mind is incessantly looking not only for food for thought; it is looking for food for its identity, its sense of self.” & “This is how the Ego comes into existence and continuously re-creates itself.” – Eckhart Tolle
Song #1:
Enya – Only Time
Song #2:
“Good Friend” by Jan Harmon
Additional excerpts from Twinkle’s sermon:
“These external and internal forces are with us as we go about our daily lives.
Sometimes they are among our greatest assets. Other times, our worst enemy.”
Jesus of the Bible cautioned us with the principle that “no one can serve two masters.” (Matthew 6:24)
“Oh, Amalek is easy to identify on the outside!
Amalek in the form of a president or king
anyone who has been given the authority and power of a sovereign who is selfish and greedy and seeks to cause harm
to whole nations of people,
yes, that is easy to identify.
But Amalek on the inside?
Who often masquerades as our own voice?
Convincingly persuading us away from our Heart’s desire? And Soul’s purpose?
That, yes, that, can be more difficult to recognize.
To unmask The Amalek Within takes practice. To vanquish Amalek,
if possible,
takes faith.”
http://twinklesplace.org/surrender-to-prayer/