Circles of Support - Starhawk

We are all longing to go home to some place we have 
never been - a place half-remembered and half-envisioned
we can only catch glimpses of from time to time.

Somewhere, there are people to whom we can speak
with passion without having the words catch in our
throats.  Somewhere a circle of hands will open to
receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will
celebrate with us whenever we come into our power.
[And speak truth to power]
Community means strength that joins our strength to do
the work that needs to be done  Arms to hold us when we
falter.  A circle of healing.  A circle of friends.
Someplace where we can be free
[to be who we are, as we are.]

Starhawk, Dreaming the Dark

~

   Circle of Hands Mandala - Mystic Meandering
(unfinished)

 

Prayer for the World - Mirabai Starr

Beloved One,
Living Light
Spirit of all that is...

Be with us now
As we lean in to hear your call...

Divine Mother,
Embodiment of Mercy and Compassion,
Enfold us in your protective cloak
As we dare to take in the pain of the world.
Comprised of every hue on the spectrum
Of the human community.
Give us the courage and strength
To drop our preconceptions
[and our prejudices]
And step onto the field of global strife
Armed with the flaming arrow of love.

Sacred Friend,
Hidden behind the eyes of the broken,
Reveal yourself,
Let us behold the beauty of your face
In all beings, everywhere, always.
Where once we perceived only the impossible,
Blinded by our desire for circumstances, people,
And our own sweet selves to be different,
Let us rest now in what is
Alert to your power to astonish us
With the global awakening.

Holy One,
We carry legacy of our ancestors
In the marrow of our own souls.
We are all reluctant prophets.
We must be called and called again,
And yet again.
We turn and turn away,
We yield and bow and rise,
Until at last,
Clasped by the ferocious wings of your angels,
We declare, Hineyni.
Here I am.
Make me a vessel of divine will...

Great Spirit,
Fill the hearts of our leaders
With humility and holey awe.
Embolden them not to turn away from the Other
But to lay down their weapons
And take the adversary in their arms.
Infuse them with the fire
That melts swords into ploughshares
And spears into pruning hooks.
Show them the secret passageway from hopeless conflict
Home to love. [to tolerance and acceptance].

Father-Mother God,
May the Children of Abraham and Sara
At last fall silent in the face of your radiance.
May our hearts soar in remembrance.
May our knees bend and bodies bow down,
And our spirits rejoice,
Overflowing with unceasing prayer,
Resounding and cleansing and blessing all the land...

AMEN

Mirabai Starr

Excerpts from a prayer written in 2015
during the Iran and US peace agreements

~

Photo from the Internet
digitally altered