I have three house guests I'd like to introduce. They've been with me...well...forever.
Say hello to Mind, Body and Spirit
On a daily basis, Mind gets most of my attention - Mind helps me at work. Mind is often my companion when I read, which I love to do. Mind likes clever puns and learning. I'm most comfortable with Mind. If I had a picture of Mind, it would be that of a young student with a slightly furrowed brow, one who is somewhat distracted except for whatever has her focus at the moment.
Spirit visits me every day, roaming around the house unless I insist that she sit for tea. Spirit knows how to expand my thoughts and patterns. Spirit helps me reach out to others and connect. Spirit's power to open me up can be a little intense sometimes. Her full attention is best savored in smaller doses of consumption. Spirit is hard to look at directly; her embodiment is of a brightly lit, yet ephemeral, being.
Poor Body. She's the most neglected houseguest. She's not enchanting like Spirit and not as interesting as Mind. She's the scullery maid of the three. She does her essential work of keeping me on this earth, connecting me with human experience. She provides her intuitive knowing as well as the mechanics of survival. I've been ignoring her. I haven't given her credit for years. Last year at about this time she'd had enough and went on strike.
Mind, Spirit and I realized we couldn't cope without her or at least not as well.
This year Body's getting the attention she deserves and needs. Mind is learning to give up some of her time and learning that when Body feels better, Mind works better. Mind is getting inspired by Leo Babauta at Zen Habits to make small changes and grow into them so that Body can take her rightful place in the house guest triad. Spirit is giving Body the honoring and nurturing she desperately needs by taking care of her in daily and weekly rituals.
Me? I'm working at listening.
How do you treat your "house guests"?
Majeeda Rosa
Just Be
Showing posts with label ritual. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ritual. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Your Home is your Sanctuary
I'm enjoying my Spring cleaning week and time away from worklife. This week, I offer a house blessing, one I created for my friend "S" that you can adapt to your own needs. Use it any time you wish to enhance the joy in your own sanctuary!
And yes, you can adapt it to your workspace - I'd love to hear how you've used this in your own life!
S’s House Blessing
The house is “cleaned” by whisking stagnant and negative energy out the door with herbs and a fresh broom, working clockwise throughout the house. Negative energies are asked to be released and those that are harmonious are asked to remain and be blessed.
S is invited to call upon, greet, and invite any ancestors, deities or spirit guides to dwell in the house if they please. Prayers of goodwill are said in each room of the house. Candlelight is brought into each corner to illuminate any hidden areas. Salt is placed on the threshold and the guardians of the home are asked to allow free entry to those who are invited by S, and to keep those who would do harm by word, thought or deed turned away.
Bread, wine and oranges are brought forth.
“A house is sentient, it has a heart and soul and eyes with which to see. It has approvals, solicitudes and deep sympathies. It is of you, and you live in its confidence and grace and within the peace of its benedictions. Let this house welcome you and provide both joy when you wake within and comfort when you return from without.”
The bread is broken with a bit for each person in the room and a separate portion for the house. “Let this bread be eaten that there may never be hunger within your walls.”
Wine is poured into cups for each person and the house. “Let this wine be sipped that the richness of life is savored as it enters your windows.”
An orange section is offered to each person and the house. “Let these oranges be enjoyed that the sweet gifts of friendship and happiness always lighten your threshold.”
“You who are the Master Builder, Mother of the Hearth and Father of Homecoming, Generous Provider of Sacred Space, bless S and the home in which she lives. Thank you for the haven of hospitality she has discovered here. Thank you for the shelter that protects her soul each night. Thank you for the solace of this home which embraces, nurtures, sustains, and comforts her. Bless the foundation upon which she walks, the walls that surround, the roof that covers, the windows that enlighten, and the threshold that welcomes her. May the peace and plenty she so richly shares with others be her daily portion. May those she invites into her life and within these walls feel the light and happiness of this home. Thank you for this sanctuary, this House of Belonging.”
Finish the offerings and leave the home’s portion out, then offer it to the yard birds and trees sheltering your home the next day.
Well come!
Majeeda Rosa
And yes, you can adapt it to your workspace - I'd love to hear how you've used this in your own life!
S’s House Blessing
The house is “cleaned” by whisking stagnant and negative energy out the door with herbs and a fresh broom, working clockwise throughout the house. Negative energies are asked to be released and those that are harmonious are asked to remain and be blessed.
S is invited to call upon, greet, and invite any ancestors, deities or spirit guides to dwell in the house if they please. Prayers of goodwill are said in each room of the house. Candlelight is brought into each corner to illuminate any hidden areas. Salt is placed on the threshold and the guardians of the home are asked to allow free entry to those who are invited by S, and to keep those who would do harm by word, thought or deed turned away.
Bread, wine and oranges are brought forth.
“A house is sentient, it has a heart and soul and eyes with which to see. It has approvals, solicitudes and deep sympathies. It is of you, and you live in its confidence and grace and within the peace of its benedictions. Let this house welcome you and provide both joy when you wake within and comfort when you return from without.”
The bread is broken with a bit for each person in the room and a separate portion for the house. “Let this bread be eaten that there may never be hunger within your walls.”
Wine is poured into cups for each person and the house. “Let this wine be sipped that the richness of life is savored as it enters your windows.”
An orange section is offered to each person and the house. “Let these oranges be enjoyed that the sweet gifts of friendship and happiness always lighten your threshold.”
“You who are the Master Builder, Mother of the Hearth and Father of Homecoming, Generous Provider of Sacred Space, bless S and the home in which she lives. Thank you for the haven of hospitality she has discovered here. Thank you for the shelter that protects her soul each night. Thank you for the solace of this home which embraces, nurtures, sustains, and comforts her. Bless the foundation upon which she walks, the walls that surround, the roof that covers, the windows that enlighten, and the threshold that welcomes her. May the peace and plenty she so richly shares with others be her daily portion. May those she invites into her life and within these walls feel the light and happiness of this home. Thank you for this sanctuary, this House of Belonging.”
Finish the offerings and leave the home’s portion out, then offer it to the yard birds and trees sheltering your home the next day.
Well come!
Majeeda Rosa
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