Monday, December 21, 2009

Poinsettia

(Artwork: Doverpublications.com)

I love poinsettias. We were gifted with a beautiful one last week. I'm amazed that the leaves of the plant are red and green with flowering yellow blossoms in the center. I give it a little water each day and by keeping it extra moist, it will thrive well into late spring.

In her book, The Blessed Virgin Mary, Her Life and Mission, Corinne Heline writes about the Madonna flower cycle. Each month the Virgin Lady bestows some special blessings upon us. These monthly blessing are fashioned into celestial flower patterns which in their physical manifestation become visible expression's of the living tender grace of the Madonna. "Each month has a spiritual key flower corresponding to those special powers of the seasonal cycle which progressively unbar the doors to a fairy kingdom sleeping within the consciousness of mankind."

The month of December is the season in which red and green are the principle colors used by both nature and humankind. The Poinsettia lifts its smiling face toward the sun as it declares that now is the most holy season of the year, the time of the birth of the Blessed Christ Child is now with us.

It is wonderful to include the devas (nature spirits) into the holiday celebration. They add much beauty and joy to our lives.

Angelic blessings,

Karen

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Jesus at Twelve


(Jesus At Twelve by Heinrich Hofmann, born March 19, 1824 Darmstadt, Germany)

Several weeks ago I wrote about finding this portrait at the Salvation Army. At the time, I thought it was Joan of Arc and searched the web for confirmation but was unable to locate any information. I decided to let it go and if I needed to know I would be shown. Last weekend my husband, Elliot, son, David, and I stopped by the A.R.E. library. While browsing through the used books for sale, I found an illustrated book, entitled Portrait of Christ for Newlyweds. I was planning to buy it for my son as an omen for his desire to find his helpmeet and get married. I showed him the book and he nodded as he, too, was searching through the selections. While waiting for the librarian to ring up the sale, I leafed through the pages. This picture was so unexpected. It wasn't a young Joan of Arc but Jesus at age twelve! Both Elliot and David were amazed at this synchronicity.

At the same time I found this gem, The Meaning and Value of the Sacraments by Flower Newhouse. I bought them both. Later, I found a passage from her book that made a perfect companion for the portrait of young Jesus that hangs over the dresser in our bedroom.

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth
Will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace."

Knowing now the artist name, David referred me to many of Hofmann's paintings in The Second Coming of Christ by Yogananda. A beautiful two volume set, he had loaned me on Thanksgiving. I hadn't read it yet. I went to my room and got Volume One in which I found the whole painting "Christ in the Temple". To learn more about the artist I followed his suggestion and searched the Self-Realization Fellowship and Heinrich Hofmann. The artist commented, "About my conception of Jesus, the boy I cannot talk--I believe that the way I have painted him expresses everything I tried to convey." Also, before he painted any scene from the life of Christ he deeply studied the Gospel. Often he would copy out in his own hand a whole passage from the Bible that inspired him. When asked if he ever used a model for the face of the Savior. His answer was, "when he read about Christ in the Bible there arises quite spontaneously in my mind's eye a picture of his countenance--that is what I try to retain and reproduce."

It was amazing that the answer to my search for the artist and subject had been by my bedside all along, although, it wasn't yet time to be revealed. A wonderful reminder to keep my focus on Christ.

Angelic blessings,

Karen

Thursday, December 10, 2009

What Gift Do You Desire?

One of my favorite books, Quiet Talks With The Master, was gifted to me by a friend many years ago. The author, Eva Bell Werber, shares her wonderful communions with the Lord. Here is one that I especially enjoy reading at this time of year.

"My Beloved, you ask gifts for those you love. You see them in the true light, resplendent in prosperity, health-filled, sane, happy, joyous, and then I say unto you, but what of yourself?

What gift do you desire?

And I receive your answer, "Only that I know that Thou dwellest in my heart, Lord, is enough for me."

And yea, how well hast thou spoken, for where there is such deep consciousness of My Indwelling, all the affairs of your life are guided and moulded by that high vibration. You do not need to ask for specific gifts when all that the Father hath is yours. I can give to you so far beyond your asking, that the things you would ask for now would be childish tinsel toy tomorrow. I give to you perfect gifts of pure substance, and with them shall come peace and joy beyond all expectations. All circumstances of their coming shall be glad, smoothly, joyous, and complete. So you do well to say, "Only Thou, Father; and I who hold all Creation in the Palm of My Hand shall bring forth of My Abundance for you."

Many blessings,

Karen

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Maybe...

I want to share some words of wisdom by an unknown source I found on the web several years ago.

"Maybe God wanted us to meet the wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.

Maybe when the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us.

Maybe the best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on the porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

Maybe it is true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it is also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back. Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart; but if it does not, be content it grew in yours. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

Don't go for looks, they can deceive. Don't go for wealth, even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile. It takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, and enough hope to make you happy.

Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the most of everything that comes their way. Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. "
Wishing you a joy filled day,
Karen


Sunday, December 6, 2009

Letter to a Friend

Several years ago I came across this beautiful letter written by Fra Giovanni in A.D. 1513. The message is just as powerful and true today as it was way back then.

Dear Friend,
I salute you. I am your friend and my love for you goes deep.
There is nothing I can give you which you have not;
but there is much, very much, that while I cannot
give it, you can take. No heaven can come to us
unless our hearts find rest in it today.

Take heaven! No Peace lies in the future which
is not hidden in this present little instant.
Take Peace!

The gloom of the world is but a shadow.
Behind it yet within our reach is Joy.
There is radiance and glory in the darkness,
could we but see; and to see, we have only to
look I beseech you to Look.

Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its
gifts by their covering, cast them away as ugly
or heavy or hard. Remove the covering and you
will find beneath it a living splendour, woven
of Love, by Wisdom, with Power.

Welcome it, grasp it, and you touch the
Angel's hand that brings it to you. Everything
we call a trial, a sorrow, or a duty; believe
me that Angel's hand is there; the Gift is
there and the wonder of an overshadowing
Presence. Our joys, too, be not content
with them as joys. They, too, conceal divine
gifts.

Life is so full of Meaning and Purpose, so full
of Beauty--
Beneath its covering--that you will find earth
but cloaks your heaven.

Courage then, to claim it, that is all!

But Courage you have: and the knowledge that
we are pilgrims together wending though
unknown country...
Home.

And so, at this time, I greet you: not quite as
the world sends greetings, but with profound
esteem, and with the prayer that for you, now
and forever, the Day breaks
And the shadows fly away."

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Angels Are All Around You

Angels are all around you. Maybe you can see them. Maybe if you cannot see them, you can feel or hear them. Some people cannot see, feel or hear them, but that doesn’t mean that they aren't right there beside you. They are there when you are weak. They are there when you are sick. And they are there when you are triumphant. The angels want to help us and they are constantly trying to send us messages.

We have to be in connection with our Higher Self before we can understand that we are receiving messages. It takes a certain sensitivity to be able to see these things. Maybe you heard a song or a friend became an earthly angel and offered advice or a message that opened up a new universe to you. These things all are of the Light. Angels are pure light, and they vibrate at a rate that our human eyes can seldom detect. They are here to help us and more are on Earth at this time to assist us with all of the changes that are presently taking place as we convert our thought system from fear to love.

Our angelic guardians guide and protect us from the darkness and the fear. They can offer us valuable guidance that helps us perceive the truth in what we are experiencing. Only ask for their help in order to receive this guidance. For we are free will beings of Light and the angels cannot interfere with our free will. This is God’s gift to us to allow us to make decisions for ourselves.

The angels want to assist us in the creation of our hopes and our hearts. They are the divine messengers. They are the truth bearers and each of us has a guardian angels. This angel is with you from birth to death. The angels want us to take responsibility for creating heaven here on earth. They want us to understand ourselves in the light of truth.

Angels are friends that will never leave our side. They offer us unconditional love that we are striving to give to others. They will illumine us to the greater truth of spirit and its nature of eternal life. When you begin to look at life as eternal, you will let go of your fear of
death, for death is a beginning not an ending. Death is a doorway to a new experience. Do not grieve for those that you have lost, for they are not as far away as you might perceive them to be.

The angels want us to claim our power and they want us to become the bridge. Angels can teach us about the joy of laughter and of play. They want us to lighten up and have fun. Angels are preparing the way for man’s evolution by delivering these divine messages and revealing themselves on the planet more than ever before. They want us to waken to their presence and to the Light that is there inside of us. They are welcoming us to new experiences of greater depth. The light is strong and it waits for you to welcome it into your heart.

Get connected with your angels and ask them to reveal their presence to you. They love the attention because they are not used to receiving it. They will probably jump at the chance to be noticed. They have the innocence of a child and they play and dance like the wind. They are there to comfort you in your moments of despair and sorrow. You can talk to your angels out loud or you may communicate silently by thought. Trust they do hear you and they do listen. This is why you can never be truly alone, for although you may not see anything, they are with you.

Set the intention that you wish to be in closer connection with the angels and begin to ground that thought into your experience. One way to ground it in is to meditate. By meditating you heighten your vibrations and you clear the veil between the two worlds so that you may perceive the light. The angels encourage this for your own spiritual growth. Even five minutes of meditation can bring an inner change.

They wish you the best and help you to bring about the best in yourself and in your life. They have hopes for humanity and the planet to heal. They usher in the healing that we are in need of, especially for Mother Earth.

Angelic blessings,
David