365 Blessings to Heal Myself and the World: Really Living One's Spirituality in Everyday Life
352
365 Blessings to Heal Myself and the World: Really Living One's Spirituality in Everyday Life
352eBook
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Overview
Can you imagine what it would feel like to never feel any resentment for any wrong done to you? To respond with full awareness to all situations rather than react from your gut? What freedom that would entail! Well, this is just one of the gifts the practice of blessing from the heart, sending out focused love energy, will do for you. This book, from the bestselling author of The Gentle Art of Blessing, will help you learn to bless all situations and people as you go through the day and add overwhelming joy and presence to your existence.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781785357305 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Hunt, John Publishing |
| Publication date: | 06/29/2018 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 352 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Day 1 For the Fullness of This Day
May these blessings bring you peace, inspiration, courage ... whatever your need may be. These blessings will take many forms, and some will be from other sources and cultures so that they may meet different needs. Many are concerned with world problems, as I believe blessing can be an important tool in healing the world by healing our own vision of the world, so that rather than despairing over the number of problems facing our planet and its inhabitants, we rejoice in having a tool to help solve them.
I bless this day in the fullness of good it already contains, in the many occasions it offers to listen deeply, to be of service to others, to express gratitude moment by moment and to keep my mind so filled with love, beauty and joy that no negativity can find even the tiniest crack in which to set foot.
I bless this day in the infinite opportunities it gives me to love: to love and bless every human I meet, every beast or bird I pass by, every plant I behold, for all are but the manifold expressions of the infinite Life that undergirds all.
Truly, I bless this day for the wonderful adventure it can become as I walk through it with the eyes of wonder rather than boredom, use every opportunity to express peace rather than irritation, and chose love over fear.
Thank you, Life, for this day.
Day 2 Blessing Myself
The PS of my text on The Gentle Art of Blessing that you will find in the introduction to this book says: "And above all, bless the utterly beautiful child of God you are." So today, we are going to bless ourselves, for it is very difficult to really love and bless others from the heart if we do not start with loving ourselves. As the great Irish poet John O'Donohue said so beautifully, "May there be kindness in your gaze when you look within."
I bless myself sincerely and joyfully for being the utterly beautiful divine creature I am, at one with the Source of infinite Love.
I bless myself as a child of the universe, a child of the light in which there is not a speck or residue of darkness or self-condemnation.
I bless myself in my sinless joy, boundless bliss and total contentment, my ageless, tireless being.
I bless myself as divine Mind's expression of constant wisdom, enlightenment, discernment and understanding.
I bless myself as Spirit's manifestation of glorious liberty, total freedom and unlimited innocence – and this is true of all humanity.
I bless myself in my perfect oneness with the Ground of Being, the unconditional cosmic Love force called the Creator, which sustains every cell and atom of my being in perfect health.
I bless myself as my sister's and my brother's keeper, overflowing with compassion, a fount of unending tenderness for every suffering heart.
And finally, I bless myself in my constant enjoyment of the Green Pastures of the Kingdom within which I share with all humanity.
Day 3 A Cherokee Blessing
Today, we will borrow from that very rich, deep and varied lore of Native American blessings, one of the most precious cultural heritages of the USA. You may, if so moved, replace "Great Spirit" with "divine Love" and "Rainbow" with "Grace." What counts is that these daily blessings speak to you, wherever you may be on your spiritual path. So feel free to make any adaptations that are meaningful for you, be it in this blessing or any other you encounter in this book.
May the warm winds of heaven blow softly upon your house.
Day 4 Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart
Marianne Williamson writes: "Nothing about your material circumstances has the power to stop the engine of cosmic intention that you be blessed. And you are blessed 'eternally' which means moment after moment after moment. In any instant, regardless of what has happened in the past, the universe has arranged and is continuing to arrange infinite possibilities for you to prosper." Her words offer a lovely introduction to today's blessing.
I bless this day in the infinite beauty that will unfold as I learn to see with the eyes of the heart: the beauty of my neighbor, whatever the material appearances – glorious or grumpy; the resplendent beauty of creation, of nature bedecked in so many constantly changing forms and colors; the infinite opportunities to express thanks – to the cashier for her radiant smile, the local baker for his delicious bread, my journalist neighbor for a positive article, the public transport company for an efficient service, for an especially kind receptionist or the friendly nurse at my doctor's, the food which blesses my table three times a day.
And I say yes, yes, yes for the innumerable opportunities to bless, knowing that each sincere blessing returns to bless me too: the water I drink for its cleanliness and those that produce it, the clothes I wear and their convenience or beauty, my amazing body for its 24-hour performance.
Truly, blessing enables me to discover Love's perfect plan for me moment after moment after moment.
Day 5 A Psalm to Bless This Day
Did you know that blessing is probably one of the oldest cultural expressions of human religious activity, dating back many thousands of years? One of the many things I love about blessing is that it is expressed in a great variety of forms. Take for instance Ps 23, attributed to King David, which is one of the most universal and beautiful spiritual texts in world literature. Whatever a person's religious or spiritual background, they can nearly always find something that speaks to them in this text. Today, with minor modifications of its form, we are going to use it as a blessing. So here is:
May divine Love be your shepherd today.
May you not lack any good.
May it make you to lie down in green pastures, and lead you besides still waters.
May Love restore your soul (your spiritual sense).
May it lead you on the paths of right action for Love's sake.
When you walk in the valley of the shadow of death,
May you fear no evil, for truly Love's rod and Love's staff are there to comfort you.
May divine Love lay a table in front of your enemies – all the challenges you are facing.
May divine Love anoint your head with oil and may your cup overflow.
May goodness and mercy accompany you all the days of your life,
And may you live in the Presence of divine Love for evermore.
Have a peaceful day in the trusted company of this Love, my friend, and be assured that it will never let you down, ever.
Day 6 A Blessing for Teachers
From time to time, we shall give a blessing for a specific profession or job. Today, we will start with one of the most important activities on the planet – that of teacher. There are so many stories of children whose lives were turned around by a remarkable teacher. So if you have teacher friends who do their best in their challenging job, please share this blessing with them.
I bless this day for the constant opportunities that it offers me to share wisdom and truth, to broaden my circle of compassion and my understanding, and to manifest patience and love toward all the children or students entrusted to my care.
I bless myself in my ability to assume full responsibility for all I do and to face any situation that could develop in the classroom, to handle tensions with nonviolence and to generate productive relations with the students, their parents and my colleagues.
I bless myself in my ability to discern the divine in each student, however contrary or aggressive outward appearances, to manifest constant calm whatever breaches to discipline may occur and to encourage serene discussions and debates.
I bless my students in their desire to learn and progress, in their ability to contribute positively to the atmosphere of the class, to cooperate with and help fellow-students and to resist group pressure when this pressure would attempt to lead them to the use of drugs, alcohol or sex emptied of all beauty and norms.
Finally, I bless myself in my ability to produce exciting and stimulating courses which challenge the intellect of my students, reinforce their sense of values and offer them also a meaningful morality freed from dusty, guilt-producing norms. And I also bless myself in my ability to open them up to a high and noble vision of their lives and a deep desire to serve usefully both their community and all humanity and our planet.
Day 7 The Invisible Divine Order Behind Everything
In her book The Healing Secrets of the Ages, Catherine Ponder writes: "Bless the world around you unselfishly with divine order. As you do so, you release the power of order into the atmosphere to do its perfect work. Look for, expect and give thanks for divine order, often. By doing so, you release one of your most important mind powers to work for you and through you to bless yourself and mankind." So today our blessing will be for the invisible divine order behind everything, despite the aggressive material claims of disharmony on the human plane.
I bless the amazing divine order in nature, from the tiniest molecule to the rolling of the galaxies in our stupendous universe.
I bless the divine order in my life and that of my neighbor, even when to the human sense of things this order is all but apparent.
I bless the exquisite, stunning order that runs the over 37 trillion cells that make up my body and the hundreds of millions of chemical reactions occurring every second.
I bless the divine order in the universe that is constantly arranging innumerable possibilities for me and all to progress in life if only we will listen to its quiet whispers.
I bless the same divine order which forms the foundation of my spiritual GPS – God Positioning System – that gently corrects me when I stray out of ignorance or willfulness.
And finally, I bless the divine order that is leading the whole of humanity through the many upheavals present and probably to come to the win-win paradigm which will finally give birth to that world which works for all, which is our divine destiny.
Day 8 A Blessing by John O'Donohue
Our blessing for this day comes from that great Irish writer John O'Donohue's book, Anam Cara. We owe him many beautiful and deeply meaningful blessings. He says that: "a blessing is a circle of light drawn around a person to protect, heal and strengthen." I love that metaphor, especially if one extends it to all one blesses, including events. He also speaks of the sacredness of our work. And remember that what makes work sacred is the love you put into it, be you a cashier or simple street sweeper. Sweeping a street with love or smiling to your clients as a cashier does more to save the world than running the most successful business with avidity and pride. So here is his blessing for work.
May the light of your soul guide you.
May the light of your soul bless the work you do with the secret love and warmth of your heart.
May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul.
May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those who work with you and to those who see and receive your work.
May work never weary you.
May it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement.
May you be present in what you do.
May you never become lost in the bland absences.
May the day never burden.
May dawn find you alert and awake, approaching your new day with dreams, possibilities and promises.
May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.
May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.
May your soul calm, console and renew you.
Day 9 A Blessing for Political Leaders
Hatsat Abiola, a Nigerian activist, says to us: "Guard your light and protect it. Move it forward into the world and be fully confident that if we connect light to light to light, and join the lights together of the one billion young people in our world today, we will be enough to set our whole planet aglow." Blessing is a way of joining our lights together. I personally believe that the number needed to move the world is much smaller – maybe a few million really committed spiritual thinkers. So today, our blessings will be for those who still believe themselves to be the world movers, the political leaders of the world.
We bless our leaders that wisdom rather than narrow interests or fear may guide their decisions.
We bless them in their ability to move beyond the narrow confines of nation, class, creed, race or narrow financial or economic concerns.
We bless them in their desire to put the service of mankind and their nations before their thirst for prestige or power. We bless them in their ability to put the care of Mother Earth and the environment before short-term planning and purely economic motives.
We bless them in their authentic compassion that they may be sensitive to the needs of the downtrodden and the marginalized.
We bless them that, despite all the judgments, the prejudices concerning them with which we too often hold them captives, they may be sensitive to the winds of grace which blow freely for all those who hoist their sails.
And finally, we bless ourselves in our ability to hold on to their divine image that too often remains cloistered in their hearts that it may find expression in political courage, deep caring for the outcasts of society and decisive action for the reconciliation of man and nature.
PS: To help you make this blessing more real, may I suggest that you think of three politicians who are your favorite scapegoats and that you visualize and bless them in three qualities they express. And even if you can only think of a single quality, congratulations, that is a good start.
Day 10 Blessing My Body
Have you ever thought about, given thanks for, and talked to that quite extraordinary instrument called the human body, your body, which enables you to function day after day, year after year, decade after decade with incredible versatility? And that despite the rather rough treatment with which so many of us too often handle it!
Today, I bless my body in its perfect functioning and the gift and tool it is for me to live and play, work and serve.
I bless my heart which beats over 84,000 times a day without me ever giving it a second thought, or my lungs which inhale and exhale effortlessly and smoothly well over 20,000 times a day also.
I bless the trillions of cells which constantly communicate with an intricacy and perfection we have barely started understanding.
I bless the hundreds of millions of chemical reactions happening every second which keep the whole system functioning and that utter marvel called the immune system and the green and red lights it is constantly switching on and off.
I bless my eyes that allow me to absorb the faintest nuances of nature's beauty and all shades of color and which enable me to fall in love and, hopefully, one day rise in love with the object of my desire.
I bless my ears which enable me to vibrate to the slightest variations of sounds and music or listen to my neighbors' woes with patience and compassion ...
I bless my body in all its innumerable functions which defy my wildest imagination ...
All that and so much more, with not one day's vacation in 60, 70, 80 years or more.
Truly, I bless this unbelievable marvel called my body.
May I never forget to daily thank it and the universe for that without which I would not exist here on earth.
Day 11 Apache Blessing for Newlyweds
If you have acquaintances who are thinking of marrying or moving in together, or if you yourself wish to renew the bond that links you to your companion or spouse, you will be deeply touched by the beautiful Native American Apache blessing that follows which has inspired so many couples.
Now you will feel no rain for each of you will be the shelter for each other.
Excerpted from "365 Blessings to Heal Myself and the World"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Pierre Pradervand.
Excerpted by permission of John Hunt Publishing Ltd..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Ervin Laszlo, 1,
Introduction, 4,
365 Blessings, 12,
A Brief Post Scriptum, 311,
Chronological List of Blessings, 312,