How Do We Forgive Our Fathers?

We had a fire circle out at the coast last night with the theme: Honoring our Fathers and Grandfathers and this would have contributed much to our talking--actually, I think this is a summary of our sharing:

forgiving our fathers
by dick lourie

maybe in a dream: he's in your power
you twist his arm but you're not sure it was
he that stole your money you feel calmer
and you decide to let him go free

or he's the one (as in a dream of mine)
I must pull from the water but I never
knew it or wouldn't have done it until
I saw the street-theater play so close up
I was moved to actions I'd never before taken

Submitted in response to Live with Intention:

Surrender to Love:

To always meet in mystery

To play without regard

To give without thinking

To take without asking

To trust without reason

To feel without limit

To surrender to love

  By me

    Bruce Hubbell

Live With Intention

Sharing from ManSpirit First Saturday, January 8, 2011:

"Live with intention. 

Walk to the edge. 

Listen hard. 

Play with abandon. 

Practice wellness. 

Laugh. 

Risk love. 

Dragon Slayer

Go forth alone, dragon slayer!
Crawl through the ugly blight, wade through the quagmire.
Never flinch your eyes.
Proceed deeper into the domain of darkness
until you stand inside the beast's soul!

You are alone with yourself,
engulfed in the searing fires of your embittered rages.
You find yourself surrounded by the flames
of your most odious fears.
You summon all your strength to slay
that which you cannot understand.

In a frenzy of self-preservation
you lunge your scrupulous sword into your own heart.
You shriek with pain; the wound burns like acid; your soul bleeds.

Crippled, you stagger back into the daylight
and accept the martyrdom of your tortured self.
You move slowly through the crevices of your long life
until you find yourself perched on a ledge facing death.

You turn inward, seeking salvation.
The dragon is still there, suffering.

You look into the monster's ancient eyes
and see that it was conceived out of a terrible fear
which could not trust the Powers of life.
You look into its eyes and ask the dragon
to allow you to guide it back toward the path leading to God.
And now with only minutes left to live
you become a friend to yourself.



By Neal Grace
Taken from the book The Stars Are Listening by Neal Grace
Published in 1998 by Creative Arts Book Company

Letter from Jimmy White

Monday, Sept. 20, 2010

Greetings brothers!

It's hard to believe that already one week has passed since our time together. I've had a few challenges this last week health-wise in trying to fight off a sinus infection which seems to be lingering into its 10th day now. Luckily I have some tools that have helped me not stay isolated (my usual m.o.) and suffering alone (also my usual m.o.)

And it got me to thinking... how are the rest of you? Have you "landed" from the retreat experience? Have you had LIFE flood back in? Are you "Rising and Shining?"

Three tools I've used this week that were introduced at the retreat have been extremely helpful, and I just want to encourage you to remember to utilize these (or others from your spiritual toolbox).

1) The Spiritual Buddy - having Patrick M. there as support has been a benefit without comparison. I get cranky and isolative when I don't feel well, and his cheerful demeanor and caring nature helps lift me out of the doldrums in these circumstances. We both went to help John Palmerlee for a few hours in tearing down John's retaining