Daily Reflections by Stefan Waligur

My entry today is a slight shift from the verbal to the aural. I want to share just a few thoughts on an experience we shared last night and this morning at Pilgrimage of Peace.

There are so many "things that make for peace," aren't there? One of these has to do with the peace power, the healing power of voice as we share our voices together with and for each other. SO much can be communicated through our precious voices.

So, last night we began a little experiment/exploration. A small circle gathered round one person who expressed a desire/need for prayer. As the small circle encircled her they placed their hands upon her shoulders and head and began to sing/chant a simple sound of oh-chone. It's an approximation of an Irish sound used in laments.

No matter how many years I've attended, or how easily I slip into the familiar, beloved rhythms of the days, the gifts of pilgrimage are always new and surprising. Case in point:

Rick Wigton and I had talked a couple of times since the 2012 pilgrimage about kettlebell training, which is an important part of my life (when I'm not retreating, of course). He had recently purchased a kettlebell and a training video, and when he and Melissa arrived at pilgrimage, he asked me to help him with his technique--there were some things he wasn't understanding from the video, and both of them wanted to make sure he wasn't doing something that would end up injuring him.

I'm always very happy to teach (and prevent injury!) so on my next trip home, I loaded up about 125 pounds of kettlebells into the back seat of my longsuffering SUV and hauled them up the mountain. We cleared out the side patio of Stillpoint, laid down yoga mats, and got to work.

This morning the mist returned. This time it didn't curl and wisp so much as descend and envelop. Not quite fog, still it was thick enough to wrap much in mystery. As everyone knows by now, mist is one of my favorite forms of the water element we have watched so persistently emerging from the rock wall. It's not wholly water though. Mist's essential trait is that it is neither water nor air; it is an in-between being.

Interestingly, mist imparts startling clarity to the things close in: the trailing purple edges of the hanging spiderwort plant, the determined curve of the hummingbird's head at the feeder, the nonchalant grace of the cat licking her paws in the green deck chair. While in the wild woods beyond, all is shrouded, quiet, waiting.

It was just what I needed this morning.

Reflections on the Day by Stefan Andre Waligur

Today we looked at the creation account in Genesis and compared this with the story of Jesus' resurrection. Out of darkness and chaos comes light and creative call. We asked the question: With what vision do I enter the world? What goodness and beauty do I long to see? We held lightly the question: What is my passion/compassion? We imagined God creating the world with emotion and attitude. We saw Jesus rising from the dead in passion and compassion. All of this and more stirs us to do the work of soul. Where is my passion/compassion leading me?

The story of the sleeping King sparked some beautiful sharing of personal stories. All around the question: What genius, what nobility sleeps within waiting to be awakened?

Peace Pilgrimage Reflections for August 18, 2013

Just one of the many wonderful things happening at this year's pilgrimage is the way the sessions help us draw so many connections between scripture, story, poetry, and memory. It is a rich tapestry we are weaving!

During the discussion of the resurrection story, Stefan recalled the beautiful lines from Gerard Manley Hopkins' "As kingfishers catch fire:"

... for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.

That, in turn, reminded me of another poem, by American poet Virginia Hamilton Adair, which for me drew together so many of the day's themes and connections: playfulness, tears, calling, vision. It is one that I long ago committed to memory, so that I am never without its blessing. Enjoy!

Games with God
by Virginia Hamilton Adair

The theme of day was discernment. How do we know? How do we know the time? The time to cross a threshold? The time to stay where we are? The time to wait?

Daily Reflections by Stefan

Today we welcomed a new group of pilgrims to the Pilgrimage of Peace and said farewell to others. So, we begin again.

We shared the story of the woman at the well (Eugene Peterson's paraphrase called the Message) and Jesus from John's gospel. Peterson's paraphrase makes for lively imaginative reading/hearing. We appreciated the robust character of the conversation between them. Out of this edgy talk can come good learning.

We shared the poem called The Fountain by Denise Levertov hearing it once and then engaging in the poem with a kind of call and response form line by line, back and forth aloud. We noticed the connections between the gospel story and the poem.

We looked more closely at the first Beatitude: Blessed are those who possess nothing and no one. Blessed is your thirst. Blessed is your hunger.

Notes from Mary Ann Welter

Poetry has been a focus today. Stefan said: "The power of poetry is like a daily vitamin or maybe a heart medication." He also described poetry as an "endless well." He encouraged the pilgrims to consciously ingest goodness and beauty every day, whether in form of poems, nature, music, whatever nourishes.

We spent time on "The Fountain" by Denise Levertov with our new group of pilgrims.

Questions were offered along with the invitation to let questions arise within each person. In small group time, participants were encouraged to choose from any of the offered questions or start with their own question(s) for sharing with one another.

Today we shared several stories from the Gospel of Matthew and some stories from the ancient Irish Celtic lore. Comparing them is a helpful practice. The Gospel passages are: Matthew 9:18f — the story of the woman in need of healing who touched Jesus' robe. "I will be well," she said. Good words for us too. And the story of Jesus taking the hand of a dead girl and raising her to life ("Arise, My Love...") in Matthew 15:21f — the story of Jesus and the Canaanite woman.

The Irish Celtic stories are: the story of the seal woman and the story of the fox woman. In both the Celtic stories the man in the story is faced with a decision. Although he shares Jesus' struggle in the moment, he responds in the end very differently from the Jesus in the Gospel story.

The Beatitude today was: "Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy."

Brief Highlights for the Day by Janie Blakely

Today we looked at the fourth beatitude, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for Justice." The Beatitudes now begin to move into an active mode. Out of an acceptance of our shared poverty and grief we become more gentle and non-violent . Now we are ready to enter the world. Now we are able to enter the world with a hunger for justice.

We read together two stories from the Gospel of Matthew 15:29f. Jesus sees the hungry crowds. He says, "My heart goes out to the people." What follows is justice. The people receive what they need.

A question for us is: