Obaitori

{this moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama. In her words...

 

A Friday ritual;   - a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

 

an abundance of miracles

I'm reading and re-reading The Miracles of Mary by Bridget Curran. A beautiful friend gave me this book after telling everyone she knew about it. So, it is my turn. This book is fabulous. It is filled with stories of the miracles and apparitions of Mother Mary from all over the world from the last couple of centuries. Mary often appears to the most innocent - that is me out - she appears to children. The more well known stories are included such as Lourdes, Walsingham and Fatima. Also included are stories from China, Mexico and my favourite - for it's spine tingling creation - Sri Lanka. At the end of each chapter there are personal stories of people and how Mary has touched, influenced them and often changed the direction of their lives. Many of these stories are from people who had no previous connection with her. The book allows me to drift peacefully away into a divine slumber.

I'm continuing to knit blanket squares for Sivananda Math and I'm loving every stitch. I went to the local Church shop and bought a wide range of colours from three enormous bags of wool they had to offer. Pictured here is what I bought, including the fabulous tapestry bag, my bill came to $4!

Inspired by Ginny. In her words  ~  Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a single photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us!

Join me and others in the Yarn Along. What are you reading or knitting at the moment?

Easter 2011

We celebrated Easter and Anzac Day in the one five day weekend. The weather was, as usual at Easter, pouring with rain, brilliant sunshine the next and then a freezing cold wind blowing. We spent alot of the time outside, at the beach mainly. I made the silly mistake of taking Indira to possibly the longest Easter service in history - the Easter Saturday vigil - really she did very well. She enjoyed the 'party' afterwards eating sushi, cake and Easter eggs. We ate all weekend; tombalas, butter and parmesan risotto, homemade Montessori pesto... Daz went fishing and bought home red wine and crumbed calamari, mmm. We had a cousin sleep over, more fun, lots of love, gifts from nyc, abundance, joy, dancing, singing from dawn to dusk and even more love.

Our very long weekend in photos.

We had a havan for the celebration of Satya Sai Baba's mahasamadhi.

I hope you all had a very peaceful weekend.

 

 

Satya Sai Baba Mahasamadhi 2011

With love and respect to master Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba who entered Maha Samadhi 7:40am 24th April, 2011.

We pray for the estimated 30 million number of Sai Baba devotees during this time.

"Just as soap is necessary to make this external body clean, repetition of the divine name, meditation, and remembrance of God (smarana) are needed to cleanse the interior mind. Just as food and drink are needed to keep the body strong, contemplation of the Lord and meditation on the Atma (Soul) are needed to strengthen the mind. Without this food and drink, the mind will just stumble this way and that. When the waves of desire agitate the waters of the mind, how can one see the base, the Atma? So, clean the mind with contemplation of the Lord. Feed it with meditation on the Atma. Only meditation and spiritual practice (sadhana) can clean the depths of the mind and give it strength. Without purity and strength, the Atma recedes into the distance and peace diminishes."

- Dhyana Vahini, Chap 5, "Cultivate the Blissful Atmic Experience".

"I have come to light the lamp of Love in your hearts, to see that it shines day by day with added luster. I have not come on behalf of any exclusive religion. I have not come on a mission of publicity for a sect or creed or cause, nor have I come to collect followers for a doctrine. I have no plan to attract disciples or devotees into my fold or any fold. I have come to tell you of this unitary faith, this spiritual principle, this path of Love, this virtue of Love, this duty of Love, this obligation of Love."

 

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥

ॐॐॐ ॐॐॐ ॐॐॐ

{this moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama. In her words...

 

A Friday ritual;   - a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Wishing you all a very beautiful, peaceful and joyful long Easter weekend.

I'll be back here on Wednesday. 

 

a Mary of one's own

 

In my quest to quench my thirst for Mary, I've been attending meetings of the Legion of Mary at the local Catholic Church, Star of the Sea. I was hesitant about going. I was a little bit concerned exactly how I would answer any questions they might have, "Are you Catholic?" "Do you believe that Jesus was the only son of God?" But they didn't. Phew! I simply told them that I love Mary and I want to establish a stronger connection to her and that my little girl also loves Mary, quite a lot.

So once a week I go off to these private meetings and we pray and talk about Mary. This week was my second meeting. I was told - with tongue in cheek - by one of the sisters that I was on probation - a probationary member - giggles all round. At the meetings everyone is called sister. I blushed when they addressed me as, Sister Hinshelwood.

At the end of this weeks meetings there was a bit if whispering going on. I looked up from the contents of my handbag to all eyes on me. One of the sisters said, "Sister Hinshelwood. We would like to know if you would have a statue of Mary. It has a chip on it and we can no longer use it. We thought - as you wanted to get one for your little girl - that you could have this one." They pulled out of the cupboard an 80cm/31inch statue of Mother Mary. I could have died, ahem, I mean be reborn. I was utterly humbled. I could barely believe the faith that these women had in me. It was only my second time there and here they were giving me Mary. The week before I had scribbled in my note book that the members of the Legion were to pray to the statue of Mary like the statue was really Mary and here I was about to walk out the door with Her tucked under my arm! I said a thousand thank you's and promised to pray for the Legion sisters. It was all a bit surreal walking out to the car park carrying Mary like a new baby in a bright blue pillow case. I strapped her in and drove away.

Once I had collected the children, we took Mary inside to have a good look at Her, our 'baby'. She safely lay on my bed while we prepared the children's room for her to go into. I cleansed the room; tidied, opened the window, vacumned, dusted, threw some salt around... Outside we then washed and dried her. We carefully placed her on the chest of drawers in between the children's beds and in total disbelief stood back and watched her glow.

 

Over the afternoon, the children added a few bits and pieces to their new altar. The black baby Jesus is a story I'll leave for another day.

That night when Dazla got home we enshrined her in this spot. We said welcome, offered individual prayers and introduced the children to the Hail Mary by reciting it three times.

That night when Indira went to bed she said, "Thank you Mama. I know that Mary is always in my heart but now I can see her too."

A beautiful day. We are truly blessed. Hail Mary.

 

Knitting for Sivananda Math rural India

Once again I'm joining in with Ginny and everyone else over at Small Things for the Yarn Along.

In Ginny's words;

I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a single photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us!

I'm reading The Quran. I have an interest in Mary and apparently when the Bible was being put together they took out the chapter on Mary. ?! So now in the Bible there are about four lines about Mary - the Mother of God. In the Quran she is known as Maryam. There is a lot of debate over this issue so I thought I would find out for myself. Religion, politics and drama aside, what I need to remember are the qualites of Mary, a good woman; loving, kind, compassionate, provides un-conditional love, devotional, giving. I wrote a little more about being polytheist, here.

I'm knitting blanket squares for Sivananda Math - see the invitation below to join us if you are living in Australia. I'm using lovely soft, durable wool that washes and dries well. Currently, Australia has a massive oversupply of wool. I usually buy Australian made but it makes even more sense to do this now. Thankfully we too have an oversupply of red wine - particularly Merlot, exciting! I remember one comment from when the Pope was in town last year. Australia was in drought and someone asked if he, the Pope could turn our wine into water! I'm trying to knit with as much awareness as possible and putting an 'om' into every stitch.

 

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥

Join our knitting project to knit 108 blankets ~ start with knitting a square or two, leave them here in the box, at Satyananda Mangrove or post them to Mangrove and we will sew them together and send them to Sivananda Math in India to keep rural Indian children warm this winter.

For one 20 cm square;
8 ply yarn or scraps pf 8 ply
size 6 mm needles

1. Cast on 32 stitches. Try to make your stitches neither too loose nor too tight to help insure uniform squares. You will need to cast on less if you are going to use thicker wool. If you are unsure, use a tape measure to check.

2. Row 1 ~ knit

3. Row 2 ~ knit. These two rows form the "garter" stitch knitting pattern for your square.

4. Continue knitting as per these two rows until you have knitted a square. If you want to change colors, do so, but use the same thickness of wool.

5. To ensure your square is 20 cm, either use a tape measure or form a triangle by folding one corner of your square over to meet the opposite corner.

6. Cast off.

Motherhood

In spiritual life, every woman can play the role of mother: daughter, wife, girlfriend or disciple - all can be mother. Motherhood is the independent status of a woman which cannot be compared to fatherhood.

Usually we only apply the term of mother to a married woman who gives birth to a child. But in tantra, the woman with whom you practise is regarded as your mother. In this sense, mother does not mean progenitor, but refers to the cosmic force ~ Shakti.

Therefore, aspire to be a mother, but not only the mother of a child; become the universal divine Shakti.

For the full article, by Swami Satyananda, see here.

~ Photo ~

weekending

We were graced with another stunning Autumn weekend. In a few words this is what we did;

Welcomed a dear little baby into our world. Beautiful Cousin Bernadette's baby was born on Friday morning; Walter Leon Scott at a healthy 3.2kgs. All well.

Watched my dear little girls face open wide in an expression of wonder and amazement when she was told about her new cousin - once removed, I think is the right term - she was thrilled!!!

Welcomed home, my mother, sister and niece from a 3 week holiday in nyc. They had a brilliant time, saw the Memphis musical, walked and explored Cental Park, dined at amazing restaurants, saw many celebrities including Meryl Streep, saw a game at Yankee Stadium and of course, shopped.

Dyed my hair with henna and coffee with extra tips from the lovely Tricia over at Little Eco-Footprints.

Smelt like chlorophyll and coffee all weekend.

Steamed my head cold. Did the yogic practice of neti - three times each day.

From Wholefood for Children, made Bright and Happy Quinoa Salad and Tombalas. Everything was eaten. The tombalas were meant for Dazla to take as a breakfast to work. I made 3 batches - 18 - I think two made it into his tiffin this morning. They are needless to say, light, scrumptious and delicious. Similiar to a frittata but a little more nutrient dense with spelt flour. Made ghee.

Listened to Ella Fitzgerald and Ganga Giri.

Watched a lot of rain fall. Here, Saturday was the wettest day in April for over a decade.

Drove to my sister's house - down the freeway in said rain - to celebrate her birthday. Laughed, talked, drank one glass of red wine that went straight to my head, ate Long Life Blessed Hokein noodles as part of a family birthday tradition. Ate pavlova, yum!

Sunday, the sun shone it was mixed with cloud. Attended a High Tea at the Little Teapot to raise money for the Australian East Timorese Midwives. We ate scones, beautiful sandwiches and drank strong coffee. Learnt that 1 in 35 women who birth in East Timor die compared to the Australian statistics of 1 in 13,000. There were prizes offered for a raffle. I won the photography gift prize! Sat outside in the sun and chatted to dear, sweet friends. About 40 women attended. A big thanks to Kate and her darling mother, Marilyn for organising such a fun and worthy benefit.

Found my husband and children who caught two buses - a big adventure - over to the peninsula. We had lunch of fish and chips and found a little artist market and bought some wrist warmers for the children. Bought some more hand painted eggs for the children's Easter presents.

Read, Wholefood.

Knitted.

Pure Bliss.

Today I'm linking up with the very beautiful Amanda over at The Habit of Being for Weekending.

Join us!

 

How was your weekend? What did you do?

On the shopping list - more baking paper, more eggs...

 

meditate, realise

Many traditions use stories to teach great spiritual truths. Here, on Sundays, some of these stories will be re-told. They can be understood by adults & children. Where possible I will suggest a children's picture book that teaches the same or similar story.

*** *** ***

 
Wamberal Beach ~ Autumn 2011

A great master was sitting on the seashore, on the beach, and a man who was seeking for truth came to him, touched his feet and asked, "If I am not disturbing you, I would like to do anything you suggest which can help me to find the truth."

The master simply closed his eyes and remained silent. The man shook his head. He said in his own mind, "This man seems to be crazy. I am asking him a question and he is closing his eyes." He shook the man and said, "What about my question?"

The master said, "I answered it. Just sit silently... don't do anything, and the grass grows by itself. You need not bother about it everything will happen. You just sit silently, enjoy silence."

The man said, "Can you give it a name because people will be asking me, "What are you doing?"

So he wrote on the sand with his finger: meditation.

The man said, "This is too short an answer. Be a little more elaborate."

The master wrote in big letters: MEDITATION.

The man said, "But these are simply big letters. You are writing the same thing."

The old master said, "If I say more than that, then it will be wrong. If you can understand, then just do what I have told you and you will know."

Story from Osho,  Spiritual Stories.