Today's Pilgrim's Blessing was led by Donald Schell, rector of Saint Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. It proved to be an inspiring, yet humbling recognition of the courage and hope with which we Pilgrims choose to leave home and become Pilgrims, wanderers of the world. Donald's prayer of blessing went like this:
Lynn....
as you leave here to prepare for your journey,
leave with the love and blessings of all who know you.
Bow your heads as we pray for God's blessing:
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sunshine warm your face, and rains fall soft upon your cheeks.
And until we meet again,may God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Amen
I confess that I teared up and felt a great lump in my throat as Jim, and others there in support of the Pilgrims, gave voice to Donald's words and called our names out loud. Again, symbolism and ritual from another time gathered faithfully in that room. How fortunate we are to experience this positive collective energy of such a spirit filled group of beings. Companions on The Way, we have already begun.
there is a Pilgrim's song I would share with you. It is a John Bunyan Pilgrimage song sung by Maddy Pryor. You can listen by downloading:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sing-lustily-good-courage/id425531927
track 1, "Who Would True Valour See"
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
To Tech or not to Tech, that is the question!
San Francisco Chronicle columnist, James Temple, wrote this week about being a tech addict, with a craving for a constant fix from his multiple tech choices, on line news, facebook, twitter, etc. etc. He suggests there are many suffering the same addiction and recommends one possible solution for detox. The idea comes from Reboot, a Jewish think tank in New York who advocate for a digital free 24 hours/week - a day of rest to give us a chance to balance our lives. I've been thinking about my upcoming pilgrimage in relationship to my own tech addiction. I'm never far from my iPhone and iPad and find myself engaging on a very regular and daily basis with what, whoever, and whatever they have to offer. I am planning to blog my way through Spain, unless...
Perhaps I need to re-think this. How will my spiritual experience be affected by my tuning into the various devices instead of communing with the real world around me? Do I really want to engage with Siri or with the live person with a story to tell on the path beside me? I'm thinking I will be very, very brave and leave my "wookie" behind. Confession: as a huge Starwars fan, I call my iPad "wookie". If you are a Starwars fan too, you will know why.
I think I will, instead, take a journal and my favorite pen and blog with these two "devices". I can then enter them into the Blog whenever I happen to have access to a computer or, even, when I get to Santiago where my hotel has Wi-fi and all the trimmings. I suspect I may find myself suffering a bit of withdrawal during the first days of abstinence. However, I think I will take a chance. Being present and attentive to the experience I have so long dreamed of and planned for seems a no brainer. Thank you, James Temple, for the inspiration and motivation. The National Day of Unplugging offers a modern day of rest and a respite from a relentless deluge of technology. I believe I will take an International Month of Unplugging. Well, how about three weeks? Wouldn't want to over do my first time out!
Perhaps I need to re-think this. How will my spiritual experience be affected by my tuning into the various devices instead of communing with the real world around me? Do I really want to engage with Siri or with the live person with a story to tell on the path beside me? I'm thinking I will be very, very brave and leave my "wookie" behind. Confession: as a huge Starwars fan, I call my iPad "wookie". If you are a Starwars fan too, you will know why.
I think I will, instead, take a journal and my favorite pen and blog with these two "devices". I can then enter them into the Blog whenever I happen to have access to a computer or, even, when I get to Santiago where my hotel has Wi-fi and all the trimmings. I suspect I may find myself suffering a bit of withdrawal during the first days of abstinence. However, I think I will take a chance. Being present and attentive to the experience I have so long dreamed of and planned for seems a no brainer. Thank you, James Temple, for the inspiration and motivation. The National Day of Unplugging offers a modern day of rest and a respite from a relentless deluge of technology. I believe I will take an International Month of Unplugging. Well, how about three weeks? Wouldn't want to over do my first time out!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Tradition! Tradition! Tradition!
Tevye does not have a monopoly on "tradition". In 1604 Sir Walter Raleigh wrote:
Give me my Scallop
shell of quiet, My
staffe of Faith to
walke upon, my
scrip of joy, Immortal
diet, my bottle of
Salvation: My
Gowne of Glory,
hopes true gage,
and thus Ile take
my pilgrimage.
Sacred journeys are all about ritual and ceremony. I am finding that it is no different for me as I embrace and am mesmerized by the rituals and traditions which set me apart as a pilgrim. They serve to prepare me physically and spiritually for the journey ahead. On March 31st I will go to a Pilgrims' blessing organized by the Northern California chapter of American Pilgrims. I have decided to use the date and the event as a deadline for my pack to be ready. That means filled, weighed, zipped, and finally, blessed, along with my walking sticks and hat. The blessing and psalms are intended to infuse courage (as the Peace Pilgrim wrote in 1956) for the pilgrim's journey in the traditional manner: on foot and faith. Imagining how to prepare for my upcoming journey, I find ways to ritualize pushing up like daffodils in spring. Through this process I embrace life each day and am reminded that no day is aimless for me. Through tradition, using rituals, the journey really does become a sacred one. As I slow down and simplify I gain solace in the knowledge that preparation brings me the freedom and openness to be favored by the chance revelatory experience. Peak moments are around every corner, if we just prepare our hearts to receive them.
Along with my pack, hat and staff, I am taking a scallop shell, three small stones, and the ashes of my friend, Robert.
The shell: A Santiago Pilgrim's Badge. Herein lies the poetic approach to the journey. There are many stories about how the Scallop shell became a symbol of The Way. It is thought to be a treasured symbol of returning pilgrims of old, a symbol of the success of their journey. Like a tourist's trinket, Pilgrims brought shells back from the Atlantic coast along Galicia as a reminder of the dangerous but sacred path. A badge of courage as it were. The first "Pilgrims Guide" from the 12 century, begins with the four roads merging to one that lead to Santiago. Scollop shells embedded in homes and tin Paris remind us of the French road over the Pyrenees. My journey has always been and will always be marked by the symbol and form of the scollop shell.
The stones: I'm told that pilgrims bring a small stone from home and leave it somewhere along The Way. The reasons are personal and individual and as varied as the stones themselves. Some stones carry personal grief or represent a symbolic place where dreams are realized. My stones, infused with the love of those who have carried them and given them to me, go with me to protect and support me on the path. I don't know yet where I will leave them or why. I just know I am compelled to add their small weight to my pack.
Ashes to ashes: Ritualising the grief we feel when someone dies sometimes brings closure and even peace. It is why mankind has always honored their dead with ritual and tradition. Thus, the ashes join me and will leave me as well.
So Tevye, take note, tradition inspires me and sets me on the path. Rituals infuse that path with a sacredness I embrace.
Give me my Scallop
shell of quiet, My
staffe of Faith to
walke upon, my
scrip of joy, Immortal
diet, my bottle of
Salvation: My
Gowne of Glory,
hopes true gage,
and thus Ile take
my pilgrimage.
Sacred journeys are all about ritual and ceremony. I am finding that it is no different for me as I embrace and am mesmerized by the rituals and traditions which set me apart as a pilgrim. They serve to prepare me physically and spiritually for the journey ahead. On March 31st I will go to a Pilgrims' blessing organized by the Northern California chapter of American Pilgrims. I have decided to use the date and the event as a deadline for my pack to be ready. That means filled, weighed, zipped, and finally, blessed, along with my walking sticks and hat. The blessing and psalms are intended to infuse courage (as the Peace Pilgrim wrote in 1956) for the pilgrim's journey in the traditional manner: on foot and faith. Imagining how to prepare for my upcoming journey, I find ways to ritualize pushing up like daffodils in spring. Through this process I embrace life each day and am reminded that no day is aimless for me. Through tradition, using rituals, the journey really does become a sacred one. As I slow down and simplify I gain solace in the knowledge that preparation brings me the freedom and openness to be favored by the chance revelatory experience. Peak moments are around every corner, if we just prepare our hearts to receive them.
Along with my pack, hat and staff, I am taking a scallop shell, three small stones, and the ashes of my friend, Robert.
The shell: A Santiago Pilgrim's Badge. Herein lies the poetic approach to the journey. There are many stories about how the Scallop shell became a symbol of The Way. It is thought to be a treasured symbol of returning pilgrims of old, a symbol of the success of their journey. Like a tourist's trinket, Pilgrims brought shells back from the Atlantic coast along Galicia as a reminder of the dangerous but sacred path. A badge of courage as it were. The first "Pilgrims Guide" from the 12 century, begins with the four roads merging to one that lead to Santiago. Scollop shells embedded in homes and tin Paris remind us of the French road over the Pyrenees. My journey has always been and will always be marked by the symbol and form of the scollop shell.
The stones: I'm told that pilgrims bring a small stone from home and leave it somewhere along The Way. The reasons are personal and individual and as varied as the stones themselves. Some stones carry personal grief or represent a symbolic place where dreams are realized. My stones, infused with the love of those who have carried them and given them to me, go with me to protect and support me on the path. I don't know yet where I will leave them or why. I just know I am compelled to add their small weight to my pack.
Ashes to ashes: Ritualising the grief we feel when someone dies sometimes brings closure and even peace. It is why mankind has always honored their dead with ritual and tradition. Thus, the ashes join me and will leave me as well.
So Tevye, take note, tradition inspires me and sets me on the path. Rituals infuse that path with a sacredness I embrace.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Simplify, simplify, simplify
I did a trial run with my backpack this past weekend. I am pleased to announce that it only weighs 18 lbs! Ugh! Is more like it. So, now I begin again. It really can't weigh more than 14 lbs and that is fully loaded with water, food and everything else. I have been doing some reading about what to take, yes- some more reading. From what I can gather, I am "packing my fears" into my pack. As Rick Steve's likes to say, I should be packing for the best case scenario and buy my way out of anything else; instead, I appear to be trying to pack for the worst case scenario.
Have a little faith, Lynn ☔☀⚡🌙☁🌻🐚💒
Have a little faith, Lynn ☔☀⚡🌙☁🌻🐚💒
Sunday, March 4, 2012
From the Trash a Treasure. by lynn ashcraft-yonashiro
The trashcan takes it's toll
Sitting gape-mouthed and reckless
I pass by the other side
Hoping for anonymity
Finding instead
My vulnerable soul
Tossed into the rubbish bin
No chance for redemption
Or is there?
In pieces, maybe
Reconnect the broken bits
Using spit if you have to
There is no one else to trust
Jump start the rest
Use the power
God gave a goose
Attach the strings
Chords really and no chains
Dangle them, untangle them
Make the puppet dance
And from the trash, a treasure
If you take the chance.
Sitting gape-mouthed and reckless
I pass by the other side
Hoping for anonymity
Finding instead
My vulnerable soul
Tossed into the rubbish bin
No chance for redemption
Or is there?
In pieces, maybe
Reconnect the broken bits
Using spit if you have to
There is no one else to trust
Jump start the rest
Use the power
God gave a goose
Attach the strings
Chords really and no chains
Dangle them, untangle them
Make the puppet dance
And from the trash, a treasure
If you take the chance.
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