Sweet, Divine Mystery!

(Photo by Karen Wood)

Angel Fire, N.M.

Sweet, Divine Mystery!

You are so close ...

Yet ever elusive!

I reach out to touch You ~

You are nowhere to be found ...

Until I draw my next Breath.

I crave Your Presence ~

I feel so abandoned ...

Until I see the grey-white dove perched mere feet

From the hovering, hunched black raven.

I yearn for Your Voice ~

I hear only SILENCE ...

Followed by sweet bird songs, wind whispers,

And majestic thunder claps.

I long for Deep Peace ~

Cruelties, injustices, deep woundedness engulf me ...

Until I submerge into the Depths of Stillness

Where I find Perfect Rest.

I chase certitude ~

I capture only more questions, more doubts

Until it dawns, slowly ...

The Divine Mystery Is

The only Certainty.

It is not knowable.

It can only be Loved.

~ By Karen Wood

The Permeating Presence

Photo by Karen Wood

(St. Bridgit's Garden reflection pool, Ireland)

I close my eyes

And sink deep

Into a calm pool

Of gratitude and devotion ...

I am immersed

In quietude ~

Permeated by a

Loving, Holy Presence.

There are no words,

For they are unnecessary.

The Silence holds

Everything

In Its No-thing-ness.

I am nourished,

Uplifted,

Held,

Soothed,

Caressed,

Comforted,

Affirmed,

Purified,

Wholly Loved ~

By the permeating Presence.

Myriad thoughts float above

Along the surface

Of this deep, calm pool

Of gratitude and devotion.

I barely notice them ~

For the permeating Presence

Draws me deeper and deeper

Into Its Loving Silence.

There are no words ~

For they are unnecessary.

The Silence holds

Everything

In Its No-thing-ness.

~ By Karen Wood

Be Still and Know ...

Be still and know ...
The Power of the Silence
In the subtle markings
Of a sacred river stone

Be still and know ...
The symphonic sounds of Silence
In sweet bird songs, lapping river banks,
The call of majestic trees

Be still and know ...
The energy of the Silence
In the quiet vibrations of creation
As the earth moves softly under foot

Be still and know ...
The fragrance of the Silence
Brought as gift to the senses
By gushing, generous, playful wind

Be still and know ...
The sacredness of the Silence
In a candle's flicker, an empty bowl,
Works of art, respected space

Be still and know ...

The People of the Silence ~

Heart-connected, Love-inspired ~

Souls enmeshed on the journey

Be still and know ...

The pathway of the Silence ~

Find the secret doorways

Hiding treasures within the depths

Be still and know ...

The intimate touch of Silence ~

Warm kisses of sunshine,

The hug of grass, winks of butterflies

Be still and know ...

The Source of Silence ~

Oh, Divine Spirit!

Radiate Your Silent Light

Throughout my innermost Being!

Be still and know ...

Be still and know the Silence ...

Be still ...

Be.

~ By Karen Wood

Freeze This Moment!

Photo by Karen Wood

 (Rose garden angel at Beverly Hall, Quakertown, PA -- http://www.soul.org/)

I brush away a wayward hair ~

Then wonder if it was actually

An angel who touched me ...

For there was no hair.

I feel a softness against my face ~

And know it to be cool air

From the humming window air conditioner ...

Or an Unseen Guide.

I almost dare not move ~

For it would put a ripple

In the thick Love

That surrounds my Being.

I want to remain trapped in the Stillness.

I want to drown in the Soup

Of The Holy Presence.

I want the deafening Silence

To lull me to Eternal Sleep.

Freeze this moment!

Oh, Holy Presence!

As I sit here burning

With love for You,

Please freeze me!

~ By Karen Wood

Your Singular Voice

Come forth!
In the Stillness ...
That small Voice
From within ...

Speak to me, please!

Let me hear You
Echoing off my distractions,
Whispering between the layers
Of my busy mind-chatter.

Come forth!
Voice from On High!
Voice from The Depths!

Let Your Love murmurings
Resound above all else
That occupies my mind and attention ...

Speak to me, softly ~
Or in a mighty roar!

It matters not
How
You speak to me!

Grant me only
Ears to hear
Your Singular Voice ...

As I lovingly listen ~
May I eat every Word
Until my Being becomes Your Echo ~
Your Voice in the wilderness.

May I learn to speak as You speak ...
In and through
Silence.

~ By Karen Wood

May I Drown Myself in You

“Submerge beneath My Living Waters

Sink deep into My Watery Depths

Listen to what you hear there

In the Deep.

When you have reached

The deepest depth ~

Go deeper.

Sink lower.

Find the darkest part.

The Silence is loudest there.

You can hear Me most clearly

There ~

In the Darkness.

In the lowest spot.

When you find the darkest place,

You will see the Light.

Look for Me

There ~

In the Depths and the Darkness

And the Silence.

There ~

I will speak to you

And reveal Myself to you.”

Oh, Holy Presence!

May it be as I heard it

And saw it revealed to me

Even this day.

Oh, Holy One!

May I be worthy

Of submerging once again

‘Neath Your Living Waters.

May I find an even darker place,

An even lower spot,

An ever more Silent space

In the watery depths.

May I drown myself in You,

So I might live again.

~ By Karen Wood

A Prayer for Newness

Oh, Unified One!
You Who desired us into Being ~
You Who spoke us into place
And graced us into Life ...

We bow before You,
Honoring You for allowing us
To reflect such Great Majesty
In such a humble vessel.

We bring gifts of gratitude and respect,
Acknowledging how often we do not stop to thank You
For Your great gifts ~

For Your ancient wisdom passed down to us
Through the wind, the stones,
The rivers, the trees, the land ~

For sacred moments of Silence
Where we are allowed to embrace
The Most Holy of Holies
As we sit in the same spaces as our ancestors
And hold the stillness
Within our own inner Beings.

We come before You boldly,
Asking, yet again, as we approach
The Table of Your Grace and Generosity:

Allow us to crawl deep into Your Womb
And rest a long while there ...

For we feel an urge to newness ~
A desire to create ~
A hopefulness for rebirth ~
A longing for the utter joy that comes
With new beginnings.

We crave to co-create
With the Creator of All;

To birth a new thing
With The Divine Mother
Who is Mother of All;

To sing a new song
With The Holy One
Who birthed all melodies;

To lean into the strong arms
Of The Loving Father
Who holds our deepest desires
Until we are ready to live them.

Sacred and Loving Love of All Loves ~
Allow us to merge our Creative Spark
With all those who have come before
And those who have yet to come after ~

With all those born and unborn,
Those seen and unseen,
Those who share our form,
And those whose forms take shapes
Of the winged, the finned, the leafed,
The animals, the wind, the water,
The earth and fire.

And when we finally emerge from Your safe and loving Womb,
May our Creative Spark
Ignite such an explosion of energetic Joy
That only You ~ only Love ~
Can be seen through our life.

May each new day be a new door
Through which we walk
Into Sacred Spaces,
Into the Watery Depths,
Into the Fire Within,
Into the Divine Love of The Holy One ~
Into You.

~ By Karen Wood
(written in June 2011 on Inishmore, Aran Island, Ireland, and Slane, Ireland)