[E]ach of us is summoned to an unlimited, infinite development as we leave the narrowness of our own ego behind and enter into the mystery of God. [ . . . .] The spirit that we are invited to discover in our hearts is the power source that enriches every part of our life. It is the Spirit of life and the Spirit of love. The call . . .is not to be half-alive, which means being half-dead, but to be fully alive, alive with power and energy continually flowing in our hearts, if only we will undertake the discipline to make our way to it, day by day. [ . . . .] We need have no fear as we set out, as we leave self behind and set out to meet the other. We need have no fear. The spirit in our heart, the spirit that we open to in meditation, is the spirit of compassion, of gentleness, of forgiveness, of total acceptance. It is the Spirit of love.
After Meditation: Diane Ackerman, “School Prayer” in I PRAISE MY DESTROYER (New York: Vintage, 2000, Kindle edition), p.3.
In the name of the daybreak
and the eyelids of morning
and the wayfaring moon
and the night when it departs,
I swear I will not dishonor
my soul with hatred,
but offer myself humbly
as a guardian of nature,
as a healer of misery,
as a messenger of wonder,
as an architect of peace.
In the name of the sun and its mirrors
and the day that embraces it
and the cloud veils drawn over it
and the uttermost night
and the male and the female
and the plants bursting with seed
and the crowning seasons
of the firefly and the apple,
I will honor all life
—wherever and in whatever form
it may dwell—on Earth my home,
and in the mansions of the stars.
