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Carol
Adrienne's work and teachings have been a great inspiration to
me! In August of 1998, about four months after my father
passed away, I read about one of Carol's workshops in a
Learning Annex catalog and synchronistically found her book on
a bookshelf at the bookstore. The themes of her
teachings were familiar and comforting, as they confirmed the
thoughts and ideas my father had shared with me shortly before
his passing. Her books and workshops ignited my
spiritual curiosity, setting me on my soulful life path, which
led to the very creation of SoulfulLiving.com! Carol's
participation has been an integral part of SoulfulLiving.com,
at its soul level! Thank you, Carol, with all my heart!
~Valerie, Founder and Soul, SoulfulLiving.com |
"The Greatest of These Is Love"
Happy Valentine’s Day--all month
long! Did you know that Valentines’ Day grew out of the
martyrdom of St. Valentine in Rome in 269 AD? At that time
Emperor Claudius II (that would be Claudius the Cruel)
was having trouble recruiting soldiers. He figured it was
because they didn’t want to leave their homes, wives, and
girlfriends, so he cancelled all marriages and engagements.
Two Christian priests, St. Valentine and St. Marius (St.
Marry-Us?), quietly rebelled against this edict and secretly
married couples. For this St. Valentine was beaten and had his
head cut off on February 14. Two hundred years later, in 496
AD, the Catholic Church set aside this day to honor St.
Valentine.
In Roman times, February 14th
was the feast day of Juno, Queen of the Roman deities and the
Goddess of women and marriage. On the evening of February 14th
young women would put their names in a jar, and young men
would thus select a partner for the celebration and feast of
Lupercalia on the following day.
In the Middle Ages, February was
noted as the month when birds chose their mates. Love seems a
natural for the second month of the year—numerologically the
number 2 rules partnerships, love, cooperation, and harmony.
Last month I mentioned a book I was
reading, Paul: The Mind of the Apostle by A.N. Wilson.
The author describes Paul as a brilliant religious poet and
visionary, who seemed to create controversy wherever he went
to speak about his conversion to what he called The Path. Paul
believed that human beings were the temples of the Holy
Spirit, and that that Spirit flows through us and that Christ
lives in us. He spoke of the Holy Spirit as the essence of
love, and our lives as an opportunity to express and create
through love (a message Claudius the Cruel obviously didn’t
get). Paul’s great poem in his letters to the Corinthians
has stuck in my mind all month:
"If I speak in the tongues of
mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong
or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and
understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all
faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over
my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain
nothing.
"Love is patient; love is kind;
love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does
not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things.
"Love never ends. But as for
prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they
will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we
know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the
complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a
child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I
reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put on end to
childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we
will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will
know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now, faith,
hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these
is love."
Dovetailing into our theme, the
following email message highlighting a practice suggested by
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, was sent to me from author and
speaker, Carlos Warter (www.carloswarter.com). His Holiness
reminds us of the power of cherishing as a way to accomplish
our practical and spiritual goals—which should be the same:
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama was
recently asked five important questions for our time:
1. How do we address the widening gap
between rich and poor?
2. How do we protect the earth?
3. How do we educate our children?
4. How do we help Tibet and other
oppressed countries and peoples of the world?
5. How do we bring spirituality (deep
caring for one another) through all disciplines of life?
He said all five questions fall under
the last one. If we have true compassion in our hearts, our
children will be educated wisely, we will care for the earth,
those who "have not" will be cared for. When asked,
"Do you think love on the planet is increasing or staying
the same?" his response was to believe that love is increasing."
His Holiness shared a simple practice
that will increase love and compassion in the world. He asked
everyone in the group to share it with as many people as they
can.
The Practice:
1. Spend five minutes at the
beginning of each day remembering that we all want the same
things (to be happy and to be loved) and we are all connected
to one another.
2. Spend five minutes -- breathing in
-- cherishing yourself; and, breathing out cherishing others.
If there are people you have difficulty cherishing, extend
your cherishing to them anyway.
3. During the day extend that
attitude to everyone you meet. Practice cherishing the
"simplest" person (clerks, attendants, etc.), as
well as the "important" people in your life; cherish
the people you love and the people you dislike.
4. Continue this practice no matter
what happens or what anyone does to you. These thoughts are
very simple, inspiring and helpful. The practice of cherishing
can be taken very deep if done wordlessly, allowing yourself
to feel the love and appreciation that already exists in your
heart.
Have a good month!
Click
Here to Learn More About Carol Adrienne
Read Carol's Past Columns
January 2000
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