Speaking of Spirit

Photo:  (c) 2018 Rev. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas We have calcium in our bones, iron in our veins,  carbon in our souls, and nitrogen in our brains.  93 percent stardust, with souls made of flames,  we are all just stars that have people names.  ~ Nikita Gill, (from 93 Percent Stardust) ~ When I read Nikita Gill's quote , it struck a chord. Ever since Carl Sagan first mentioned that we humans were "made of star stuff," I have loved the image - the idea that something so foreign, so spectacular, so utterly mysterious as a star could be part of who we are. Since Sagan's commentary, scientists have proven that we are, indeed, made of star dust. The same bits of elements that have hurtled through space since the Big Bang, have contributed to creating all that exists, including us. "With souls made of flames..."  This line recalled images of mystics, the Holy Spirit and the Sacred Heart.  After all, flame has long been used to p...

(c) 2015 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas The message isn't new. Each year around this time, we are reminded that life continues, that nature renews itself. We see it in the first sprouts of spring, we hear it in the joyous birdsong of mating season, we smell it in the vernal rains that fall on fields near and far. But why do we need to be reminded? I believe that after the harshness of winter - the cold, the dark, the incessant chill - we need to be, in a sense, resurrected. We need to leave the tombs of our homes where we have hunkered down for the long winter months and step out into the light of spring's rebirth. We begin to see friends and neighbors once more, renewing old friendships or birthing new ones.  Around the world, this is the time of year that Christians celebrate Easter or Paschal Sunday. The promise of this Holy Day is new life. The Resurrection, followers believe, is the symbol of the rebirth of the soul. Just as buds return to the apparently dead branches ...

Panoramic Prospective  Heart sight is the wide-angle lens  that encompasses Life's landscapes.  Opened wide, one sees clearly  the vastness of possibility and hope.  © 2019 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas This poem is the result of a prompt for the April Poetry Month Poem-A-Day Challenge in Poetic Asides . After posting and reading it, the thought came for using the metaphor of a camera as a means to view life expanded, much like the perspective through the view finder when going from micro to macro. Love is the wide-angled lens of Life. Other lenses add to how we see the world. Compassion is the deep-focus lens and kindness is a filter used to sharpen the view.  The Columbia Film Language Glossary states, "Deep focus is a style or technique of cinematography and staging with great depth of field, using relatively wide-angle lenses and small lens apertures to render in sharp focus near and distant planes simultaneously. A deep-f...

Family (c) 2018 Rev. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas The Grace of Family is one of those blessings that often gets overlooked until, unfortunately, it is too late.  Let's face it, we ALL have families. Some are stable and dependable, some are crazy, some are absent from us, some are joined at the hip, some are four-legged, wings or even scaled, some make us laugh, some make us cry, some are connected by DNA and others by heartstrings. No matter, when push comes to shove, we all have one.   I just spent another whirlwind weekend with my girls and all the grandkids.  We had such fun!  With four families gathered together, we create our own state!  I call it the State of Chaos!  But, I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world. Over the years my family has grown by more than simply blood relations. I have "family" around the globe; people who linked to me by a soul connection.  That connection is as deep as any familial tie can be...

  Photo (c) 2010 Rev. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas The Grace of Beauty is a puzzling concept, mostly because of our preconceived notions of beauty. Hollywood and the fashion industry have defined beauty for most of the world for decades.  However, before the advent of these industries, beauty wore many faces. The ancestors saw beauty in nature. Sunrises and sunsets were observed in awe and ritual. The spirit of plants and flowers was seen and respected. The ancient ones, even found beauty in animals so rich and important that they recognized them as sacred. Matthew Fox, priest and theologian said, “Animals are here in part to grant glimpses of the grace of beauty.” I had never pondered this type of grace before. When I thought of it, I immediately recognized how we could see the beauty of animals. But, grace?  I was going to need more than a few minutes to reflect on this. So, I began looking at the photos I had taken of animals over the years. Hundreds of birds,...

  August Jernberg [Public domain]     “God’s provision; timeless resources.”  ~ Lailah Gifty Akita ~   When we hear the word "provision" what comes to mind?  Are there visions of a pantry stocked to overflowing; what about a table heaped with delicacies; or, perhaps grocery bags filled with the necessities need for the week ahead? The word "provision" comes from Latin and literally means "a foreseeing, foresight, preparation, prevention ." The Grace of Provision is, for me, the ability to trust that what is needed will be there when the time comes. Grace, remember, is God's blessing. So, Grace of Provision is the blessing that the Divine foresees our needs and provides what we need, when we need it. Throughout my life, I have experienced this type of Grace. I learned early on that if I do what I am called to do, Creator supplies the rest. The serendipity of this Grace can be so profound that it often seems inconceivable. Some pass ...

Photo: (c) 2018 Rev. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas Walking along the shore a few weeks ago, I thought about how life can be like the ocean. We see what is on top, but rarely do we see what is going on underneath.  As we begin the third week of our journey into the many aspects of Grace, I recall the first time I realized that humans are capable of stepping out of a situation and looking at it from the outside, in.  I was young, and the situation involved adults who were talking in low voices, as adults do when they don't want children to hear.  Fifty odd years later, I can't tell you what was said, but I do remember seeing the situation in my mind as if I was, what they call in literature, an "omniscient observer." Later that day, I spoke to my mother, telling her why I thought my mother's friend was upset. I theorized that there was great sadness in her life and that she wasn't dealing with it well.  Of course, my mother was rather shocked to hear thi...