Serendipitous Much?

Today is full of coincidences. It's sort of creeping me out, but mostly is just reminding me that sometimes I am in the total flow of the universe and powers beyond me come together and sort of swoop me up into the current. Life feels a little effortless and I couldn't be more grateful for the way things are working out today. I won't bore you with the details of how my schedule is magically working itself out, but I will share one little nugget of my life's convergences today.


Recently I've been really into the British electronic soul artist James Blake. Last week, when the stars were not aligning in my life, I missed his sold out show because I am a dumb ass and didn't get on top of a ticket. Oops. Blake's music is haunting yet soothing, subtle in its electro influence and deeply soulful. I jokingly dubbed his music "etherealwave." The track "Lindisfarne" is the meditative center of his new self-titled debut album--it's got a rad video too. Here's where the coincidence comes in: in reading a spirituality newsletter that I receive I came across a piece about, you guessed it, Lindisfarne! No mention of James Blake, however. That's because Blake's song takes the name of an island off the coast of North East England called Lindisfarne, or "holy island." Whoa man, explosions in my brain of the coincidence overload persuasion. Let's hope all this syncing up bodes well for the day rather than being a bad omen.

PS: Spell check suggested that instead of Lindisfarne I meant windsurfing. Ha.

PPS: James Blake is totally hot.

'Tis April No More

May by Mary Oliver

May, and among the miles of leafing,
blossoms storm out of the darkness—
windflowers and moccasin flowers. The bees
dive into them and I too, to gather
their spiritual honey. Mute and meek, yet theirs
is the deepest certainty that this existence too—
this sense of well-being, the flourishing
of the physical body—rides
near the hub of the miracle that everything
is a part of, is as good
as a poem or a prayer, can also make
luminous any dark place on earth.

Amazon music cloud and the clouds of heaven

Writin' about other stuff on the Other Journal. Check it out, man!

Hi Faith, Meet Justice.

I've written about fasting here before, but as it the season of Lent I stumbled upon something that is uniquely fitting and totally inspiring. The Washington Association of Churches (the WAC) is calling for folks to participate in their fast during Holy Week, April 18-22. The WAC isn't fasting in observance of Holy Week, however. The organization is gathering folks to participate in the fast as physical protest and witness to the Washington State budget plan. Following the example of extremely influential champions of justice such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela (not to mention JC), the WAC describes the fast as having "great spiritual power."

Not into fasting? That's cool too. The WAC offers several ways to join in the protest, from going to the state capitol in Olympia and fasting in community, to simply taking 20-30 minutes to reach out to state legislators and voice concern. Whatever action you take, you can register with the WAC and let them know you are in solidarity with the marginalized Washingtonians that are most greatly impacted by state budget cuts--the homeless, the sick, the hungry, the elderly and the children. This earns some major points in my book for Washington state religious communities.

LOL

"It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it." -G.K. Chesterton

Lent & Rango: It's About the Desert

Forgot to mention this, but I made another post on The Other Journal back in March. Read it here.

Novena of Grace

Yesterday marked the beginning of the 2011 Novena of Grace, a preached Lenten retreat sponsored by my mom and featuring my dad. If you cannot attend the actual novena, you can pray it at home and listen to the talks that are uploaded on the Ignatian Spirituality Center website. I'm planning on making all of the days (missing the last day as I will be out of town). It's a simple commitment that deepens the experience of moving into Lent, and focuses me on God. Plus, I get to see my folks doing their thing. Win win win. Also, repent repent repent!