Giant's Ring

Pictures can be so deceiving.  Here I am standing at the center of the Giant's Ring - a neolithic burial site outside of Belfast, that dates from perhaps 3000 B.C.  There is something about touching stones from so long ago that intrigues me no end.....And since I left my helicopter at home the next aerial photo shows you where I am in the ring...can you see the rocks in the middle?

Sometimes we view our problems as filling up the entire lens of our perceptions....but when we view the "bigger picture" we can hardly find them....is there something that is filling your lens today that might look better from a different perspective?

to choose happiness...

"Ultimately, happiness comes down

to choosing between the discomfort

of becoming aware of your mental afflictions

and the discomfort of being ruled by them."

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

this painting "The Road to Happiness'

is by Louise Bova.

See more of her work here.

blowing the dust away

There is an old African proverb that states that Antelope walk together in pairs in order to blow the dust from one another's eyes.  

I was listening to a CD from the SDI seminar in which a speaker mentioned that this was a perfect metaphor for what Spiritual Directors do. We don't direct anyone. Instead, we journey beside a person helping them remove the dust, in order to see more clearly what was already there. And we are all Spiritual Directors for one another.

God's Path is not Our Path

"God travels wonderful paths

with human beings;

God does not arrange matters

to suit our opinions and views,

does not follow the path

that humans would like to prescribe for God.

God's path is free and original

beyond our ability

to understand or to prove."

- D. Bonhoeffer

 

this photo is looking back towards the road

as we journeyed into Ballynoe.  That wee

speck of light in the distance is sometimes

all one can see of one's path in life.

Struell Wells

Sally took Terry and I to visit some ancient Celtic sites in County Down.  One of them was Struell Wells, which dates from before the time of Saint Patrick. Claims have been made that dear Patrick not only came to bless the holy wells but also to  bathe in them & would spend a great deal of the night standing  in the water singing the psalms.  He must have been quite the hardy soul as I lost feeling in my fingers  just posing for this picture!

People came from far and wide but the most documented visists occurred from the 16th to the 19th century, as pilgrims would travel to the wells to bathe in hopes of finding a cure for their maladies. 

According to Terry, (who knows his Celtic history) some of the pilgrims became a bit "boisterous" and there was too much "fraternizing" happening between the men and the women in the bath houses so the pilgrimages were eventually shut down!  (The bath houses are quite close to each other and I think they were probably all  just trying to keep warm :) 

Did I mention how cold the water was?

Praying Flowers

"All creation teaches us

some way of prayer."

-Thomas Merton

This photo was taken from inside the Shrine Room

at Jampa Ling.  The flowers were pressing against the

window in such a way as to say, "Let us in!"

More Jampa Ling

The Aims of the Retreat Centre include:

1) To preserve the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and culture through teaching meditation and Dharma practice.

2) To assist in the re-establishment of monasteries in Tibet.

3) To work for the re-establishment of Buddhism in Mongolia and relieve the difficulties of the Mongolian people.
4) To promote inter-faith dialogue at a deep spiritual level in the context of the work for peace in this island.
5) To support Tibetan refugees and their monasteries in India.
6) To work for peaceful co-existence between all living beings.
7) To encourage conservation of earth’s natural resources and to develop an awareness of the interdependence of existence.

Through the establishment of Asral NGO in 2001("asral"  means "compassion" in Mongolian) Ven. Panchen Otrul Rinpoche aims to prevent the disintegration of families through establishing means of educating children who live in dire poverty.  Click here to learn more about the work being done in Mongolia.

This is a photo of the mantle taken in the Shrine Room

Another view of the Shrine Room.

One can't feel anything but "happy" in this room.  The vivid colors create an atmosphere of vitality and growth.  I was delighted to see the basket of peat sitting next to the stove. This is the only peat fire that I experienced on this trip.

Here we all are! Sally, Me, Ven. Panchen Otrul Rinpoche, Ven. Margery Cross, and Father Terrence Moran, C.SS.R. (This is the first time I've been able to say that I've had the most hair of anyone in a group photo:)