Page 398 of 433

Posted on

feast days of the heart

IMG_6835the gentle coasting of a blue dragonfly, and
this, the pulsing peace of a quiet afternoon,
Bach on the radio, dinner simmering
on the stove of my tranquility, my day
chasing night, my night chasing day,
rhythms caressing my face, love-bites
on the leg of my being, heart beating
at one with the ocean sighs and
only gratitude for the gift of life,
no more scandalized by the news of
death, baptism into heaven, whatever
that may be, but the reports center on
Kiev, Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan –
easy to foment flash-points for horror

easier to forget just how sweet it is
to breath with the sun and grow
with the cypress bending by the shore,
obeisance to the seas and sky and
living on the edge of Eternity: time to
give it up, give up strife for Lent, only
celebrate resurrections with steaming
sweet greens, scented with onion,
over shared bowls of rice, knowing the
ground of being* is a feast-day of the heart
stirred by the breeze of Spirit winging

– Jamie Dedes

* “being” as in Tillich’s third role of being: Christ manifesting as the “New Being,” the acutalization of the work of the Holy Spirit (as I understand it and I’m not a student of theology or divinity except in a most casual auto-didactic sense)

Excerpted from Issue 4 of The BeZine

To read the work of other writers and poets link HERE.

© 2014 poem, 2015, photograph, Jamie Dedes, All rights reserved

Posted on

The Be Zine, Volume 1, Issue 4, Table of Contents with Links

THE BeZINE

BE inspired … BE creative … BE peace … BE

Volume 1, Issue 4

a publication of Beguine Again and The Bardo Group

Biographies of our Core Team and our Guest Contributors are HERE.

IMG_4251

Flower illustrations for this month’s header and table of contents page © 2015, Jamie Dedes, All rights reserved

IMG_4594

The inspiration for this month’s theme is the Christian celebration of Lent, which involves a tradition of fasting and that in turn evolved into “Abundance or Lack of Abundance.”

You’ll find that our contributors have broadened the idea of fasting and also pulled out childhood memories to lend depth to their work.  Our lead pieces include features by Imen Benyoub on fasting in the tradition of Islam; Priscilla Gallaso, who looks to nature for wisdom; and Corina Ravenscraft who offers some ways to assist the hungry.

Included among those poets offering theme-related poems are Myra Schneider, Charles W. Martin and Joseph Hesch.

February is the month of romantic love and we’ve had some fun with it. Not to be missed is Karen Fayeth’s tale, Waiting for Betty. More than a few folks may find their funny bones tickled by because love poems are elegies and everyone will be moved by Imen’s sweetly romantic  poem, Stangers Meet.

Not least of this month’s treasures are Liliana Negoi’s Little Accidents, a morality tale; Joe Hesch’s poems; Ruth Jewell’s homage to the New Testament scholar, Marcus Borg; and Naomi Baltuck’s touching photo story commemorating the liberation of the prisoners at Auschwitz and her Drive-by in Detroit.  All this under General Interest.

Thanks for joining us here and for your stalwart support as readers, contributors and advisors.

Many blessings,

Jamie Dedes

IMG_7406

YOUR HELP REQUESTED FOR A SICK CHILD

The work done to publish this magazine and the work contributed is on a volunteer basis.  The ads you see are WordPress ads, not our ads. This is a labor of love and part of our individual and group effort toward peace through understanding the human condition in its beautiful diversity.  We hope that if you enjoy this Zine and benefit from it you will think of making a donation to one of your favorite causes.

This month we are sharing/suggesting a cause that has come to our attention and touched our hearts. It involves one small boy. If you are able and willing to assist, please let us know by email and we will pass your message on to the appropriate person. (bardogroup@gmail.com)

This special request for help comes from a loyal reader (some of you know him), Shakti Ghosal (ESGEE musing, I muse …. as I seek inner peace through Gratitude, Learning and Beauty), who also contributed to this effort when we were just getting started. Shakti is an executive who lives and works in Oman.

“This request comes from my sister-in-law whose husband died of cancer. Since that time, she has worked at helping those suffering from this horrible disease.  Now she writes on behalf of a father who is trying to save his five-year-old son’s life, Shivom, a bright little boy who is suffering from Burkitt’s Lymphoma since November 2014.

“The boy is undergoing treatment (intravenous chemotherapy) in Thakurpukur Cancer Hospital [India] since diagnosis.
The cost estimate given by the hospital is around INR 4 lacs. However, his father is not in a position to arrange the amount by himself.”

Our theme this month:

ABUNDANCE OR LACK OF ABUNDANCE

 and …

A  Celebration of Romantic Love:

VALENTINE’S DAY

IMG_4803

TABLE OF CONTENTS

“Abundance or Lack of Abundance”

Lead Features

Ego, Redundancy, Fasting and Abundance ~ Spiritual Lessons from Nature, Priscilla Galasso

The Month of Light: Fasting in Islam, Imen Benyoub

Bread as the face of God, Corina Ravenscraft

Poetry

Oranges, Myra Schneider

Feast or Famine, Charles W. Martin

Feast Days of the Heart, Jamie Dedes

dealer’s choice, Charles W. Martin

Going Fast, Joseph Hesch

IMG_6911

VALENTINE’S DAY

 Fiction

Waiting for Betty, Karen Fayeth

Poetry

Strangers We Meet, Imen Benyoub

A Portrait in February, Jamie Dedes

because love poems are elegies, Jamie Dedes

GENERAL INTEREST

Feature Articles

Marcus Borg . . . and gratitude for our teachers, Ruth Jewell

Flash Fiction

Little Accidents, Lilliana Negoi

Poetry

Crunch Time, Joseph Hesch

A Natural Talent, Joseph Hesch

Photo Stories

Depth Perception: 70th Anniversary of Auschwitz, Naomi Baltuck

Drive-by Shooting in Detroit, Naomi Baltuck

Volume 1, Issue 1, November 2014

Volume 1, Issue 2, December 2014

Volume1`, Issue 3, January 2015

Posted on

Finding Spirit in Flowers


“When I studied a spiritual form of flower arrangement called Ikebana-Sangetsu, I found I was discovering the connection between all life. I was inspired to create this visual contemplation on the power of flowers to lead you directly into the compassion that underlies the web of connection.” This story “Living Beauty” can be found in Pamela Bloom’s The Power of Compassion: Stories that Open the Heart, Heal the Soul, and Change the World (Hampton Roads, 2010).

A rose captured during a rare rainy evening in Central Park, San Mateo, California
A rose captured during a rare rainy evening in Central Park, San Mateo, California (c) 2014, Jamie Dedes (The Poet by Day), All rights reserved

“It is important to develop and uplift human consciousness through beauty. For that purpose, I would like to encourage people to place flowers everywhere, as the best means of promoting the love of beauty.” Meishu-sama

Posted on

Rumi’s Field

unnamed-3

Life hasn’t lent itself to writing or blogging or even visiting much lately, but I am online for a short time today and wanted to share this old poem – now rewritten – and to invite you to visit a new blogger, Steffi.  Say “hi” and cheer her on.

Also of note: Myra Schneider’s newest poetry collection (it’s fabulous), The Door to Color is out. The latest issue of ArtemisPOETRY is available from Second Light Network, a collective of women poets. It’s engaging as always. Much enjoyed both these works.

Also, details on the third issue of The B Zine are below and we are currently working on Issue 4, which will publish on February 6.  I hope that by mid-February I’ll be seeing more of of you. Meanwhile, you are in my thoughts and prayers!

like the ripeness of crimson, like ground,
opening to growth, the primal sward,
or the harder than rock diamond, the
quiet way a good word cuts out the

voice of deception, draws us into
the nameless as it’s written on glass
to see us though … words have a
way of multiplying themselves like

cells when they divide, like chicks
breaking from their shells, words
burst from our mouths like whales or
dolphins surfacing above water,
their music dances in our ears, sometimes

harmonious, sometimes dissonant, ready
to help or haunt – take hate, door slamming,
end of discussion, or unlatching love,
breaks down walls, willing to debate

or so delectable, like a sweet kiss
the first time before union transfixing,
and prayer, a different sort of melding,
it’s one that transforms us …

that we might make the peace, tear
the ragged pages from the old lexicon,
an act that breaks the binding of our
language to free the fresh sprouts …

pushing though the ether, populating
Rumi’s field, such an opening for grace,
like faith, hope and charity, renewed,
purified, taken clean and hard polished

and used in a poem with a new spirit ~
words, a boat that takes us from here
to there, and having arrived, we let it go …
floating beyond messages of wrong or

of right, in our spring – in Rumi’s field,
we’ll lie down on the lilt of grass, so full,
our peace no longer needing any words
or any poetry, nor even any name  . . .

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing  and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about.”  ― Rumi, Essential Rumi

©2013 poem and 2015 photograph, Jamie Dedes (The Poet by Day), All rights reserved; 

 The B Zine,Volume 1, Issue 3,

a publication of Beguine Again and The Bardo Group

January theme: “The Divine Feminine”

It’s a rich adventure. Check us out.