Episode 2, "The Gravity of Grace"
A nun & a priest walk into a podcast...
The Dearly Beloved Round Tables podcast.
Your hosts:
Reverend Libby Tedder Hugus & Ordained Buddhist Nun, Ani Wisdom Awaken, aka Jessika Waldron.
Our second guest is one of our co-hosts: Rev. Libby Tedder Hugus, organizing Pastor of The Table in Casper, Wy.
This second episode of the podcast invites our listeners to participate! Send blessings and reflections to our guest, Libby. What do you hear God saying back to her?
Try participating in the this practice also.
Set aside 30 minutes for deep connection to self & God.
Select a journal or piece of paper on which you can write your letters.
Set the space with care and kindness: candle, cup of tea, soft blanket, quiet music.
Breathe deeply and/or move your body to move the energy.
Set a timer for 10 minutes and just write: what does your letter to God say?
Pause in between - breathe a few cleansing breaths.
Set another timer for 10 minutes and just write: how does The Beloved respond to you?
Breathe deeply and/or move your body to move the energy.
We invite you to share your reflections in the form of questions - comments - prayers. We wanna hear from you!
Dearly Beloved - Round Tables is a partnership of The Table, Casper and Red Clay Abbey.
Links to references & resources:
Mary Undoer of Knots
Icon for prayer & contemplation
* many available icons with a quick google search, this artist has a beautiful one
* information about Mary Undoer of Knots inside this book
Lenten Pause: Fast from strength and holding it all together (Embracing tenderness and vulnerability)
Poem
"Now is the time to know
That all that you do is sacred.
Now, why not consider
A lasting truce with yourself and God.
Now is the time to understand
That all your ideas of right and wrong
Were just a child's training wheels
To be laid aside
When you finally live
With veracity
And love...
My dear, please tell me,
Why do you still
Throw sticks at your heart
And God?
What is it in that sweet voice inside
That incites you to fear?
Now is the time for the world to know
That every thought and action is sacred.
This is the time
For you to compute the impossibility
That there is anything
But Grace.
Now is the season to know
That everything you do
Is sacred."
- Hafiz
(Excerpt from "Today" as translated by Daniel Ladinsky for The Gift: Poems of Hafiz)
Such a beautiful practice. Libby, your willingness to be open and vulnerable gives permission for all your listeners to do so as well. Your letter resonates so much with me... Your tantrum to Mother God - your angst of why spiritual growth and fulfillment can't be linear, just all of it! I've always measured my spiritual growth by how good and disciplined I can be in God's word and in my own actions and have failed too many times to count. I love Mother God's love letter back to you; so loving, nurturing and supportive. Thank you for sharing your letters with all of us. Blessings 🙏❤️