are conscious of our treasures. –Thornton Wilder Article Source: ThinkSimpleNow ...Research shows that grateful people have, “higher reported levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy . . .” You will find a positive emotional state by simply focusing on the parts of your life that you are most thankful for. Appreciate the abundance in your life. Being grateful is an energizing way to start your day and a relaxing way to end it. Tony Robbins suggests to list out all the things you are grateful for as you warm up for your morning exercise. Deepak Chopra has incorporated gratitude exercises into his guided meditations. Swamiji has added similar techniques in his guided meditation Nithya Dhyann....
positive, both emotionally and physically. Try one or two of these tools for two weeks and feel the benefits yourself. You will be amazed at what you discover....
things for which you are grateful. Start with just five things. You will soon see that your list is much longer than you expected. Personally, I have found that the best part of a Gratitude Journal is the record it creates; pages and pages of my personal history of abundance. c. Gratitude Rock: Find a rock that feels good in your hand. Name it your ‘gratitude rock’, carry it with you along with your keys and wallet. The idea is to remember and say “Thank You” for something in your life, each time you touch or see the rock. ... An actual rock is not necessary; you can use anything small as a figurative representation. My mother uses a cute little keychain as her gratitude rock. d. Gratitude Beads: Collect a short string of unique beads, and give significance to each one. As you run your fingers through them, with each bead, think of one thing you are grateful for. If you use beads in this way, gratitude can be a bridge to meditation and peace. At bedtime, instead of thinking peaceful thoughts and resting, my mind may be overtaken with all the things I have left to do. Running my fingers over gratitude beads allow me to focus on my many wonders and blessings as I go to sleep. e. Wheel of Gratitude: Use this tool to make a mental map of who and what you are grateful for in your life. Simon Perkins’ blog offers this technique as
cut through our self-imposed limitations and start enjoying life.” This is a compact display of all the richness in your life (and it fits neatly inside the cover of your Gratitude Journal.)
product called the gratitude diet with a daily 10 minute video for you to watch and relax into. The videos are designed to put you in a state of abundance and gratitude.... |
| - |
| AUDIO |
 |
peace.... |
| We here in |
| aaa |
appears; now in calm anticipation; now this sacred, still, unmeasured interval I dedicate to thee. Wherever are revived the dying, comforted the grieving, given hope the flagging spirits, raised the fallen, fed the hungry souls; Wherever life begins again, where nothing is impossible, and where the very sun is robed and vested; where the angels from their rest arise; Where all are baptized in the freshet, pure emerging, venom banished in ignominy and washed away; Where common things become a garden, radiant with color, light, and form; Where light is born; Where all the universe declares benevolent intent; Where music out of silence grows, where all from nothing comes and all that ends begins: Carry me, O Father-Mother God, to this enchanted shore, that I as well may be reborn and dwell in innocence again. Thine angels send among the suffering. Where they are fragile, make them strong; where broken, make them sound; their pain assuage, evaporate, distill. Thine all-annealing love bestow, and where it finds a cold, unyielding heart, thy shining grace impart, to melt the very stones that guard thehermit’s door, that light may enter and embrace. God, where glory lives, accept our weary selves, complete us. Open our insensate eyes, that we might recognize the riches we possess, and the provision we require — before us now, already ours; all beauty at our feet, all sound by heaven’s choir made crystalline; all that is lovely, seen, recalled; and all abundance – everything we need and more, beyond the sum of ancient dreams and unfulfilled desires. January 22, 2006 |
| aaa |
|
 |
 |
| We recommend choosing a number of sections (activities, exercises, etc.) and working on them for an hour or so over the course of each day. Note what works well for you and what doesn't, and let us know if you'd like. (It's not required!) When you find your groove, THEN make a commitment to a daily practice. Be flexible. Alternate days and activities. DO NOT WORRY IF YOU SKIP A DAY. This guide presumably has a Christian slant. It isn't meant to. It's just that we are Christians, you see, and that's the vocabulary we know. We're more aware of Christian resources (and meditation resources) than of other types. We will be editing it along the way whether we hear from you or not -- so you might as well be heard. USE THE FORM AT RIGHT WHENEVER YOU LIKE. |
|
| aaa |
| Also see Prayers, Prayer Songs, & Devotionals |
| We here in the Annagrammatica Department of Weighty Spiritual Matters try not to take ourselves too seriously. When we talk to God, or about God, it's easy to slip into a role, complete with jargon... such as church-speak ("...and we do beseech you this day, O Lord, to look favorably upon all our endeavors and answer our prayers according to your perfect will, and hold us blah-ty blah blah"). |
| Our point, best we can recall, is that people sometimes think that we are mocking God when we're being silly. Au contraire. Silliness is one of the best things going, so it stands to reason God knows all about it and approves. One of us in the office here is a mini- ster, and she was recently voted Most Likely to Get the Giggles During Her Own Mother's Funeral (which took place more than 30 years ago, and she didn't, |
| We here in |
| any more than we "disapprove" (as IF) when someone refers to God as "Dude." It's just not our style, and, in any case, we have it on good authority that God appreciates "a joyful noise," singing and dancing and playing upon the harp and timbrel, which, we misplaced ours but we're saving our denarii for a new one (oh, wait, would that be shekels?).... |
| but that's beside the point). This feature, "Daily Spiritual Practice," was her idea, based on the premise that the most sin- cere spiritual seekers often need struc- ture if they are to "tend" their spirituality. The individual of whom we are speaking has Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (we are using the modifier Adult here in the same way people sometimes use the word male, as in, "See that guy over there? Bubba? He's a male nurse"). She takes A.D.D. medicine, which works well in controlling her more extreme |
| extreme impulses such as wandering away and ending up on a bus to Las Cruces. But she is, by her own admission, too easily diverted from the prayer, meditation, study, and reflection that helps her maintain balance, optimism, energy, and an attitude of loving- kindness. |
| impulses such as wandering away and ending up on a bus to Las Cruces. But she is, by her own admission, too easily diverted from the prayer, meditation, study, and reflection that help her maintain balance, optimism, energy, and an attitude of lovingkindness. |
 |
| not beat yourself up if you miss a day, a week, two weeks, two years of spiritual practice... it is never too late to start again... you have never been outside the realm of love... right now is all there is.... |
 |
Do the Gratitude
Dance
Dance
 |
the richest single prayer resource of the Christian Church. It provides prayers, psalms and meditation for every hour of every day. It has existed from the earliest times, to fulfil the Lord's command to pray without ceasing. Never monotonous, always new, it provides the every day of every year. All over the world, hundreds of thousands of priests and religious have vowed to pray the Liturgy daily, and all over the world they do, in public and in private, in tin shacks and cathedrals, in palaces and in prison camps. —Universalis.com
part of page).... |
 |
| AUDIO |
| The Choral Mass |
 |
Mozart, c. 1780, by Johann
Nepomuk della Croce
Nepomuk della Croce
 |
 |
| Anna- grammatica's Poem of the Week |
| AUDIO |
its opening line Agios O Theos or by the Latin Tersanctus, is a standard hymn of the Divine Liturgy in most of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Catholic Churches. In those Churches which use the Byzantine Rite, the Trisagion is chanted immediately before the Prokeimenon and the Epistle Reading. —Wikipedia |
 |
 |
| aaa |
 |
Menas on 6th-century Coptic icon (Egypt).
|
chanted (Sephardic pronunciation) (Judaism) 3e. Jewish and Muslim prayer (see below) |
| aaaa |
|
|
 |
Most of us, in the U.S., at least, take clean water for
granted... not to mention hot, running right out of
the faucet!
We're wasting a perfectly good ablution.
We here in the Annagrammatica Department of
Weighty Spiritual Matters can't give you a
ready-made ritual, though we can do most
everything else, because we don't know whether you
bathe or shower, scrub your face or baby it, shave it
or slather on emollients. We DO know that using
water -- drinking it, immersing yourself or showering
in it, or splashing it on your face -- presents a
wonderful opportunity to be grateful as well as
mindful (focused, centered, present in the moment,
pick a word or phrase).
A kind of baptism...
Think of showering or bathing as a kind of
baptism. Say a prayer as brief and simple as "I am
sorry for my thoughts, words, and actions that have
expressed jealousy, anger, bitterness, prolonged
regret or guilt, pessimism, despair. By your grace, O
God, I am made clean and new from this moment."
More: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew
a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your
presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore in me the joy of your salvation and uphold me
with your free spirit. By your grace, O God, I am
made clean again, light and swift, joyful in my
purpose under heaven, because of the burden that has
been lifted from me. Praise and thanks to you, the
everlasting, almighty God. Amen."
granted... not to mention hot, running right out of
the faucet!
We're wasting a perfectly good ablution.
We here in the Annagrammatica Department of
Weighty Spiritual Matters can't give you a
ready-made ritual, though we can do most
everything else, because we don't know whether you
bathe or shower, scrub your face or baby it, shave it
or slather on emollients. We DO know that using
water -- drinking it, immersing yourself or showering
in it, or splashing it on your face -- presents a
wonderful opportunity to be grateful as well as
mindful (focused, centered, present in the moment,
pick a word or phrase).
A kind of baptism...
Think of showering or bathing as a kind of
baptism. Say a prayer as brief and simple as "I am
sorry for my thoughts, words, and actions that have
expressed jealousy, anger, bitterness, prolonged
regret or guilt, pessimism, despair. By your grace, O
God, I am made clean and new from this moment."
More: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew
a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your
presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore in me the joy of your salvation and uphold me
with your free spirit. By your grace, O God, I am
made clean again, light and swift, joyful in my
purpose under heaven, because of the burden that has
been lifted from me. Praise and thanks to you, the
everlasting, almighty God. Amen."
Ablutions (or ablution, though the plural
form is usual), in nonreligious terms, are
basically the personal-hygiene washing-up
things you do in the morning, or at any time
during the day that you do them purposefully
and might even see them as ritualistic.
Maybe your morning "ablutions" consist of
taking a shower and washing your hair... or
just washing your face, brushing your teeth,
and rinsing with mouthwash if you shower at
night. If you're in a hurry, you might not
give much thought to any of it. It's what you
do out of habit and necessity. After all, you
can't go to your job or school with fuzzy teeth!
form is usual), in nonreligious terms, are
basically the personal-hygiene washing-up
things you do in the morning, or at any time
during the day that you do them purposefully
and might even see them as ritualistic.
Maybe your morning "ablutions" consist of
taking a shower and washing your hair... or
just washing your face, brushing your teeth,
and rinsing with mouthwash if you shower at
night. If you're in a hurry, you might not
give much thought to any of it. It's what you
do out of habit and necessity. After all, you
can't go to your job or school with fuzzy teeth!
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sometimes this type of jargon comes naturally and honestly, out of great devotion. We don't knock it, |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
On the topic "prayer" alone, there are 612 entries. Under "Blessing on
Food" there are four subcategories and 26 entries, including this one:
Food" there are four subcategories and 26 entries, including this one:
- Baruch Attah.... Part 1: Holy Bananas. By Tzvi Freeman. Mindful eating
begins by opening a channel. Tzvi Freeman works backwards, step by
step, disclosing the thoughts behind a mindful blessing
Love, parts 1-5 |
Here at Annagrammatica International HQ, where our policy is Preferential Hiring for Silliness
Majors, we greatly enjoyed "Holy Bananas" as the title of a class on prayer and eating.
Majors, we greatly enjoyed "Holy Bananas" as the title of a class on prayer and eating.
The mission of Chabad.org is to "utilize Internet technology to unite Jews worldwide,
empower them with knowledge of their 3,300-year-old tradition, and foster within them a
deeper connection to Judaism's rituals and faith."
empower them with knowledge of their 3,300-year-old tradition, and foster within them a
deeper connection to Judaism's rituals and faith."
What a wonderful wealth of knowledge and ideas you'll find on this website. We are not
Jewish, but we have enjoyed several of the audio courses and we are planning to watch
the 12-part Jewish.TV class "The Theory of Everything" (quantum physics and Kabbalah)
starting tonight.
Jewish, but we have enjoyed several of the audio courses and we are planning to watch
the 12-part Jewish.TV class "The Theory of Everything" (quantum physics and Kabbalah)
starting tonight.
(There are so many tempting offerings--all free as far as we can tell--on this
site, the above are suggested as a place to start.)
site, the above are suggested as a place to start.)
It is unnecessary to have a low self-image when
you can easily invent some criteria by which you
are a success. What makes anyone else’s
criteria more valid than your own?
From the Torah point of view, there is inherent
value in every person. Man was created in the
image of the Almighty (Genesis 1:27 and 5:1)
and is the pinnacle of creation. By accepting
and internalizing this attitude a person
appreciates he has value just because he exists.
"Don't Worry, Be Happy," on
SimpleToRemember.com
you can easily invent some criteria by which you
are a success. What makes anyone else’s
criteria more valid than your own?
From the Torah point of view, there is inherent
value in every person. Man was created in the
image of the Almighty (Genesis 1:27 and 5:1)
and is the pinnacle of creation. By accepting
and internalizing this attitude a person
appreciates he has value just because he exists.
"Don't Worry, Be Happy," on
SimpleToRemember.com
 | Crash Course in Jewish | |
| History | ||
| Jewish Impact on | |
| Civilization |
Rabbi Ken Spiro
The hour-long "Jewish
Impact on Civilization" class
should be required listening
for... well, everyone. The
"Crash Course" is fascinating;
Rabbi Spiro is never, ever
dull. Listen anytime.
| Most Jewish holidays can be explained as follows: "They want- ed to kill us. We won. Let's eat." |
| THE HOUR-LONG 'JEWISH IMPACT ON CIVILIZATION' CLASS SHOULD BE REQUIRED LISTENING FOR... WELL, EVERYONE |
2. Gloria (2:04) 3. Credo (5:46) 4. Sanctus-Benedictus (7:36) 5. Agnus Dei Ex Cathedra conducted by Jeffrey Skidmore Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla (c. 1590 - 1664) was a composer of New Spain (a viceroyalty of Spain that included modern day Mexico, Guatemala, the Philippines and other parts of Central America and the Caribbean). He was born in Málaga, Spain but moved to Puebla, Mexico, in 1620 to compose music in the new world. Padilla is one of the more important composers represented in the manuscripts at Puebla, Mexico and the Hackenberry collection in Chicago, Illinois. He worked at Puebla de Los Angeles, Mexico, which in Baroque times was a bigger religious center than Mexico City itself. He was appointed maestro de capilla of Puebla Cathedral in 1628. The majority of his vast output (over 700 pieces survive) include sacred motets, often for double choir, in the Renaissance style or stile antico as well as sacred villancicos. It often includes accompaniments for organ or various stringed instruments. |
 |
grassy slope, where trees protect and decorate and cast their pleasing shadows on the water; and where children, hyacinths, and roses, cucumbers, and peppers grow, and snowy linens hung to dry are blowing in the breeze. Inside, bread rises in the oven, herbs depend from oaken beams, and last night’s chicken in its steaming broth becomes this evening’s stew, tomorrow’s casserole. An old man and a young man and a boy are sharing rituals and mending fences, while a woman, unaccountably serene, sips coffee, shuts her eyes, and says a prayer of thanks for all that providence provides. But on this side are broken shutters, dusty shelves, unanswered letters, leaves in piles, and moldy flower beds; and seams half-sewn on half-done dresses; half-forgotten words in half-read books; and pressing obligations half-remembered, half despaired of. Morning struggles through the cloudy panes of windows — gray and half-neglected or, perhaps, defied. A pallid beam succeeds at last and penetrates the barrier. It comes to rest upon the drooping pothos, which persists in barely living, never mind the diffidence its garden is. The ray of sullen light turns motes of dust to fireflies. At first they float at random; then they glide; then, whimsical, they dance as if to challenge gravity or chance; as if they will their time aloft, to have an audience, to shine like stars. They catch the sun and flicker. They have won a moment’s glory. Soon it ends, but they have shone. On the other side are peace and order; on this side is eagerness to venture over, cross the wide, forbidding border, to be purposeful and more, to yet achieve, to meet and to exceed an expectation, even one—to finish what’s begun; half- perfection wishing to be whole, to be forgiven for attaining less than paradise. But for all that, this side is painted with the brush that, dipped in heaven’s glory, must in time adorn the swale with yellow clover and, today, in dust makes manifest the morning stars. |
| On This Side A Psalm of Gratitude |
(from www.rc.net) From the earliest days of Christianity, the disciples gathered for the 'breaking of bread', commemorating what Jesus did at the Last Supper and remembering how he died and rose again. The celebration developed with time, into what we now call the Mass. It became more fixed in its general format and the prayers became rather more formal and less spontaneous -- but it remained the same in its essence. As the Passover is in some ways the centre of the Jewish identity, so the Mass has a similar place in the life of the Church. Like the Passover, it is more than just a celebration. Unlike the Passover, it doesn't only bring the past into the present in a certain sense, but in reality. Just as the Jews recalled in words and actions the events of the first Passover, so we do the same with the events of the first Easter -- and as we do so, we are drawn into the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection, so that it becomes a power to renew and reform our own lives, and Christ comes among us in the forms of bread and wine.... |
| The Order of Mass (from wikipedia) ... (Latin: Ordo Missae), also called the Ordinary of the Mass, is the set of texts of the Roman Rite Mass that are generally invariable. This contrasts with the proper, which are items of the Mass that change with the feast or following the Liturgical Year. ... The following parts... are traditionally sung by a choir. The texts are invariable except for the Tridentine Mass Agnus Dei. 1.Kyrie eleison ("Lord, have mercy") 2.Gloria ("Glory to God in the highest") 3.Credo ("I believe in one God"), the Nicene Creed 4.Sanctus ("Holy, Holy, Holy"), the second part of which, beginning with the word "Benedictus" ("Blessed is he"), was often sung separately after the consecration, if the setting was long. (See Benedictus for other chants beginning with that word.) 5.Agnus Dei ("Lamb of God") The Kyrie eleison was traditionally sung in Greek, the others in Latin. But the use of other languages, once a rare privilege only given to the Slavs of Dalmatia (in present day Croatia) who used Old Church Slavonic written in Glagolitic characters, is now more common than the use of Latin and Greek.... |
The central prayers of every Mass contain, in
one form or another, the following elements:
1.A prayer asking the Holy Spirit to come
down upon the gifts of bread and wine, so
that they may become the body and blood
of Christ.
2.A brief account of Christ's words at the Last
Supper, along the lines of the section in italics
in the above passage.
3.A prayer which calls to mind the fact that
Christ died for our sake, rose from the dead,
and one day will come again in glory.
4.A prayer for the Holy Spirit to come upon
those who are gathered in this celebration, so
that the events we recall may be effective in
their lives.
one form or another, the following elements:
1.A prayer asking the Holy Spirit to come
down upon the gifts of bread and wine, so
that they may become the body and blood
of Christ.
2.A brief account of Christ's words at the Last
Supper, along the lines of the section in italics
in the above passage.
3.A prayer which calls to mind the fact that
Christ died for our sake, rose from the dead,
and one day will come again in glory.
4.A prayer for the Holy Spirit to come upon
those who are gathered in this celebration, so
that the events we recall may be effective in
their lives.
The Kyrie,
Sanctus, and
Agnus Dei are
part of every
Mass.
| 1950s Catholic "Mass Card" |
The Cup -- sanctified
wine for the Mass
wine for the Mass
| Here at Annagram- matica Int'l HQ, we are grateful for...
|
| AUDIO |
Christian Gospel by 3 Titans of Gospel--This WILL get your blood moving
16 eclectic prayer settings, songs, and motivators
 |
| AUDIO |
Jewish and Muslim Prayer
| 39 Laws of Shabbat |
| Islamic Art: Medieval Manuscript Page |
| ECCLESIA GNOSTICA: Sunday Homilies from the Diocesan Center For more audio, video, and print resources, please see the Gnostic Society (Los Angeles) HOME PAGE |
