Daily Practice for 2016.01.07

Word

I am focusing on using people's vision words for 2016 for a few daily prayers. Today, I am using "compassion" from Corina to guide my selections. If you share your word, I will use it over the next few days!

When I think of compassion, I think of love for the others that is rooted in our humanness. That is love for others just because they are. Ultimately, what my tradition would call neighbor love:  Love your neighbor as yourself. I also think of the two pieces of the word "com" for together and "passion" for strong emotions. Maybe a definition could be "feeling with" or "feeling together" or "caring for one another." Onward!

Opening

Let my heart rise up to meet mercy, my voice to meet compassion, my hands to meet action.

BIBOLove: Breath In, Breath Out--yum

Music

In Love we Trust, by MC Yogi

I won’t give up
I believe in love
In love we trust

Readings

Know Your Self as Light.
Bigger even, than Breath.
Larger even, than the Whole.
Quieter even, than the Quiet that holds You.

Know Your Self as Held.
Softer even, than as before;
Deeper even, than any Darkness.

When the Lightbody of You
breathes without borders,
knows not
even the concept,
or of any bounds at all...

when you Know Your Self
as only Light
summoning the Mystery
to move through You -

exquisite, innocent instrument
of the long
long, eternity of song

then

Know Your Self as
Life's greatest Laughter;
Life's greatest Love,
beckoning the Mystery

come hither...

Source: silent sacred holy deepening heart (Silvergirl Publications, 2009)

Sacred Text 

Zechariah 7:8-10
Proverb 8
Psalm 112

Please bring your own sacred readings to the daily pattern. Those selected here are chosen from the Christian scripture cycle of daily readings, the Daily Lectionary, at commontexts.org

Sacred Quotable

Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival.”― Dalai Lama XIV

Prayers

2016.01.07

For the oppressed and weary
Especially for #blacklivesmatter and
for the LGBTQIAP community.
For signs of despair and violence,
for civilians starving in Madaya, Syria, 
for the escalation of action between Saudi Arabia and Iran,
for the dozens of police killed in Zliten, Libya by extremists 
for the mass shooting incident in Lakeland, Florida: 3 killed 
for US victims of gun violence in the last 72 hours, 232 incidents, 68 killed, 113 injured
For signs of hope and peace,
for joy experienced when water comes to a drought stricken land in Queensland
for the indictment of Trooper Brian Encinia in the Sandra Bland case in Texas
for those who seek to be compassionate, especially Corina
For Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
For those who suffer, are homeless, or are sick
For those we love, those we hate and those we are indifferent to
For the transformation from ME to WE

Let peace prevail on earth.
So mote it be.

News Notes:

Mass shooting resource
Prayer cycle of the world's countries
Good news

Lord’s Prayer

Translation by Neil Douglas Klotz, Sufi

O Birther! Creator of the Cosmos,
Focus your light within us— make it useful:
Create your reign of unity now-
Your one desire then acts with ours,
as in all light, so in all forms.
Grant what we need each day in bread and insight.
Loose the cords of mistakes binding us,
as we release the strands we hold
of others’ guilt.
Don’t let surface things delude us,
But free us from what holds us back.
From you is born all ruling will,
the power and the life to do,
the song that beautifies all,
from age to age it renews.
Truly— power to these statements—
may they be the ground from which all
my actions grow: Amen.

May Peace Prevail on Earth. Amen. So mote it be.

Notes:
"Amen" means "may it be so."
"May peace prevail on earth." is an addition inspired by Michael Dickel 
BIBOLove is an addition attributed to the work of Soyinka Rahim, InterPlay practice, BIBOLove