When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry

Some people seek out the adrenaline rush that comes from confronting our fears.  They go skydiving and who knows what else.  On the television program called “Fear Factor ” people confronted their fears because they got paid for doing it.  For some people, this happens all the time.  There is no need to seek it.  Just leaving the house produces anxious feelings.

The worst part of suffering from an anxiety disorder is the belief that the problem is unique to them.  They don’t know that other people have the same fears.

Anxiety disorder is a learned reaction to stress.  But the qualities that make us debilitated also make us good employees.  Sensitive, hard working, holding yourself accountable to high standard.  Fear doesn’t have to be debilitating to the point where it interferes with your life.  Sometimes that means being at the mercy of any too many “what-if” conjectures that for “normal” people would not be so limiting.  For some people, spirituality is debilitating because many of us weren’t allowed to question what was taught.

Feel the fear, do it anyway.  You will be OK.  When you do face it, you will be given the gift of knowing what comes out at the other side of your fears.

See Rachel Naomi Remen at www.rachelremen.com/.  She has two books: 

Dr. Remen’s tells stories about real people with fears such as: that we don’t belong, that we are powerless, that there is no place of safety or refuge for us. The healing they find heals us all.

Candles were lit for Donnie Williams, brother of Barb Wade, the master gardener who has been consulting with us on the grounds;  Beth who is in Mt Carmel; Thurman’s 76th birthday (Thurman has returned safely from his travels and is quoting Dylan Thomas on the topic of birthdays);  Teri Cornell’s granddaughter; Charlotte’s friend; the people and wildlife of Louisiana; and members Kimberly and Barb H. who are not able to be with us because of their current difficult life circumstances.

Joys:  We have new cushions for those among us who have difficulty sitting for such a long time on hard chairs.

The Yard sale is coming on June 11.  Get your stuff ready.

Matt and Emily brought refreshments today.

The children’s story was of the Blind man and the hunter.

Jan is trying to solve the problem of the Kroger fund-raising program.  We must certify with the Federal IRS that we are a tax exempt organization.  She is recruiting help to solve the IRS form for that certification.

Courage had surgery on his shoulder but has come  through the surgery well.

We were all asked to consider “Dreams” for Martin Luther King’s birthday.  Particularly, David asked us to define the “American Dream.”  Being Americans, we were all asked about whether we were happy, since the Declaration of Independence specifically mentions life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  Happiness is not being offered, only the right to pursue it.  Martin Luther King’s dream was, in part, to eradicate the effects of poverty in America.  When he died, he was helping out the sanitation workers.

This idea of the American dream is harder to figure out than it used to be.  Once it could have simply been that every American has the opportunity to move up in the world without regard to previous social status.  It was also tied to the hope and dream that one’s children had the opportunity to achieve a better life than you yourself had achieved.  This was certainly true in the 19th century when there was plenty of land to homestead and cities were growing up where there had only been grass and trees just a scant few years back.  Today, the American dream has changed into something different than it was.

We’re researching and expanding sound modern scholarship about the ancient Celts and other Indo-European peoples, in order to reconstruct what the Old Religions of Europe really were. We’re working on the development of genuine artistic skills in composition and presentation. We’re designing and performing competent magical and religious ceremonies to change ourselves and the world we live in. We’re adapting the polytheologies and customs of both the Indo-European Paleopagans and the Neopagan traditions that have been created over the last fifty years.

We’re creating a non-sexist, non-racist, organic and open religion to practice as a way of life and to hand on to our grandchildren. We’re integrating ecological awareness, alternative healing arts and psychic development into our daily activities. Together, we’re sparking the next major phase in the evolution of Neopaganism and planting seeds for generations to come.

Prelude: “Sister Moon, ” Daughters of the Celter Moon, By Lisa Lynne.

Bell Tone

Chalice Lighting

Welcome / Opening Words

Children’s Reading

Announcements

Joys, Concerns, Birthdays

Offertory / Music meditation, “Maiden Dance,” by Lisa Lynne.

Responsive Reading

Facilitator: Shawn Scott

Topic: Druidry

Speaker: Mike Dangler

Comments / Discussion

Reading of the Covenant

Closing Music, “Brigid Cruise/Black Muddy River,” By Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter and O’Carolin.

You are invited for refreshments.

Thank you for attending.