God our Creator's, Peace, Love & Light to you!

The acronym INRI (Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum) represents the Latin inscription, which in English reads as "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews" … I believe He is The Prince of Peace, the Bringer of Light who offered us the gift of rebirth and hope for our future by the ultimate sacrifice: His very life.
 
I find myself reflecting on what we as a people on this rapidly spinning Blue Planet have done with His gift (today and) tonight, Christmas Eve. I wonder: What will we do, each one … ourselves, in the year ahead, when we receive a welcomed renewal of His Light –burning brightly within each one of us-- this very night?

Regardless of what you BELIEVE: May God, Our Creator’s, Peace, Love and Light creep into your hearts, light your minds, strengthen your Faith and Understanding patience with others who may not be as far along as you are on the path of Spiritual Evolution (... For we are each on our own personal journey).  May our combined lights, thus renewed, spread forth to renew others and light anew the face of this weary land. I rejoice for this notion and for the gift of Jesus, ever-present in my life. Merry Christmas to one and ALL!


~Isabelle Black Smith




[Image Source: John Singleton Copley, “The Nativity” Painting]

Unseen Gifts: Opening Doors

Sometimes trust hurts … Personally, it scares the hell out of me.  But there comes a point where you have to open up, on some level, and begin the process of truly letting others in … sharing what’s going on in the inside of you. Often they, the others, won’t even know --hence they can’t truly appreciate the gift you’re giving them --the effort that you’re going through in order to keep the doors open, but that doesn’t really matter: you know and you keep on trying and that’s enough for now.

What is Prayer?

Always amazes me how many of my adult acquaintances are uncomfortable with the notion of prayer.  I'm not sure if this due to pre-conceived notions that prayer is a religious thing, and maybe they are just too busy to still the noise in their own lives?  Maybe it's a control thing?  They don't feel comfortable opening themselves up to a higher power?  Maybe they simply don't believe or don't want to believe that there is real power in prayer? I'm not entirely certain, but I just find the latter excuses and reasoning baffling because prayer is such an integral part of my way of life and who I am ... Seems I've always had an ongoing dialogue with a higher power, nature and the collective consciousness from my very first memories. 

Image Source (Unknown)

For me, prayer is a spiritual thing not a religious thing.  Prayer, to me, is simply tapping into the collective consciousness --and for me God, our Creator, is at the center of this consciousness-- with a concerted interest in furthering a greater good. It's really not that complicated. Still the noise, open your heart and mind and begin a conversation.  I think that you would truly be surprised at how easily the words and thoughts begin to flow ... Give it a try.  In times like these, what have you got to lose?



Peace & Much Love,

~Isabelle Black Smith




P.S.  I am praying intently for the families of Newtown, Connecticut.  May God, our Creator, Bless them --each one-- as they lay their loved ones to rest and strive to return to some form of 'normal' in their lives.  I was literally disconnected from this earthly world last Thursday and Friday.  It wasn't until Monday and Tuesday of this week that I became fully aware of this tragedy and began to process it in my own heart and mind.  I wrote a poem in the aftermath of the Aurora Movie Theater tragedy that speaks of the resillience of the human spirit and the seeds of hope.  I think this poem provides words of peace, comfort and hope in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook School shooting as well.  Just now recovery from surgery myself, so I have been out of touch and sorts ... thus, I will just provide a link back to this poem instead of making a separate post:  http://whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com/2012/07/another-unnecessary-act-of-violence.html

A Message from Space ...

Praying, reflecting, searching for signs of hope tonight and I happened to stumble across this ....



                 


To view the original HD-version visit:  Giacomo Sardelli


"An extraordinary timelapse video created with pictures from the International Space Station shows Earth as it has never been seen before. The video, called Further Up Yonder, was made by Italian film student Giacomo Sardelli using Nasa stills. Sardelli calls the film a message from the ISS to all humankind"  ~The Guardian UK

          

Black, White, fading shades of Grey ....

Had the strangest dream the other night … I was in a black and white, with shades of grey, 2-D world. Almost like I was a charcoal pencil sketch. The scenery was that of a post-Autumn landscape, with barren tree branches and fallen leaves blowing wildly about.

"Boreas", By John William Waterhouse

(converted to black and white)

In this dream, I was walking along a deserted street just before sunset, I think, when a fierce wind began to blow. The wind was icy cold, making it hard to breath when you faced into it so I turned my back away from the wind and wrapped my arms around me in an effort to stay warm. Then almost out of no where I felt a warm inner glow light inside me and I was able to stand up straight once again and unwrap my arms. Suddenly, the wind no longer felt icy and I was able to turn into the wind. I found myself smiling, with such a sense of inner peace as I faced the wind head-on, radiating with an inner glow. And as the wind blew, my physical body began to disolve and break into tiny little pieces that scattered in many different directions with the various gusts of wind, entering into dimensions beyond the 2-D world in which my physical body had been confined, constrained … little lanterns of light born upon the winter winds.

Think this is what the dance with Death will be like for me, maybe?



12/7/2012 ...Early, early morning hours ... Been thinking a bit more about black, white and shades of grey.  The latter --black, white and grey, in art as well as life-- seems to be in the forefront of my thoughts and dreams these days.  Having really bad headaches lately, thus I am taking some opiate derivative for pain as a prescription medication --apparently opiates don't have the adverse side effect of thinning the blood?  So maybe my thoughts and pondering are a bit swayed by the medication?  But sitting here tonight, it occurs to me that perhaps 'black' is denial or outright despair while 'white' is hope and infinite possibility (light, in it's purest form) ... the shades of grey are just the difference in between.  Sound plausible?