Season's Meditations for 2012-2013 and beyond;

I’ve been think a lot this Christmas about themes as usual. I always pick a different theme to meditate on during this time of the year. A few times on here a I wrote a blog post about these musings. A year or two ago I wrote about my meditations and thoughts on the message of the Christmas star and the three wise men. This year the themes were not of my choosing. They sort of just organically happened. There were a few. Once I meditated on the virgin birth, but this year I couldn’t help but speifically ponder the gift of The Incarnation. Why did God come in the form he chose to come in? How did the fullness of the God-head become something so small, so vulnerable, so tiny? After pondering these questions for a long while and coming to my own conclusions, and I will leave everyone to their own; I then began considering something else. One of my absolute favorite Christmas songs has always been the little drummer boy. The song talks about how each of us as individuals with our individual gifts can best serve God. It is about bringing our best …the best of what we are and what we have and laying those things at the foot of the throne…at the feet of the new born King and saying; “I don’t know everything God but I lay all that I am…all that is best in me at your feet. Take me and use me as you will. Use my talents as you will. I am yours and I surrender…and to God be The Glory; for all that I am and all that I ever accomplish”!

There is a wonderful strange verse in scripture that says “In God We Live and Move and Have our being”…but I like to change perspective to a personal one.. “In God, I live, and Move, and Have my Being”! If we were to wake up each day and acknowledge this…acknowledge God in this way, how might our entire days be different? How might our entire life change when we go into every single day doing this?

The Little Drummer Boy fascinates me and I see him…that Archetype inside all of us who believe in and know God in a way!

This train of thought led me back to the beginning of my meditations and I came full circle. What did the miracle, the gift of The Incarnation say about God and about Life? What did it say about us and our place in the grand design?

Part of what it said to me that I will share is this… God gave his utmost, his all to us and how can we do anything less for God? What does it mean that he did something like that? He wanted to save us yes, but more than this….he wanted us to share in eternal life with him. He Loved us so much that not only did he want to experience everything that we do so that come judgment day he can be a merciful judge. He wanted to know us so intimately that he was willing to endure this dense, harsh, and dangerous reality from our point of view. He wanted us to understand that he loved us that much. He wanted us to know and love him that much in return; and how can we not? How do you turn your back on such an utter Love? I will never understand it, though I see it everyday. I recall an old Christian book called “My Utmost for His Highest”. I remember the little drummer boy and how he is inside of us.

 I let my thoughts keep evolving from there and keep journeying and the road they took led me to the classic Christmas tale… Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”. The Three Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future trying to help one bitter wayward soul to find the true meaning of Christmas…what The Gift of Christmas really is. Many people think it is about family and friends and that maybe partially true. But it is about something so much more important and all encompassing. It is the point and message of Life and the Moral of every story in the end, when you understand what story tries to really teach us. The True Gift is nothing less than Love itself.

1 Corinthians; 13

13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not prideful. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not selfish(rude wanting), it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong doings. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails.

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childishness behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

So as we go into this new year...remember the gift of The Incarnation, remember the Gift of Love and let us take that with us inside of our spirits going forward and let The True Spirit of Christmas inspire, fill, and inform all of our actions. Remember God's new A.R.K. for us (ACTS OF RANDOM KINDNESS), and The New Covenant of Love we have all been given the chance to be a part of. 

 One Mitzvah (Good deed / kind or righteous act), One act of random kindness at a time is how we change the world. This is part of the concept of Tikkun Olam which I encourage you to learn about. 

 Taken from 1 John 4:12; "...but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us". 

  1 John 4:16; So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God Lives in them.


The Message of The Christmas Star Blog-post

Blog-post on Father Christmas and Saint Nickolas

Bog-post on Yule-tide

My Grand-Mother coming into her Sacred Croneage;

My Grand-Mother Billie Ruth whose line I received my Gifts from (Originating from God of course) was born a powerful woman. I grew up with a powerhouse force of nature teaching me things. Yet I watched at one point in her later years where she was pushed aside in her church and by several members of the family. I watched her shrink in many ways and allow herself to be treated "Less than" when she deserved to be honored, loved, revered, and respected as A Prophetess Daughter of The Living God. It made me quite sad and determined not to allow myself to ever be treated that way. However as of the past year and half, I have watched this change come over her. I have been praying for her for years, and now it seems my prayers have heard and are being answered. For an artistic woman like my Gran-Ma the worst thing we could have imagined happened. She lost her eye sight. Not completely, but enough to render her legally blind; blind in many important respects. However instead of letting this destroy her as it would have done to many people; she decided to Live in Faith and Love and I watched as she stepped into Power once again. It is Beautiful to behold. She began painting again... and it brought her back to the fullness of Life and the good things that God has for her. I am so proud of her and what she has accomplished and she will always be my heroine and champion.

Granma keeps saying… I felt it in my heart, or I just didn’t feel it in my heart. It gives me great joy to think she is finally getting in touch with her heart again through her art, and that she isn’t letting her blindness stop her. 

She had me set up an art blog for her. Please check out her wonderful works.

Blind Billie's Blog

A new World, A new You, A new Baptism; A post for 12:12:12 through 12:21:12 and beyond.

A post for 12:12:12 through 12:21:12 and beyond.

So what is happening on these….the supposed last days of the world? 

Well more weddings, more births, more sex, more praying………in short more living! The Mayan calendar being a circle does not end but rather starts a new cycle. The ancients were cyclical thinkers just as we should be. They understood life in a series of circles. the hour, the day, the year, a life, a death, a new birth. The tides and seasons of nature…all circular cycles. It is the end of the middle of the great shifting and the end of the old ways of life we have known. That is not to say that certain things won’t remain the same, but the world as a whole experiences a new start with the rising of the sun tomorrow! It is a new world, a new reality, a new paradigm, a new hope, a new chance for a new age. It is a brand new world and a brand new day…so lets all try to make it a good day people.  What will you do with your new start? How do you want to do things differently from here on out? You and the entire world need to ask these questions. This is the time for forgiveness and healing, for hope and joy, and time to move on from the old and grow into the new! Live in the present moment with Gratitude! 

As for me…I want to serve God more and better, and I want to continue living an authentic life, I want to learn new things, teach in new ways, inspire and be inspired, and keep following my passions with a new fervent vigor. I want new vitality for my life and the lives of those around me. That is what I want and what I will in all faith and love strive for with all that I am!

Many images and thoughts fill my mind as I write this. I see butterflies and flowers, a cosmic egg of light, a seed of life, an impregnated embryo. I see a dolphin leaping out of the waves, and a phoenix rising from the ashes, the most prevalent image I see though is Christ having risen out of the water just being baptized and then rising from the grave after conquering death and bringing about a new world and a new glorious hope. I see myself being re-baptized as well. This is a fresh start...a time for renewal! Dec. the 22^nd is the perfect day for a baptism ritual. We as a planetary society need to really adoptive the practice of mediation focusing on contemplation, and reflection as we go forth into this new era of thinking globally.

 Baptism shower/ bath ritual;

For a bath put salt in the water, and for a shower first take a cup of salt water and anoint yourself with the salt water. Holy water is a great base for the salt water mixture. Essential oils like lavender and juniper would be great to add to this mixture as well.

Pray for cleansing, clearing, purification, and blessing.

An long formal baptism shower : example prayer;

“Oh Divine One

I ask of thee thy grace and blessing.

I pray of thee and beseech thee for thy

Cleansing, clearing, and purification.

Baptize me, anoint me, and consecrate me to thyself I pray.

Quicken my soul unto Thee once again

and renew a right spirit within me.

Create within me a clean heart oh Lord of Love

Wash me white in the blood of The Lamb.

White as the first winters snow,

White as the moonlight on ocean foam during night-time tides,

White as the unicorn in winter light,

White as the bride adorns herself for the bridegroom.

I pray that I may approach Thee always in this purity.

Just as the water washes un-cleanliness from my body-temple

So let Thy Holy Spirit wash my soul as white as purity itself.

Wash over my Life I pray of Thee giver if Living Waters,

wash away the sins and inequities where found there in.

Let Thy True Essence fill me now and always”.

Stand in the shower or sit in a bath. Visualize the water is made of pure light. White light contains all the colors of the light spectrum. But you can also go through the seven basic colors of the rainbow / chakra system and add pink and white. You can use the following sequence.

Visualize the water made of light turning; White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Dark Blue, Purple, Pink, and then back to white.

You can then use a grounding and centering visualization if you wish, which will help really strengthen this energetic process. Toning will also really allow you the full benefits of this ritual process.

Here is a link to a post I did on the basics of meditation if you want that information;

Basics of Meditation post 

The "He said, She said" Book review of Sovereign Pleasures

The O’Raven Chronicles is proud to do another “He said, She said” review with my good friend Tammy of Tams Two Cents Book Blog.

..............   

Sovereign Pleasures

 by Yordanka Vladimirova Kotseva

 Sovereign Pleasures:

*Caution This is for 18+ contains Man on Man Sexual encounter.

A set of five short steamy stories. It takes you to the realm where pain and pleasure collide, taking you on a breath taking ride you will not forget. Meet the men of Sovereign Pleasures, and listen to their stories of their pain... and their pleasure...

(Please note that there might be what people call spoilers ahead***)

My Review (The He said portion); 

It is a collection of 5 short stories; each short is a sexual fantasy set in a strange, terrific venue.

The first important thing I really have to say about this story is that the characters are compelling and the descriptives are truly wonderful. I could see it all played out like a movie in my head a times, and at other times it was like a series of paintings that were painted in sequences to reveal a story in images.

A few parts were disturbing or violent which made me like them all the more. It is hard work to disturb a mind like mine lol.

The references to blood in the first section really resonate with me personally because I have a vampire fantasy fetish and have since I was a young boy. Who was the king, and who was his warrior who ruled him so? What were they? Their total need for each other had me excited before I even got into the rest of the story.

The transvestite prince and the older butler were perhaps my two favorite lovers due to the age difference which made for an interesting sexual liaison and a great change.

The part with the sovereign and his “unwilling” artist lover in the elevator played into my personal darker sexual fantasies and that made for a nice literary change that I don’t normally see most people having the guts to right in books as of late.

As most of you will know who have read my blog or the book page I currently have on face book, I have a disdain for the up-surd rules we now have in the American publishing world about not allowing sexual encounters with “underage” characters and sex scenes being so limited in books, especially Y.A. books; even though teens have perhaps more sex than anyone else in this country.

The lovers in the ally way were a very seductive fantasy. The whole story was vague to me and there are hundreds of unanswered questions I have. I want to know more about all of these fascinating lovers. I want to know who they are, what they are, where they are, and I want to know their context in a larger story.

The last section with the chained teenager was particularly erotic and almost made me want to be the chained teen lol.

This book was strange, vague, erotic, beautiful, and wonderful and I came out with far more questions than I had going in which is always surprising. One of the best aspects which I saw mentioned on several other reviews of this work was how the author related the feelings and emotions of the character couples for each other; how she described their absolute internal needs for each other. This is something the author excels at! It is my fervent wish that she take these strange shorts and put them all in a full length series so that I can get to know the world she created and also these wonderful characters.

Many things ran through my head as I was reading each short. Different songs, books, and movies came to mind for me as usual. Several porno’s came to my mind as well lol. As a gay man I have to say that several aspects of these stories were a real turn on. I wish I had pictures of what the author see’s the characters as looking like; a list of stars perhaps that would fit their basic description as she understands it. I would like to see through the authors eyes just for a while as I read these shorts, so I can see what she see’s… and feel what she feels. I imagine that would be a most interesting experience.

Since this is a short story or rather a selection of short stories and only my second review, I do not think it appropriate that I try and judge it by the same standards as I did the novel in my first review. So instead of ten stars I will be judging with seven. My complaints: The lack of context and explanation about many aspects of who and what these characters were, and the fact that I can’t read more encounters with these very sexy characters right now lol. So I give this book 4 out of 7 stars.

 

In the future, when I can do it the way I want it done ratings will be done with quills.

................................  


Now for the "She said" potion of this "He said, She said" review;

I give you the review by Tammy from Tams Two Cents Book Blog:


.....................  

                                                                       Tams Book Blog

Tams's Review; 

Let me start by saying if you aren't a fan of Male on Male stories, this short isn't for you. There are some extremely graphic, steamy and sensual aspects to this writing. I would almost describe this as a BDSM M/M short as it skirts that genre in 3 of the 5 shorts.

Only 19 pages, this is a series of short stories (couple pages each) introducing us to several couples that I hope J will pick up and write full length stories for each. My personal favorite was Sinful Love with Deril and Ash, I must have a full length novel giving me more background for this couple.

I liked the way J expressed the feelings of the various characters throughout; what they saw in their partner, their feelings toward said partner and what was happening during the scene in that particular characters mind. There is a carnal pleasure and domination aspect in most of these shorts as well as a bit of paranormal.

I give this one 3.5/5.. but that's just my two cents!

......................     

Author, Yordanka Vladimirova Kotseva;

Author’s Bio:

I’ve spent my youth studding foreign languages. Education is a big part of my life. I took my first bachelor degree when I was 17 and still at school. Now I am a college student in my second year and in the future I will be an economist.

I spent my free time writing, reading, drawing or watching animes. Music is a huge part of my life. I love technologies and graphic programs.

'Black lace' is my first book and it is part ‘Paths of the spirit’ series. If you like my writing I would love it if you share it with me.


"The Pride will separate the Death and the Vow will bring the wrath of the Rei." Red Moon, Path's of the Spirit series #2

 Author Sites; 

Author Good-reads page

Author's B&N's Book store page

Author's Paths of Spirit Series Face-book page

Author's I-tunes page

a Rafflecopter giveaway