Karima

Old dervish, Tzadik Nistar, one of the quiet ones performing Tikkun Olam.
What a surprise to be born as a girl -- as a California flower child, no less!

Mistress of deflection, knowing that if we gaze too deeply, we'd be knocked to the ground.
Blinded by that holy fire, your bride that waits in the Other Place.

She, seeing you lead the women into the holy tent, smiles.
As an ancient tear is finally mended.

To M&M

Outwardly so staid -
Mahjong for her, Sheepshead for you.
But to those who listen closely, the wild wedding drumming never faltered.

Whirling, the star flakes form a comet's tail.
Singing your love to galaxies yet discovered.

Tomorrow

Oh sailor! You've faced these rough waters before. Looking into your heart, we are reminded that the sun never falters. In your eyes, that the abundant sea is already manifesting in tomorrow's dawn.

A friend's son-in-law

The forester knows the seasons of his work. Planting and pruning, then the burning of the leaves and dead branches.

Blow fiercely on that fire. No smoldering smoke here!
Hot and bright, the way is cleared for the dancing to follow.

to a Friend's Mother

Fierce soldier, who held your team together under screaming attack. All that old power tapped again as you, in this body, near the gates of the Divine.

"Follow me, this is the only safe way," you insist. One last mission to complete.

Tear off that tattered old uniform, dear friend. Like a naked child you will go to the Loving One. And, as that child already knows, all dance under the Forgiver's blessing, whatever their path.

for Susan

Once you walked the old battlefields, bending with despair and grief.
A guardian tree, you shaded those graves, sheltering songbirds that greeted each new day with hope.

This life: blessing those souls on their return.
Shading and nurturing the tender sprouts as they turn to the sun once again.

For a papermaker far from her home

Dancing from room to room, you blessed every corner, every piece of furniture had your expansive glance.

Generosity radiating from each object, spilling out the windows.

Now, a turning inward.

Contraction to small spaces, microfibers, art-making. Hardly room to turn. Yet, turning is all.

Inside the spinning, carrying you far from those earlier homes. Tearing, matting and compressing -- your journey written on the dappled pages you've formed, through many new hands.

Home still visible in every crease.

for Joel

Bright star pinwheeling at the edge of this galaxy, pulled to the Center with old invisible cords.

You want to beat them, swear you'll rip them out of every chakra.

But without their pull, you'd sail beyond our sight. So sing her, she who knows not the words, to the arms of her Beloved, holder of universes. Turning the cords to music.

For a Friend Feeling Pushed to the Edge

Locked into a pressing vise, old stories like harpies fly just outside your reach.

Finding the courage to breathe from your core, your heart flickers once again.

This old tree offers refuge. The walls safe and ancient become your new skin, and you find those roots once again, flush with abundant stillness. Draw up that peace and spin a new beginning, your wounds home for the forest's song.

For My Brother

Companion from many lives. I recall you dancing before the altar with so much joy.

This time, your dance is one of service and equanimity. And oh, the same smile!

Enjoy your birthday throne, offering blessings to the future embodied in those giggling girls.

Yes, we love you. Just as you held us with your love galaxies ago.

For a Friend Changing Her Direction in the Second-Half of Her Life

Tossed on to the shore, you birthed yourself in the wet sand, incorporating each crystal.

Now, you ask, "how can I push forward with dust as a skeleton?"

But, dear friend, you have been baked and fired! Take your doubt like a reflective glaze on a fully tempered vessel.

It only adds to your beauty.

A Friend with a Back Injury

Hold the elemental sharp places in healing light; honored that their pain has brought us awareness of our own Aliveness.

Reaching out, we lift their burden, returning to the Old Place once again, no longer Warriors.

for David F

Stepping into the night, your gaze activates the starry dance. Holding tight that ancient necklace, Indra’s jewels clink in your upraised arms.

Do you have the courage to drop all these universes? Let the stars go black!

In silence, in the center, a new light waits in every cell.

for David C

Impeccable. Clear concentration lifting you that magical fraction above the flames, you fear no earthly discomforts. Few can drop all and follow this path!

Turning, you see our confusion. Your loving smile softens the way, even as your feet begin to blister once again.

From My Blessing Circle website

Thrown into the whirlpool, even the smallest wave seems engulfing.
Surrender and spin.
Turning like a dervish you will find your center and go on to serve.

Best Blessings also posted on Facebook

I will post new blessings here and on a new Facebook Page - MyBlessingCircle.
You can tell all your Facebook friends to become a "fan" of this page!
Here is the link:

MyBlessingCircle on Facebook

For A Seeker:

"How did I get here, so far from home?"

Friend, don't turn away from the razor's edge.

Each breath, dropping down to core memory,

A reminder of the true self.

In that moment, the way appears once again.

So much compassion waiting in your glance.

The Divine's hand on your back.

for the Wind Dancer

You've tasted the sweetness of the Divine pouring into your Being.
Now, in simplicity you walk, wondering why so few can see beyond themselves.

Have patience, dear brother.
Every step you take leaves its essence.

Swept from mountain to sea, the subtle fragrance of your heart touches all.
Reminding us of the smile in the Warrior's drum.

Update Vision for a Blessing Circle Community

Vision: My Blessing Circle is a sharing community where those who need a blessing can anonymously receive one from those who feel they have the calling to be of service by "tuning in" to someone's Higher Self and receiving from that person's soul, a few words of unconditional love, encouragement, and/or support on life's journey. It would NOT be a place for preaching, recruiting, or converting others to your personal religion.

The service would be free in exchange for helping to monitor blessing messages for appropriateness (no spam, no curses or pranks, no preaching).

Blessing-receivers could upload a photograph or symbolic image and/or short bio of themselves [or their child] as well as request blessings focused on a particular theme or issue.

Blessing-givers would be randomly assigned a recipient, and could decide whether they wanted to see their associated bio. Neither the giver or the receiver would be identified by name or email.

The service would be "peer regulated." An inappropriate blessing message could be flagged for removal by the receiver, and the giver would lose their membership rights. Receiver biographies that gave away too much personal data could also be flagged in a similar way. Really special blessings could be tagged by the receiver and the giver sent an automated "blessing appreciation message." These blessings would be posted to the public area of the site for all to view.

Possible "add-on" features could include a public forum and marketplace, "closed circles" for members of self-defined spiritual groups (such as individual churches, temples, fellowships, etc.), as well as a way to reward blessing-givers whose offerings are consistently rated as special gifts.

Revenue would come from donations, from set-up fees from closed circles, and limited advertising on specific pages.


QUESTIONS:

AS A "GIVER"

1. Would you expect a blessing in return for every one you sent out? Or would you see your work as giving more than receiving?

2. Would you want to see a short bio of the person you have been assigned? Just the photo? Or only their user name?

3. Would you want to request a receiver who had requested a blessing focused on a particular theme or issue? Or receive this information when you got their user name? Or should we not even offer receivers this option in the first place?

4. Would you want to receive some revenue from this work? Possibly a portion of the site's income distributed in proportion to the number of "blessing appreciation" responses you received each month? Or would you rather have the site donate this amount to a charity partner?

5. Would you be willing to screen a limited number of blessing messages each week?


AS A RECEIVER

1. Would you want to/expect to send out a blessing for every one you received? Or would you rather have the responsibilities of sending and receiving kept separate?

2. How important would it be to you to be able to post a photo and/or a short bio of yourself [or child] to go along with your user name? Would you be willing to pay a fee for this option?

3. How important would it be to you to be able to request a blessing focused on a particular theme or issue [such as health, relationship/family, grief and loss, etc.]? Would you be willing to pay a fee for this option?

4. If the "basic" service offered a blessing two or three times a week [depending on the number of "givers" available], would you be willing to pay a fee to receive one more often?

5. In exchange for a free service, would you be willing to screen (for appropriateness) a limited number of blessing messages each week?

for Max on his birthday

Heavy with snow, the tips of branches stretch to reach their roots below.

Steam rises from the dense green quilt -- a signifier of the warm spring that awaits.

Ah, blessed immersion beckons over the next rise.

On this path with you, dear friend, the nutrients flow in every step. Warmth shared from the river within.

for Tor

Shaking off snow, hanging up the snowshoes, you come to the fire.
Soon we smell the winter berries, small and dark, fetched from the depths of your pockets, and tossed on the stove.

First the static, like an off-tuned radio, fills the room.
Then the sound of the spice market and far-away seas, awaken us to summers yet ahead.

Entwined in the lint and stitching, more seeds remain.
Let us reach now reach down and retrieve these fruits you've so generously shared.

Now its your turn to savor their fire and sweetness. Just as we recall their heat in the gleam of your glance once again.

For Kristine D.

Twisting left, then right, the path seems too narrow for all that you carry.

One more turn, a log to cross, and then the glistening dance of light across the surface of the lake just ahead.

Each erratic sun fragment a reflection of the One Sun. Each step, the same path to this place -- the indwelling center of your generous heart.

To Therese

Whirling.
Whirling across the flower-topped field like a dizzy drunk bee.
You've sweetened many souls.

Now, silent and grounded, you follow the candle flame back through the wick to the buzzing electrons in the seemingly solid wax below.

Rest in this sea of potential.
Your light is only magnified in each in-breath.