Creations of CTC Creatives

The Prosperity of Today

A hunch drove me outdoors to the car Hunched against the cold wind  yet Face turned to the winter's sun I did the errands, details of life Today, Go Today sang in my thoughts I went into the store on another listed detail Saw a friend, finished acquiring for a project And struck Paydirt! Clearance Sales Galore! New PJs for traveling, baby clothes to gift Colors just right, gifts to please new family As I left the store the evening sky Caught my heart and eye Black bare tree arms reaching into the distinct NC blue That covers these lovely mountains My eye wonders which colors combined could come close to that beauty? Brighter just there, shading away darker to each side Black contrasting so strongly against greenblue Such bold beauty to behold Over a parking lot At the end of an ordinary day, Today

  --Francie Rose

 

Gratitude and Honor

 

It’s one of those ambiguous days in the mountains. There seems to be a dance going on between the snow clouds overhead and the patient and overpowering rays of the sun, breaking through and lighting my space at magical intervals. I choose to bear it witness in my magic chair snuggled between two windows in the corner of my living room. On my right the flames of my fireplace long ago converted to gas team with the warmth of the winter sun and everywhere the sound of meditative music fills the air, courtesy of cable TV and channel 963, evolution at its finest. The team quickly infiltrates my thoughts and I begin my ascent, my seed thought springtime, clutched tightly within the fingers of my two hands.

Wisdom surrounds me; a penetrating mist acknowledges my private challenges; denial is futile, surrender is appropriate. I am transported to my own past dark night of the soul. I recognize and acknowledge differences. I have grown, I have allowed Spirit to enter my space and I have accepted its guidance. Gently, I disentangle my fears from my thoughts, releasing the need to revisit my current experience, to compare, to grieve. Completed, this part of my morning is over; I choose now to spend my day loving me, filling, filling me, my heart; in preparation (perhaps) for another day’s temporary withdrawal from Absolute Truth, because forgetfulness too is a gift from God.

Thy staff and Thy rod comfort me… and indeed they do; I walk through the valley of eternal life. The seeds in my hand begin to sprout life and the Essence that is me walks the garden paths of my own front yard. Here, I settle upon a spot within the halo of filtered sunlight and sprinkle upon soft dark earth, tomorrow’s promise. Here, within the space of my own chosen refuge, the Devas and Nature Spirits, the Seeds and my Soul, conspire for tomorrow’s life. Together, we embrace the Cosmos, paying homage to its joy; whereupon begin traces of distant song, sacred toning and barely penetrable notes, beckoning me rest, to dream the sleep of the awakened. I marvel that the Bible is not the guide for my childhood; its passages, no longer twisted and obscure, often poetry to enlightened thoughts. I lie in the grass and wait for the butterfly, while perched alongside within the yet folded leaf of a lily, a yellow caterpillar observes in silence.

    --Sylvia Jusino, CTCLP and Joyful Earth Traveller

 

 

Presence

As I breathe in the adamantine particles of the white light and connect with all my chakras and acknowledge all Guides and Teachers on all realms, there comes the stillness and Presence of God.

It is a feeling of peace, yet also of incredible strength and it doesn't just come in the room as if someone just walked in the door.  It is a Divine Knowing - a Pre-Sense that just grows within and manifests through every pore of our skin, through every hair that stands on end when we Really feel Spirit.

Presence is a knowing BEFORE sensing - Pre-sense.  From the Webster's Dictionary the French derivative is praeesse - 'to be before one.'  It happens and yet doesn't happen at all.  It simply exists - one need only open the inner eyes, the inner heart and know it is there - your own Life Source, your own Heart Flame - flickering in Divine rhythm with all the Universes, singing in silent prayer that you have opened your eyes and seen yourself acknowledging your own Presence, your own Importance in the theater of experiences here.

The flickering flame is so happy you recognize your inner light and feels the intense pains that your life has taken on ... What is your drama of choice? - A child struggling to make it and we can only watch them go and grow and create? -- A parent ill or growing old and frailer? -- A friend going through jobs and relationships like a game of dominoes? - A partner challenged with emotional or physical pain? -- A loved pet hurt or dying, OR our own emotional trauma when we feel hurt, or stupid by the choices we have made?

And yet that Presence is that eternal flame warming us from the inside, flickering frantically to get our attention, to make us laugh and sigh and pray and find the ability and knowingness that none of these dramas matter.  They're just reminders of our Oneness with All life and our ability to be finally and truly Grateful for the lessons.

The Presence is constant, ultimate forgiveness ... Those huge, warm, loving arms of the Source of All - holding us while our bodies are racked with pain, while we wretch with tears and emotional release, crying until there is nothing left except Presence - ever calm and patient, always smiling and inviting, infinitely loving.

 

Step gently to your Soul and

Kiss the face of your Heart.

Dance gladly in your arms and

Hear the melodie whispers of

All time and space.

Know the Presence that created you and

Feel the Presence that IS you.

 

    --Rose Marie Schilling-Motter

(Sharing from the Heart - CTC Service 1/24/2010)

 

 

 

BLISS

by

 

Rose Marie Schilling

God's grace upon us takes us on a journey into blissful awareness. Awareness begins with the most simple acts, all done in openess and gratitude.

Have you felt the soft legs of a butterfly walk upon your finger and know that as its wings flap they create a breeze that is felt around the world?

Have you heard the shrill cry of a cicada and examined its cruchy carcass and marveled at its intricacies?

Have you felt the pained crying of a baby be instantly silenced as you embraced her tenderly with all the love in your heart?

Have you breathed in the essence of a puppy and felt its shivering joy?

Have you sat in stillness gazing upon a flower until you could actually see its petals move and open in wondrous beauty as it released its heavenly scent?

I have stared into the core of a single candle until its light blinded me.

I have listened to a piece of music until I became part of the instruments... the strings on the harp, the keys on the piano being played by a rhythm that melted my Soul to silence.

I have gazed deeply into the eyes of my beloved and gently stroked his face and hair and felt completely at ONE in his love.

I have looked into the face of my friends and family and felt my heart leap and know the presence of Spirit in their Souls.

I have felt love and appreciation grow, knowing that joy, delight, fear, and unworthiness are All from GOD...

All Gifts of Growth that create BLISS and union with GOD.

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Dawn . . .

A gentle reminder of God's forgiveness

One spark of light crests the mountain and

Bolts blissfully across the sky

Revealing a peek into the treasure chest

Of Gold light lifting the lid of grey clouds off the ridges,

Spilling trillions of sparkling gold, pink and turquoise coins

Over the cool blue peaks......

A lesson in opposites,  a merging of Perfection.

Sweet Dawn . . .

How grateful I AM.

 

--Rose Marie Schilling

 

 

 

 

 

Artist:  Marilyn Anderson

Wild Geese, Arrow of Time
2002
Acrylic on canvas
48.5 x 60 inches

See more at http://artincontext.com/artist/artist_images.aspx?id=1721

 

 

CTC Artist:  Sylvia Jusino

 

 

 

 

CTC Artist:  Sylvia Jusino

 

 

 

 

CTC Artist:  Sylvia Jusino

 

 

 

 

CTC Artist:  Sylvia Jusino

 

 

 

 

CTC Artist:  Sylvia Jusino

 

 

 

CTC Artists:  Sylvia Jusino, Barbara Elswick, Bonnie Berk

& Beth Weber

 

 

 

 

 

CTC Artist:  Barbara Elswick

 

 

 

Heart of the Present Moment  

by Rose Marie Schilling 

 

 

 

At sunset, the palest apricot clouds fade to grey, eclipsed by the three quarter moon showing off its silver halo in the fading blue.  

I'm called and asked to share from the heart, so I contemplate this while admiring the sky and feeling into my heart - its subtety takes my senses on a journey of present awareness. 

 

I think I'm knowing and hearing silence - until I truly listen - and release that little voice of disguise and then I feel it, I hear it... each and every present moment. 

 

The single clear tone of the wind chime until it creates an orchestra of sound as the breeze lifts its pipes to a crescendo, and then the abrupt perception of silence as tghe wind dies and the birds give their final sonata for the evening, a solitary cricket pipes in, and though I have no visual perception of dry leaves rustling, I hear them.  Not many trees still have leaves, and yet as I turn my head there is an old oak with one lowly branch unsheathed of brown leaves shaking like the ancient Mayan rainmakers, adding its music to the fading light.

 

The the first tiny but bat flutters overhead scarfing up the little bugs in the air that to us look like dust particles.

My tear filled eyes gaze slowly upward to view the bare trees with thousands of tiny tendril branches like upside down chicken feet frozen in space.... And why does one bare tree rock gently and the others remain still?

All I know is - this too shall pass.  I witness each moment and record it, but it's already gone and a new experience takes its place in my heart and in my soul.

Can my heart be content to live and die each nano second?

I can only say - I am grateful for these life and death experiences - for they confirm my connection with the ever present Radiant Moment of Life, lived in the heart of God.

 

 

  The Soul of Prosperity  

 

 

I Invite My Soul

by Sylvia Jusino, CTCLP

This morning I invite my soul…

My mind recedes and all thoughts vanish

I am no thing, no memory, no choice

No bridge to awareness

 

Release is my last act in time

Only my soul remains

Its existence marked by the birth of itself

Into a part of all-knowingness

 

Meeting its creator… Itself

Begotten by All that is perfect, whole

And complete

Unbound by the Laws of Leviticus

 

This morning I invite my soul…

Unclothed by mind I am neither

Wave nor particle but the string

That connects either way

 

My soul divines the notes of the lear

And my heart reminisces

Silent notes of omniscient joy

Melodious harmony returns

 

To self demanding permission of mind

Bound by appearance

Yet heeding strong the song of Spirit

Patient with all mortal ways

 

This morning I invite my soul

I disappear and my presence returns

I am blinded that my sight returns

I touch the light through an empty mist

 

My awareness in its infancy vacillates

Swinging from star to moon and eyeing

The milky way the ultimate slide

Tied to no thing I play free

 

Choiceless, my soul accepts

An invitation to no thing all thing

I am whole dancing nowhere

I am All everywhere

 

This morning I invite my soul…

To ride atop God’s rainbow

To wait for dusk

To skip from it to steps of stars

 

Eternity replaces thought

I see hear and feel as One knowing

Electrifying gentleness… Genetic

Vibrations upon invisible fingertips

 

My heart shall never leave this place

Though soon again my thoughts forget

My soul collects these memories

And retreats into that watchful place

 

For long a time I walk in light

Although I may not remember always

Why I smile and love,

My hand held out to strangers

 

This evening came and brought with it

A wind so harsh it hurt my ears

Replacing the melodious song of chimes

With the harshness of metal upon metal

 

Stillness… then dawn

I move about Mother’s cleansed planet

From my porch begins anew

The gentle coax of resonating tones

 

Feathered angels sing from branches

Portals of eternally provided shelter

While fallen leaves renew the land

A feast for all things, including me

 

Senses aware I accept this vision

This gift of sight and sound

And my spirit rises to a space of light

Celebrating the return of tenderness

 

Not enough… The Over-soul waits

I dance I stumble I hope, coaxing again

the Holy Instant….then I remember…

I forgot to invite My Soul

 

 

 

 

Please feel free to comment.  (click on comments below)

 

The Prosperity of Today

A hunch drove me outdoors to the car Hunched against the cold wind  yet Face turned to the winter's sun I did the errands, details of life Today, Go Today sang in my thoughts I went into the store on another listed detail Saw a friend, finished acquiring for a project And struck Paydirt! Clearance Sales Galore! New PJs for traveling, baby clothes to gift Colors just right, gifts to please new family As I left the store the evening sky Caught my heart and eye Black bare tree arms reaching into the distinct NC blue That covers these lovely mountains My eye wonders which colors combined could come close to that beauty? Brighter just there, shading away darker to each side Black contrasting so strongly against greenblue Such bold beauty to behold Over a parking lot At the end of an ordinary day, Today

  --Francie Rose

 

Gratitude and Honor

 

It’s one of those ambiguous days in the mountains. There seems to be a dance going on between the snow clouds overhead and the patient and overpowering rays of the sun, breaking through and lighting my space at magical intervals. I choose to bear it witness in my magic chair snuggled between two windows in the corner of my living room. On my right the flames of my fireplace long ago converted to gas team with the warmth of the winter sun and everywhere the sound of meditative music fills the air, courtesy of cable TV and channel 963, evolution at its finest. The team quickly infiltrates my thoughts and I begin my ascent, my seed thought springtime, clutched tightly within the fingers of my two hands.

Wisdom surrounds me; a penetrating mist acknowledges my private challenges; denial is futile, surrender is appropriate. I am transported to my own past dark night of the soul. I recognize and acknowledge differences. I have grown, I have allowed Spirit to enter my space and I have accepted its guidance. Gently, I disentangle my fears from my thoughts, releasing the need to revisit my current experience, to compare, to grieve. Completed, this part of my morning is over; I choose now to spend my day loving me, filling, filling me, my heart; in preparation (perhaps) for another day’s temporary withdrawal from Absolute Truth, because forgetfulness too is a gift from God.

Thy staff and Thy rod comfort me… and indeed they do; I walk through the valley of eternal life. The seeds in my hand begin to sprout life and the Essence that is me walks the garden paths of my own front yard. Here, I settle upon a spot within the halo of filtered sunlight and sprinkle upon soft dark earth, tomorrow’s promise. Here, within the space of my own chosen refuge, the Devas and Nature Spirits, the Seeds and my Soul, conspire for tomorrow’s life. Together, we embrace the Cosmos, paying homage to its joy; whereupon begin traces of distant song, sacred toning and barely penetrable notes, beckoning me rest, to dream the sleep of the awakened. I marvel that the Bible is not the guide for my childhood; its passages, no longer twisted and obscure, often poetry to enlightened thoughts. I lie in the grass and wait for the butterfly, while perched alongside within the yet folded leaf of a lily, a yellow caterpillar observes in silence.

    --Sylvia Jusino, CTCLP and Joyful Earth Traveller

 

 

Presence

As I breathe in the adamantine particles of the white light and connect with all my chakras and acknowledge all Guides and Teachers on all realms, there comes the stillness and Presence of God.

It is a feeling of peace, yet also of incredible strength and it doesn't just come in the room as if someone just walked in the door.  It is a Divine Knowing - a Pre-Sense that just grows within and manifests through every pore of our skin, through every hair that stands on end when we Really feel Spirit.

Presence is a knowing BEFORE sensing - Pre-sense.  From the Webster's Dictionary the French derivative is praeesse - 'to be before one.'  It happens and yet doesn't happen at all.  It simply exists - one need only open the inner eyes, the inner heart and know it is there - your own Life Source, your own Heart Flame - flickering in Divine rhythm with all the Universes, singing in silent prayer that you have opened your eyes and seen yourself acknowledging your own Presence, your own Importance in the theater of experiences here.

The flickering flame is so happy you recognize your inner light and feels the intense pains that your life has taken on ... What is your drama of choice? - A child struggling to make it and we can only watch them go and grow and create? -- A parent ill or growing old and frailer? -- A friend going through jobs and relationships like a game of dominoes? - A partner challenged with emotional or physical pain? -- A loved pet hurt or dying, OR our own emotional trauma when we feel hurt, or stupid by the choices we have made?

And yet that Presence is that eternal flame warming us from the inside, flickering frantically to get our attention, to make us laugh and sigh and pray and find the ability and knowingness that none of these dramas matter.  They're just reminders of our Oneness with All life and our ability to be finally and truly Grateful for the lessons.

The Presence is constant, ultimate forgiveness ... Those huge, warm, loving arms of the Source of All - holding us while our bodies are racked with pain, while we wretch with tears and emotional release, crying until there is nothing left except Presence - ever calm and patient, always smiling and inviting, infinitely loving.

 

Step gently to your Soul and

Kiss the face of your Heart.

Dance gladly in your arms and

Hear the melodie whispers of

All time and space.

Know the Presence that created you and

Feel the Presence that IS you.

 

    --Rose Marie Schilling-Motter

(Sharing from the Heart - CTC Service 1/24/2010)

 

 

 

BLISS

by

 

Rose Marie Schilling

God's grace upon us takes us on a journey into blissful awareness. Awareness begins with the most simple acts, all done in openess and gratitude.

Have you felt the soft legs of a butterfly walk upon your finger and know that as its wings flap they create a breeze that is felt around the world?

Have you heard the shrill cry of a cicada and examined its cruchy carcass and marveled at its intricacies?

Have you felt the pained crying of a baby be instantly silenced as you embraced her tenderly with all the love in your heart?

Have you breathed in the essence of a puppy and felt its shivering joy?

Have you sat in stillness gazing upon a flower until you could actually see its petals move and open in wondrous beauty as it released its heavenly scent?

I have stared into the core of a single candle until its light blinded me.

I have listened to a piece of music until I became part of the instruments... the strings on the harp, the keys on the piano being played by a rhythm that melted my Soul to silence.

I have gazed deeply into the eyes of my beloved and gently stroked his face and hair and felt completely at ONE in his love.

I have looked into the face of my friends and family and felt my heart leap and know the presence of Spirit in their Souls.

I have felt love and appreciation grow, knowing that joy, delight, fear, and unworthiness are All from GOD...

All Gifts of Growth that create BLISS and union with GOD.

 

 

The Prosperity of Today

A hunch drove me outdoors to the car Hunched against the cold wind  yet Face turned to the winter's sun I did the errands, details of life Today, Go Today sang in my thoughts I went into the store on another listed detail Saw a friend, finished acquiring for a project And struck Paydirt! Clearance Sales Galore! New PJs for traveling, baby clothes to gift Colors just right, gifts to please new family As I left the store the evening sky Caught my heart and eye Black bare tree arms reaching into the distinct NC blue That covers these lovely mountains My eye wonders which colors combined could come close to that beauty? Brighter just there, shading away darker to each side Black contrasting so strongly against greenblue Such bold beauty to behold Over a parking lot At the end of an ordinary day, Today

  --Francie Rose

 

Gratitude and Honor

 

It’s one of those ambiguous days in the mountains. There seems to be a dance going on between the snow clouds overhead and the patient and overpowering rays of the sun, breaking through and lighting my space at magical intervals. I choose to bear it witness in my magic chair snuggled between two windows in the corner of my living room. On my right the flames of my fireplace long ago converted to gas team with the warmth of the winter sun and everywhere the sound of meditative music fills the air, courtesy of cable TV and channel 963, evolution at its finest. The team quickly infiltrates my thoughts and I begin my ascent, my seed thought springtime, clutched tightly within the fingers of my two hands.

Wisdom surrounds me; a penetrating mist acknowledges my private challenges; denial is futile, surrender is appropriate. I am transported to my own past dark night of the soul. I recognize and acknowledge differences. I have grown, I have allowed Spirit to enter my space and I have accepted its guidance. Gently, I disentangle my fears from my thoughts, releasing the need to revisit my current experience, to compare, to grieve. Completed, this part of my morning is over; I choose now to spend my day loving me, filling, filling me, my heart; in preparation (perhaps) for another day’s temporary withdrawal from Absolute Truth, because forgetfulness too is a gift from God.

Thy staff and Thy rod comfort me… and indeed they do; I walk through the valley of eternal life. The seeds in my hand begin to sprout life and the Essence that is me walks the garden paths of my own front yard. Here, I settle upon a spot within the halo of filtered sunlight and sprinkle upon soft dark earth, tomorrow’s promise. Here, within the space of my own chosen refuge, the Devas and Nature Spirits, the Seeds and my Soul, conspire for tomorrow’s life. Together, we embrace the Cosmos, paying homage to its joy; whereupon begin traces of distant song, sacred toning and barely penetrable notes, beckoning me rest, to dream the sleep of the awakened. I marvel that the Bible is not the guide for my childhood; its passages, no longer twisted and obscure, often poetry to enlightened thoughts. I lie in the grass and wait for the butterfly, while perched alongside within the yet folded leaf of a lily, a yellow caterpillar observes in silence.

    --Sylvia Jusino, CTCLP and Joyful Earth Traveller

 

 

Presence

As I breathe in the adamantine particles of the white light and connect with all my chakras and acknowledge all Guides and Teachers on all realms, there comes the stillness and Presence of God.

It is a feeling of peace, yet also of incredible strength and it doesn't just come in the room as if someone just walked in the door.  It is a Divine Knowing - a Pre-Sense that just grows within and manifests through every pore of our skin, through every hair that stands on end when we Really feel Spirit.

Presence is a knowing BEFORE sensing - Pre-sense.  From the Webster's Dictionary the French derivative is praeesse - 'to be before one.'  It happens and yet doesn't happen at all.  It simply exists - one need only open the inner eyes, the inner heart and know it is there - your own Life Source, your own Heart Flame - flickering in Divine rhythm with all the Universes, singing in silent prayer that you have opened your eyes and seen yourself acknowledging your own Presence, your own Importance in the theater of experiences here.

The flickering flame is so happy you recognize your inner light and feels the intense pains that your life has taken on ... What is your drama of choice? - A child struggling to make it and we can only watch them go and grow and create? -- A parent ill or growing old and frailer? -- A friend going through jobs and relationships like a game of dominoes? - A partner challenged with emotional or physical pain? -- A loved pet hurt or dying, OR our own emotional trauma when we feel hurt, or stupid by the choices we have made?

And yet that Presence is that eternal flame warming us from the inside, flickering frantically to get our attention, to make us laugh and sigh and pray and find the ability and knowingness that none of these dramas matter.  They're just reminders of our Oneness with All life and our ability to be finally and truly Grateful for the lessons.

The Presence is constant, ultimate forgiveness ... Those huge, warm, loving arms of the Source of All - holding us while our bodies are racked with pain, while we wretch with tears and emotional release, crying until there is nothing left except Presence - ever calm and patient, always smiling and inviting, infinitely loving.

 

Step gently to your Soul and

Kiss the face of your Heart.

Dance gladly in your arms and

Hear the melodie whispers of

All time and space.

Know the Presence that created you and

Feel the Presence that IS you.

 

    --Rose Marie Schilling-Motter

(Sharing from the Heart - CTC Service 1/24/2010)

 

 

 

BLISS

by

 

Rose Marie Schilling

God's grace upon us takes us on a journey into blissful awareness. Awareness begins with the most simple acts, all done in openess and gratitude.

Have you felt the soft legs of a butterfly walk upon your finger and know that as its wings flap they create a breeze that is felt around the world?

Have you heard the shrill cry of a cicada and examined its cruchy carcass and marveled at its intricacies?

Have you felt the pained crying of a baby be instantly silenced as you embraced her tenderly with all the love in your heart?

Have you breathed in the essence of a puppy and felt its shivering joy?

Have you sat in stillness gazing upon a flower until you could actually see its petals move and open in wondrous beauty as it released its heavenly scent?

I have stared into the core of a single candle until its light blinded me.

I have listened to a piece of music until I became part of the instruments... the strings on the harp, the keys on the piano being played by a rhythm that melted my Soul to silence.

I have gazed deeply into the eyes of my beloved and gently stroked his face and hair and felt completely at ONE in his love.

I have looked into the face of my friends and family and felt my heart leap and know the presence of Spirit in their Souls.

I have felt love and appreciation grow, knowing that joy, delight, fear, and unworthiness are All from GOD...

All Gifts of Growth that create BLISS and union with GOD.

 

 

A hunch drove me outdoors to the car Hunched against the cold wind  yet Face turned to the winter's sun I did the errands, details of life Today, Go Today sang in my thoughts I went into the store on another listed detail Saw a friend, finished acquiring for a project And struck Paydirt! Clearance Sales Galore! New PJs for traveling, baby clothes to gift Colors just right, gifts to please new family As I left the store the evening sky Caught my heart and eye Black bare tree arms reaching into the distinct NC blue That covers these lovely mountains My eye wonders which colors combined could come close to that beauty? Brighter just there, shading away darker to each side Black contrasting so strongly against greenblue Such bold beauty to behold Over a parking lot At the end of an ordinary day, Today

  --Francie Rose

 

It’s one of those ambiguous days in the mountains. There seems to be a dance going on between the snow clouds overhead and the patient and overpowering rays of the sun, breaking through and lighting my space at magical intervals. I choose to bear it witness in my magic chair snuggled between two windows in the corner of my living room. On my right the flames of my fireplace long ago converted to gas team with the warmth of the winter sun and everywhere the sound of meditative music fills the air, courtesy of cable TV and channel 963, evolution at its finest. The team quickly infiltrates my thoughts and I begin my ascent, my seed thought springtime, clutched tightly within the fingers of my two hands.

Wisdom surrounds me; a penetrating mist acknowledges my private challenges; denial is futile, surrender is appropriate. I am transported to my own past dark night of the soul. I recognize and acknowledge differences. I have grown, I have allowed Spirit to enter my space and I have accepted its guidance. Gently, I disentangle my fears from my thoughts, releasing the need to revisit my current experience, to compare, to grieve. Completed, this part of my morning is over; I choose now to spend my day loving me, filling, filling me, my heart; in preparation (perhaps) for another day’s temporary withdrawal from Absolute Truth, because forgetfulness too is a gift from God.

Thy staff and Thy rod comfort me… and indeed they do; I walk through the valley of eternal life. The seeds in my hand begin to sprout life and the Essence that is me walks the garden paths of my own front yard. Here, I settle upon a spot within the halo of filtered sunlight and sprinkle upon soft dark earth, tomorrow’s promise. Here, within the space of my own chosen refuge, the Devas and Nature Spirits, the Seeds and my Soul, conspire for tomorrow’s life. Together, we embrace the Cosmos, paying homage to its joy; whereupon begin traces of distant song, sacred toning and barely penetrable notes, beckoning me rest, to dream the sleep of the awakened. I marvel that the Bible is not the guide for my childhood; its passages, no longer twisted and obscure, often poetry to enlightened thoughts. I lie in the grass and wait for the butterfly, while perched alongside within the yet folded leaf of a lily, a yellow caterpillar observes in silence.

    --Sylvia Jusino, CTCLP and Joyful Earth Traveller

As I breathe in the adamantine particles of the white light and connect with all my chakras and acknowledge all Guides and Teachers on all realms, there comes the stillness and Presence of God.

It is a feeling of peace, yet also of incredible strength and it doesn't just come in the room as if someone just walked in the door.  It is a Divine Knowing - a Pre-Sense that just grows within and manifests through every pore of our skin, through every hair that stands on end when we Really feel Spirit.

Presence is a knowing BEFORE sensing - Pre-sense.  From the Webster's Dictionary the French derivative is praeesse - 'to be before one.'  It happens and yet doesn't happen at all.  It simply exists - one need only open the inner eyes, the inner heart and know it is there - your own Life Source, your own Heart Flame - flickering in Divine rhythm with all the Universes, singing in silent prayer that you have opened your eyes and seen yourself acknowledging your own Presence, your own Importance in the theater of experiences here.

The flickering flame is so happy you recognize your inner light and feels the intense pains that your life has taken on ... What is your drama of choice? - A child struggling to make it and we can only watch them go and grow and create? -- A parent ill or growing old and frailer? -- A friend going through jobs and relationships like a game of dominoes? - A partner challenged with emotional or physical pain? -- A loved pet hurt or dying, OR our own emotional trauma when we feel hurt, or stupid by the choices we have made?

And yet that Presence is that eternal flame warming us from the inside, flickering frantically to get our attention, to make us laugh and sigh and pray and find the ability and knowingness that none of these dramas matter.  They're just reminders of our Oneness with All life and our ability to be finally and truly Grateful for the lessons.

The Presence is constant, ultimate forgiveness ... Those huge, warm, loving arms of the Source of All - holding us while our bodies are racked with pain, while we wretch with tears and emotional release, crying until there is nothing left except Presence - ever calm and patient, always smiling and inviting, infinitely loving.

 

Step gently to your Soul and

Kiss the face of your Heart.

Dance gladly in your arms and

Hear the melodie whispers of

All time and space.

Know the Presence that created you and

Feel the Presence that IS you.

 

    --Rose Marie Schilling-Motter

(Sharing from the Heart - CTC Service 1/24/2010)

 

 

 

 

Sweet Dawn . . .

A gentle reminder of God's forgiveness

One spark of light crests the mountain and

Bolts blissfully across the sky

Revealing a peek into the treasure chest

Of Gold light lifting the lid of grey clouds off the ridges,

Spilling trillions of sparkling gold, pink and turquoise coins

Over the cool blue peaks......

A lesson in opposites,  a merging of Perfection.

Sweet Dawn . . .

How grateful I AM.

 

--Rose Marie Schilling

 

 

 

Sweet Dawn . . .

A gentle reminder of God's forgiveness

One spark of light crests the mountain and

Bolts blissfully across the sky

Revealing a peek into the treasure chest

Of Gold light lifting the lid of grey clouds off the ridges,

Spilling trillions of sparkling gold, pink and turquoise coins

Over the cool blue peaks......

A lesson in opposites,  a merging of Perfection.

Sweet Dawn . . .

How grateful I AM.

 

--Rose Marie Schilling

 

 

 

 

 

Artist:  Marilyn Anderson

Wild Geese, Arrow of Time
2002
Acrylic on canvas
48.5 x 60 inches

See more at http://artincontext.com/artist/artist_images.aspx?id=1721

 

 

CTC Artist:  Sylvia Jusino

 

 

 

 

CTC Artist:  Sylvia Jusino

 

 

 

 

CTC Artist:  Sylvia Jusino

 

 

 

 

CTC Artist:  Sylvia Jusino

 

 

 

 

CTC Artist:  Sylvia Jusino

 

 

 

CTC Artists:  Sylvia Jusino, Barbara Elswick, Bonnie Berk

& Beth Weber

 

 

 

 

 

CTC Artist:  Barbara Elswick

 

 

 

Heart of the Present Moment  

by Rose Marie Schilling 

 

 

 

At sunset, the palest apricot clouds fade to grey, eclipsed by the three quarter moon showing off its silver halo in the fading blue.  

I'm called and asked to share from the heart, so I contemplate this while admiring the sky and feeling into my heart - its subtety takes my senses on a journey of present awareness. 

 

I think I'm knowing and hearing silence - until I truly listen - and release that little voice of disguise and then I feel it, I hear it... each and every present moment. 

 

 

 

I Invite My Soul

by Sylvia Jusino, CTCLP

This morning I invite my soul…

My mind recedes and all thoughts vanish

I am no thing, no memory, no choice

No bridge to awareness

 

Release is my last act in time

Only my soul remains

Its existence marked by the birth of itself

Into a part of all-knowingness

 

Meeting its creator… Itself

Begotten by All that is perfect, whole

And complete

Unbound by the Laws of Leviticus

 

This morning I invite my soul…

Unclothed by mind I am neither

Wave nor particle but the string

That connects either way

 

My soul divines the notes of the lear

And my heart reminisces

Silent notes of omniscient joy

Melodious harmony returns

 

To self demanding permission of mind

Bound by appearance

Yet heeding strong the song of Spirit

Patient with all mortal ways

 

This morning I invite my soul

I disappear and my presence returns

I am blinded that my sight returns

I touch the light through an empty mist

 

My awareness in its infancy vacillates

Swinging from star to moon and eyeing

The milky way the ultimate slide

Tied to no thing I play free

 

Choiceless, my soul accepts

An invitation to no thing all thing

I am whole dancing nowhere

I am All everywhere

 

This morning I invite my soul…

To ride atop God’s rainbow

To wait for dusk

To skip from it to steps of stars

 

Eternity replaces thought

I see hear and feel as One knowing

Electrifying gentleness… Genetic

Vibrations upon invisible fingertips

 

My heart shall never leave this place

Though soon again my thoughts forget

My soul collects these memories

And retreats into that watchful place

 

For long a time I walk in light

Although I may not remember always

Why I smile and love,

My hand held out to strangers

 

This evening came and brought with it

A wind so harsh it hurt my ears

Replacing the melodious song of chimes

With the harshness of metal upon metal

 

Stillness… then dawn

I move about Mother’s cleansed planet

From my porch begins anew

The gentle coax of resonating tones

 

Feathered angels sing from branches

Portals of eternally provided shelter

While fallen leaves renew the land

A feast for all things, including me

 

Senses aware I accept this vision

This gift of sight and sound

And my spirit rises to a space of light

Celebrating the return of tenderness

 

Not enough… The Over-soul waits

I dance I stumble I hope, coaxing again

the Holy Instant….then I remember…

I forgot to invite My Soul

 

 

 

 

Please feel free to comment.  (click on comments below)

Comments

[Ina M. Plympton]

Frank,

Absolutely beautiful, every one... pictures and poetry --Awesome -- Inspiring!!! CTC is so fortunate to have so much talent within the confines of our "metaphysical heart" of Haywood County. And, even more fortunate that the artists are so willing to share their gifts. One of the paintings in particular is especially surreal.

Ina