Dear Ones,
This is dedicated to anyone who, on this day, feels lost or lonely and has no one to have Thanksgiving coffee and pumpkin pie with. Dedicated to those whose hearts have been battered around until it hurts to breath. Dedicated to anyone who, last year was with someone they loved and this year, find their table missing their presence. I called it a prayer to open the heart, but I don’t know if that is what it is or not…but it is the conversation of my own heart today, it is more of a rant to open the heart and in truth, I have to go mash potatoes so don’t have time to edit it as well as it should be.
I wish, you, whoever you are reading this, could come and have coffee with me. I wish we could talk about the good times, and count our blessings. I wish I could hold your warm hand and remind you that all things pass. I would look into your eyes and tell you, that though it may not all turn out all right, or as we thought, we have to keep loving anyway. When you ask me how to do that… I will tell you, to write. To move your body. To grieve when you need to. To make offerings at the roots of trees. To paint. To keep a journal. To drink tea with God. To have a kitten or a dog. I will tell you to open the heart you have ty try and try. I will ask you to call on God even if you don’t know what name to use. I will tell you, if your heart has become hard because you are attached to being right, to get on your knees before your beloveds and ask for forgiveness. I will tell you, the heart has nothing to do with ego in reality. I will tell you that God made the heart for breaking and loving, that is how it is designed. Not to stay in one piece, but somehow, to break and heal. The Blessed Mother with a shining needle and a glistening red thread and time will put the pieces back in place and mend the tears from the inside.
Shiloh Sophia
Prayer to Open the Heart
After the heart has been closed and opened one hundred times,
we think each opening will be easier. But it isn’t.
Time sometimes makes our heart harder, and the hinges
on the swinging doors are in need of the oil of healing.
Time sometimes makes our hearts softer, our memories
more gentle and our bitterness dissolves like hot honey.
But what about when it doesn’t? And our tongue tastes like ashes?
The heart, a soul organ of light, spontaneous in nature, and
as unpredictable as any force in the universe.
Volcanoes, tornadoes and floods come second when it comes
to the unpredictability of the heart.
So what is there to do, when the heart so bruised and battered and
she or he wishes there was a 911 line just for the hurting hearts?
“Hello this is the heart, and I am in danger of loving, less,
and I am scared and I don’t know who to call…”
and the voice on the other side, thankfully, is God.
“Dear Heart, you are my dwelling place. I love you.
Lean into the edges. Press on the bruises.
Notice the torn place with wonder.
Do not turn away from your pain, turn towards it.
When you turn towards it and allow yourself to FEEL it,
then I will be able to re-light that flame atop your heart…
in time. But if you turn away from it, and get distracted
from feeling. The light will go out and to get it lit again
I sometimes have to sing you the most terrible blues.
Come back daily. Moment by moment, turn towards
the heart, towards me, towards loving. Don’t let it go
dormant, don’t allow mediocrity, don’t let the days
go by without telling those you love, how much you love them.
And those who hurt you, dear heart, feel the ache of that,
and in time I will soften it. I can use this to open you.
I will bring healing. I promise.
If there was no risk – then what?
These matters of the heart require your full
participation. I cannot do it without you. The mending
of the tattered heart, is mixture of human-stuff and God-stuff
and plenty of shimmering star-stuff thrown in for good measure.
Pay attention. The heart is not some place to treat casually.
Give your heart language. Poetry is the language of the heart
and without words as little offerings upon the altar of love,
sometimes the heart goes to sleep. We all need to nap,
oh! but not too long, Dear Heart. Not too long.
Keep the flame bright!
Wake up Dear Heart! Wake Up! Come to the fireside
of the sacred heart, you are not alone in your pain or in
your ecstasy. You will find me there, if you turn toward me.
In your soul, imagine entering the deep dark rich abundant
space of your very own heart, and meditate on the beauty
there. Suffering too. Humanity too. But more than any of those
things, grace. Grace rules the heart and is not governed by logic.
You cannot think your way into healing. You can feel your way there…
and in time…you will call you heart the home of love again.
Call on me, anytime. I love you,
Dearest Heart.”
And so…
Right this moment, yes this one you are in right now.
Have you turned from the opening of the heart?
Can you turn back? Go back in. Imagine facing
the valley of self between where you are and the
location of the heart in your body spirit and go there
now, without delay! This is a call to open the heart – a
call to bring life back into the closed place and feel the fire of love.
This is a call to open the doors on the heart’s great
cathedral and let the doves out and the song
back in. This is a call from me to you. This is
a call from Spirit to all of us. What do we have,
if not a heart open to loving and being broken
open and healed and opened again?
The heart is the home of
transformation – the place where the past
is burnt up and the future is opened wide.
Love, oh LOVE, like your life depends on it!
And if you fall…and if you break…there is
healing after the valley of tears.
It will take some time, but you will feel it –
but watch daily at the gates for those
red threads flashing in the dark morning.
Watch daily in vigilant care to notice
the changes. If you are withholding love,
stop now. Open. It will hurt and be scary
but do it anyway.
And please, please, tell
those you love them, just how much. Often.
Tell them what flowers they remind
you of, and how they smell like the sea,
tell them how different life is with them
in it. Tell them, you are sorry. Tell them
how lovable they are to you. Even if they
don’t always feel like that – don’t let
the totality of the relationship stop you
from telling them, today:
You. Are. Glorious.
The heart heals through loving.
This is dedicated to you — and it is written because it is what I myself needed to hear. You were my inspiration – but it was my heart that needed the instant messaging. Thank you, dear ones of the cosmos out there – for being such a gorgeous muse for my heart. I love you.
From my heart to yours this Thanksgiving Day,
Love,
“Thou hast turned my mourning into dancing”
Psalms
dear Shiloh, i don’t really know how i am on your mailing list, but i am so grateful for your words today…helping release the flood of tears that i’ve been holding within. your words, with their raw honesty, speaking truth, allows me, to hear my own truth. i have chosen to be alone this day, unable to feel myself in the company of others, but in this moment, in your company, i can feel some healing, allowing me to be with me…
thank you..
many blessings,
Barbara
Thanks, Shiloh. This message came at just the right time. It gave me something important to contemplate and work through. I will be chewing on the thoughts you presented and the feelings they provoked, the ones that needed to be brought out to the light of day, confronted, named, and acknowledged as belonging to the past. I will be letting go of the useless baggage and welcoming in spirit and healing and joy.
Yes, there are people I am missing today, remembering holidays past with them. They are not with me except in memory and in my heart. Today I honor the way they touched me, moved me, taught me, loved me. Today I will take those gifts and pay them forward with a smile.
Afterall, that it what we must do to keep the flame lit, to pass on the love, wisdom and acceptance that was given to us. Not to hold it tight, unused. To cherish the gifts we received and to share the light they brought, that is the unselfish and generous way of a grateful open heart.
Now I must go tend to the sweet potatoes and prepare for a gathering of loved ones with a laughing and happy heart.
Love and blessings in abundance!
Linda
Beautiful, Shiloh ! Thank you for your beautiful “gift”. I am truly blessed to have you be a part of my life’s journey, in your own lovely way. Yours, is at the top of my list of beautiful sites. Love, Janell
Thank you so much for shinning your light. I was having a hard time for the last two days.
I am so grateful and thankful that you are in this world. I find you to be a mentor and an inspiration.
Shiloh,
You are a beautiful being. You are loved by so many. I love you very much.
Wishing all your dreams come true!
Angelic Blessings,
Namaste
Isis
Sending all being joy and bliss.
Shiloh dearest, you are such a source of inspiration and love to my heart and I thank you for all the years and tears and love from above that flows between us in an endless flow of divine sweetness…You are always and forever in my heart…love to thee from me….A
this is so beautiful!!
There are times when the Spirit sends a message…This was one for me…Blessing dear soul and Thank you
AGustavia
Dear Shiloh,
Thank you for these kind words about aloneness on Thanksgiving. I spent Thanksgiving in Spain 5000 miles away from my American family – but in the company of kind Spaniards. We shared a meal of typical Spanish foods. I toasted them with a glass of Rioja and told them of Thanksgiving, my favorite American holiday – the holiday of abundance and gratitude.
Regarding aloneness and opening of the heart, one of my favorite poems comes to mind which I will share –
The Heart Cave
I must remember to go down to the Heart Cave
and sweep it clean; make it warm
with a fire on the hearth,
and candles in their niches;
the pictures on the walls
glowing with a quiet light.
I must remember to go down to the Heart Cave
and make the bed
with the quilt from home,
strew rushes on the floor,
and hang lavender and sage
from the corners.
I must remember to go down to the Heart Cave
and be there when you come.
~ Geoffrey Brown
Thank you again! Blessings to you and all who are reading this! And remember – “Those who lack the time to mourn, lack the time to mend.” – Sir Henry Taylor
Besos y Abrazos –
DJ Starr, Barcelona, Espana
thank you,