tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post5191005705900556198..comments2024-03-28T17:16:03.754-07:00Comments on Eye on the Edge: Easter Sunday 2011DJanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07152183871573797791noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-34560440556132535122011-04-30T06:46:36.343-07:002011-04-30T06:46:36.343-07:00What a beautiful post. You write from the heart an...What a beautiful post. You write from the heart and that always speaks in such a powerful way.Trishhttp://www.synchrosecrets.com/synchrosecretsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-44210294661252464932011-04-28T22:31:55.692-07:002011-04-28T22:31:55.692-07:00What a beautiful and soulful post, DJan. You have ...What a beautiful and soulful post, DJan. You have had so many transforming experiences in your life - no wonder you are so multi-faceted.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13178290697351352495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-78370072378137018372011-04-28T19:15:52.618-07:002011-04-28T19:15:52.618-07:00Interesting experience. I could probably benefit ...Interesting experience. I could probably benefit greatly from some quiet contemplative time. I was raised in the church and find that I have a very strong religious foundation. I was fortunate enough to have parents that also encouraged me to learn more about other faiths and belief systems. Perhaps encourage is the wrong word, but I never felt anything but acceptance from them in that regard. We were raised Methodist, but my dad had a man, a bit of a surrogate father, who was very close to us and a devout Catholic. He often took care of my sister and me when my parents were out of town and I went on hunting trips with him and my dad, etc. One year he took my sister and I to the monastery that was part of the church he attended. We actually spent the night and got up at the crack of 4:30 or something for an early mass. It has been years upon years since this event, but I can still remember the quality of the silence there. It was the warmest, most comforting silence I've ever experienced. I'm certain you know exactly what I mean.Whitney Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07766231420593480962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-53547743775021227622011-04-28T11:48:01.363-07:002011-04-28T11:48:01.363-07:00That's something I've never done, but woul...That's something I've never done, but would like to do, i.e. spend some time on a retreat. I'm glad you found it a rewarding experience.Stella Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06699491230987143490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-60586362172842355842011-04-27T18:54:32.005-07:002011-04-27T18:54:32.005-07:00Hi DJan, What a lovely and loving Easter post this...Hi DJan, What a lovely and loving Easter post this was..even though I am reading it three days after Easter. I was raised Lutheran, going to church every Sunday..still am Lutheran..just not every Sunday. I know that I am going to heaven..that part has been bought and paid for during Easter week..and I have a ticket!! <br />There are many ways to touch people besides bashing them over the head with a Bible..or being in church every Sunday..like God keeps track.<br />I have a blogging friend who goes to a writing retreat every August at a convent, the sisters welcome her with open arms..and she always come back so full of renewed hope and excitement..it is a joy to listen to her talk about her quiet time. <br />Thank you for sharing:)Far Side of Fiftyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07995757632158408442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-60757668933920977382011-04-26T12:02:15.592-07:002011-04-26T12:02:15.592-07:00I enjoyed reading about your spiritual journey. M...I enjoyed reading about your spiritual journey. Mine is quite the opposite, having been raised in a strict evangelical tradition, I went to a Christian College because it was 'safe'. But somewhere along the way in my adult life I realized that none of this fit me at all. I am now a happy agnostic, but I also find my sanctuary in nature.Linda Reederhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07665601809156707572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-55937057439515110802011-04-26T04:51:27.145-07:002011-04-26T04:51:27.145-07:00DJan...I could not express my feelings any better ...DJan...I could not express my feelings any better than Teresa E, Blissed Out Grandma, and Retired English Teacher... You are an exceptional person the way you bravely, honestly, peel back the layers of your life. <br /><br />I laughed too when you mentioned you were concerned with the various fashions of the nuns. I watched Nuns Story with Audrey Hepburn, and may have fantasized about the romance of becoming a nun, only due to the movie...but I never thought of it seriously.<br /><br />Reading your story, I can't help but think how great it would have been to spend times with the nuns... What a unique, incredible experience... <br /><br />Our family came from many different religions, but when I was 9 years old, after visiting a Catholic church in Washington state, I wanted to become a Catholic. Again, I was taken with the romance and rituals of it. <br /><br />In my teen years, I became embittered with what I saw as hypocracy withint the Catholic Church...I saw my family struggling with so many kids and the church against birth control...a family friend/priest was arrested for molesting boys and commited suicide...so I began exploring different churches and faiths.<br /><br />I found a progressive church in Tucson, AZ, run my Jesuit priests. I even took a life drawing course from a Jesuit. What a shock that was!<br /><br />For a time, I also found time with nature as a beautiful place to worship and contemplate...<br /><br />In 1998 I became a Christian and for the first time, really felt I had a genuine relationship with the Lord.<br /><br />I so look forward to your weekend posts...Donna B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07015770616281528620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-62323933183353920832011-04-25T16:54:03.021-07:002011-04-25T16:54:03.021-07:00You provide an intimate part of your spiritual jou...You provide an intimate part of your spiritual journey. How uplifting and meaningful.Paul Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01836602667355512504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-13120277719758152362011-04-25T14:38:41.906-07:002011-04-25T14:38:41.906-07:00I just love your Sunday posts! What a wonderful e...I just love your Sunday posts! What a wonderful experience to have lived with nuns. I find it difficult to be so transparent in my posts because I have so much family, including parents, that I feel I can't share some thoughts. I can say that my religious past is varied and Hubby and I consider ourselves very good and spiritual people but just can't bring ourselves to feel real close to any one physical church. We feel like you, being close to each other and nature feels more spiritual than being inside a church building. Why is it I feel comfortable telling you that and not my family?Leave a Legacyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08736682143653420541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-2758149523538350362011-04-25T01:17:13.403-07:002011-04-25T01:17:13.403-07:00Sounds like it must have been a beautiful experien...Sounds like it must have been a beautiful experience!<br /><br />My mom wanted to be a nun when she was a teenager as well... a good friend of hers -a jesuit priest, who came all the way to Panama to baptise me!- talked her out of it. Teenage fantasies of what convent life is like! :p<br /><br />I didn't know there were Episcopalian nuns... I thought only Catholics had monks and nuns!CrazyCrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17512240982215608638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-62177266498916585942011-04-24T23:09:10.181-07:002011-04-24T23:09:10.181-07:00Great post! It amused me that you based your deci...Great post! It amused me that you based your decision on the type of habit the nuns wore. lol.<br /><br />I think a lot of Catholics and Episcopalians think of joining the religious life at one time or another. My aunt was a nun for over 10 years, spending time in Korea as a Maryknoll missionary. She left the convent when she was around 37 or 38 and hasn't looked back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-9467052959546539072011-04-24T19:35:20.770-07:002011-04-24T19:35:20.770-07:00DJan, if we ever meet in person, I think we could ...DJan, if we ever meet in person, I think we could talk for a week, non-stop. This post was so reflective and honest that I again had new respect for you. You are one of the most genuine people I know. I love how you have thought deeply about your life and your experience toward it.<br /><br />I then went back and read your older post on being "trapped." I was touched even more by your ability to be so transparent, You have suffered so much loss. I gain great strength from you.<br /><br />I've not shared my personal spiritual and marital journey because the time is not right. I will when I feel that I can, but I also have had a complex journey. <br /><br />It is good to be at this age and have the ability to look back without bitterness, even if the memories are bitter. Happy Easter, dear one.Sally Wesselyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06470453773515491625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-70344478569463478482011-04-24T16:55:11.932-07:002011-04-24T16:55:11.932-07:00DJan! I so love coming over here. I, too recall ...DJan! I so love coming over here. I, too recall wanting to be a nun at some point - but worrying about the fashion side of it. I'm Catholic, in a very loose sense of the word these days, I think you have found the perfect essence of it all. Prayer is comforting and healing - whether it be to God, Allah or Nature. What a wonderful retreat that sounds like; I wish I could find one here. Happy Easter, my friend.Gigihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05467164195744234746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-72219215258773419842011-04-24T16:11:28.282-07:002011-04-24T16:11:28.282-07:00Great post written in a contemplative manner. At l...Great post written in a contemplative manner. At least it makes me think.<br /> I couldn't help but see the complete opposites in our experience with faith. From the day I was born the bible was read to me. Church was attended 4 or 5 times a week. There was much pressure from those around me to conform. When I grew up I gradually moved away from this rigorous pattern and today have very little to do with organized worship. <br /> I feel comfortable and also very accepting of those who find a way to express and follow their faith as long as they don't go out and try to push others to make similar commitments.Redhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-18696476403744250812011-04-24T12:40:00.178-07:002011-04-24T12:40:00.178-07:00Thanks for sharing your spiritual journey and the ...Thanks for sharing your spiritual journey and the place you made for prayer and meditation in your life. It makes me feel closer to you knowing that we're walking this path and drawing strength from it in its various manifestations. I had my most profound spiritual realization as a young adult when on retreat with nuns. It has underpinned my journey ever since. Happy Easter or Buona Pasqua as they say here.Grandmother Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18169464484379536529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-48508760875656390602011-04-24T12:23:18.255-07:002011-04-24T12:23:18.255-07:00I do believe our father's family were Christia...I do believe our father's family were Christian Scientists, although I don't think Daddy ever practiced it. We come from quite eclectic roots.<br /><br />Have a wonderful day...Norma Jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16012021195725446402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-60707693098549841952011-04-24T09:56:29.735-07:002011-04-24T09:56:29.735-07:00A beautiful post, and it sounds like a wonderful w...A beautiful post, and it sounds like a wonderful way to spend your Easter day, surrounded with life, contemplating things that are gone and things that are yet to come.Buzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17820913066052044418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-16277880780143344812011-04-24T09:38:45.528-07:002011-04-24T09:38:45.528-07:00Beautiful thoughts, and Teresa's comment is fa...Beautiful thoughts, and Teresa's comment is fabulous, too. You have become a deeply spiritual person. I think we can learn concepts and practices from church participation, and that we really grow when we make those things our own. Nature is perhaps the ultimate place of worship.<br /><br />Oh, and this: "When fashion is your guide to a convent, you can't be all that serious." Cracked me up. I went through that phase, too, but had forgotten until I read this. Have a wonderful Easter, DJan.Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17223278142557533175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197597102880101691.post-70116758132917663032011-04-24T07:31:31.955-07:002011-04-24T07:31:31.955-07:00"Love has rolled the stone away." What a..."Love has rolled the stone away." What a transcendent post for this morning. I went back and read your "another story," DJan, and several posts that also relate it. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see you now, on the far side of all of that, and with love and nature surrounding you. Resurrection comes in many forms.Teresa Evangelinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05495114564099989481noreply@blogger.com