It is I who must begin.
Once I begin, once I try —
here and now,
right where I am,
not excusing myself
by saying things
would be easier elsewhere...
— to live in harmony
with the "voice of Being," as I
understand it within myself
— as soon as I begin that,
I suddenly discover,
to my surprise, that
I am neither the only one,
nor the first,
nor the most important one
to have set out
upon that road.
Whether all is really lost
or not depends entirely on
whether or not I am lost.
Ask that your consciousness be filled with Light; ask to be illumined to follow the path of simplicity with integrity and inner sight. Inspired by Divine Light and Love you begin to express Divine Will in action: thus will your journey be eased, joy will nest in your heart. Awakening to the indwelling Divine Guest, Loving Companion Presence of your heart, family, friends, and strangers alike are greeted with compassion. A greater state of awareness being aroused, you recognize the interconnectedness of everything and everyone: the unity of diversity.
Silence and music Ebb and flow: Beauty of bird-song, The silence that follows: Afterglow which warms the heart Sets us yearning For our own soul-song: Journey in silence Take the path of Mystery To the music of your heart.
As many of you know, Nan published six books from 1996 - 2009. These are:
Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness--1996
Meditations and Mandalas: Simple Songs for the Spiritual Life--1999
Lumen Christi: Journey to Awakening--2002
Journey Into Love: From Fear to Freedom--2007
Walking with Wisdom--2009
These five titles are widely available in bookstores and online. The sixth, Peace Planet: Light for Our World, was self-published and can be ordered from Friends of Silence. Contact Anne (annestrad@sbcglobal.net or 11 Cardiff Lane, Hannibal, MO, 63401) for further information).
Psalms for Praying is perhaps Nan’s best known work. Over a period of years, she reworked the Hebrew Psalms, not, as she writes, "to replace the well-loved . . . Psalms of the Hebrew Scripture" but to "stand as a companion, a dialogue, if you will, of one age speaking with a later age."
O my Beloved, you are my shepherd, I shall not want; You bring me to green pastures for rest and lead me beside still waters renewing my spirit, You restore my soul. You lead me in the path of goodness to follow Love’s way.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow and of death, I am not afraid; For You are ever with me; Your rod and Your staff, they guide me, they give me strength and comfort.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of all my fears; you bless me with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the heart of the Beloved forever.
Blessed are you who walk with goodness, who stand for the right, who live in truth. . . . You are like an acorn planted in fertile soil that grows into a mighty oak. Your life blesses others, you radiate love; joy delights your heart.
Listen deeply to others and encourage their aspirations by word, by deed, or in deep silence. Live in a way that draws peace, beauty, harmony, and justice toward others and all of creation. Become an ambassador of peace through loving service.
As Mechtild of Magdeburg said, "The day of my spiritual awakening was the day I saw -- and knew I saw -- all things in God and God in all things." Everything else suddenly fell into perspective in the light of this awareness. In time, I was to discover that once Life had found me, once Love had taken me by the hand, there was no way I could stop the inner pilgrimage. . . . There was no turning back. . . . To choose Life with deep conviction and commitment is one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves, our families, our global neighbors, as well as the planet and ourselves.
Awakening is an ongoing journey. To begin to see and to turn our lives around is only the beginning. . . . This road humbles us and gives us strength to repent, to ask forgiveness, to simplify and discard all that is not Life-giving, and to abandon ourselves into Love’s hands. . . .
I’ve learned to love and to trust the Mystery not needing to know the future. I no longer take Grace for granted -- it is pure gift. . . . My essential course of action is simply to be in the Eternal Now, ready to follow the small, still voice heard in the Silence.
