A Letter to Tina

Dear Tina,

Today was an extraordinary day full of (to coin a new oxymoron) ordinary miracles. It began with members from the different groups that form the local Catholic community. We came together to form two pilot small faith community leadership groups. After the six-week Discipleship Program, the members of the pilot group would act as the seed persons who bring together other members of the community to form groups that would work together through Lent. The meeting was followed by a lovely lasagne lunch.

Two old 1950s/1960s songs kept running through my head as I stood in a sun shower smoking a cigarette. I think it is the first time I have experienced a winter sun shower. As I gazed up at the trees, I saw a squirrel scrabbling up it. I immediately thought, Spring can’t be too far off. After all, I have seen several squirrels out and about this week.

Three of us were in my friend’s van as she drove down Main Street, ahead of us a strikingly well defined rainbow arched over North Vancouver. It was one of those “Wow!” moments that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

During the bus ride home, I started thinking of the things that I had accumulated that I loved but could find no way to use them in a way that did them justice. I also thought how blessed I am to finally have a chance to rectify that situation. Two beautiful china vases and the Turkey feather and feather case that you gave me are prime examples.

The vases were on a high shelf in my bedroom gathering dust for 12 years. Now they adorn my office filled with Lucky Bamboo. I wondered how I could use the Turkey feather. I thought of using it in our Friday night faith-sharing sessions but somehow this just did not fit. Then during an alternative therapy session, I had one of those eureka moments. It became clear to me that this beautiful feather would be used to help me in my healing practice. Thank you for this wonderful gift.

Today was one of those days when I felt so much gratitude for all the gifts in my life. I just have to say, that one of the most precious gifts was the blessing of having you in it. Although you are no longer with us in the visible world, you are with me in the feather, in the wearable artefacts that you made, and most of all in the wonderful memories that are engraved indelibly on my heart.

Love, blessings, and all good to you,

vikki

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Winter Feast for the Soul

January 15 - February 23, 2010

Last year over 10,000 people in at least 29 different countries participated in this worldwide event. The Dalai Lama has endorsed the Winter Feast for two years now and Deepak Chopra has added his endorsement to the list:

“Meditating forty minutes a day for forty days, as done in the Winter Feast for the Soul won’t just further one’s conscious evolution. Humanity will be at peace when enough individuals choose to make peace a part of their spiritual practice.” Deepak Chopra

The premise for the Winter Feast is that when people spend a block of time each day focusing inward they will discover there a source of inner peace. That peace, if shared by enough people will spread around the world. Founder, Valerie Skonie, of Hailey Idaho predicts that “a shift in our global consciousness will occur if enough people join us. That kind of shift translates into a new world order that includes wisdom and compassion for all beings.”

The initial inspiration for the Winter Feast came when Valerie read a three-line poem by a 13th Century mystic Jelaluddin Rumi:

What nine months does for the embryo
Forty early mornings
Will do for your growing awareness.

Spiritual practice can be defined as prayer, meditation, reading sacred texts, yoga, martial arts, and expressive arts. “We even had a woman who committed to singing for forty minutes a day last year,” reports Skonie.

Consider the stories of Noah, Elijah, Moses, Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed. Each spent forty days in retreat or contemplation. When these prophets returned from their inner journey, they had changed, and, in turn, their world had changed. “Now it is our turn to participate in this shift and not to look to our spiritual leaders to do it for us,” says Skonie.

You can learn more about the Winter Feast for the Soul 2010 by going to their website: http://www.winterfeastforthesoul.com

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