Messages from the Garden
Messages from the Garden are periodic inspiration and guidance from Spirit.
Please enjoy this gift....
From my heart to yours,
Gloria
2020
LISTEN! PODCAST!
I invite you to listen to an interview that I gave on the "Cosmic Convos" segment of icreatedaily. Please note that this interview was recorded before the Coronovirus outbreak. Enjoy!
“A NOTE FOR THESE TIMES
Recently I heard a health professional speaking of the anxiety people were feeling during this crisis because of having little or no control over what was happening. The unpredictability of life on our earth presents many challenges with the unknown. I was reminded of my spiritual guidance when I questioned the difference between control and no control.
The answer came with an image of a boat at sea and this observation: No sailor would go to sea who did not know what his or her boat could do and how to navigate, but only a fool thinks one could control the tide and winds. Surrendering to the conditions and then practicing one’s craftsmanship makes for a successful and safe ride.
For many years, I have received guidance that during the planetary shift we are experiencing, all things hidden must come to the surface. There are many triggers to remind us of our common humanity and our shared planet. As we face and hopefully embrace our environmental crisis and the confrontation with injustices of all kinds, as well as the current challenge to our health - mentally, emotionally and physically, it is important that we dedicate ourselves to sustaining poise in the chaos.
As I meditated on supportive thoughts I could offer at this time, my mind returned again and again to the importance of our staying steady and patient for however long it takes. In that spirit, I want to share the following 12 considerations on endurance from my book BAREFOOT ON HOLY GROUND, 12 Lessons in Spiritual Craftsmanship.
1. Endurance empowers all other aspects of discipleship.
2. Endurance shapes by gentle insistence, not by heavy blows.
3. Endurance makes possible the birth of visions into form.
4. Endurance holds to truths not seen during the dark times.
5. Endurance is unconditional. “I’m in, no matter what.”
6. Endurance sees purpose and learning in failure and success.
7. Endurance notices “what is,” and energizes what can be.
8. Endurance accepts discipline in order to achieve excellence.
9. Endurance gracefully sacrifices the lesser for the greater.
10. Endurance combines soul purpose and material muscle.
11. Endurance is patient and perseveres with process.
12. Endurance has no beginning or end. I endure because I Am.
May you endure with peace, calmness and remembrance of how deeply you are loved”
— Gloria
December 2019
I am a daughter/son of the Mother-Father-God; therefore I am a creator. I know that I am in this body to seek fulfillment of my deepest intentions, and in so doing, I serve my place in the larger plan. I see that I am whole and deserving of all that the Universe has to offer me. I accept fully the Blessings of the Universe and know that Blessings will flow through me into the world.
I release false images of myself, remembered or unremembered, back to the Source to be purified and dissolved.
I look inward with honesty, humility and respect for myself. Here I see reflected all the radiance and clarity of my true Self. Here in my soul my sweetest dreams are born. For this remembrance, I am grateful. Thank you, Mother-Father-God.
— Gloria
November 2019
We light a candle for the four races of human kind that we may remember that differences in color, religion and culture are but rhythms of One Dance that make up our earthly expression.
We light a candle of acknowledgement for the other three kingdoms that share our physical earth - the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms. We do this to remember to honor all life whatever form it takes.
We light a candle for the children of the world that we may remember to support those generations that follow us, that we prepare pathways of Truth for them, as have been prepared for us.
We light a special candle for the angelic kingdom in gratitude for their constant presence of Light in our evolution and for their assistance in those acts of creativity we invoke.
— Gloria
August 2019
A Story of Transformation
One of the things I loved about the property I have lived on for 30 years was a grove of trees in the backyard, many of them quite large. Then in 2005 there was a huge ice storm that lasted for days. Nine trees in the grove fell during that storm. It was a total mess. For weeks, I watched these beautiful trees lying all over each other. In the process, I also noted the ones that didn’t fall.
In the spring the stumps were removed, the accompanying mess cleaned up and much to my surprise, the result was a circle of growth that had not been destroyed; on one side bamboo, even dogwoods that had survived, a very old azalea bush that spread, and a Japanese Maple still in a young stage was present.
I realized that from this ice storm and its destruction a very special place had emerged. And it has become just that, a sacred sanctuary. A refuge for meditation, relaxation, taking deep breaths.
In the middle of the destruction dynamics that happen in our lives we can sometimes see and feel loss, sadness, shock and disappointment. The process of things falling apart, often seemingly mindless or pointless, (operative word “seemingly”), we don’t in the destructive moments have the perspective or awareness of what is being created deep in the garden of our soul, that will manifest in ways we don’t yet know.
One thing is sacrificed that another is born. In the middle of things, it can be hard to see purpose, but there is…to believe you will love again, thrive again, be healthy again and feel spiritually connected again.
July 2019
Longing for the Beloved, I circled round ‘n’ round.
Until I returned at last to the other that is myself.
Awakened, I remembered and claimed this truth.
Held in the Mystery is my Wholeness and yours.
Neither of us male nor female, nor light or dark,
Both timeless yet born new moment by moment.
Both bringing heaven’s intentions into the earth.
Now I can see you in your image, not mine.
Now I am fee to love you, my Beloved Other.
~ Poem by Gloria Karpinski
June 2019
Renewal
The door closes.
I remove the suit of cells
Shower away sensation.
Free of bindings
Newborn bare,
I return to the womb.
SHE absorbs me
Into expansion
And I rest, dreamless
At the point of zero.
Till once again the call of will
We breath me, SHE and I
Into focus
A self born of Self
Separate yet not apart.
SHE assists the ritual of reentry
Smooths a mantle ‘round
my shoulders
Secures the fiery sword
Into its naval place.
Name tag pinned as planned.
Scripts reread, Renewed.
SHE kisses my forehead.
:Have a nice day,” SHE smiles.
~ by Gloria Karpinski
April 30, 2019
(inspired by the painting Nordwest Passage by Hans-Werner Sahm)
Beneath the surface of the earth there is a hidden path that descends through rock and soil and the powdered bones and dreams of crumbled cities and forgotten times. It carves a natural map toward the core of the earth, as deep as the highest mountain that stretches toward the skies. The trail descends to a river of shimmering pale green light. On the banks of the river burns a small fire … and there I sit, alone and awed. One day I will light the stick lying close by and make a torch to carry up to the thin delicate crust where heaven and earth meet. But this day I am drinking from the still, clear waters.
March 18, 2019
(from ‘Invocation to the Divine Mother’)
Divine Mother, Mother of All, Hear Our Need
We honor you, our Mother of a thousand names — Mary, Isis, Tara, Saraswati, Durga, Quan Yin, Kali, Minerva, Athena, White Buffalo Woman, Meera, Amachee — wherever and by whatever name You show Your face we honor You — Queen of Heaven, weaver of destinies, nurturer, healer, protector.
We bow to your sacred powers — the Holy glow of Shekineh, the transforming fire of Kundalini, the awakening Shakti, the holy wisdom of Sophia.
Let us speak and sing the words that tell the people She is present. We will water the parched land with Her stories — sacred tales of transformation and compassion, a moist, fertile renewal for soul and earth.
We will again speak of the Goddess, the Holy Mother of Gods, the Compassion Bodhisattva, the source of infinite bounty — our beloved Mother who art in Heaven and Earth, sacred be Thy name.
Let us sing the words that tell the people She is Present.
February 25, 2019
Empty to Be Filled
EMPTINESS : Nothing … No-Thing … between breaths, rest
EMPTINESS : Releasing existing ideas in quest for clarity
EMPTINESS : To be teachable, bringing an open mind
February 11, 2019
Twelve Considerations on Discernment
Unflinching self-honesty is the basis for discernment.
Wait to speak, believe, and act. Breathe. Wait a minute.
Unquestioned assumptions are potentially lethal.
Discerning disciples ask: “Do I choose to energize this?”
Discernment fuses intuition, experience, and knowledge.
Listen. Question. Evaluate. Choose. Then trust yourself.
Noncritical laughter restores perspective.
Wisdom never judges, but is always discriminating.
Seek inside, not outside, to discern your truth.
Discernment reveals the lies behind prejudices.
Disciples seek mentors that “walk their talk.”
Self-judgements are projected onto others.
January 21, 2019
Tribute
Poet Mary Oliver encouraged us to “walk slowly and bow often” lest we miss the sacredness that is alive and speaking to us in all of nature. She died this past week. I bow to her in gratitude for the rich legacy she has left for us. Personally I have shared her poems in many, many classes. After you read her work you can almost hear her say, “Now go outside and pay attention.”
Rose: Late Summer
If I had another life
I would want to spend it on some
unstinting happiness.
I would be a fox or a tree
full of waving branches
I wouldn’t mind being a rose
in a field of roses.
Fear has not occurred to them, nor ambition,
Reason they have not yet thought of.
Neither do they ask how long they must be roses, and then what,
or any other foolish question
~ by Mary Oliver
January 14
Peace Warriors
The Aquarian seal is broken.
Now comes forth renewing water from a Hidden Font.
Dissolving pearls slip into the common sea.
Again the Message telegraphs itself into the one mind.
It whispers as it rolls through our dusty despair.
Can you hear? Can you hear?
Its tortured cries rise from the blood-soaked
land long after the silence.
It screams from the throats of our longing children.
Who can hear? Who will hear?
I am your Life. There is no other.
Who will know this Truth? Who will be this Truth?
In every space, black, white, red, yellow
hearts quiver, quicken, ignite.
Remembered now the Sacred Covenant;
Accepted now the flaming Sword of Light.
As sunbeams carry the signature of the Sun
so do the Warriors of Truth bear witness of the One Life.
The hear. They see.
Again they cry: Prepare the way.
What rare nativity birthed such Souls?
Surely they shine from some distant star unmarred by pain.
Not so.
No superrace carries the Aquarian trust.
It is we who hear and see.
We of the Divine Hybrid-human-god, god-human,
Tried, fired and tempered in the human evolution,
Burned out on desire and separation,
Weary from millennia of dancing the frenzied tunes of Maya.
It is we who now become the Warriors of Peace.
We are here and we are ready.
January 7, 2019
Spirit of Life, I Bow to All Your Seasons
I bow to the newborn who begins anew.
I bow to the longing passion of youth.
I bow to the courage of the middle years.
I bow to the enduring love of latter days.
Blessed be all seasons and cycles.
December 31, 2018
The People
Heal us, the People.
‘Tis your sister I am.
Your Brother, too.
A cell in your body, I am.
In every breath I draw, the whole of us lives.
In every death I die, a bit of us dies, too.
There is no “us” and “them,” nor even you and I
But only one that chooses to live or to die.
‘Tis your Sister I am.
Your Brother, too.
A cell in your body, I am.
Sleep on and a bit of you hungers somewhere on this earth.
Look away - another falls from guns and heaven is delayed.
You will not reason out this truth in the darkness of the mind.
But surrendered in silence to your heart this truth you will find.
‘Tis your Sister I am.
Your Brother, too.
A cell in your body, I am.
If I am blind and still afraid, be gentle, help me wake.
If I am cruel and lost in greed, be patient, hold the Light,
Love wholly the sacred fire of life in which we all are blessed.
Be it forest, Arctic snow or city street, wherever I express.
‘Tis your Sister I am.
Your Brother, too.
A cell in your body, I am.
~ from ‘Litany for a Peaceful Planet’
December 10, 2018
TO BLESS SELF AND OTHERS
Sitting straight, take several long, slow breaths that go deep into the lower abdomen. Watch yourself breathe.
With the next few breaths, on the inhale perceive yourself breathing in and accepting the grace of the universe and then consciously directing its Light, power and love through all of your body’s organs and systems one at a time: “I bless my respiratory system,” “I bless my eyes,” and so on
Be aware of the grace moving through all your subtle bodies, blessing your feelings and your thoughts. Even hostile emotions that you want to release are given up more gently with the blessing of your benevolent Self: “I bless my feelings,” “I bless my thoughts.”
Now you are going to be an instrument of blessing for others. On the inhale take in the power of light and universal love. On the exhale focus the flow of this power out of yourself into the world, starting with your home, family, neighborhood, city, state, country, and world.
Be aware that you have practiced a power that is your birthright: the ability to be a conscious instrument of blessing.
~ from ‘Barefoot on Holy Ground’
November 12, 2018
GRACE IS
GRACE IS…
EVERYWHERE. It is the sea we swim in even as we cry “I thirst, I this.’
GRACE IS…
UNCONDITIONAL. Remove a boulder in the sea, and the sea rushes in.
GRACE IS…
BLESSING. It cannot be earned for it has never been withheld.
GRACE IS…
INDIVISIBLE. It is beyond dogma, for dogma names and separates.
GRACE IS…
CONNECTEDNESS. The gift of life makes all forms one family.
GRACE IS…
LOVE. Delaying Paradise the Great Sacrifices make clear the way.
GRACE IS…
THE WAY, not the rewards at journey’s end.
THE TRUTH, not the finite debates of good and bad.
THE LIGHT, whiteout which there would be no life.
October 29, 2018
Invocation to the Divine Mother
Divine Mother, do we need you?
Oh, Holy Mother, without your grace, we risk becoming a race of precocious and arrogant children — out of control — designing disasters — playing carelessly with the intricate patterns of Your Nature — seeking blindly to build more and more — “things” — for what reason we long ago forgot — rarely asking the single most important question: “Is it good for living things?”
Do we need you? Oh Yes, Oh Yes!! We need you.
October 22, 2018
V O T E
VOTE … because
It is a sacred privilege and trust
VOTE … because
Sacrifices were made so that you can.
VOTE … because
If you don’t, you had cast a vote.
VOTE … because
You are a cell in the body consciousness.
VOTE … because
Now is the Moment to be heard.
The Mandate is to be steady as a flame in a wind tunnel.
October 15, 2018
An excerpt addressing our shifting planet and changing times, from ‘Barefoot on Holy Ground’
We are all family members of a home planet that is shifting under our very feet. It is as though we are loosening from one orbit or way of understanding reality and being irresistibly drawn into another. The much-anticipated new orbit is still mysterious, and interpretation of the process varies. Some see the force of evolution propelling us toward major new insights into the universe and our place in it. Some see signs of the return of Jesus the Christ as planetary ruler and expect a thousand years of peace and harmony. Others interpret the return of the Christ as a metaphor for a collective leap in consciousness. They, too, believe we are at the edge of a wondrous new age, a time in which some say that those who have endured purification in mind, body, and spirit will transcend the limitations of physical reality and live in light bodies of higher frequency….
Age changes typically bring both upheavals and innovations as evolution offers us another chance to expand consciousness. Souls clamor to get born in such times, for they offer unusually extensive opportunities and high energies for running off past karma, for learning, and for service….
It is clear that we are not living through an unfortunate little string of crises after which all will return to an imagined state of normalcy. All around us we are seeing desperate attempts to empower the old myths. But no amount of financing, legislation, or control of any kind will stop the new from manifesting. Our DNA is programmed to respond to evolution’s urge. We are pulled toward our goodness, toward our Godness.
October 9, 2018
”Poise in Chaos”
Our hearts look at the Chaos of change and we weep, and the illusion that somehow, somebody would magically fix everything is often shattered.
After the shock and the tears, we will more easily remember that standing consciously with the terrors of our time is a major reason we incarnated. We are being called by the soul of our beloved planet to bring all of our love, insight and training to this moment. We must be ‘poised in chaos’ - sending forth healing energy for the pain, holding visions while the shadows in our civilization are brutally revealed, naked before our eyes. There is no way to look away.
Poise in the midst of madness requires us to find inner peace and then share all of our resources, building anew from a foundation of peace. We must pray without ceasing the continuous prayer that keeps us in present moment: present with the suffering and needs of all our brothers and sisters, also holding that sacred peace for our four-legged relatives as well as our winged, finned and green growing ones.
Through prayer we align ourselves with infinite possibilities. While my brain is reeling with images of destruction, the power of “Kyria Eleison” and “Om Tara Turare, Ture, Svaha” echo through my mind. And I can breathe again. Om Shanti Om.
I release my own responses so that I can be a clearer channel for my part in our often treacherous journey. As I empty, I can be filled. Here I am; guide me.
Anger has its place in chaos (Jesus in the temple, for example). Someone wise once said “Silence is complicity,” and I know this to be true. Anger can be collected and directed with purpose. Managing the anger - that’s the challenge. Perhaps it is as simple, and as complex, as choosing consciously to harness anger, not to divide, but to discern right action and right words. Such a conscious skill takes practice, practice and more practice. Remember - fear, an imagined illusion of the separation from Divine, would take the anger and fuel the chaos.
The question I ask myself and I ask you to consider: Can I bring love to even this moment? And now this moment? Not a mandate for the uncommitted.
The time for accountability is surely coming. And that accountability will have to include more than the obvious decision makers. It must include every one of us who has kept silent through lethargy, self-interest, fear, greed or even the sense of powerlessness before institutions that seem beyond our influence. We will all have to examine our insistence - or lack of it - on environmental protection; how carefully we monitor - or don’t - the choices our elected officials make about our land, the use of our taxes, the appointment of our public figures. This appears to be overwhelming - and humbling - to contemplate. And yes, it is liberating to wake up, let go and participate in the reality of our world whirling in change and challenge.
September 24, 2018
”Reflections on Sacred Activism”
To be effective with Action and Service, you are encouraged to deepen your understanding of GRACE. Grace is freedom. To be free to choose … to align with your Lifeforce which is the source of your Beingness, the true source of power that through your intention is a conduit for universal energies that are limitless, as soft as your next breath, gentle; its essence is unconditional love, and is powerful because it is a conduit for universal energies.
It is Grace that says the choice to align is never made by anyone outside of self, can never be coerced by a committee or another’s passion. At essence it is the true gift of life to be found, treasured and nourished … and recognized as inherent in all of life.
To know that AND stand steady with your discovery of the treasure in the world of material manifestation and to recognize, honor and act on the realization that this Grace is afforded everyone.
Guard this treasure by nourishing it moment by moment through prayer, meditation, humility and self-honesty that is not compromised and never judging; the willingness to go beyond reaction to Reflect, to Stand in true power that can move through you and quicken that in others.
Like the tale of Noah who crossed the great flood of destruction and preserved two by two in order to survive and recreate, it is the inner tale of all who choose to survive destruction of old forms and manifestations that are no longer serving evolution and build anew with balanced creative energies of yin/yang.
Awakening to the reality of Grace will infuse your mind with awe that you have been given such a gift, renewed love for the world and increased patience with its process of discovery. It is through your alignment with this grace that you become that insight into Grace for others as it will be present in everything you do and say. Driving and directing the active service will ba a calmness, a divine peace that keeps the heart alive no matter what is being endured through the planet’s purification.
September 10, 2018
”Blessing for this Time of Gathering”
May the fragments of our vision be whole.
May we be protected in a white flame.
May all our families … be safe.
May we stand steady and calm.
May we resist the seduction of separation.
May we be poised in the chaos of change.
May we simplify, clarity and heal.
September 3, 2018
”Gifting”
Listen to your heart.
It will not doubt your worth
or your readiness.
Nor will it refuse to sing its song
lest it be unheard
or misunderstood.
The tendered tearose and the wild
flower both blossom
without hesitation, question
or negotiation.
So the loving heart, giving itself
in all conditions,
imposing no conditions,
freely surrenders its scents
and seeds to the sweet winds.
Dreams and visions, deeds and gifts
ride the everywhere winds
into a distant future
we cannot see
or only dimly remember.
Do we need know where our seeds find ground?
Do we not thrive on the fruits of long ago labors?
Within the law of gifting is held a
simple and sacred wisdom:
To give oneself is to gain oneself.
Pain is in withholding.
Joy is in emptying
again and again
until
one becomes a clear vessel
that can be filled.
August 27, 2018
”Transitioning Is the Hardest Part!” (from ‘Barefoot on Holy Ground’ )
The death of the familiar often plunges us temporarily into a dark stew of confusion. The terrain is unchartered. We’ve broken with old patterns but new ones haven’t emerged, and the ego can feel pulled apart in a spiritual purgatory of indecision.
In Alchemy, the four stages of transformation begin with the negredo, the mystery of the dark unknown. In that model it is taught that a person gradually first sees the lightness of all things, then the goldenness of life, the oneness in which all things exist. Alchemy teaches that the work of transformation begins with dissolving back into the prima materia, basic matter. At that point our carefully constructed views of the self and the world experience die.
We need to be honest and kind with each other about the uncomfortable, in-between stages of transformation. We tend to feel vulnerable during transitions, sometimes experiencing free-floating anxiety, restlessness, or inexplicable tears, sometimes having strong body reactions such as diarrhea or sleeplessness. If we dont’t know that all these symptoms are the possible, even probable fallout of giving up old patterns, we can easily think we’re doing something wrong. Letting go is a total experience that will be acted out in mind, body and spirit. When things are frozen, there isn’t much pain: it’s when they defrost that the pain begins.
August 20, 2018
”Considerations on Enduring” (from ‘Barefoot on Holy Ground’)
Endurance empowers all other aspects of discipleship.
Endurance shapes by gentle insistence, not by heavy blows.
Endurance makes possible the birth of visions into form.
Endurance holds to truths not seen during the dark times.
Enduranceis unconditional. “I’m in, no matter what.”
Endurance sees purpose and learning in failure and success.
Endurance notices “what is,” and energizes what can be.
Endurance accepts discipline in order to achieve excellence.
Endurance gracefully sacrifices the lesser for the greater.
Endurance combines soul purpose with material muscle.
Endurance is patient and perseveres with the process.
Endurance has no beginning or end. I endure because I Am.
August 13, 2018
”Prayer upon Rising, Prayer upon Retiring” (from ‘21 Day Prescription’)
Prayer upon Rising
I give thanks for this day.
I give thanks for my life on earth.
I give thanks for the privilege of serving.
Prayer upon Retiring
I release the fullness of this day to the Mother-Father-God.
I surrender my Intention to the Mother-Father-God.
I seek guidance as I sleep.
I empty that I may be filled.
I Am Grateful.
August 6, 2018
”Vision” (from “Litany for a Peaceful Planet”)
Stripped and weary I seek the sanctuary of a
Green Cathedral.
Metallic voices nip my heels as I fling myself into the arms
of the Mountain Madonna.
She offers me rest on a bed of velvet moss and
summer leaves.
Beneath the prayerful arms of the proud pines
I breathe away the pain, inhaling the life-giving out-breath of the
forest, lulled into a misty dream.
My sight asleep, She touches the true-seeing eye
and suddenly
a montage of madness appears.
Metal teeth of mindless machine bites into the earth —
tree, brush and grass
diet for the hellish beast.
Over all the yellow blood drips its poison; the
chemical smell of unnatural death clogs the air.
The tortured ground moans, cracks, surrenders, its
defeat declared
by the mushroom banner rising in the air.
“No!” I scream myself awake.
No more,
No more.
Like battle smoke, the vision drifts away.
Dazed and barely breathing I look around.
The Green Cathedral still its sacred vigil keeps.
“Oh, there is time,” whispers the inner voice, “there is time.”
The alchemy of relief brings me to my feet.
I race to the crowning meadow top, dancing
through a
carpet of wild daisy and Queen Anne’s lace…
Drunk with the sweet winds,
Baptized anew in a bath of sunlight.
My awakened eyes celebrate the spiral tracings of
a solitary hawk.
defined against the clear blue sky.
And I fall to my knees in prayer, cradling one
small
purple
flowering
perfection.
Oh, Mother-Father-God, forgive us; we know not
what we do.
July 31, 2018
”The Animals” (from ‘Litany for a Peaceful Planet’)
For the animals I plea
The Indians called us their four legged brothers.
They were right, you know.
HAVE WE NOT SHARED THE JOURNEY WITH
YOU?
Two by two we’ve passed this way.
Just like you.
DO YOU NOT REMEMBER?
We have fed you.
Clothed you. Carried you. Protected you.
We have been your friends,
Your scout, Your herder, Your sport.
Our bodies have been tormented that yours might
not.
Our lives have been sacrificed that you might
live.
DO YOU SERIOUSLY ENVISION YOU SHALL CLIMB
OVER US INTO HEAVEN?
Honor our life stream.
Bless our sacrifice.
Heal our misuse.