Beyond Medication Community Group
In this group we will be looking at alternative or supplementary methods of dealing with every day stressors and anxiety. This is for people who do not want to feel as though they do not want to be tied to the medicine cabinet. We will be using such techniques as mindfulness, meditation, grounding, guided imagery, Yoga and other behavioral and self-discipline techniques...
The words of St. Francis are perhaps the most powerful and healing words ever written. Whether Christian, Pagan, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist or Agnostic these words can change our lives forever. By simply removing or adding the words that pertain to a Deity.
The Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.
One can also meditate using this prayer, whether taking it in it's entirety or a section from it as your focus for the day.
Imagine taking "grant that I may not so much seek to be understood as to understand", and focus your meditation on how you may better understand others and the world around you, and how can I bring more understanding to those around me today.
This is just one example of the powerful healing properties of this prayer. Let your mind explore the other wondrous ways it can help you.
WW
The Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.
One can also meditate using this prayer, whether taking it in it's entirety or a section from it as your focus for the day.
Imagine taking "grant that I may not so much seek to be understood as to understand", and focus your meditation on how you may better understand others and the world around you, and how can I bring more understanding to those around me today.
This is just one example of the powerful healing properties of this prayer. Let your mind explore the other wondrous ways it can help you.
WW
Thanks for posting.
Sending hugs, love, and comfort.
Tonna
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
there it is again... FAITH !!!
The Touch of the Master's Hand
'Twas battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.
"What am I bid, good people", he cried,
"Who starts the bidding for me?"
"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"
"Two dollars, who makes it three?"
"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"
But, No,
From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.
The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"
As he held it aloft with its' bow.
"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"
"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone", said he.
The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
"We just don't understand."
"What changed its' worth?"
Swift came the reply.
"The Touch of the Masters Hand."
And many a man with life out of tune
All battered with bourbon and gin
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.
But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters' Hand.
Myra Brooks Welch
it is also one of my favorite songs, by John Michael Talbot. This video has some lovely images to go with it, especially the two penguins, lol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXyYm1yIL-g&feature=youtube_gdata_player