Into the Abyss ...

Into the Abyss … GOD within my Soul

© 2011 Cindy Serio

Into the Abyss I will not go

From the Abyss I will not return

Who are you?

Why do you pursue me with such relentlessness?

Turning, Burning

Spinning, out of control

Who am I?

That you want to destroy all that I am …

Screaming, Fighting,

Dying, losing my life

Into the Abyss I will not go

From the Abyss I will not return

Who are you?

And what have you done to my Soul?

Searching, Changing,

Transforming, moving on

Who am I?

That you want to be my Soul Mate …

Feeling, Stretching,

Loving, coming home

Into the Abyss I must go

From the Abyss I must live

© 2005 Cindy Serio

Word for the Day by Gratefulness.org

The louder our world today is, 

the deeper God seems to remain in silence. 

Silence is the language of eternity; 

noise passes. 

~Gertrud von Le Fort~

Go to Word for a Day

Silence is the language of Eternity ...

The louder our world today is, the deeper God seems to remain in silence.

 Silence is the language of eternity; noise passes.

~ Gertrud von Le Fort

Nature Moves in Silence

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.  ~Mother Teresa

The Moon over Hood Canal, Washington

Let nothing disturb you ...

“Let nothing disturb you; 

Let nothing dismay you; 

All thing pass; 

God never changes. 

Patience attains all that it strives for. 

One who has God Finds nothing lacking: 

God alone suffices.”  

Nada te turbe. 

Nada te espante.  

Todo se pasa. 

Dios no se muda.  

La paciencia todo lo alcanza.  

Quien a Dios tiene nada le falta.  

Sólo Dios basta.

 

A quote (adapted) from Teresa of Avila (1515-1585)

Centering Prayer by Thomas Keating ...

Nothing is more beautiful than the uniqueness that God has created.

You don't have to create the beauty - you’ve got the beauty.

You don't have to create the freedom - you’ve got it.

You don't have to create the image of God in you - you have it.

You don't have to win over God’s love - you have more than you know what to do with.

Thomas Keating, 'Centering Prayer,'
Heartfulness: Transformation in Christ

Secrets of the Spiral Staircase

 

Sometimes you find a picture that strikes you so deep in your soul that it captivates you for a very long time.  That is the way I felt with this one ... so I sat with it awhile and I drew my own interpretation of it ... I didn't try to duplicate it ... I just tried to let it inspire me ... then I wrote poetry with it and let it speak to me.

Secrets of Spiral Staircase

Round and round I go up the stairs
Round and round I go down the stairs

Round and round I go one step up
up to the sun
Sharp blades of light
A golden explosion
I’m blinded by the light

Round and round I go one step down
down in the dark
Mystery and pain
I’m blinded by the night

Fingers of madness tickling my mind
I’m stuck in the middle
Of my own spiral staircase 

Can't go up

No solace in the light

Can't go down
No comfort in the dark

O my soul ... I'm trapped
round and round I go

falling into the Heart of God
© 2008 Cindy Foster Serio & revised 2009

The Silence of God

One night on a silent retreat at the Abbey I walked the Labyrinth and confronted the illusive God lurking in the depths of the darkness. I demanded to be shown the darkest part of myself. One word reverberated through my consciousness, the silence of God a deafening "no."

A Journey to Worship Part 1

I am struggling with many things in my spiritual life right now. I am desperately thirsting for a deeper connection to God. What does one do when what has always worked, doesn't work anymore? What does one do when simply nothing works anymore? Get silent ... Get silent ... Get silent ... What does one do when even the silence refuses to allow a single droplet of living water to wander onto the landscape of the soul? My God, My God! Perhaps one simply takes a leave of absence in order to search for the well within and find the way to worship again.

God works in mysterious ways ...

I was taking a walk on the nature trail at the Wesley Center in Woodworth, Louisiana during a silent retreat in the beginning of October ... the air was cool but not particularly crisp for there was the hint of rain in the air. I traversed an asphalt trail, interrupting the natural habitat of insects and turtles and beavers and so many other creatures of the wild, from one side of the property to the other. The leaves were just beginning to turn but the predominant colors to be seen were brown and green ... colors that speak to me of the cycle of life. The only exception were brilliant yellow daisies that peeked out from the brush as I walked ... a happy "yoo hoo, over here." Yet it was this fallen bit of tree that caught my eye and spoke to me in my silence. What a journey he must have been on! His twisted trunk and his gray pallor lay perfectly in the stillness ... resting from years of natural abuse ... perhaps all that is left from a mighty large oak or more likely a pine in the piney woods. How I would love to know his story and the wisdom of his life. How I would love to sit awhile and share my own story and how I sometimes feel this way on the inside. The silence is different for everyone but there is something about this tree that touched me in mine and brought me a deep sense of the calming presence of God. So ... where have you felt the deep sense of calming presence of God lately?

Poor Poor Limb What is Your Story?

I prayed with nature today ...

I searched and I looked and I finally found a suitable prayer partner ...

Poor Poor limb
What is your story?
Where have you been and
Where are you going?
Very beautiful you are dear one
Yet even I see that you're covered
with parasites grey.
Is that why you fell straight to the ground?
Too much they are for you to hold.
What were your hopes before you were invaded?
Did you cling to your dear Mother Tree?
Did you dream of growing out and reaching up
to Father Sun warm and bright?
What fun did you have with your
big brothers branch and your
sweet sister leaves?
How many did you lose before you gave up too?
And became my Poor Poor Limb ...

© 2009 Cindy Foster Serio

God of all Creation, thank you for my poor poor limb and the lessons of nature she taught me! As I held her and stroked her and gazed at her ... I heard her gently whisper ... God is Love!

I have no idea where I am going ...

My God, My God, "I have no idea where I am going" ... this is a line from a prayer in one of my favorite books for a sabbath day ... Dialogues with Silence by Thomas Merton. It is actually quoted from another of his books ... Thoughts in Solitude.

In this prayer, Merton goes on to say some very comforting words to me and to people like me ... people who are never sure about anything. Merton says to God, "I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you." And I am counting on that ... because I have a really deep desire to take a journey with God!

I am taking the first step on this journey ... a journey that I am not ready for ... a journey that may lead me into my deepest desire. The deepest desire of my weary soul is to be in union with God being what I was created to be and doing what I was created to do. Yet for some reason I feel lost and so I walk with Merton and cry out ... My God, My God, "I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost ... for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me ..."

Trembling with feeble trust it is time to take a deep breath as I put myself out there in the world with MOSAIC Spiritual Formation Ministry ... Creating Beauty out of the Broken Pieces of Life.