Living in Grace, February 2023
Grace. I’ve spent considerable time this month pondering the meanings of that word – Grace. I imagine each of you reading this has your own ideas about its meaning, and so did I. Recently, I’ve dived more deeply into what Grace means to me, and my views are shifting.
My friend Ginny describes Grace this way:
“Grace, for me, is a time when the ego is fully mature. It has no need for power or control. To be in grace one can be fully oneself. For instance, one can listen to another blame, but not absorb that blame, realizing that is where the other person is. This is compassion.”
To be in Grace. What does that mean?
I believe we often think of Grace as something bestowed upon us from an omnipotent being, a gift given to us even when we are undeserving. I think that notion is a part of the concept of Grace, but not all. That led me to wonder what I must do to be deserving of Grace. Is Grace the same as forgiveness? No, but they can be related.
To be fully oneself means, to me, to be able to stand in your truth, to be authentically who you are. You may be blamed or ridiculed or maligned, and you need not absorb the emotions coming toward you because you realize they reflect the emotional state of the other person, not of yourself. To be able to step away from such a situation and see what is, rather than projecting, leads to compassion and places you in a state of Grace.
What does it mean to be full of Grace?
The first line of the Hail Mary prayer of the rosary states, “Hail Mary, full of grace….” I’m trying to envision being so full of Grace, of having the ability to be so authentically myself, that there is no room for ego, only for compassion.
What does it mean to walk with Grace?
Rising Appalachia, a musical sister duo, wrote a beautiful song called Medicine. They write about how Earth holds all we need for wholeness, and how all of us are called to participate in creating and maintaining that wholeness. They sing,
“Medicine Woman, Medicine Man
Walking with grace, I know your face, and I trust your hands.”
Each of us is medicine woman, medicine man, and each of us carries within us Grace that bestows kindness and healing upon the Earth.
Keep scrolling to read more about Grace in this month’s book suggestion.
I wish you Grace.
(My friend Marybeth Bradbury must have been on the same wavelength because I received her recent newsletter just as I finished writing this one. https://marybethbradbury.substack.com/p/medicine-woman)
FREE Meditation!
Remember to click on the link below for your FREE monthly meditation recording! Here’s the link to my “Living in Grace” meditation for February.
I hope you find it helpful, and I’m so happy to connect with you! I’m grateful that you have taken a course with me, listen to my podcasts, have emailed me, or subscribe to this newsletter!
If you missed my last newsletter, you can read it here.
Writing Update
Over the next few weeks, I’m focusing my energy on writing projects I have in progress. I may send out an additional newsletter later this month with my plans for course offerings in March, so keep an eye out for it.
In the meantime, you can view links to my published work on my website:
https://debbowen.com/author/
You also can click here to read my most recent creative nonfiction work, “Mending Nets” in Salvation South:
https://www.salvationsouth.com/mending-nets-north-carolina-barrier-island/?mc_cid=c4bb217ffc&mc_eid=fae2a9a622
Book of the Month: The Way of the Rose
Married authors Clark Strand, a former Buddhist monk who was editor of Tricycle magazine, and Perdita Finn, a feminist who grew up in an agnostic household and now has deep connections to the divine feminine, present a unique concept about praying with the rosary. From this book, a worldwide movement of people of all faiths – or none – now work with the rosary.
The book’s message is both practical and mystical. Clark and Perdita write quite a bit about roses (the flowers), gardens, and gardeners, telling us that Our Lady (as they call Her) says each of us should be lovingly tending the garden that is Mother Earth. They write of ecocide and how our destruction of the planet is killing us all. There is, however, hope. When we pray the rosary, Clark was told in a missive from Our Lady, “you are holding the medicine I gave you long ago, along with the tools for repairing My body and healing it, as well as your own body and soul.”
This book has grown into an international movement. Around the world, in small local groups and in large Zoom sessions, at any time of the day or night, people gather to pray the rosary. Some pray the rosary in unison with traditional Catholic prayers. Others pray silently, or out loud using nontraditional words. What matters, the authors state, is that we make a deep and meaningful connection to the energy of the Divine Mother. You can connect with prayer groups through The Way of the Rose website (www.wayoftherose.org) and Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/398032263660376.
Partly as a result of reading this book for the third time, I’ve been working with the rosary in the new year. A dear, sweet priest gave me the one I have when I was a nine-year-old Protestant child sitting for hours in the sanctuary of the local Catholic church, enthralled by the statues and candles and fragrance of incense. The beads are amethyst, a stone that, for me, means deep healing. Praying the rosary reminds me that I – and all of us – are medicine. May we walk in Grace.
Crystal of the Month: Amethyst
“All things in moderation” is one of the dictums connected to this stone. Amethyst is believed to be a guiding stone for those learning the lessons of moderation. Known as “the all-healer,” Amethyst has been used in aiding those working toward and maintaining sobriety, and in aiding in a myriad of medical concerns. It is protective against psychic attacks and an excellent meditation stone, aiding you in finding emotional balance.
It is said to be helpful for dream recall and for warding off nightmares.
Podcast
Our PsychicTeachers podcast outlets continue to grow, and our Android listeners can now hear us on Podcast Addict. We’re also on Google Play, iTunes, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Spreaker and almost all podcast apps and outlets! Remember listening is FREE!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/psychicteachers/id361910564
Deb’s Facebook Pages- NEW Facebook Page Alert!
Another way you and I can connect is through my Facebook pages. I’d be honored if you’d follow my pages. They are a great way to see up-to-the-minute news! I’m excited about a new page I’ve created! I so hope you’ll LIKE and FOLLOW it, and feel free to comment and share posts!
Deb Bowen, Author PsychicTeachers Witches of the Shore
Just One More Thing Before You Go
In the cold days of winter yet to come, may you remember that the sun's warmth, and the rose's knowing deep in the earth, will bring forth new life, and we will see Grace shining within us all.
And, as always, please know how grateful I am for our connection!
Thank you!