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Spiritual Reflections
The Psalm of the Great Amen
by Ed Hays on Nov. 20, 2009When I finish praying apart from others,
as the final word of prayer
drifts away beyond reach of ears,
I listen for the Great Amen.
Adopt a Guide
by Ed Hays on Nov. 14, 2009Adopt a Guide
Bookstores are adoption agencies, bringing together not parents and children, but rather readers and authors. Good booksellers can tell simply by the glint in a reader’s eyes if that person is hungry for spiritual wisdom and will take good care of the author they adopt. Bookstore adoption counselors over the years have learned how to recognize those best suited for this or that author adoptee.
A Psalm of Flexibility
by Ed Hays on Nov. 06, 2009O spirit of God’s eternal springtime heart,
grant me the virtue of elasticity.
Make my heart as boundless as my Beloved’s heart,
which at this moment is creating
new galaxies and infant suns.
A Psalm of Cosmic Communion
by Ed Hays on Oct. 31, 2009May I join you, cosmic congregation of galaxies,
as you dance with delight before our God.
You spin and leap with brilliant bursts of light,
never tiring of your sacred circle-play.
Taoist Tradition
by Ed Hays on Oct. 23, 2009Taoist Tradition
We are born gentle and weak. At death we are hard and stiff. Green plants are tender and filled with sap. When they die they are withered and dry. Therefore the stiff and unbending are the disciples of death. The gentle and yielding are the disciples of life.
Lao Tzu
from the Tao Te Ching
An Obscene Word
by Ed Hays on Oct. 16, 2009Death is the greatest terrorist! So feared an enemy is death that we avoid thinking about it, unless forced to do so as when attending a funeral. We even find the word death unspeakable, and so replace died with “passed.” In prayer, we refer to the dead as the “deceased” or “departed.”
A Pilgrim’s Companion Psalm
by Ed Hays on Oct. 07, 2009The road home, O God, seems long
and at times is difficult and painful.
Grant me a holy communion, a compani9onship with others,
as I journey homeward to you.
I live in times of great trial:
an age of change sits at my door.
Primeval Religious Wonder
by Ed Hays on Oct. 02, 2009Primeval Religious Wonder
Because the distance between us and our closest star, Proxima Centauri, is so vast, we measure it not in miles but in the speed of light. Proxima Centauri is only 4.2 light years away! A light year is the distance light travels in one year: 5,787 trillion miles!
Autumn Equinox Prayer
by Ed Hays on Sep. 25, 2009I unite myself with ancient memories that sleep within.
Ancestors of long ago whose fears have left their fingerprints upon me,
remind me of my holy communion with that river of humanity
that flows through my soul.
May this flame be my autumn sacred fire.
A Speed Limit for Life
by Ed Hays on Sep. 17, 2009A Speed Limit for Life
When I was a kid during the Great Depression, a popular free entertainment for my family — except for the cost of gas which was only ten cents a gallon — was going for a drive in the Nebraska countryside. Driving out of the city we enjoyed looking at the corn, the other crops, and the colorful wildflowers along the highway.
