Last weekend, I led a retreat at the San Patricio Retreat Center. The focus of the weekend was healing from traumatic loss. I always prepare for leading a spiritually-based retreat by meditation and prayer, and express my humility and gratitude to God for calling me to minister with whomever God sends to the retreat.
Suffering, in body, mind and spirit may be intense for those who are feeling powerless to help themselves or those they love. Re-discovering the healing power of God inside themselves, that was given to them at the time of their creation, may require exposure to many different, or new, forms of spirituality. With this in mind, when I create the altar for a retreat, I always use diverse symbols of spiritual pathways, including the native american healing wheel.
One of the most powerful guided meditations I led with the participants of this retreat, took place on Sunday morning before our "Wilderness Meal" healing communion ceremony. I began with a reading and teaching from the second creation story in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew scripture. In this story, we are told that God "breathed" life into Adam. In the Hebrew, the word "ruah" is used in this story for breath. This is the same word in Hebrew used for "spirit". How empowering it is to recall that we are created by the breath and spirit of God entering into us. With this in mind, we practiced a breathing meditation, imaging God/Jesus standing before us, breathing new life and healing spirit into us with each breath. With each exhalation, we left our pain and sufferings at the feet of God/Jesus.
I had not planned this particular guided meditation. It was a gift that came to me upon arising Sunday morning, after experiencing an unexpected spiritual presence as I prepared for sleep the night before. Keep in mind, as I share this story with you, that the San Patricio Retreat Center is believed to have been built on land in San Patricio, NM that originally belonged to the Mescalero Apache.
Saturday night, I returned to my room about 9:30pm, after a long day of teaching and spiritual counseling. Almost a full moon filled the grounds around my casita with light. Stillness blessed the night. I put out the light at my bedside and closed my eyes, relaxing into my nightly prayer of gratitude. I had not been in my bed three minutes, when I was startled by the sound of something moving in the bushes and the sound of lightly jingling bells. I sprung from bed, asking myself "What IS that?" I did not feel fearful, only curious. I gazed out the windows, scanning the area outside the casita for some sign of a person with bells. There was no person, no bells, no windchimes. Nothing. I returned to my bed wondering to myself what it could have been. I felt that the jingling bells reminded me of a sound I had heard before. Yes! It reminded me of the sound of the jingle dress dancers I have seen at many Native American pow wows. Could I have scared off some native spirit I wondered?
I returned to bed, closed my eyes, and no sooner had I begun to relax again, the sound of rhythmic, light jingle bells returned, only this time, they were in the bedroom with me. I decided not to open my eyes or move; simply experience the sounds of the Jingle Dress Dancer in my room. She danced for a few minutes and stopped. I said, "Thank you", and fell asleep. When I awoke the next morning, my first thought was to use the creation story as entry into a guided meditation about the Spirit of God that was given to us at birth. I also knew I needed to research the meaning of the Jingle Dress dance. I was unsure if this dance was part of the Apache tradition.
Mescalero Apache women do perform the Jingle Dress dance for many of their ritual ceremonies. The origin of the dance comes from the story of a tribal elder whose granddaughter was ill. One night, he had a vision of a spirit in a dress that told him if the grandfather made this dress and put it on his granddaughter, she would become well. The medicine man made the dress, put it on the child and brought her to the dance circle. The first time around the circle, the girl had to be carried because she was too weak to walk. The second time around, she could walk, but still needed help from some of the women in their community. The third time around the circle, the girl walked on her own. After this, women adopted the jingle dress as a healing dress. When they dance wearing the jingle dress, they recall the healing medicine.
I believe the spirit of the Jingle Dress dancer was present at San Patricio that night. It was a blessing for me to hear her, even without seeing her. Maybe she inspired my Sunday guided meditation. Maybe she blessed the healing ministry God called me to offer that weekend. Maybe I needed healing at some level before I could continue. Now, as I reflect back on the experience, I do not feel that I need to know anything about why she was there. I simply accept, with deep gratitude, that healing for the soul comes in many ways, if we are openhearted.
I often use the blessing that begins, "The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God...". God's powerful peace is often beyond our understanding, but to receive it we need only keep our hearts and minds on God's love that manifests in many, sometimes mysterious and unexpected ways.
No comments:
Post a Comment