Many prayers from many people have filled the Internet in the aftermath of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Three of these, in particular, caught my attention.<\/p>\n
The first is from my spiritual colleague Marianne Williamson, who posted:<\/p>\n
For those who bear tonight the unbearable burden
\nof unimaginable grief,
\nwho in their agony yell at the forces of fate…
\nFor those who moan and those who faint,
\nfor those who rage and those who pray,
\nwe moan and pray along with you.
\nFor tonight, those were our children too.
\nDear God, May a legion of angels come upon these parents.
\nBring to them an otherworldly touch,
\nan otherworldly comfort,<\/p>\n
an otherworldly sense that their children are well —
\nthat they are safe with God
\nand shall be with them always.
\nGive to those who grieve what no mortal can give…
\nthe touch of Your Hand upon their heart.
\nMay all touched by this darkness
\nbe Lit by Your grace.
\nPlease wipe away all tears, dear God.
\nas only You can do.
\nAmen<\/p>\n
— Marianne Williamson \u2013 www.marianne.com<\/p>\n
And this, from Rabbi\u00a0Rachel Barenblat, Congregation Beth Israel, North Adams, Mass.:<\/p>\n
God, let me cry on Your shoulder.<\/p>\n
Rock me like a colicky baby.
\nPromise me You won’t forget<\/p>\n
each of Your perfect reflections
\nkilled today. Promise me
\nYou won’t let me forget, either.<\/p>\n
I’m hollow, stricken like a bell.
\nMake of my emptiness a channel
\nfor Your boundless compassion.<\/p>\n
Soothe the children who witnessed
\nthings no child should see,
\nthe teachers who tried to protect them<\/p>\n
but couldn’t, the parents
\nwho are torn apart with grief,
\nwho will never kiss their beloveds again.<\/p>\n
Strengthen the hands and hearts
\nof Your servants tasked with caring
\nfor those wounded in body and spirit.<\/p>\n
Help us to find meaning
\nin the tiny lights we kindle tonight.
\nHelp us to trust<\/p>\n
that our reserves of hope
\nand healing are enough
\nto carry us through.<\/p>\n
We are Your hands: put us to work.
\nIgnite in us the unquenchable yearning
\nto reshape our world<\/p>\n
so that violence against children
\nnever happens again, anywhere.
\nWe are Your grieving heart.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And finaly, this from spiritual teacher Matt Kahn…<\/p>\n
May the tragedies faced today invite us deeper into a space of vulnerability, where we are able to help all of those affected by today’s events know how deeply they are loved in the wake of such an unimaginable series of losses. May we courageously pick up the pieces of shattered innocence and transform together as never before. There is no justification for what has occurred, and yet, it leaves us no other option but to step forward in our own evolution and dare to be as loving, considerate, and compassionate with others as we’d dare to be in the final moments of this precious lifetime.<\/p>\n
May we hold our children and loved ones close and invite all members in our cosmic family to join together and allow such a day to reignite a fire of eternal grace that illuminates the power of unity consciousness in every cell of our being. While there is no conceptual explanation for today, it cannot overshadow the insurmountable fact that love is the only answer to carry us through any unimaginable breakdown into every miraculous breakthrough.<\/p>\n
May we celebrate the lives of those who have passed, and find it within our hearts to cherish their soul’s journey that has abruptly reminded us to embrace every gift in our lives. As we continue to live, not knowing when the time will come to say goodbye, we offer ourselves the opportunity to allow our greatness to shine and to embrace each breath as if it\u2019s our last. For those who have survived the unfolding of today, may we express the power of our absolute potential, and celebrate the fact that nothing from the past had the ability to destroy us. Meanwhile, every moment has somehow led us here to assist in the healing of those who are still finding their way home.<\/p>\n
Through our words, actions, prayers, and choices, may we surrender into full alignment with the light of love, and open our hearts for the well-being of all. May we embrace our highest values and offer them in service for the transformation of our planet. As the world looks on, may our choices from this moment forward inspire humanity to give generously and love without limits. Many of us have been preparing for a global shift and as it stands, it is the suppressed shadow within the human condition that has come to unite every heart and deliver this species into the bittersweet redemption of our long-awaited destiny. It is now time for a planet of intentional minds, fearless hearts, and conscious communities to emerge and deliver Earth into a Golden Age of higher consciousness that no amount of unresolved pain can ever prevent.<\/p>\n
No matter where our journey leads us from this moment forward, let us always remember what a day like this inspires us to be. May all souls be blessed.”<\/p>\n
– Matt Kahn — www.TrueDivineNature.com<\/strong><\/p>\n To which I say: \u00a0Amen, and amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many prayers from many people have filled the Internet in the aftermath of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Three of these, in particular, caught my attention. The first is from my spiritual colleague Marianne Williamson, who posted: For those who bear tonight the unbearable burden of unimaginable grief, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[161],"tags":[721,730,723],"class_list":["post-3149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headline","tag-connecticut-school-shooting","tag-marianne-williamson","tag-sandy-hook-elementary-school"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3149"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3152,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3149\/revisions\/3152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}