Before Stillness ~ Quaker Dharma

"At times, I feel like, as Quakers, we become lost in our social activism. It comes first, before stillness. I'm not speaking against activism. Not at all. What I'm advocating is activism grounded in joy and gratitude. Activism grounded in a Technicolor(R) vision of what the world actually is…the continuous unfolding of sacred intention. The world is life itself, the desire to exist, to create, to breathe. Imagine the dynamism of a Society dedicated, not to fixing the problems of the world, but to creating infinitely from our passionate mystical faith. Imagine living your life each day from a core of joy because you can feel the beauty of the unfolding envelope you. Imagine a daily practice that helps you be in this place and in the world simultaneously.

~ The Quaker Dharma

More at http://thequakerdharma.blogspot.co.uk

Artwork by Aijung Kim www.aijungkim.com

Giving Priority ~ Jenny Spinks

"Our culture encourages us to consume more and more. This makes us poorer spiritually by depleting the quality of our connections with each other, the earth and the spirit. These connections are what bring us greatest fulfilment. The global emphasis on materialism severely threatens the environment and human relations at many levels. It is part of our commitment as Friends that we try to live our lives under the guidance of the spirit. We have our testimonies of truth, peace, equality and simplicity. We have our processes for business, worship and clearness. We are well positioned globally to reach out to our affluent neighbours and offer wellpracticed alternatives to consumerism. Living the simplicity testimony improves our sense of wellbeing and the well being of the planet. We benefit from giving priority to our spiritual connections and thus resist the seductive pull of materialism. We can support each other as we try to live our lives with integrity"

~ Jenny Spinks

More at http://www.quakers.org.au/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=43

Artwork from Ethel Spowers http://www.bookroomartpress.co.uk/biographies/29.html

Yours are the Feet ~ Teresa of Avila

"Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours."

Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

Artwork by Raphael Soyer  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael_Soyer

More at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_of_%C3%81vila

Words written before his Execution in 1661 ~ William Leddra

"The sweet influences of the Morning Star, like a flood distilling into my innocent habitation, hath filled me with the joy of [God] in the beauty of holiness, that my spirit is, as if it did not inhabit a tabernacle of clay. Oh! My Beloved, I have waited as a dove at the windows of the ark, and I have stood still in that watch, wherein my heart did rejoice, that I might in the love and life speak a few words to you sealed with the Spirit of Promise, that the taste thereof might be a savor of life to your life, and a testimony in you, of my innocent death."

 ~William Leddra

More at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_martyrs

Artwork by Franz Hecht, about whom I can find very little except one or two prints for auction.

Not be Fooled ~ Elsie Boulding

"But we must also trust ourselves. In a world that specializes in props and supports, both physical, psychological and spiritual, and devices to make life easier, let us not be fooled into expecting too little of ourselves. If we keep our eyes turned toward the Kingdom, we will know that all things are possible in God's Sight. Paradoxically, we must not expect too much, either. For even though we are faithful in prayer, there are periods of spiritual dryness which come to us all, periods when the inward obstacles loom very large indeed, and the Kingdom seems to recede."

~Elsie Boulding

More at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elise_M._Boulding

Artwork by Oleg Besedin http://www.saatchionline.com/profiles/portfolio/id/415108

Ordinary Things ~ Virginia Woolf

" To watch a leaf quivering in the rush of air was an exquisite joy. Up in the sky swallows swooping, swerving, flinging themselves in and out, round and round, yet always with perfect control as if elastics held them; and the flies rising and falling; and the sun spotting now this leaf, now that, in mockery, dazzling it with soft gold in pure good temper; and now again some chime (it might be a motor horn) tinkling divinely on the grass stalks—all of this, calm and reasonable as it was, made out of ordinary things as it was, was the truth now; beauty, that was the truth now. Beauty was everywhere.”

~ Virginia Woolf

More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf

Artwork by Marion Prentice http://artmatters9.wordpress.com/prints/

The Way of Love ~ Wolf Mendl

"What matters is living our lives in the power of love and not worrying too much about the results.  In doing this, the means become part of the end.  Hence we lose the sense of helplessness and futility in the face of the world’s crushing problems.  We also lose the craving for success, always focusing on the goal to the exclusion of the way of getting there.  We must literally not take too much thought for the morrow but throw ourselves wholeheartedly into the present.  That is the beauty of the way of love; it cannot be planned and its end cannot be foretold."

~ Wolf Mendl

More at ~  http://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/dec/09/guardianobituaries4

Artwork by Michelle Han ~ http://www.michellehan.com/

My Quaker Past ~ " Jewish Mom"

 "My nine years at Friends School shaped me as a human being in many ways, and one of the most formative experiences of all was standing up week by week and sharing my own “inner light’ with my friends and classmates and teachers. And just yesterday it occurred to me out of the blue that there is a strong connection between those Meeting for Worship monologues of long ago (and my blog) today.
My mission for this website is that it will be a place where I can share my Inner Light with you .... And most of the time this website is just that, it’s a place where I share only those thoughts and experiences and insights that touch my heart most deeply.What I really want, what I’m really strive for, is to only open my mouth when I have something important to say. When I feel my inner light stirring within me, and I just have to open up my browser and start typing. And send some words straight from my Jewish Mom heart to yours."

More at  http://jewishmom.com/2012/07/15/my-quaker-past (Well worth reading the whole article ~ very moving.)

Crowning Conclusion ~John William Graham

"Every mans religion begins and ends with God, and from our thought of Him flows every religious belief we hold. This thought is also the crowning conclusion of all our thoughts, and so grows with the growth of men and Churches. Happy is the man who is at home with God, whose thought of Him colours every decision and penetrates all conduct."

~John William Graham

More at  http://archive.org/details/warfromquakerpoi00grahuoft

Inner Solitude ~ Meister Eckhart

"People look in vain places for peace.
They seek it in the world outside,
in places, people, ways, activities.
but no peace is found in this way.
They are looking in the wrong direction,
and the longer they look
the less they find what they are looking for.
~

Spirituality is not to be learned by flight from the world,
by running away from things,
or by turning solitary and going apart from the world.
Rather, we learn an inner solitude
wherever or with whomsoever we may be.
We must learn to penetrate things and find God there."

~ Meister Eckhart

More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meister_Eckhart