Ides
Good morning. Today is Monday, May 15th, 2023.
In the ancient Roman calendar, today is the Ides of May, the day of sacrifices to the god Mercury, who oversees trade, communication, boundaries and divination. In his Greek form, Hermes, he also patronizes divination and occult magic, and brings the souls of the dead to the underworld.
On this day in 1886, the great mystic and poet Emily Dickinson died, at the age of 55.
May your day part and rise, then flutter first, then firmly, toward its fair repose.
This table is accurate to within 50 miles of Portland, Oregon in the United States. You can calculate the times of celestial events for your location with a quick, easy web tool by clicking the button below:
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Lauds
Morning Practice
Today, I recommend a morning practice of Noticing, to develop in yourself the sensitive faculties and attunements of the great poets.
Preparation
An Invitatory
You'll know it—as you know 'tis Noon—
By Glory—
As you do the Sun—
By Glory—
As you will in Heaven—
Know God the Father—and the Son.
By intuition, Mightiest Things
Assert themselves—and not by terms—
"I'm Midnight"—need the Midnight say—
"I'm Sunrise"—Need the Majesty?
Omnipotence—had not a Tongue—
His lisp—is Lightning—and the Sun—
His Conversation—with the Sea—
"How shall you know"?
Consult your Eye!
- You’ll Know It As You Know ‘Tis Noon by Emily Dickinson
A Reflection
Read any journal entries from the night before, then write one or more pages to clear your mind prior to practice.
A Prayer of Intention
Before beginning, I encourage you to compose and set intentions for this session based on your needs, tradition and training.
Practice
Transition
A Reflection in Stillness:
Review your practice intentions. Did your session go as you hoped? What was different? What was challenging? What went according to expectation? Make brief notes in your meditation journal.
A Vow:
As I leave my seat and take up the tasks of the day, I vow to reflect the majesty of all Creation, effortlessly, as one and the same.
A Song for Today:
The Little Hours
Midmorning
A Practice of Recollecting
At midmorning today, perform a short practice of Recollecting.
Midday
A Practice of Reflecting
At midday, perform a practice of Reflecting. If you wish, try your hand at a bit of poetry.
Midafternoon
A Practice of Being
At midafternoon, perform a practice of Being, effortlessly dwelling in the infinite possibility of now.
Mealtime
A Blessing
May I, together with all beings, enjoy the pure taste of kind mind, joyful mind, big mind.
- Edward Espe Brown
Vespers
Evening Practice
The occult works attributed to Hermes Trismegistus (also known as Mercury, Thoth, Imhotep and Idris) have been foundational to several mystical traditions, including those found in Christianity, Islam and the Baháʼí faith. The Hermetic tradition is particularly concerned with the relationship between the material and the divine, and as such enjoyed high status among medieval alchemists and astrologers. Hermeticism has also been viewed with great interest by many religious scholars as a distillation of the prisca theologia, or the single, true theology that winds through all the world’s religions.
At Vespers, I recommend a practice of Understanding, to gain deeper insight into the hidden workings of existence.
Preparation
Invitatory
I meant to have but modest needs,
Such as content, and heaven;
Within my income these could lie,
And life and I keep even.But since the last included both,
It would suffice my prayer
But just for one to stipulate,
And grace would grant the pair.And so, upon this wise I prayed, —
Great Spirit, give to me
A heaven not so large as yours,
But large enough for me.A smile suffused Jehovah's face;
The cherubim withdrew;
Grave saints stole out to look at me,
And showed their dimples, too.I left the place with all my might, —
My prayer away I threw;
The quiet ages picked it up,
And Judgment twinkled, too,That one so honest be extant
As take the tale for true
That "Whatsoever you shall ask,
Itself be given you."But I, grown shrewder, scan the skies
With a suspicious air, —
As children, swindled for the first,
All swindlers be, infer.
- Life, Poem 13: A Prayer by Emily Dickinson
A Prompt for Reflection
Write at least one evening page to empty your mind of the concerns of the day.
A Prayer of Intention
I encourage you to compose and set intentions for this session based on your needs, tradition and training.
Practice
Transition
A Reflection in Stillness
Review your practice intentions and your memories of practice. Make brief notes in your meditation journal about anything that stands out.
For Gratitude
Without this— there is nought—
All other Riches be
As is the Twitter of a Bird—
Heard opposite the Sea—
I could not care— to gain
A lesser than the Whole—
For did not this include themself—
As Seams— include the Ball?
I wished a way might be
My Heart to subdivide—
'Twould magnify— the Gratitude—
And not reduce— the Gold—
- Poem 655 by Emily Dickinson
Compline (Bedtime)
Examination of Conscience
Spend a few moments examining your days’ deeds. What went well? What are you grateful for? What are the ways in which you were blessed by the labor, kindness and faithfulness of others?
What did not go well? Where did you fail? Where did you go against yourself, or compromise your integrity? Where did you slip out of presence, and into unconscious patterns?
What can you learn from today? What lesson will you carry forward, and what will you resolve to avoid or change in the future?
Beditation
Once you are in bed and the lights are out, choose your favorite practice and spend the last few moments of the evening unwinding, relaxing into presence and awareness, and focused on the sacred.
Rest well, friend.
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