Wake up! The Soul's Collection: An Intimate Awakening gives voice to everyday life-the words that we use, the prayers we express, the places we call home, and the day-to-day dreams that go unattended. It reminds us that without hope, we live without direction and fail to embrace the small joys that connect us to ourselves and to each other. Each section offers a new awakening and then poses a question for reflection. These verses ask readers to describe their own awakenings, thus completing the circle from awareness to awakening. The Soul's Collection asks what appear to be simple questions. Where would you like to travel? Who do you call when trouble comes? Who in your life liberates you? In reality, these questions are the very soul of our existence. Examine the power in showing up and the importance of knowing our path, both past and present. An invitation to tell ourselves the truth, this collection speaks to the complexities of life, the resilience of the human spirit, the power in awakening and, the healing that takes place when love is the intention. "I commend Mark Loring's "awakenings" to your thoughtful reflection. Consider them brief meditations on commonplace miracles, inviting you to ponder and perhaps to begin recording your own soul's collection of intimate awakenings. Awakening invites awakening"-Charlie Finn, LPC

The Soul's Collection

An Intimate AwakeningBy Mark Loring

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Mark Loring
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-9242-9

Contents

What is the Soul's Collection?.....................1Children...........................................2-5Dream..............................................6-7Music..............................................8-9Travel.............................................10-11Hope...............................................12-13Prayer.............................................14-25Truth..............................................26-29Kindness...........................................30-31Home...............................................32-39Peace..............................................40-41Humanity...........................................42-43Uncertainty........................................44-45Strength...........................................46-47Path...............................................48-51Permission.........................................52-53Grace..............................................54-55Friendship.........................................56-57Animals............................................58-59Lost and Found.....................................60-61Loss...............................................62-63Resiliency.........................................64-65P.S................................................66-67

Chapter One

The Soul's BLDBLDollection speaks to the complexities of life, the resiliency of the human spirit, the power in awakening, and the healing that takes place when love is the intention.

The tucking of children into their beds is a ritual that every parent, guardian, loved one, honored one can embrace

A time when thoughts of spelling bees and math equations can be rested

A time to dream of a world beyond themselves, a world where humanity is valued and celebrated

Reflection: What words describe the best in humanity?

Awakening:

The promise of the universe is celebrated with the arrival of new life

Reflection: What promise would you extend to the life of a newborn?

Awakening:

11-4-08

With iron intention They stood Heads raised Contained by hope

Hearts danced with possibility Spirits of soldiers sang a distant song Echoes of yesterday's dream

Reflection: What dream of yours appears in the distance?

Awakening:

Movement ... our first language Music ... our second Transporting listeners to places Where love is known Hurts are healed Existence renewed

Reflection: What does music do for you?

Awakening:

May your light be the passport to increased understanding May you witness the humanity that connects us Go well

Reflection: You leave in the next hour; where would your travels take you?

Awakening:

    Begin each day
    With the promise
    That you'll find
    Hope in something

    Take inventory of your
    Hopes not yet realized
    Wrap them in the promise
    That Life is possible

    Caress the parts of you
    That seem unsure
    Gently renew your
    Commitment to live, to dream

    Forgive yourself when
    Your efforts fall short
    Remember that each
    New day holds the promise

    Hope belongs to you

Reflection: Where in your life do you find hope?

Awakening:

May you live where truth is found May you know days in which your heart is remembered May you gently remain within reach May you have your own space to stand May your faith keep you surrounded I wish you peace I wish you joy I wish you love

Reflection: Who in your life exemplifies peace, joy, and love?

Awakening:

    May the day offer you
    The opportunity to embrace
    An unattended dream
    Connect with an old friend
    Know the power of solitude
    Heal an old hurt
    Gently and intentionally keep ... hope within reach

Reflection: What opportunity or unattended dream would you openly embrace?

Awakening:

Bound by your agreement and your bid for happiness You move forward with the knowledge That life is difficult

You remain a participant, contender Grasping the fullness of it Arriving with purpose in tow

Reflection: What agreements have you made with yourself?

Awakening:

I shall hold it in the palms of my hands Mold into my personal need Confirm with intention Release to the beyond ... and believe

Reflection: What shape do your prayers take?

Awakening:

    As sure as the sun and moon know their purpose
    Much is found in the movement of her steps
    While reaching for the distance
    She is joined by determination and grace
    And her prayer is found there

Reflection: What activity speaks to your expression of prayer?

Awakening:

Awakened from a hardened silence The voices of those long departed' Championed my spirit The cadence of my steps Reached far beyond my known existence And the aged echo carried me forward

Reflection: What carries you forward?

Awakening:

    The need to seek permission
    From a world that bears no investment
    In your life, no longer exists

    The moment has arrived
    In which you are
    To honestly witness

    The unveiling of the fairy tale

    You deserve no less

Reflection: What fairy tale have you unveiled and released?

Awakening:

    On the evening of my best day
    The invitation arrived ...

    "The honor of your presence is requested
    The face of your most private self is welcome"

Reflection: When have you invited yourself to honestly show up?

Awakening:

An invisible force KINDNESS It often reaches far beyond its primary recipient

Reflection: What forms of kindness do you practice?

Awakening:

Awaiting my return It greets me

Spaces where memories are gathered Walls that hold my thoughts Doors that connect my steps

The very place my feet are rested And my soul restored: HOME

Reflection: What spaces in your home restore your soul?

Awakening:

Seeking my renewal I enter this space with gratitude With the hope that these walls offer me comfort

I shall extend this space to those that increase my life Confirming a shared existence

Upon my leaving Draw from the knowledge that it awaits my return

Reflection: Who in your life increases you?

Awakening:

Dear,

Underneath and behind it all The search for home looms That very place where the heart relaxes in its struggle, Acknowledges its needs, and embraces its possibilities

Sincerely,

Home

Reflection: Where in your life are your struggles known?

Awakening:

The journey begins long before the destination is known Finding Home

Reflection: What is your destination?

Awakening:

PEACE

Intentional Instructions: ASK FOR IT. OFFER IT. RECEIVE IT. LIVE IT.

Reflection: Where in your life do you find PEACE?

Awakening:

I shall add my name to the chorus of humanity Voices raised in honor of liberation Voices raised in honor of courage Voices raised in honor of sameness CALLING Voices raised in honor of differences Voices raised in honor of truth

I shall invite my brothers and sisters To join me in this song So that our lives will not go unwitnessed

Reflection: What is it that calls you?

Awakening:

    There are times when
    The soul feels disconnected
    When life has taken you from the truth

    When uncertainty abounds
    And the soul's language ... prayer
    Appears to be in the distance

    Acknowledging that distance
    Is prayer in itself

Reflection: What distracts you from living?

Awakening:

    Life sometimes shakes the very ground on which we stand
    The heart is open in places that seem unknown
    And we search for what it all means

    Hold on to what you know
    Hold on to what you believe
    Hold on to what you love
    Hold on to what holds you

    Simply ... hold on!

Reflection: What do you hold on to?

Awakening:

    Shaped and strengthened by faith
    You no longer travel your journey
    As an isolated passenger

Reflection: Are you alone?

Awakening:

Family, the very persons who connect us, to who we are and what we are. The family reunion allows parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and friends, our chosen family, to visit, reminisce, celebrate, and perhaps, grieve.

Attending a reunion can produce many different feelings, feelings that may have gone unrecognized or denied. Find a safe place for unresolved hurts and return to them when you're ready.

Leave pretensions at home. Muster the courage to be real. Real enough to say hello to the long "not seen" relative. Reconnect with that favorite cousin, the one who is more like a sibling than an extended family member.

Don't avoid the so-called "black sheep" of the family. Welcome them. Look around at the children and ask yourself, what would I like them to know? What parts of yourself could you share, that may increase their lives and yours? Identify the family "storyteller" and photo "guardian."

Communicate with them and gather both verbal and visual data of your lineage. Record the information and remember to pass it on.

Observe those who look like you, talk like you, and gesture like you. Honor those who are no longer with you. Celebrate in their memory.

Embrace, sing, dance, and give thanks.

Most importantly, LOVE.

Reflection: What do you know about your path, both past and present?

Awakening:

(Continues...)

Excerpted from The Soul's Collectionby Mark Loring Copyright © 2011 by Mark Loring. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.