THIS TOO SHALL PASS: is an adage of Persian origin, traced to 12th-14th century Sufi poets and stems from a Persian fable about a king seeking a phrase for his ring that holds true in all situations, highlighting the impermanence of all things—both good and bad.

MORNING PRAYER:
You are with us Lord Christ and we have seen you,
In the mist rising over the waters,
In the sun breaking across the moor,
In the breeze waving the trees branches,
In the smile of a stranger,
You are among us Lord… and we have seen you.

CONSIDER THE RAVENS: CONSIDER YOUR LIFE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3Io...
Consider the ravens: They don’t sow or reap; they don’t have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than the birds? -
Luke 12:24 Then seek ye first the kingdom of God.

HERMIT RULE 21:
Transcend the times when you find yourself in an adverse environment and transform into love the impositions of any place.

Remember, gut feelings may actually be memories from the future, suggesting that our consciousness can transcend the linear flow of time.

Leaving on a Jet Plane-PETER PAUL n MARY YouTube video by Anjan Chakraborty

FULTON J SHEEN:
I'm not keen on Fulton Sheen, (A bit of a showman)
but this I like, when on my bike!
"In vocal prayer we go to God on foot. In meditation we go to God on horseback. In contemplation we go to God in a jet." (FJS)
Woooosh!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVEA...

THE SECRET MEETING:

A GRACE GIFT:
Contemplation is a free, passive gift from God, an experiential awareness of the Divine presence marking a transition from active, discursive meditation to a deeper, silent, and restful gaze on God, often accompanied by a sense of sweet inner stillness.

HERMIT RULE 20:
Contemplation consists in attending to and adhering to the Presence of God in the depth, root, and centre of our being. Keeping in mind that this is a grace, live it and pray for it constantly.

Eternal Grace and Modern Contemplation: Venice Woman IV by Alberto Giacometti

QUITE ALONE:
All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit quiet in a room alone.

Blaise Pascal

THE LONELINESS and anxiety which are part of modern life are also the experience of today's desert..
The central neurosis of our time is emptiness (C. Jung)
I am going to take God's people into the desert again: there will I win her back with words of love. (Hosea)

"Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them" is a promise from Jesus found in Matthew 18:20 (NIV). It signifies that Jesus is present in the midst of his followers, emphasizing that community, prayer, and agreement in his name are not dependent on large numbers.

HERMIT RULE 19
Live in the Presence of God at all times and in all places.

So make everything a kind of ritual, doing dishes, mowing the lawn, hanging out the washing, weeding the veg patch - make no distinction between the sacred and the everyday. Keep sane in an insane world.

NOW WE SEE YOU...
Jesus is the image of the invisible God who came forward in a moment of time so we could look upon the one we have pierced and see God's unconditional love.

SPRING:
In Spring the loveliest of sights
Anemones and aconites
down woodland ways the first sweet flowers
to tell the beauty of the hours
this is the path by footsteps trod
the haven of a gracious God.

EXODUS & GOD
The people of the Exodus saw themselves as pilgrims in a foreign and unfamiliar land guided by God.

Once man is united to God, how could he not live forever.
C. S Lewis
Give thanks to him who led his people through the desert. His love endures forever.
Psalm 136

HERMIT RULE 18:
Withdrawal is essential to this Rule, understanding that being, “separated from all is to be united to all”. Solitude can never be the sole purpose of any vocation, but does form part of our common human vocation.

BEFORE CONTEMPLATION
Hermitage prayer:

In a breath of silence
in a whisper,
God speaks to you humbly.

Br. Roger of Taize

Holy Spirit,
you breathe in us
on all that is inadequate and fragile.
You make living water spring even
from our hurts themselves.
And through you, the valley of tears
becomes a place of wellsprings.
So, in an inner life
your continual presence
makes new freshness break through.

OVERCOMING:
He said not
Thou shalt not be Tempested;
Thou shalt not be
Travailed;
Thou shalt not be
Afflicted;
But he said
Thou shalt not be overcome.

Julian of Norwick AD 1373

THE KINGDOM IS WITHIN YOU
What do you find within?
I find great quiet where no noises come
without the world's din, silence is my home.

Who do I find within?
I find a friend that in secret came,
his scarred hands within, he shields a faint flame,

Introversion Evelyn Underhill

HERMIT RULE 17:
Have your heart fixed on God and when you endure hardship or suffer loss, whatever it may be, don't feel sorry for yourself nor reflect on it. Transcend the pain of this world, respecting and accepting the level of each thing.

WAR PAINT or just make-up?
True beauty must come, must be grown, from within...
(Ralph W Trine 1866 - 1958)
True beauty comes from within - truly the kingdom is within you.

WHAT IS IT?
Non-Duality is a slippery concept with many different spiritual and secular associations. Shinzen Young describes Non-Dual Awareness as “an experience of oneness between subject and object”. Others have defined it as an experience of intimacy with all things.

Rumi’s Poem "Say I Am You" – A Profound Journey of Divine Love YouTube video by ELT Buzz English

EVERYTHING BELONGS:
I am in the Father, and the Father is within me.
Say I am you! Non-dual Consciousness:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXTM...

HERMIT RULE 16:
Cultivate non-dual consciousness. Remain open and vulnerable. Instead of spiritualities give way to the Spirit.

MORNING PRAYER:
Lord of life, Help me to live this day Quietly, Easily; To lean on your strength, Trustfully, Restfully; To wait for the unfolding of your will Patiently, Serenely; To meet others Peacefully, Joyously; To face this day Confidently, Courageously.

Queen - Who Wants to Live Forever (Official Video) [Remastered 4K] YouTube video by Alex

WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER? - QUEEN VIDEO
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0KN...

I do, I am, I will.

I'm going to live forever... So far, so good! Haha! Bod
Funny but true, for I live in Christ

SIMPLE SILENCE:
“The sounds of silence are a dim recollection now, like mystery, privacy and paying attention to one thing – or one person – at a time.”
( Maureen Dowd )

HERMIT RULE 15:
Convert yourself into a disciple who knows how to listen and discern. On many occasions sounds manifest silence. Indeed, the important thing is not what arrives but how we receive it.

Down To The River To Pray - Alison Krauss YouTube video by David Webb

GOOD LORD SHOW ME THE WAY:
Stand in the healing water:
Then Pray and Sing...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSif...