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Make thyself comfortable,

From Nothing to Thoughts to Letters to Words to Deeds

I’ve been following the annual cycle of Bible readings as conducted by followers of Judaism these last few months, and this week’s Torah portion is entitled Devarim, in its Hebrew form it looks like דְּבָרִיםand it means ‘words’. It just so happens that the two readings this week are the beginning of the words of Deuteronomy and also of Isaiah.*

I’ll state the obvious by saying that words can be very important. They can conjur a whole host of emotions; the feeling of excitement and anticipation by having ‘just the right words’ whispered in your ear by a lover, or that sudden rush of anxiety when the boss says, ‘I’d like to see you in my office,’ on a Friday afternoon. How about that feeling of dread when up and down the land at Springtime millions of cheap brown envelopes are popping through letter boxes with the exclamation, ‘THIS IS NOT A CIRCULAR’ (annual ‘Council Tax’ bill – a curse to millions, a blessing to others).

They can have very damaging effects if used with malice or very beneficial ones if used with love. With the switch of a letter or two, words can take on a completely different meaning. It is very easy to turn a Curse into a Blessing as we (and Balak) found out recently.

 Numbers 22:1 | Balak Summons Balaam to Curse Israel

With a mastery of words, we can be very powerful individuals indeed. I read a wonderful old tale recently and the freedom in the imagination of the storyteller was a breath of fresh air, how the words I read were twisted and woven so beautifully, I was at risk of missing a very important message.

The Brownies will be studying the story soon and the important messages hidden within (there are also some fascinating insights for followers of different paths that are certainly worth further examination), if you’d like to join in send Mother Owl a whisper.

Half Bad       Half God

 Brownie Basics

 Back to Words

So here we are with all this potential power in our hands, the amount of combinations are truly endless, this must mean the ‘potential’ out there is more than you can imagine!

Then why do we not have the things we’ve dreamed of? What could be blocking the path? We’ve been using letters and words for a very long time. Maybe we’re not using them right. Perhaps, before we can turn our ideas into reality we have to be able to form the right letters and words.

We can’t form words without the alphabet. There are so many to choose from, up ’til quite recently I only knew one ‘off by heart’ and now I know two. I am probably going to have to start on a third (no bad thing) if I don’t pay attention to the following thing I am going to say.

Let’s start with one a lot of us know off by heart already.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

This is a separate message to the Brownie Gnomes – If you glanced at the line above without reading it letter by letter, I would be very grateful if you would go back and rectify the matter. Impatient little devils. In fact I shall repeat it (knowing full well they’ve already scampered off to ‘redeem themselves’ before reading the end of the sentence they were on), this time putting special emphasis on the tenth consonant as I repeat it.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Easy. We know it like the back of our hands and after a certain amount of repetitions you’ll be able to do other things at the same time because you won’t have to concentrate half as hard (like thinking about what you’re having for your tea or that damned brown envelope that popped through the door this morning). You could be thinking of a multitude of other things whilst ‘doing the alphabet’ creating a whole host of emotions and new ideas and this is the very crux of our problem.

Through our ‘mastery’ of a Mystery, we are selling ourselves short. This got me thinking about all the other things that I could be missing, how about the other things we ‘know off by heart’ the things we can repeat without thinking:

• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
• Baa Baa Black Sheep
• Happy Birthday Song
• The Lord’s Prayer
• Hail Mary
• I Love You

Worth a thought. Someone else worth a thought this week is this fine gentleman.

All Hail Augustine of Hippo! I ‘accidentally’ overheard a conversation in Chapel this week and I think both parties would enjoy a little extra study. One will like him, one will like his mother.

I’m off checking the Brownies have finished getting the Grove ready for the Wayward Brownie Meeting later in the week, I hope the Balance of Life tips in your favour this week, all portents so far for me this week have been very dodgy (if you believe in that sort of thing) and I do, with all my heart.

“Brownie Gnomes, grab your Brooms and tidy up before bed please and no, I don’t want to hear it! It’s for your own Good.”

 

*Isaiah – I

x Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

xi To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith the LORD; I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.

xii When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample My courts?

xii Bring no more vain oblations; it is an offering of abomination unto Me; new moon and sabbath, the holding of convocations–I cannot endure iniquity along with the solemn assembly.

xiv Your new moons and your appointed seasons My soul hateth; they are a burden unto Me; I am weary to bear them.

xv And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood.

xvi Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes, cease to do evil;

xvii Learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

xviii Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

xix If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land;

 

 

As found in Sermons