Taking A Minute to Heal The Earth.

There is a picture of the Japanese characters for healing energy included with this blog. You can enlarge, print and cut it out if it will help you focus. As you meditate, visualize these characters over the land, the water and the people.

If you would rather pray, I'm including a prayer here. Feel free to use it or create your own.

May the earth be still,
The waters be pure,
And the air be sweet.

May there be healing,
Comfort,
And regeneration of all the Earth.

We gather as One:
We send healing energy
From the deepest place of Being.

We call upon all the elemental powers
All relations,
From every direction
To regenerate in their own way.

We call upon the Immanent Power of the Universe
To lay it's protective mantle upon Earth.
For the well-being of it's people,
and of the Earth herself.

Lay peace upon the hearts and minds of all people,
And over all of the Earth this day.
Give us the grace to pray for kindness
Toward one another every day and always.

And so it may be.

I'm a believer in using tools to aid personal devotion. They are outward signs of inner grace. Feel free to add any to this ritual or none at all, as you wish.

Candles serve the purpose of aiding in focus during meditation.A small pink candle would be nice, but any candle you have around the house will work-even a tea light or one of those chunky white emergency candles. You may wish to  anoint the candle with any consecrated or healing oil you have on hand, a little holy water, or use it as is-it's the intention that counts. Anointing the candle allows you to imbue it with your intention in a tangible way, but it will work no matter what you do.

Lighting a cone or stick of incense during your meditation time will allow you to more fully opened to the process, and it's believed in some traditions that the smoke rising from incense carries prayer closer to the Divine.A light floral scent or something cleansing like eucalyptus will do to add a sensual reminder to the unconscious.

A small bowl of water with a pinch of sea salt will aid in the purification of the meditation area. You may wish to sprinkle a bit of the water around the meditation area, or simply leave the bowl nearby on a table near the candle and incense.

A tiny vase of flowers. Flowers represent life. A few sprigs of cherry blossom, forsythia, dogwood or some wild violets would be lovely, but any flower will do, even a single bud.