Anjuelle Floyd

Lotus Flower by Bahman Farzad /

Of Mothers, Understanding, and BeComing Present …

How might your life be different if you knew more about your mother?

Knew her fears and worries, not just about you, her daughter, or your siblings, and your father or other family members.

What would it mean to you to know and understand your mother as an individual with her own hopes, dreams and wishes, regrets, ambitions, etc?

How might you be different, your life changed if you could see the entire person that comprises your mother, the little girl who lives inside her?

A pang of fear grips me as I write this for

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Humility by Tomas Valenta 8552204935_b545b274bc_b 6SjbwA-6f5k1z-8omsjU-83WYCG-7CrssT-6a6xit

Of Mother, Writer, and The Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas …

THE FEAST OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

“O God, grant that whatever good things I have,
I may share generously with those who have not,
and that whatever good things I do not have,
I may request humbly from those who do.

Plant deep in me, Lord, all the virtues,
that I might be devout in divine matters,
discerning in human affairs,
and burdensome to no one in fulfilling my own bodily needs.

Order me inwardly through a good life that I might do what
is right and what will be meritorious for me and a good example for others.”

~~Saint Thomas Aquinas

_________________________________________________________

I received this in an e-mail from the seminary I briefly attended, The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (DSPT,) located at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA.

Yes, I attended, did not graduate seminary, and yes this is a Catholic seminary, run and administrated by the Dominicans, no doubt, the Dominicans who ran the infamous Inquisition.

I learned much from the Dominican nun, Sister Barbara Greene, who taught all the classes in which the Hindu sacred texts, The Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads at The California Institute of Integral Studies where I earned my MA in Psychology.

The places where spiritual teachings converge, and reveal mutual agreement have always intrigued me.

An astrology teacher once said, when you hear the same thing from many unconnected

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× Bahman Farzad Lotus Flower with Red background by Bahman Farzad--2877304479_7078df5f31_b

Of Myths, Beliefs and The Integrity of Our Intent …

We’re not encouraged to say, “I’m sorry,” in America, even when we are wrong, have made a mistake and our mistake has injured another, and or even ourselves.

I’m always taken with how much we often count the need to forgive ourselves for past mistakes when discussing those for whom we would do well to hold compassion.

It’s as if American societal beliefs hold to an erroneous myth that life can be somehow lived in a clear and uninterrupted straight line, that we can avoid any and all detours, those erected by others and those we might take should events become too complicated.

From where did we get this belief, never mind how faulty?

The degree to which we claim to be a progressive society

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The Long Path to the Temple of Heaven by Stuck in Customs

Of Amy Glass, Needing People and This Journey Called Life …

Writer, Amy Glass, says “I Look Down on Young Women With Husband and Kids, and I’m Not Sorry.” Statments in the comment section underneath her article range from I Feel Sorry for Amy Glass … to I Look Down on People Like Amy Glass and … .

When I first saw the title I could not believe my eyes.

Someone was finally saying what we have been taught as Americans and that most of us truly believe.

As a mother of three daughters, ages 26 yrs, 21 yrs. and 14 yrs., and who for the last fourteen years has been a stay-at-home mom, I find Amy Glass’s statement

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Lotus@中興新村 by Ultima_Bruce (Tsao) --large-7185923194_e440c7d29d_b.jpg

Of Seasons in Purdah, Hope, and a Question for Your Mother …

Send me one question, in 200 words or less, that you would like to ask your mother, and what you hope to gain. And  I will send you a pdf of my novel, “Seasons in Purdah.”                                           Lotus@中興新村  by Ultima_Bruce [vfb id=1]

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by Nancy Violeta Velez

Of Mothers, Daughters, Forgiveness and Saying, “I’m Sorry”…

There are so many questions I would have loved to ask my mother before she died, and listened to her answers.

My mother died when I was 36 yrs. old. Not that I’m a sage at 53 years old, but I did not know anything of what I have learned in the nearly twenty years that have come and gone since she transitioned from this life into what lies next.

It would have been helpful to listen to her describe what she loved most and expound on that. Knowing what brought her the greatest joy, I feel, would have offered a great path to discovering what brought her the most pain.

My mother was not

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Berkeley YWCA Festival of Women Authors | Saturday, February 1st, 2014

Come join me as the Berkeley YWCA host me and three other authors–Patricia Bracewell, Kelly Corrigan, and Liz Jasper– for the 20th Annual Festival of Women Authors 2014.

Saturday, February 1s, 2014– 9 a.m.–2 p.m.

at H’s Lordships, Berkeley Marina, Berkeley, California

An all-day affair discussing our love for books and how we came to writing.

Click here to purchase tickets.

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