Dear Friends,

Mary Poppins Carpet Bag was magical and could hold huge objects like street lamps, remember? For week two of Lent we offer an exercise for you to imagine that inside you lives Mary Poppins Carpet Bag and over the course of Lent you will place images, past events, memories, and objects that symbolize what have been the most sacred and meaningful aspect of your life. Be sure to pack things representing your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, self. Reflect on what has been the most impacting places, people and experiences in your history that has empowered you to becoming who you are. These events can be negative experiences as well as positive. You are packing for the rest of your life journey and in order to be healthy and strong you must take the best parts of yourself with you, the parts you feel have most empowered you to become your highest, most sacred self.

Last month, I took my first webinar ever with the inspired David Spangler, co-director of Findhorn. David has a good sense of humor, and I asked him if I could use a certain metaphor he offered in an exercise and he said, "Yes, what is a meta-for?" Mary Poppins Carpet Bag is metaphor for the hugeness of your own soul, the shape-shifting miracles of your and every life form in a creative field of our co-creation with God. Filling your Mary Poppins Carpet Bag exercise is adapted from Spangler's Identity Pouch exercise. He writes, "These contents are important, but they do not fully define you. You can transcend them if you need to; you can change and transform because of what you are as spirit and soul, as a living identity, is larger that the contents of your mind. Like the carpet bag which Mary Poppins carried that could hold anything no matter how large, the space within you, the space of your soul and your imagination, can hold anything you put into it." Working with Subtle Energies.

I offer an example of how I have done this exercise. The collage above of photos of children holding animals comes from a catalog from Save the Children. www.savethechidren.org

I cut and gathered these magazine images and placed them in my Mary Poppins Carpet Bag. They represent my love of children, baby animals and color that are a part of my history and my spirit. Meditating on the images of these precious children and knowing they are inside my Mary Poppins Carpet Bag makes me feel ready for whatever challenges I will face. It gives me an experience of self love, confidence and empowerment. Remembering what is most sacred to you will help you decide on what you need to pack. I also placed a glass of white wine with lipstick on it to symbolize the pain of growing up in an alcoholic family. As a teenager I remember thinking I had arrived in glamorous adulthood when I noticed that my glass of wine had my own lipstick on it. This memory invites me to celebrate how far I have grown to stop putting evil "Spirits" into my body. Now I consciously feed my body and soul with loving "Spirits" like the images of happy children above. Drinking in the faces of sacred children, baby animals and colors is healthy life giving spiritual food for me. I also have packed the visions I had as a child of Mother Mary and rainbows, the birth of my two children and grandchildren, travel to holy places and holy people. I have known, people and pets I have loved, Jesus and Mary Magdalene, meaningful dreams, Archangel Gabrielle playing the trumpet and a photo of the Earth from the moon. Knowing this is securely packed inside me gives me a similar feeling of preparedness, as when I know I have packed well for a weekend trip. I have what I need for any kind of weather, any kind of places I may end up having to go, either for work or pleasure, sleeping or dancing, sunshine or below zero weather, day and night time -- I am ready. I invite you to pack all your most sacred parts for your journey inside your Mary Poppins Carpet Bag in the coming weeks of Lent. This will help provide you the soul energy you need for your journey.

The journey will be difficult, with unexpected and miraculous encounters and learning. Catastrophe is here and will keep on coming here on Planet Earth..... for all of us. You have little time left to claim your highest self, to love yourself and the God within you. We have a lot of children, animals and plants to love and save so pack well. Take herds of elephants, entire galaxies or dirty wine glasses. Size is not an issue. Deep holy meaning is the issue. To pack well, you have to know yourself.

Love always,

Bonnie

Remember we are concentrating on what's lovable about you this Lent and a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, right?

Please join Church for Our Common Home and pray daily during Lent before the new Easter, Earth Day for someone to donate land to Church for Our Common Home. We will build a House of Pray for the Earth and grow organic vegetables. We are open to collaboration with individuals or like minded organizations.

Easter Sunday Sunrise Service

We will have a Sunrise Worship service at Torrey Pines Beach near the main entrance on the beach. Look for our Earth flag on Easter Sunday, April 21st (no Sunday evening worship on Easter) 6:30 am.

Earth Day Dinner Dance Celebration Sunday. April 28th, at 5 pm for worship, dinner and dancing!

Call for more info (858) 248-5123.

Join us in person or remotely every Sunday 5 pm (PST) for worship and for a pot luck immediately following at the Mary Magdalene Cafe.