REFLECTING LIGHT: Recent Episodes
Mandy Green
Reflecting Light is a podcast hosted by Mandy Green that explores myth, ancient texts, scripture, great works of world literature and the works of artists, past and present, for the threads of light and truth they left behind for us to learn from.
SABBATH: IN THIS SMALL AND SIMPLE THING SALVATION LIES:
COME FOLLOW ME: Terrence C Smith's commentary: Noah fashioned the ark exactly as he was instructed to do. The Lord was very specific in His instructions to Noah. It was to be made of certain specified materials. It was to be of a certain height, length, and breadth—300 cubits in length, 50 cubits in width and 30 cubits in height (which is about 137 × 22.9 × 13.7 m. or 450 × 75 × 45 ft. – about 11⁄2 football fields long, 4 stories high). After God had told Noah what to do (v. 14-16), then God told Noah what He would be doing at the same time (v. 17-18), then He went back to what Noah was to do (v. 19- 21). God did what He said He would do, but...What if Noah had decided to make alterations, cut a few corners? Cutting all that wood was doubtless very tiring; and there were, after all, only eight of them...He had to carefully follow the revelation that the Lord had given to him. It required an exactness, a completeness in following the commandments of the Lord, even when the reason for every bit of counsel might not have been apparent to him. This is a part of the faithfulness and courage required to have a saving faith.
The Seventh Day (Exodus 16:22–30; Hebrews 4:1–11)
1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.
Root Concept: Ceasing and Rest
שָׁבַת is the verb that gives rise to the noun "Sabbath"; at its heart lies the simple yet profound idea of stopping ordinary activity so that God-ordained purposes may prevail. The word appears in settings that range from the grandeur of creation (Genesis 2:2-3) to the mundane rhythm of farming (Leviticus 25:2-4) and even to the cessation of manna (Joshua 5:12). Whether God, land, beasts, nations, or speech are in view, the verb always carries the nuance of deliberate disengagement from what is common in order to honor what is holy or to herald a divinely appointed change.
"Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day."
— Deuteronomy 5:15
"It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:12)?
The Pharisees said to Jesus, "Look, why are your disciples doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?" Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."
— Mark 2:24, 27-28
In the meantime, we are not meant to construct a world where suffering ceases so much as we are meant to transform suffering forever into love.This Is Grace By Tyler Johnson
Sadness and mourning. "The Sabbath does not 'do away' with sadness and sorrow," writes Pinchas H. Peli in The Jewish Sabbath; "it merely requires that all sadness be 'tabled' for one day so that we may not forget that there is also joy and happiness in the world and acquire a more balanced and hopeful picture of life." Even mourning is suspended in order to rejoin the community for Sabbath. "The Sabbath, by its very being, comforts and heals."
From Practicing our Faith by Dorothy Bass
Thoughts taken from John Mark Comer's book, "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry." "Little moments throughout our day wake us up to the reality of God all around us." Pg. 121
Today
by Mary Oliver
Today I'm flying low and I'm not saying a word.
I'm letting all of the voodoos of ambition sleep.
The world goes on as it must,
the bees in the garden rumbling a little,
the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten.
And so forth.
But I'm taking the day off.
Quiet as a feather.
I hardly move though really I'm traveling a terrific distance.
Stillness. One of the doors into the temple.
Matt 4:1 Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit, to be tested, tried, tempted.1. to test (objectively), i.e. endeavor, scrutinize, entice, discipline
ἔρημος:
2048 érēmos – properly, an uncultivated, unpopulated place; a desolate (deserted) area; (figuratively) a barren, solitary place that also provides needed quiet (freedom from disturbance).
In Scripture, a "desert" (2048 /érēmos) is ironically also where God richly grants His presence and provision for those seeking Him. The limitless Lord shows Himself strong in the "limiting" (difficult) scenes of life.
(érēmos) in the strict sense expresses a lack of population (not merely "sparse vegetation")
https://biblehub.com/greek/2048.htm
"From the call of Abraham to the exile of Israel, God repeatedly shapes His people in lonely places. The Greek Old Testament (LXX) uses erēmos to translate the Hebrew midbar, the setting of Sinai revelation, tabernacle worship, prophetic preparation, and chastening wanderings. By retaining this vocabulary, the New Testament presents a seamless continuation: the same God who met Israel in the desert now meets His people in Christ."
The wilderness is a place of strength: "that's why, over and over again, you see Jesus come back to the eremos." P. 125
"The friend of silence draws near unto God." John Climacus
Pg. 132. Lewis quote.
Come away
He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." —Mark 6.31
Come away. The world will turn without you. Let go of the "have to," the should, the ought.
Notice what you set down: the weight of expectations, the feeling of proving yourself to yourself. Notice how you feel, unburdened: At peace? Anxious? Free? Afraid? Waiting for the gavel to drop? Notice…
What if it's OK? It's OK.
Practice this sabbath exercise, this holy desertion so you may take it with you into the crowd.
•
You honor what is in your hands only if you hold it lightly.
•
Come away to the place of solitude where you already are, waiting for you.
_________________ Steve Garnaas-Holmes Unfolding Light www.unfoldinglight.net
July 14, 2021
Published July 14, 2021
https://unfoldinglight.net/2021/07/page/2/
Art: Flaming June, by Fredrick Leighton
Welcome to Season 5 and the invitation to rest, pause and center.
For a link to the book "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry", please visit:
https://amzn.to/49k3yqX
Sounding the Seasons
Tangled in time, we go by hints and guesses,
Turning the wheel of each returning year.
But in the midst of failures and successes
We sometimes glimpse the love that casts out fear.
Sometimes the heart remembers its own reasons
And beats a Sanctus as we sing our story,
Tracing the threads of grace, sounding the seasons
That lead at last through time to timeless glory.
From the first yearning for a Saviour's birth
To the full joy of knowing sins forgiven,
We start our journey here on God's good earth
To catch an echo of the choirs of heaven.
I send these out, returning what was lent,
Turning to praise each 'moment's monument'.
by Malcom Guite "Sounding the Seasons."
iOde
My private portal to a world between,
My placeless place of virtual exchange,
I see through you though you remain unseen
And make familiar what you once made strange.
You make a stranger means to make me 'friend'
Whom I can 'touch' to 'like', to show I care.
You make a means to every unknown end
And make one little screen an everywhere.
I am familiar with a hundred faces,
All famished for their fifteen minutes fame,
I am half present in a hundred places
But never present in the place I am.
I pull you from my pocket when you call
I touch and swipe as I am bid to do,
You do my bidding too, you do it all,
What will you make of me, or I of you?
https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/iode-a-little-poem-for-my-iphone/
Welcome to a preview of the year's coming events, and Forbidden Adventure's "Exploring Ancient England." To purchase "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry," click here: https://amzn.to/49k3yqX
For more information about the tour or to sign up for it, click here: https://www.forbiddenadventure.com/unlocking-england
Jerusalem ["And did those feet in ancient time"]
BY WILLIAM BLAKE
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon Englands mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On Englands pleasant pastures seen!
And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold:
Bring me my arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In Englands green & pleasant Land.
Source: Preface to Milton a Poem. (1810)
..So, while the light fails On a winter's afternoon, in a secluded chapel History is now and England.
With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling
We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate When the last of earth left to discover Is that which was the beginning; At the source of the longest river The voice of the hidden waterfall And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for But heard, half-heard, in the stillness Between two waves of the sea. Quick now, here, now, always-- A condition of complete simplicity (Costing not less than everything) And all shall be well and All manner of thing shall be well When the tongues of flames are in-folded Into the crowned knot of fire And the fire and the rose are one.
The Little Gidding is the last of T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets.
Art by Wendy Keller "For Unto Us A Child is Born"
Winter Solstice Night—PODCAST 2:
One of four cardinal points where the earths elliptical celestial paths align. Thinking of you. Holidays, while wonderful, may not always elicit triumphant and joyful tidings. Loss and grief seem to weigh in more heavily during the season. I know we've felt it with the loss of our nephew from suicide a year ago, the recent death of my uncle and aunt just 9 days apart, dear friends who experience the loss of a spouse, or child, others I love going through divorce, miscarriages, children away from home or estranged. I see you. More importantly you are seen and known in heaven.
I'm reminded Jesus came into a very imperfect world as well. He didn't wait for the "opportune moment" but rather came in the fullness or meridian of time, into difficult circumstances, money scarcity, roman occupation, unwed mother, chased by Herod and the list continues.
In the Book of Mormon, we read of an outsider prophet, Samuel, who visits the people on the Americas prophesying of the Saviors birth. He tells them, in lovely Lady Hawke fashion, the night the Son of God is born, the sun will set, but the earth will remain lit as if the sun were shining. As the day approaches, evil builds. And those in power set aside a date for the believers, who wait for such a sign. If the sign doesn't occur by that date, they will all be put to death. I'd like to read a bit from the Book of 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. ( And if you don't have a Book of Mormon, I recommend it! From any theological standpoint, it's' a fascinating witness of Jesus Christ, and one for consideration regardless of your personal beliefs or affiliations.)
And it came to pass that in the commencement of the ninety and second year, behold, the prophecies of the prophets began to be fulfilled more fully; for there began to be greater signs and greater miracles wrought among the people.
5 But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled, which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite.
6 And they began to rejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain.
7 And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass.
8 But behold, they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain.
9 Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet.
10 Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.
11 And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers.
12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:
13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.
14 Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.
15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came. So in this spirit, as we wait, with this stubborn hope, as Kate Bowler names it, I wanted to share a message my brother in law, Richard Green delivered last Sunday, about how the Lord has been with him through the darkness he and his family have experienced over the last year.This is hope in the trenches. This is audacious faith in the face of loss. This is the promise of a Savior. I hope it will find you in the dark of this winter solstice night tonight. And as one of my favorite artists, Noah Kahn sings, "DOn't let this darkness fool you. All lights turned off, can be turned on. I"ll drive all night. I'll call your mom." I hope this message feels like a call from a loving mom. And I thank Rich and his wife Whitney and his daughters Calais and Hilary for their amazing examples to me, of living in hope.
Merry Christmas my dear ones.
Gods answer is a baby.
Artwork: Tshikamba, Nativity
Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
TOUR INFORMATION!~
https://www.forbiddenadventure.com/unlocking-england
Unlocking Ancient England with Mandy Green
March 13-27, 2026 With special Guests: Margaret Barker Tom Bree & Guy Olgilvy $4,800 USD price per person Double Occupancy
$5,900 USD price per person Single Occupancy
For Beginning Biblical Hebrew Lessons at the discounted rate please visit:https://projectillumination.thinkific.com/courses/beginning-biblical-hebrew
Whoever you are, wherever you are, I hope you find a home and a place in this glorious conversation here at Reflecting Light. Welcome home.
"Perhaps the secret of living well is not having all the answer, but in pursuing unanswerable questions in good company." Rachel Naomi Remen
You're invited to join me and other truth seekers in this ongoing conversation in the U.K., March 13-27th, 2024 with Margaret Barker, Guy Ogilve, and Tom Bree! For more information, please visit: https://www.forbiddenadventure.com/unlocking-england
"Then, after the consecration of the Holy Sacrifice of God, because He wished us also to be His sacrifice, a fact which was made clear when the Holy Sacrifice was first instituted, and because that Sacrifice is a sign of what we are, behold, when the Sacrifice is finished, we say the Lord's Prayer which you have received and recited. After this, the 'Peace be with you' is said, and the Christians embrace one another with the holy kiss. This is a sign of peace; as the lips indicate, let peace be made in your conscience, that is, when your lips draw near to those of your brother, do not let your heart withdraw from his. Hence, these are great and powerful sacraments." St. Augustine, SERMON 227, The Fathers of the Church,(1959), Roy Joseph Deferrari, Genera editor, also, Sermons on the Liturgical Seasons, vol. 38, p. 197. See also: Sermon 227 in The Works of Saint Augustine: A New Translation for the 21st Century, (1993), Vol. 6, part, 3, p. 255.
Keep on Keeping on like a bird that flew. “Tangled up in Blue.” Bob Dylan 1974
The Feast Day of St. Mary Magdalene, July 22, honors this remarkable woman. This podcast is a updated version of the most recent information about this singular disciple of Christ and the illuminating path she forged forward for the rest of us.
Additional reading:
The Saturdays of our lives are sometimes our darkest hours, as we wait, like disciples of old, for the new life promised in Christ. In this episode, Mandy speaks to this darkness as we wait and hope. artwork: The Grey Havens, by Matt Stewart, as seen in the Middle-earth Collectible Card Game
INTO THE WEST, Lyrics by Annie Lennox, Produced by Howard Shore
Lay down Your sweet and weary head The night is falling You have come to journey's end Sleep now And dream of the ones who came before They are calling From across the distant shore Why do you weep? What are these tears upon your face? Soon you will see All of your fears will pass away Safe in my arms You're only sleeping What can you see On the horizon? Why do the white gulls call? Across the sea A pale moon rises The ships have come to carry you home And all will turn To silver glass A light on the water All Souls pass Hope fades Into the world of night Through shadows falling Out of memory and time Don't say We have come now to the end White shores are calling You and I will meet again And you'll be here in my arms Just sleeping And all will turn To silver glass A light on the water Grey ships pass Into the West
READING: For Holy Saturday: Pg. 174-175
From: Have a Beautiful Terrible Day by Kate Bowler.
(SO MANY GEMS IN THIS BOOK! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!)
To purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TX23pE
or on Target: https://www.target.com/p/have-a-beautiful-terrible-day-by-kate-bowler-hardcover/-/A-89186641#lnk=sametab
HEBREWS 12:5-12
“My son, do not despise the [c]chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 If[d] you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened usas seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no [e]chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
Today's podcast features guests, Adelaide Roberts, Miss Wyoming For America Strong and Tyler Schwab, President and CEO of Libertas International, an organization committed to the rescue and after care of girls imprisoned in human trafficking. It's a tough and tender conversation--and an necessary one. To beat an evil of this magnitude, it's going to take all of us! Please listen to the end if possible.
For more information about how you can help or to sponsor a girl, please visit: Libertas International. If donating, please enter: REFLECTING LIGHT PODCAST into the memo space.
Better late than never! Mandy returns with Easter Greetings and a look at the beauty of the mayhem the first Easter, as recorded in the Book of Mark. Wishing you all some beautiful Easter mayhem. xoxo
art by He Qi: Women Arriving at the Tomb He Qi Copyright 2021. Limited use.
To Purchase Kate Bowlers book: https://amzn.to/4anG81J
Are we willing to ride out our storms knowing the Lord is in the boat with us? Matt 8, Luke 5.
Image Credit: Yongsong Kim, "The Hand of God.'
https://yongsungkimart.com/products/the-hand-of-god-by-yongsung-kim?variant=40700331393189
With all of the focus on love the past month, it's important to remember to love ourselves. Join Mandy as she discusses how we are each "wonderfully and fearfully made," (Ps. 139:13-18).
Love After Love The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the other's welcome, and say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life. © by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes
When was the last time your rested? TRULY rested?
When was the last time you ceased from doing anything--totally stopped and just emjoyed existence?
If you're like me, it's been too long. And that's why I recorded this podcast.
Exodus 20: 8-11Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
All other quotes taken from Chapter 5 of Soul Feast by Marjorie Thompson.
https://amzn.to/3SZrUhp
TRY IT! SET A GOAL TO CEASE FROM EVERYTHING A FEW TIMES THIS WEEK AND BUILD UP FROM THERE. It's harder than you imagine! (Which means the Elohim probably had an idea of how important it would become to us as humans!) xoxo. Mandy
Small Kindnesses Danusha Laméris
I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you” when someone sneezes, a leftover from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying. And sometimes, when you spill lemons from your grocery bag, someone else will help you pick them up. Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other. We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot, and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder, and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass. We have so little of each other, now. So far from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange. What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here, have my seat,” “Go ahead—you first,” “I like your hat.”
From Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection (Green Writers Press, 2019). Posted by kind permission of the poet.
Small Kindnesses grateful.org "Am I then really all that which other men tell of, or am I only what I know of myself, restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage, struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat, yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds, thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Who Am I." Welcome to RandomActsofKindness.org randomactsofkindness.org 2024_RAK_kindness_calendar PDF Document · 8.5 MB
"And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been." Rilke Word of the Year: "Affection" noun af·fec·tion ə-ˈfek-shən
Synonyms of affection
1: a feeling of liking and caring for someone or something : tender attachment : FONDNESS
She had a deep affection for her parents.
Middle English affeccioun "capacity for feeling, emotion, desire, love," borrowed from Anglo-French, "desire, love, inclination, partiality," borrowed from Latin affectiōn-, affectiō "frame of mind, feeling, feeling of attachment," from affec-(variant stem of afficere "to produce an effect on, exert an influence on") + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns
Referench: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affection
philostorgos: tenderly loving
Original Word:φιλόστοργος, ον
Phonetic Spelling:(fil-os'-tor-gos)
Definition:tenderly loving
Usage:tenderly loving, kindly affectionate to
Reference: https://biblehub.com/greek/5387.htm
For the full text of the Jefferson Lecture 2012, by Wendell Barry, please visit: https://www.neh.gov/about/awards/jefferson-lecture/wendell-e-berry-biography
Photo by Guy Mendes
Quoted excerpts from the lecture:
“Because a thing is going strong now, it need not go strong for ever,” [Margaret] said. “This craze for motion has only set in during the last hundred years. It may be followed by a civilization that won’t be a movement, because it will rest upon the earth.E. M. Forster, Howards End (1910) p.
"The term “imagination” in what I take to be its truest sense refers to a mental faculty that some people have used and thought about with the utmost seriousness. The sense of the verb “to imagine” contains the full richness of the verb “to see.” To imagine is to see most clearly, familiarly, and understandingly with the eyes, but also to see inwardly, with “the mind’s eye.” It is to see, not passively, but with a force of vision and even with visionary force. To take it seriously we must give up at once any notion that imagination is disconnected from reality or truth or knowledge. It has nothing to do either with clever imitation of appearances or with “dreaming up.” It does not depend upon one’s attitude or point of view, but grasps securely the qualities of things seen or envisioned.
I will say, from my own belief and experience, that imagination thrives on contact, on tangible connection. For humans to have a responsible relationship to the world, they must imagine their places in it. To have a place, to live and belong in a place, to live from a place without destroying it, we must imagine it. By imagination we see it illuminated by its own unique character and by our love for it. By imagination we recognize with sympathy the fellow members, human and nonhuman, with whom we share our place. By that local experience we see the need to grant a sort of preemptive sympathy to all the fellow members, the neighbors, with whom we share the world. As imagination enables sympathy, sympathy enables affection. And it is in affection that we find the possibility of a neighborly, kind, and conserving economy."
"But the risk, I think, is only that affection is personal. If it is not personal, it is nothing; we don’t, at least, have to worry about governmental or corporate affection. And one of the endeavors of human cultures, from the beginning, has been to qualify and direct the influence of emotion. The word “affection” and the terms of value that cluster around it—love, care, sympathy, mercy, forbearance, respect, reverence—have histories and meanings that raise the issue of worth. We should, as our culture has warned us over and over again, give our affection to things that are true, just, and beautiful.
It is by imagination that knowledge is “carried to the heart” (to borrow again from Allen Tate).
The faculties of the mind—reason, memory, feeling, intuition, imagination, and the rest—are not distinct from one another. Though some may be favored over others and some ignored, none functions alone. But the human mind, even in its wholeness, even in instances of greatest genius, is irremediably limited. Its several faculties, when we try to use them separately or specialize them, are even more limited.
The fact is that we humans are not much to be trusted with what I am calling statistical knowledge, and the larger the statistical quantities the less we are to be trusted. We don’t learn much from big numbers. We don’t understand them very well, and we aren’t much affected by them."
((Who Owns America? edited by Herbert Agar and Allen Tate, ISI Books, Wilmington, DE, 1999, pages 109–114. (First published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1936.)
[Nature] "As Albert Howard, Wes Jackson, and others have carefully understood, she can give us the right patterns and standards for agriculture. If we ignore or offend her, she enforces her will with punishment. She is always trying to tell us that we are not so superior or independent or alone or autonomous as we may think. She tells us in the voice of Edmund Spenser that she is of all creatures “the equall mother, / And knittest each to each, as brother unto brother.”
(The Faerie Queene, VII, vii, stanza XIV.)
"To hear of a thousand deaths in war is terrible, and we “know” that it is. But as it registers on our hearts, it is not more terrible than one death fully imagined. The economic hardship of one farm family, if they are our neighbors, affects us more painfully than pages of statistics on the decline of the farm population. I can be heartstruck by grief and a kind of compassion at the sight of one gulley (and by shame if I caused it myself), but, conservationist though I am, I am not nearly so upset by an accounting of the tons of plowland sediment borne by the Mississippi River. Wallace Stevens wrote that “Imagination applied to the whole world is vapid in comparison to imagination applied to a detail.”
(Opus Posthumous, edited, with an Introduction by Samuel French Morse, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1957, page 176.)
"But we need not wait, as we are doing, to be taught the absolute value of land and of land health by hunger and disease. Affection can teach us, and soon enough, if we grant appropriate standing to affection. For this we must look to the stickers, who “love the life they have made and the place they have made it in.”
"E. M. Forster’s novel, Howards End, published in 1910. By then, Forster was aware of the implications of “rural decay,” and in this novel he spoke, with some reason, of his fear that “the literature of the near future will probably ignore the country and seek inspiration from the town. . . . and those who care for the earth with sincerity may wait long ere the pendulum swings back to her again.” (Howards End, page 15, 112).
Margaret’s premise, as she puts it to Henry, is the balance point of the book: “It all turns on affection now . . . Affection. Don’t you see?” (Ibid., page 214).
To have beautiful buildings, for example, people obviously must want them to be beautiful and know how to make them beautiful, but evidently they also must love the places where the buildings are to be built. For a long time, in city and countryside, architecture has disregarded the nature and influence of places.
It is the vice of a vulgar mind to be thrilled by bigness, to think that a thousand square miles are a thousand times more wonderful than one square mile . . . That is not imagination. No, it kills it. . . . Your universities? Oh, yes, you have learned men who collect . . . facts, and facts, and empires of facts. But which of them will rekindle the light within? (Ibid., page 30)."
“The light within,” I think, means affection, affection as motive and guide. Knowledge without affection leads us astray every time. Affection leads, by way of good work, to authentic hope. The factual knowledge, in which we seem more and more to be placing our trust, leads only to hope of the discovery, endlessly deferrable, of an ultimate fact or smallest particle that at last will explain everything.
Margaret’s premise, as she puts it to Henry, is the balance point of the book: “It all turns on affection now . . . Affection. Don’t you see?”
The great reassurance of Forster’s novel is the wholeheartedness of his language. It is to begin with a language not disturbed by mystery, by things unseen. But Forster’s interest throughout is in soul-sustaining habitations: houses, households, earthly places where lives can be made and loved. In defense of such dwellings he uses, without irony or apology, the vocabulary that I have depended on in this talk: truth, nature, imagination, affection, love, hope, beauty, joy. Those words are hard to keep still within definitions; they make the dictionary hum like a beehive. But in such words, in their resonance within their histories and in their associations with one another, we find our indispensable humanity, without which we are lost and in danger.
Of the land-community much has been consumed, much has been wasted, almost nothing has flourished.
But this has not been inevitable. We do not have to live as if we are alone.
This week Mandy discusses the distinction between belief and knowledge and examines the heights and depths of "knowing."
1 Ne 8:10 And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.
11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.
12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirousthat my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.
"We wanted life, however high the cost. We suffer because we were willing to pay the cost of being and of being here with others in their ignorance and inexperience as well as our own. We suffer because we are willing to pay the costs of living with laws of nature, which operate quite consistently whether or not we understand them or can manage them. We suffer because, like Christ in the desert, we apparently did not say we would come only if God would change all our stones to bread in time of hunger. We were willing to know hunger. Like Christ in the desert, we did not ask God to let us try falling or being bruised only on condition that he catch us before we touch ground and save us from real hurt. We were willing to know hurt. Like Christ, we did not agree to come only if God would make everyone bow to us and respect us, or admire us and understand us. Like Christ, we came to be ourselves, addressing and creating reality. We are finding out who we are and who we can become regardless of immediate environment or circumstances.”
From Francine Bennion’s: “A Latter-day Saint Theology of Suffering”
Art: ENCOUNTER Painted by Daniel Cariola from a chapel mural in Magdala, Israel
Welcome to 2024~ We start the year by concluding the Christmas liturgial season ending in Epiphany! noun epiph·a·ny i-ˈpi-fə-nē
1 capitalized : January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ
2: an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being
3a(1): a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something
(2): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking
(3): an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure
b: a revealing scene or moment
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epiphany
Journey of the Magi By T.S. Elliot
A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.'
And the camels galled, sorefooted, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
and running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.
Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arriving at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you might say) satisfactory.
All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.
"Every hero needs to venture into the Belly of the Beast. It’s essential to be devoured at least once by the monster. The hero never begins as a hero. He becomes a hero, and that entails the annihilation of his own, unheroic, former self. The hero always undergoes a metamorphosis, from ordinary to extraordinary. The hero, like the snake, sheds its old skin and takes on a new form. To change, you must enter a sacred space, a transformational space. Nothing ever changes in the ordinary space. The familiar world keeps you the same. It has no alchemical power. If you are confined in the same old world, you remain the same old person. You must cross the threshold into the New World."--David Sinclair
(Taken from the instagram account: @robertedwardgrant on 1-3-2024
Thank you for joining me for this advent season! Wishing you and yours a truly magical, beautiful holiday season! xoxo Mandy For more information on "Forbidden France: In Search of the Black Madonna" visit: https://www.forbiddenadventure.com/forbidden-france Advent Reading: Helaman 13: 1 And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy a great many more things which cannot be written.
2 And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.
3 And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.
4 Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.
5 And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.
6 And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven.
7 And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth.
8 And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall believe on the Son of God, the same shall have everlasting life.
3 Nephi 1:4-22 4 And it came to pass that in the commencement of the ninety and second year, behold, the prophecies of the prophets began to be fulfilled more fully; for there began to be greater signs and greater miracles wrought among the people.
5 But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled, which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite.
6 And they began to rejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain.
7 And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass.
8 But behold, they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain.
9 Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet.
10 Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.
11 And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers.
12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord aall that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:
13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.
14 Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.
15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.
16 And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand.
17 And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear; yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth.
18 For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for many years, and that the sign which had been given was already at hand; and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief.
19 And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.
20 And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets.
21 And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word.
22 And it came to pass that from this time forth there began to be lyings sent forth among the people, by Satan, to harden their hearts, to the intent that they might not believe in those signs and wonders which they had seen; but notwithstanding these lyings and deceivings the more part of the people did believe, and were converted unto the Lord.
Peace on earth to all people of good will.
Welcome to our third Sunday of Advent. In this episode, Mandy invites us to consider how each of us may show up for the advent of Christ, as our truest selves. For show notes see: www.mandybgreen.com/podcast Matt 5:48: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/matthew/5-48.htm
Patience doesn't mean making a pact with the devil of denial, ignoring our emotions and aspirations. It means being wholeheartedly engaged in the process that's unfolding, rather than ripping open a budding flower or demanding a caterpillar hurry up and get that chrysalis stage over with.
Sharon Salzberg
somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond
E. E. Cummings
somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near
your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose
or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
compels me with the colour of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing
(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands
From Complete Poems: 1904-1962 by E. E. Cummings, edited by George J. Firmage
https://poets.org/poem/somewhere-i-have-never-travelledgladly-beyond
Artwork by Tshikamba: Samuel Wells, A NAZARETH MANIFESTO! https://chapel-archives.oit.duke.edu/documents/sermons/July11WhatMustIDotoInheritEternalLife.pdf
IF YOU ARE ABLE, the COLUMBUS LEARNING CENTER is in desparate need of volunteers and supplies! columbusaec.org
Welcome to the beginning of Advent as we explore the condescension of God through the lens of Isaiah, in "The Ascension of Isaiah."* 1 Nephi 11:16 "And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?"
Art: Prophet Isaiah, Marc Chagall Le prophète Isaïe, 1968; Saint-paul-de-vence, France
Music compliments of: https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
*As an Amazon Associate, the podcast receives earnings from your purchases that funds further episodes. Thank you!
Recognizing is different than seeing. Perhaps a shift in perspective can help us recognize heaven in our lives. Happy thanksgiving! Blessed are my listeners. Thank you for your support!
Show notes at: Mandybgreen.com/podcast
Today's podcast offers a little breather from life. "Come Away" from Unfoldinglight.net
Commentary from, Getting Involved with God, by Ellen Davis https://amzn.to/3tOITZE. #commissionearned Psalms referenced: 102, 42, 22, 88, 126, and 130. LAMENT IS: · A form of prayer that addresses God. · A clear statement that NAMES the truth of the evil, the suffering or the pain. · Affirmation of God’s faithfulness · Affirmation of the hope of deliverance. · Freedom to feel terrible in God’s presence. · Communal—gives us something to do with suffering, has us present with it. · Carries the action to God-4 God to act, in hope. · Calling God out on promises made! IS NOT: · an answer to the problem; it doesn’t solve anything. · Not complaining or griping. · Not a way to avoid suffering to but a way to lean into it. Lament is A REFLECTION OF TRUE RELATIONSHIP! LAMENT SPEAKS OF THE CLOSENESS TO BE REAL AND HONEST! "BECAUSE we have faith, we have the capacity to lament." Mandy Green Psalm 13 1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? 3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, 4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me. Psalm 42 As the hart longs after the water brooks, So my soul longs for you, Elohim. 2 My soul thirsts for Elohim, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before the Elohim? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, In this, they continually say unto me, Where are your Elohim? 5 Why are you bowed down my soul? And why are you disquieted in me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise him For the help of his countenance. 7 Deep calls to deep at the noise of thy water spouts: All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. 8 Yet Jehovah will command his lovingkindness in the day-time; And in the night his song shall be with me, My prayer to the God of my life. 9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why am I dark because of the oppression of the enemy? 10 As with a shattering in my bones, mine adversaries torment me, While they say all day to me, Where is your God? 11 Why art thou cast down, my soul? And why do you rage within me? Hope in God; for I shall praise him, Who is the Yeshuah (salvation) of my countenance, and my God. (My Translation)
Welcome to SEASON FOUR OF REFLECTING LIGHT! Mandy starts off the newest season by asking us to ponder this question found in Matthew 16:13-15. Join us! For Show notes, please visit: mandybrookegreen.com
For Tour information, please visit: www.forbiddenadventure.com
For information about classes or the weekly COME FOLLOW ME video cast, please visit: www.projectillumination.thinkific.com
SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU HERE!
Heres a short and sweet last thought for summer, "What Things?" Invite the divine into your life. Song for this episode: "The Scientist" by Coldplay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm-Y9idMMQ4
For those interested in enrolling in classes each Wednesday with Jon Ewer and Dena Hall, please email: itsgreektome@hotmail.com. This is a rare opportunity. Take it!
Photo: Gang nach Emmaus, Robert Zünd, 1877
Join Mandy as she interviews Dr. Marie Shelton about the roots of alchemy in Ancient Britain and the various ways people can learn truth through the newest tour offered by Forbidden Adventure, "Grail Legend, The Knights Templar and Alchemical Traditions. Www.forbiddenadventure.com
Join us for a reading of the book "The Hymn of the Pearl" written by Lori Driggs, illustrated by Tshikamba with essay by Mandy Green. Mandy explains why this hymn is so important and relevant to each of of us, here and earth, and how it can help us remember who we truly are, and what our purpose, or pearl, is here to recover.
Continuing on with the celebration of Mandikah, Mandy finished out her list of the 50 Most Important Things she's learned in her first half century. Join us!
To celebrate Mandy's golden birthday this week, she shares with us 50 Things She's Learned from her first fifty years of life, complete with an epic playlist. "L' haim!"
Still basking in the joy of the marriage of her oldest child, Mandy looks at what marriage can teach us and some of the ways it shows up on in ancient mythology, the scriptures and in the Saviors life. Tune in!
Have you ever felt "cumbered about" with much serving? Or overwhelemed by the tasks you feel you need to do? Or left to do all the work alone while someone else is able to just sit back and enjoy the moment? Then this episode is for YOU! Join Mandy as she discusses Luke 10 and the change of heart and attitude we can experience when we feel troubled about many things.
Easter, Through the Eyes of Matthew. Matt 21-28
This is the first installment of the new Come Follow Me video cast. But I found I wanted to share it with the podcast as well, so I doubled down. And when I say that, I mean to say that I perhaps quadrupled down! This is by far the LONGEST PODCAST KNOWN to Reflecting LIght. So FAIR WARNING. It's LOOOONG.
Break it up, take it in chapters, or not at all. Just let me know if you learned something new or if this was a complete bust. It's an experiment.
Above all Happy Easter to each one of you!!! May you be blessed with heavenly love and light!
Fresh back from a Mary Magdalene Pilgrimage in France, Mandy invites us to look at the value of silence. What does the silence teach us that is distinctly different from the word or logos? Tune in!
Our discussion of "Treasures in the Heavens" by Hugh Nibley continues with the talk of creation of world and souls. Show artwork: Jehovah Creates the Earth (Jesus Christ Creates the Earth and the Heavens) by Walter Rane
Mandy continues her reading and commentary of the essay, "Treasures in the Heavens" by Hugh Nibley. Creation is actually organization and is overseen by the Great Sent One, Jesus Christ. Show artwork is: "God creating the universe, using the compass to measure its dimensions, manuscript illumination from an Old French Bible moralisée "(c. 1208-15), Codex Vindobonensis 2554, fol. lv, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna.
This week, Mandy continues her discussion of "Treasures in the Heavens" an essay by Hugh Nibley, and introduces a discussion of the Hymn of the Pearl from the Gospel of Thomas. Show artwork is from The Hymn of the Pearl by Lori Driggs, Illustrated by Tshikamba! For information on how to access these writings, and to pre-order this beautiful book, please visit: https://www.mandybgreen.com/show-notes. Happy Studying.
The Sermon on the Mount is an invitation for the students of Christ to follow him to higher ground. In an effort to examine that, join Mandy as she begins disucssion of Hugh Nibley's essay, "Treasures in the Heavens."
According to a Hopi Prophecy, we are living in the time of the third great awakening--a time we must learn to be inclusvie and loving with people of all races and backgrounds. Join Mandy as she discusses how expressing LOVE for others, or ourselves is made so much better when we are able to extend it as grace and space for others.
Sitting within your soul and spirit is this magnificent power of choice! Join Mandy as she discusses "The Grand Inquisitor" a chapter from one of the world's most renouned novels, "The Brothers Karamatzov" and your magnificent ability to choose to follow Jesus the Christ. Time after time. Day by day. Hour by hour. The gift is in your ability to choose Him--over all else.
Have you ever experienced grief fatigue? Have you bottomed from feeling overload and retreated? I sure have. Join me as I talk about the importance of feeling all of our feelings and beauty these darker, richer hues offer to develop us spiritually and teach us compassion.
If, like Ignatius of Antioch said, "Faith the beginning and love the end," how to go from faith to love? The answer is Hope. In Hebrew, the word for hope is "tikvah" and means a cord. Join Mandy as she uses the wisdom of the past to explore how we can hold on to hope to make it through the storms and tests of life.
Join Mandy as she takes discusses the challenges of translation and illustrates them by taking a deeper look into the first few verses of the Gospel of John. If you would like to enroll in her live course about the Gospel of John, beginning at the end of March, please visit: Projectillumination.thinkific.com
Happy New Year from Reflecting Light! Rather than rushing into the new year with resolutions, Mandy discusses greeting the new year with a sense of shabbat, rest, or a pause. Join us as she explores clues from the Gospel of Mark that exemplify how the Lord found rest and solace.
Do you ever feel like you've lost your way and don't know where to turn? Do you ever feel burdened and unable to go forward? Then this is the episode for you. Join Mandy as she discusses the muddy path of the lotus, the dark night of the soul and how to find the Lord in to help us bear the weight of life.
Merry Christmas from Reflecting LIght! Join Mandy as she walks you through the Judean Hillside to take in the events of the Saviors birth. Happy Holidays!
Holiday Greetings from Reflecting Light! Join Mandy as she discusses the best idea of how to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas this Year. Hint: The answer is in the title. Episode artwork found from an article: https://www.templeton.org/news/can-forgiveness-bring-healing-to-the-world. Illustration by Rachel Aparicio.
Join Mandy in this weeks podcast to learn about the prophecies of Isaiah related to the birth of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes, we are healed of our infirmities. Other times, we must bear them. Either way, we can find heavenly peace in Christ. Join us as Mandy kicks of the season with the "Peace that was prepared before ever your war was."
We all have garbage in our lives. What makes the difference is how we view it. Join Mandy as she shares some of the lesson she learned from her recent visit to Garbage City in Cairo. There is just something beautiful about Heaven's alchemy--even when it shows up as "garbage." Love and Light and Happy Holidays my freinds!
Anciently, when you invited someone to break bread with you, it signified admitting someone into your family and life. Join Mandy as she shares a store of her Shabbat in Jerusalem and a little bit of wisdom about how we can be open up and share our commonalities with others.
This is one of my very favorite episodes, but I recorded it VERY early on in the podcast. So while I am out of town, I wanted to re-share it for all of our new listeners and as a reminder for all of those who have already heard it, but could use the reminder. Love and light!
Have you ever wondered if your life is off course? Did you somehow miss your chance at redemption? Is all of this part of the plan? As it turns out, it IS. Tune in as Mandy discusses this model that emcompasses every one of our mortal journeys. As it turns out, we are ALL on the path--just at different stages.
Today is a love story from the Bible that asks us to look at love through a different lens. Join Mandy as she looks as the story of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, the Song of Songs, and some of the beautiful ways that love expands our souls, and teaches us about the Elohim and the Lord's great love for us.
Welcome to Season 3! We kick things off by learning what the pattern of nature can teach as the seasons change. By following this pattenr, fall can be a time of harvest, cleansing and letting go. It can also be a time to sit still and learn from the darkness. Tune in!
Or more appropriately, Summer Heart-work. Join us as Mandy bids a fond farewell on the final episode of Season 2 of Reflecting Light.
Who can find an "Eshet Hayil" or a woman of strength and valor, as recited in Proverbs 31? Perhaps she is not so far as we think or even WHO we traditionally thought her to be. Join Mandy as she dives a little deeper into what true, righteous womanhood looks like and the ways we can find HER in the scriptures, in our lives, and in OURSELVES. Happy Mothers Day!
Our family has a motto. It comes from "The Secret LIfe of Walter Mitty as is as follows:
"To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life." Listen as Indiana shared what this meant to him as he traveled the world and served others.
EASTER! That glorious time of year when we take notice of the path of Christ traveled in the last week of his mortal ministry. Theres so much to say--too much. So here are just a few nuggets to savor and think further on. I'm so grateful for the Lord and for all of the players who helped him accomplish his great mortal work. HALLELUJIA indeed!
This podcast contains excerpts of a lecture Mandy presents around Eastertime about the trememdous example and power of Saint Mary Magdalene. If you ever wanted to hear a more accurate translation of the Greek texts that inform us of her, this is the podcast to listen to! Easter Greetings my friends!
What is truth? How has it been defined anciently? How does it show up in our world today? Join Mandy as she pulls threads to look at some of the possibilies!
As Passover approaches quickly, Mandy takes the opportunity to discuss the ancient Hebrew rite, and and some of the Christian parallels. To be sure, it is a story and ritual full of powerful symbols. Listen and let's discover just a few together.
Often our lives are measure by the eternal things--goals, achievements, accolades. But when it really comes down to it, our relationships are the real currency of life. In this episode, Mandy examines how "hopes" differ from having "goals" in a relationship and how those hopes wield a greater capacity to shape and beautify the lives of those we love.
How do you discover your divine gifts and talents? How do you develop them? How does sharing them and showing up in the world share that divine light with others? Join Mandy and special guest, Amy Robles, as they discuss, how you show up in the world.
In troubling times, it is important to not lose heart. Join Mandy as she discusses some of the old and new symbols and associations with the heart, and shares a personal story about the beauty of the human heart. In a world "turned upside down" it is important to keep our hearts open, discerning and warm. And not to worry, "we were made for these times!" Now, more than ever, it is important that we have hearts that reflect light and love.
There are a lot of ideas about what may consitute "Zion." Join us this week, Mandy takes a deeper dive into this scripture found in Moses 7, to explore some of the beautiful possilities available to each of us here and now.
Artwork by Tonya Vistaunet, There is no End to Love, 2019
Join Mandy to learn about why she travels, the value of travel and to take a vitual tour with her through some of the sites that make up the "Traditions of Christ in Ancient Britian" Tour.
Join us for the beginning of a new month and a closer look at the celebration of CHINESE NEW YEAR! What can you learn from this festival?
Mandy continues her Hebrew reading of the Genesis garden account with some additional insights about Eve, Adam, the Serpent and the beauty of working together to make our way back into the presence of the Elohim.
In this episode, Mandy takes a deeper dive into the Genesis creation account to illuminate some of the intricacies of the forming of Adam, the builing of Eve and some of the polarity and nuance involved in thier divine relationship.
Sometimes, when the world is dark and cold and our souls feel the prick of winter, it is good to be reminded of why we are here and what we are about. Join Mandy as she discusses, "Treasures in the Heavens" the gnostic "Hymn of the Pearl" and choices.
What happens when your fresh start derails? or Covid hits? Or life decides to smash your best plans and intentions. You continue to climb.
Reflecting Light wishes you an amazing new year with this message and the admonition to "be still." But is that really what Psalms 46:10 is saying? Check out what the original meaning in Hebrew may actually be and how you can use that to welcome the new year.
MARY CHRISTMAS and a wonderful holiday season to all of you from Reflecting Light. In this episode, Mandy looks at some of the possible meanings of advent and how we can look forward to it, even now. Love and Light!
Join us for a special Green Family story about a Christmas pencil and the beautiful reminder that the most beautiful gifts often come in the humblest packaging.
Reflecting Light kicks off the Christmas season with a reminder to never lose our sense of childlike wonder, goodness and positivity with a few lessons from the legendary Jim Henson. Wishing you love, light, the rainbow connection, and perhaps a little bit of "manah-manah!"
Happy Thanksgiving from Reflecting Light. In this episode, Mandy takes a closer look at all of the people who make our lives better, from the grocery store clerk to the garbage man. Expressing gratitude helps us better recognize all that others do for us. And no one is a greater example of that than the Savior. Tune in!
Have you ever felt like your efforts here go unnoticed or don't really matter in the grand scheme of things? Well they do. And in this episode, Mandy explores what an Egyptian queen, Hamlet and Ted Lasso have to say about it. Join us!
This podcast is a shout out to all of the unique, amazing people who make up the human race and share their gifts, light and love with others. HUGE shoutout to amazing band, LANY for this inspiring and wonderful song. Join us.
Join Mandy and her special guest and fellow tour guide, Jared Rubalcaba, for a beautiful examination of why one should study Egypt and what Egypt has to offer the sincere, spiritual seeker.
For all of you Potter fans, Reflecting Light celebrates this holiday weekend with a closer examination of magic and some of the wonderful truths we can learn from the Harry Potter Saga.
Sometimes the greatest truths are right in front of us, hidden in plain sight. Tune in as Mandy explores a different way of looking at the Tree of Life and the Love of God. The vision granted to Nephi prompted him to exclaim, "it is the most desirable above all things." And an angel to add, "Yea, and the most joyous to the soul." Tune in!
The little details often go unnoticed in the grand masterpieces, but they are precisely what make up the masterpiece. Join Mandy as she revisits girls camp and a few beautiful works of art for the reminder that each brush stoke adds to the cumulative beauty of any artwork. The same is true of your life. So keep on painting!
What do you do when you're in the middle of a trial that has no foreseeable ending? How do you stay in the game? Who can you look to for an example of how to weather the storm? Tune in as Mandy discusses, "The Long Game."
How do we deal with all of the conflict swirling around us? How can we be friends and still hold different opinions and values? How to we get along with those we disagree with? Mandy attempts to answer this question in the Season 2 premiere of "Reflecting Light."
For the final episode of Season 1, Mandy looks at the prominent attribute of a loving Heavenly Father through the text of Luke 15. Is the parable about a prodigal son, or more about the extraordinary love of the father? Tune in.
And as always, THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THIS PODCAST. If you have found it illuminating, please leave us a review and a rating and pass it along. Season Two will begin again in the Fall. Until then, LOVE AND LIGHT!
WISHING ALL A HAPPY MOTHERS DAY AS WE CELEBRATE THE DIVINE MOTHER, THE GODDESS OF THE COSMOS. Join Mandy as she teaches us where some of the lost threads are left that illuminate our picture of a Heavenly Mother and some of her amazing attributes. We look to Egypt and texts from the Bible to find remnants of her beautiful work and legacy that lives in THROUGH YOU!
If you are a Star Wars Fan, this podcast is for you. For a special treat, Mandy indulges in some recounting some of the wisdom and lessons from a galaxy, far, far away and the Star Wars Saga . Even the scruffiest looking, nerf-herder may feel the force during this discussion. Join us for "May the 4th Be With You!"
Is fear a god-given attribute or an aspect of mortality? Does God teach the spirit of fear? How can you be more courageous in your life. How can you reject the spirit of fear and allow your divine DNA to kick in? Join Mandy as she explore this topic.
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there."
How do we escape the pull of this world? Mary Magdalene offers great insight as we delve into her vision of the heavens from "The Gospel of the Beloved Companion." Tune in to learn from her writings and find the courage and strength to rise up.
Join Mandy and special guest, Tammy Uzelac Hall for a lively discussion about the Proverb of a Virtuous Woman. Spoiler alert: IT ISN'T WHAT YOU THINK IT IS! However, it will change your life and your perception of how righteous, powerful, womanhood behaves. We welcome all to come and learn with us as we explore the Wisdom of Solomon.
Happy Easter from Reflecting Light. In this episode, Mandy defines the fourth watch of the night as those last hours at the end of the long, dark night. She walks us through what it must have been like for the followers of Christ during those final, long, dark moments between the crucifixion and the resurrection. How did they wait for the Son/Sun? How do we deal with our own dark nights and wait on the Lord all the way through the fourth watch until illumination? Tune in.
Reflecting Light welcomes you to Holy Week and Passover with this newest podcast about how we turn away. Taken from a speech given my Lois Lowry, this episode looks at how we turn away from the sublime and heavenly because we are busy, sidetracked, or unable to bear the pain of living at higher and holier levels. Mandy demonstrates how the greatest examples of this are Jesus Christ and his beloved companion, Mary Magdalene. Join us for this thoughtful easter prelude.
Not every day is stellar. In fact, some days we barely have enough to make it through. This podcast is for "those" days. Mandy provides some simple insights and remedies for when you feel down or in a funk. And, in the end, the greatest recommendation is always JESUS.
In this episode, Mandy asks us to reframe the attributes and characteristics of GOD by sharing a personal story. Join us as we look at the MICRO COSMOS and all of the ways our lives and interwoven in love and light with the lives of those around us and with divine threads.
Bask in the glow of golden Egyptian truths as you listen to Mandy recount some of the experiences and lessons she learned on her most recent adventure/study in Egypt.
Join us this week as we discuss "Eve and Adam: Discovering the Beautiful Balance" with the author, Mindy Brown. Mindy and Mandy address some of the misconceptions about Eve, as well as look at how her character and heroism foreshadow and emulate the work of the Savior. How can Eve and her story reframe and inform our own ideas and attitudes toward mortality. Listen in!
In this episode, Mandy examines the definitions and context of Eros as well as indulges in some delicious love poetry for every person and situation. Happy Valentines Day!
Reflecting Light starts off the month of February with a podcast about agape, or the love of God. Mandy expands this idea by examining both the Greek and Hebrew definitions of God's love. She also introduces us to some beautiful English and Bengali poetry about mans' relationship with the Gods. Listen in!
Based on a superb Ted Talk by Dewitt Jones, a former photographer for the National Geographic, this episode explores how "celebrating the good" can change our perspective and outlook on life. Mandy encourages all of us to find as many right answers as we can by "changing our lens" or point of view.
What does knowledge really consist of? What are the most important things we can learn in this life? Hugh Nibley outlines just two things we can truly learn here. Join Mandy as she reveals those two things and how learning them can help us grow in knowledge and in our love for each other.
In this episode, Reflecting Light welcomes our first guest, Mike Day, for a discussion about the ancient temple prototype and how it continues to show up in modern culture. We look at movies, stories, myth, scripture and apocrypha to find the themes and elements common to the archetypal hero's journey. Join us!
In this final episode about the advent of Christ, Mandy explores some of the traditions surrounding the visit of the magi. Through the lens of two apocryphal works, she examines the different ways the star is described as well as where the treasures they brought originated from. She concludes with some of the things we can learn from the magi and a call to "look up."
Welcome to the new year with Reflecting Light! In this episode, Mandy asks us to look back on the year 2020 and the way everything we had grown used to changed. We had to adapt and grow. She invites us to examine the ways the we were taught and instructed by Grace and how we can use that as an impetus for continued growth in greeting the new year.
Oftentimes, the songs of Christmas carry a deeper level in many of their lyrics. In this episode, Mandy walks us through a few familiar Christmas songs to show us a tiny bit of that meaning as well as inform us of the oral traditions about the nativity that were alive and well when the songs were composed.
Reflecting Light and Mandy would like to wish you EACH a very Mary/Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season!
Mandy continues exploring nativity traditions with this special episode about the shepherds. Who were they? What did the angel tell them? What were they witnesses to? How did they know exactly where to go? And how can their story help us with our own journey toward gaining greater celestial light? Listen in!
Continuing to build from last weeks episode, Mandy explores some of the lesser known accounts of the birth of Jesus Christ as well as provides additional insight to the well known account in Luke 2. Please join me as we ponder and explore the glorious details surrounding the birth of Christ and this singular event, as the timeless enters time.
Welcome to the Mary month of December with new texts and insights into the nativity narrative! In this episode, Mandy looks at an older version of the nativity called, "The Protoevangelium of James" with particular attention to the background, role and symbols attributed to Mary, the God Bearer and Mother of Christ.
There are so many things to be thankful for, from the biggest things, to the very smallest. In this episode, Mandy visits the story of the 10 Lepers, Samaritans and all of the complicated and wonderful blessings of 2020. We even end with a flamingo nativity! Join us.
In this episode, Mandy explores a few verses from the ancient Book of Ether that detail the divine design plan for a barge. However, the divine design has two elemental flaws in it. Why would the Lord instruct the brother of Jared to follow this design? What is the purpose of the design flaws? What can we learn from this record? Tune in!
How do we make space for differences while retaining respect? How do we counteract all of the negativity and division present in today's society? Can we treat others with love and kindness in the face of trying times? Listen as Mandy Explores some of the answers to these questions. (There's also a fun tidbit at the beginning about the origin of Friday the 13th!)
Sometimes our traditions get in the way of understanding truth. In this episode, Mandy explores the ancient text and context of sin, repentance and at-one-ment. She sheds further light on how we can make course corrections and adjustments without guilt, shame or fear. The Savior's triumph brings us the sublime possibility of at-one-ment.
In this episode, Mandy explores the Hindu expression of "Maya" as well as the story of Eustace and the Dragons from C.S. Lewis "Voyage of the Dawn Treader." She poses the question, how does living in the world make us forget our true identity and purpose? How can we overcome the callous skin we develop as a result of living in a world, "obsessed with treasure?" The questions and answers await!
In this episode Mandy Green explores some of the timely questions about going into battle. What can we learn from our battles? Who is a worthy opponent? How should we battle? And what do we fight for? What can history and myth illuminate about these questions for us? Listen in!
Join me as we discuss the true root of the word fortitude and how we can tap into the divine strength already breathed into us by the Gods.
Welcome to my new podcast, "Reflecting Light." This episode is a brief introduction to the purpose of this podcast and the plan for upcoming installments, along with a few tidbits of wisdom.
A new episode will drop each Saturday morning. For further information, please visit: reflectinglight.org