New Year of the Trees-Celebrating Tu Beshvat Seder 2/12/12
I was suggested to go here by a very good friend. I had read the premises of the service on the retreat center’s website. I have always had infinity with trees, you can see my love for them by the numerous amounts of pictures I have taken of them. So why not go to a multi faith service based on trees? And if you think about it, I am as Multi faith as you’re going to get. I really can’t define myself as anything but a mutt when it comes to my religious beliefs. I like sharing and learning and praying with those around me. My thoughts are if you believe in something, someone, and/or yourself that you know true faith. If you can look around within this world and see others and look past the hate and violence that is in our daily lives and grab onto your soul and make yourself truly see the beauty of the gift of life, then you have faith. I feel more people should experience different things in life, not just religions. That you at least give yourself the ability to always try something new, and keep an open mind. A lot of people have lost their zest in their imagination, in the power of faith. The kind that brings people together just because they want to pray, they want to honor our journey together and our true selves. We are all born from someone. We each have a mother and a father. We should base each chance meeting on this. When you meet someone, you need not find something in common with them from the beginning, because we all have being alive in common. We enter this world, and in most cases our religious beliefs are pre-destined for us. A lot of us don’t have the freedom of religion as we are told, for when we are born it is chosen for us. It has been in some families for years, it is a tradition, and it is the way of the family. I have always been curious as to the “other” religions, and I enjoy practicing my freedom in this way.
I brought along a vegetarian crock pot dish to share with the others that were to be there. I did not know if we needed to RSVP, I just knew that I had to bring something. Due to the snowstorm I didn’t want to go out to the supermarket, knowing that everyone else would have the same idea. For some reasons when it snows, grocery stores are abundant with walks of life. I didn’t care to experience that today. I wanted a day where I took care of my spiritual self; let my religious locks of hair down so to speak. I had a few ingredients to choose from. I had a Trader Joe’s carrot and ginger soup. I stuck this in my crock pot, with a whole bag of frozen broccoli. I chopped up some onion and garlic and thru that into the crock as well. All the while, thinking of those that were going to eat of it. Hoping it came out at least edible. I made some brown rice with some fennel seeds and caraway, threw this into the crock too. I didn’t taste it, just blessed it and hoped it was satisfactory.
When I got there I parked under an old tree. I just admire them and how they stand so tall. How they bend in the stormy winds and how they seem so relaxed on summer days. I am always looking at trees, and their occupants. Sometimes just being able to notice something that many pass by every day unnoticed is a blessing. For example, the hawk that I pass by each day on the way to work perched upon his tree. He sits there, in what my son and I call the “Hawk Tree.” On some occasions he is not there, but then the little birds are sitting in the big hawk tree. This makes us chuckle at the thought of the little birds imagining they are bigger than they seem. Maybe like we do, how we want more out of life. Who else sees this hawk though? Is he like the homeless man sitting on the street? No one notices him because he is not part of their plan, their life? After I walked in, I felt that I was the outsider. I knew where to place my items, and knew the runabout of the Temenos Farmhouse, but there were individuals there I didn’t know. I continued to remind myself to clear all thoughts from my head, and concentrate only on the moment. I relaxed my shoulders and just went with the flow.
I heard some singing coming from where they held the church services. I sat in the back and listened to some ladies rehearse their singing from the song sheet. As they sung I learned the songs too. In this moment I was learning how to say Earth, Heavens, Fire and Water in Hebrew. Watching the women, of all generations, harmonize and smile. I was listening to stories about the Jewish culture, and of other faiths. There was a sign hanging near the ceiling behind where the leader was. It said, “The Lord in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silent before him.” The quote look like it had been wood burned into the plaque. I stared at this for a long time. I was centering myself, all the while listening to the voices of those amongst me tuning their voices in unison. I focused on my breath, and tuned my ears to listen intently on the pronunciations of some of the Hebrew words we would be using in today’s service.
This is truly a service to write about. One that somehow connects to who I am, and my beliefs. Multi faith for me is the way to go. Within this one celebration, so many faiths were present. Just like in the everyday world, we come into contact with many different people. There are those who walk different paths than us, and those that are walking the same way as ourselves. Each of us finding solace and grace within the company of seekers, believers and keepers of a flame they pass from one to another. Multi faith can have many meanings, but what it truly means is unity. This was a celebration of the time between Winter and Spring. It is a time when the Seeds of Winter bring a New Year of the Trees.
We began our celebration with songs. The first two were called Sanctuary and Alive. These truly were blessings to my ears. In Sanctuary the words reflected a Christian song, but at the end we sang in Hebrew, “And I Will Dwell Inside of You.” It was a nice intermingling of two songs into one. Just being surrounded by those singing I immersed myself into the moment. I find myself learning not to worry what I sound like when I sing. Thinking others would judge me and above all else I would judge myself. I realize more and more the unnecessary strain I put upon myself on a daily basis. Learning about people, I see that I am not alone. Why are we so hard on ourselves? Here I am, just standing in this room filled with people I don’t know and having the most uplifting experience. If I can believe, if I can have faith, then I can share it openly with those that stand beside me. Rather, I am offering my songs up to the universe, to Spirit, to anyone who will listen. If my voice cracks or I sing off key, this was all meant to be in the big scheme of things. I allow myself just to be, within the moment, surrounded by those lifting their prayers up. I sing out loud, and my heart likes it. Alive was a very good song too. The song had a way of transporting me back to the time of sitting around the fire and singing with the Native Americans at an event I had the privilege to partake in years ago. Songs like Alive awaken something very spiritual within me. I am wishing at this moment that I had brought my drum with me, but there is someone there playing along with our voices. He is beating on the drum like a heartbeat. Thump thump thump. I want to shake a little and move my head around to release the tense muscles and allow deep breaths to flow through. There were about five rows of people sitting amongst me. After the songs we introduced ourselves to one another. We went around and said our names, plus our favorite fruit and our favorite tree. I have a hard time choosing both. Like I said before, I love me my trees, and fruit is a staple in my daily life now. I couldn’t choose, I said I loved them all. The leader, Elyse, welcomed us all there, and then we had a chance to welcome one another with a nod and a shake, and hugs were also given. I like hugs…
Then some Native American Earth readings were read by Anne. During the readings I was closing my eyes at parts and truly allowing myself to listen to the words that were being spoken. Focusing on the fact that while growing up I hardly paid attention to the words that came within a church. I was so immersed with myself and by those around me. I was always making sure that I was doing the right thing, acting the right way that I only truly saw a fraction of the beauty of faith. Now, whilst listening in these moments to the poems of trees, and then to Nina read Job 12:7-10 I allowed myself to just listen. Not to think about my take on it, not to over analyze it, but to listen to just the words. Lisa read a wonderful Celtic Tree poem and Rebecca shared a reading on Trees for Findhorn. We then did an interactive song called the “Tree Song.” Again, this is right up my alley. I like faiths in which there is full participation. Some people may not want this, but I want to celebrate. I want to be happy that I am praying. I want to rejoice, and dance and sing out loud. Though, usually I find I am quiet waiting to see what others do. I notice this about myself in these moments. I realize I no longer want to be afraid to act out of joy. I allow myself to sing the song and move my body with thankfulness. Elyse then speaks about the Jewish tradition and shares a reading from this faith. Again, I am listening, all focusing on being mindful of being in the moment. I feel very euphoric with all that I am experiencing, maybe it is just the unity in the little farmhouse, or maybe it was so many different faiths being celebrated all at once that made my body feel so balanced. Elyse spoke of the trees, and how it symbolizes the trees that are ready to be chosen to gather fruit from. That all of us must nourish the fruits of the new year that is coming. She discussed how we should really look at the way a tree lives and try to mimic it in our own lives. She mentioned the book, “The Giving Tree” and talked about what trees really need to survive. What do we need to survive? What sustains us? The tree grows from photosynthesis, and water. Trees leave what they don’t need. Do I do this? Have I been treating my body very well, have I been good to my body. Elyse said we need to become like trees and deeply root ourselves into the ground. I need to grow deeper roots with more vitality. Trees have many levels of life and this can be seen by the “root ball.” Just like trees we need pruning, we need dead branches removed, we need debris taken away from our branches so that we can grow. She talked of the Torah and how trees survive on water. Could I survive only on water? What does my body really need to survive? She talked on living our authentic life. Am I living my authentic life? Psalm 92 and the Seder were also touched upon. Be a tree and do like the trees do. Stand tall, firmly rooted within the ground. Allow your branches to reach out to others.
We then did this song called Adamal Ve Shamayim. I learned how to sing earth and heavens, fire and water in Hebrew. It’s a beautiful song that for some reason nudged its elbow right into the core of me. The Hebrew part especially. It is a different sound of song than I have ever experienced, and it makes me want to learn more.
We then send out our prayers to ourselves, to those in attendance, to those we know that are not with us, for those out in the world. We pray for peace, for hope and for health. Then there is a closing prayer in which Elyse said so many beautiful things, though with being in the moment you sometimes forget to jot down notes. These sayings will either come about another time, or they were just for me to be blessed to hear at the time.
After the service was over we gathered and ate together in the vegetarian potluck. All the food was quite delicious. After the potluck we gathered and I was privileged enough to experience my first Seder. The Tu Beshvat Seder. I have included below an outline of the Seder in my reflection part. I cannot even articulate how this experience touched me. It was very much like mindful eating. Being mindful about what is nourishing your body, and how you put it into your body as well. I felt very thankful to be a part of this ceremony. At the end we were all asked if we had anything to say. It had been welling up inside of me all day, I could feel myself wanting to say thank you to all of those who had made my heart well up. I asked them all if I could sing a song. It was actually out of my comfort zone. It’s so hard to just let go of your fears, and do something different then you usually do. I had learned the Thank You song from one of the first churches I had visited, and I decided I wanted to share it with those today. I opened up my mouth and just sang for them. It was my prayer for the day, my prayer for them and for all those that have touched my heart. I was so very thankful for being given this experience, and my voice allowed me to thank those for opening up their hearts and their voices in their faith.
With this service I find myself yearning to learn more of the Jewish faith, to visit a Jewish Synagogue and a museum to learn more. I plan on attending an all woman’s Seder in the Spring, plus I may join them in their celebrations on the Sabbath as well. This experience with these churches has me carrying out a different spirituality on a weekly basis. Never did I realize how blessed this journey would make me feel. Thank you to all of those at the Multi Faith celebration at Temenos, and thank you to The Jewish Fellowship of Chester County.
Things to reflect on:
Temenos-Multi Faith Gathering
Santuary
And I Will Dwell Inside Of You
I Am Alive
Earth, Teach Me Stillness
Some Trees – John Ashbury
The Earth is Our Mother
Adamah-All of these = spectacular
Tu Beshvat Seder
Torah
Psalm 92
Trees
Very nice Tiffany...soulfully heartfelt and sincere. Lisa C.
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