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Cosmic Walk-2 "O my soul, you come and you go through the paths of time and space"

Writer's picture: Thomas TittmannThomas Tittmann

Updated: 1 day ago

On a Saturday in April 2023, after my monthly Men2Men circle, I felt an invitation to take a walk in the woods...


TRAIL GUIDE TO THIS POST


Walker/Reader: This second of three posts records the Cosmic Walk, as created by the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Brentwood, PLUS my inspirations & observations as I walked this sacred path...See links at end of this post to the other two.


Please start with the first post so you'll get an understanding of how the original Cosmic Walk came to be, including how vast is the scope of the time represented on these stone markers...


Also, let me know if you'd like a companion to walk with you. Text me: 516-850-2493


One of these inspirations - to add meditative practice times (pauses to "listen to the music") as we walk - was given to me in the early morning hours, as I got up to use the bathroom.


Let's Begin...




First, We Need a New Story...


...we're evolving from the old story...




It is all a question of story; we are in trouble just now because we do not have a good story. We are in between stories. The old story, the account of how the world came to be and how we fit into it, is no longer effective. Yet we have not yet learned the new story. Our traditional story of the Universe sustained us for a long period of time. It shaped our emotional attitudes, provided us with life purpose and energized action. It consecrated suffering and integrated knowledge. We awoke in the morning and knew where we were. We could answer the questions of our children. We could identify crime, punish transgressors. Everything was taken care of because the story was there. It did not necessarily make people good, nor did it take away the pains and stupidities of life or make for unfailing warmth in human associations. It did provide a context in which life could function in a meaningful manner.

                                                             ~Thomas Berry



[from the next link] "Appropriate for Earth Day, during the Season of Creation and other services focusing on the vastness of creation.

The Cosmic Walk, an inter-active ritual with actions and readings, invites participants into the story of the universe. Moving between ‘stations’ along a long rope laid out in a spiral, participants are introduced to 21 major events in the history of the universe and our earth.  ‘Cosmic’ music completes the scene.  This simple meditative exercise can be held in a large room or outside.

The Cosmic Walk is a way of bringing our knowledge of the 14 billion-year Universe process from our heads to our hearts.--Mary Ellen Curtin, CSJ, Still Point House of Prayer, New York, USA

Sister Miriam MacGillis of New Jersey USA, who created the original Cosmic Walk, based her text on the works of Thomas Berry (environmentalist and priest) and Brian Swimme (founder of the Center for the Story of the Universe). The text has subsequently been modified and facilitated by many people around the world.

The complete version (with ready-to-print downloads) used at Kirkland United Church of Christ in Washington, USA, is included..."


NOTE: Link includes other resources.



Thomas Berry

With the mathematician, Brian Swimme, he wrote The Universe Story, which arose from a decade of collaboration. This work was deeply inspired by the thought of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. From 1975-1987 he was President of the American Teilhard Association.


On the Sacred Path through Time and Space...


'


The surrounding woods...





Making this modern scientific addition possible to the sacred trust of the Sisters land ethic...






MEDITATION PAUSE...Head-to-heart time...


"Oh, my soul, you come and you go through the paths of time and space..."




Back on the Path...








These pines are not barren...





Let us PREY before we eat...











Reminders on our paths...added by a previous cosmic walker...



Let's Pause Here in the Woods for another Meditation Break...

...head-to-heart space...


"There is a space

That exists with us

And around us


Where angels sing

On rays of light

On rays of light


And love pours forth

Love pours forth

Love pours forth

From the heart of the universe"


--I've had the good fortune to enjoy both of these musical artists in live performances...







...Refreshed...We're Back on the Trail...





"Sit down and patch my bones and get back Truckin' soon......"

--Truckin' - Grateful Dead




For a look at our musical homo sapien ancestors, see the "Soundtracks for walking off the beaten path..." at the end of this journey (post).





Let's Pause Again...to Encounter the Universal Christ...another "New" Story...


"E pluribus unum"


[From the video's transcript] If "Jesus has only existed within the last two thousand years that leaves thirteen point six billion years uninhabited by God. If you think that God only entered the universe as some Christians seem to do with the birth of Jesus... the Christ preceded Jesus by thirteen billion years. Now I hope you see the implications of that this creates a basis for what I'd call a natural religion and a universal religion that this isn't tribal anymore ...this isn't ethnic...this isn't bound to one historical story that happened in Israel.


I'm not throwing out Jesus because I think he brings the universal message to an individual focus that we can fall in love with and relate to and love and we need that. So, what we've got when we make the act of faith that we believe in Jesus Christ, we're actually making two acts of faith:

-- to believe in Jesus - is the personal relational devotional fall-in-love level

--with God Christ is the universal all-inclusive no exceptions of everything that exists.


That's a good combination if you can hold them in creative balance and that's what I hope to do in the book..."






From early explorers to space travelers, "Discovery" was/is a popular name for their craft..






In this next capture...Do you notice the alien "dropped" from space?






While the original stones end...we are invited to continue our personal paths...Alone and with companions...As we write new inscriptions on the blank stones we'll encounter...


These lead from our backyard out into the larger world...





"In a clearing stands a boxer..."




"With companions..."

...Communities...Groups...Council circles...


"Let us reason together..."








HIStory gets updated...by an earlier walker...



to include HERstory...



Other Sacred Paths to Explore...



You can hike over to Cosmic Walk-3 to continue our exploration of the Sisters' sacred lands...OR, stay awhile and listen to the music that follows...


A Favorite Tune to Take into the Woods...


While learning about the various ways the Cosmic Walk has been adapted, I found mention of a particular artist and tune that walkers have taken with them...The next link and the excerpt that follows provides the background.


--[from the article] "It is a simple ritual that can be performed in a large room or outdoors. A spiral representing the entire almost 14 billion years of the cosmic and evolutionary journey is laid out on the floor or ground."


The article says the next song often accompanies the walkers.


Amazon includes this:

"The Fairy Ring is Mike Rowland's first album and one of the most famous recordings in the relaxation/meditative genre. In the early 1980s Mike had a very unusual experience; while strolling through a large forest near Stanstead in Mid-England he suddenly heard an almost unworldly wonderful music coming from somewhere. This occurrence made a great impression on him. Back at home, Mike played the music he had heard as best as he could in front of a microphone attached to a simple tape recorder. That is how The Fairy Ring originally came into being. The music was so strong that hundreds of thousands of copies were sold without any advertising or promotional activities, simply due to what the music had to say, plain and unadorned." SOURCE


I selected this excerpt from his longer work (4 songs, 44 minutes) because of the uploader's creative imagery - in places evocative of the Sisters' lands....







"Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun..."




Why Homo Sapiens Make Music




Music-inspired Theories about where Homo Sapiens First Came on Stage...


Some claim homo erectus had its beginnings in Chicago...


...when the first amplifier wire emerged from the soil and rocks...




Others claim the British Isles were the birthplace of homo sapiens...

As we listen, note the prophetic wisdom about what was coming next...




"I think I'm sophisticated

'Cause I'm living my life like a good homo sapien"


I'll keep you warm and you'll keep me sane

And we'll sit in the trees and eat bananas all day

Just like an ape man"


"I think I'm so educated and I'm so civilized

'Cause I'm a strict vegetarian

But with the over-population and inflation and starvation

And the crazy politicians



--Apeman - The Kinks



After feeling so frustrated in this crazy world, our young homo sapien seeks refuge in a nearby zoo...



...where he meets his Prime Mate and they go running off together...




And still others that Hollywood was where he came down from the trees and made his first "stand"...on a Bandstand...





BOTTOM LINE...WE Gotta Move from Head to Heart...




Other Cosmic Walk Posts


Let's travel together thru time & space to the origins of our universe...along a Cosmic Walk in Brentwood...


Let's continue our journeys thru the sacred lands of the Sisters in Brentwood with a visit to a labyrinth, solar array & organic farm...


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