Thomas Merton, Shakers, and Donovan (Leitch) - an unusual trio

The presence of the Spirit within me is stronger than usual tonight.  Not so much that I am shaking, but enough to leave no doubt about It’s presence.

Is it because tonight’s subject (Spirituality class) is Thomas Meron?  One of his quotes early on is: you find yourself saying excellent things, that you did not know you knew and that you had not, in fact, known before.

That would certainly describe the writing that I have been doing.  Often I stop and reread what I have just written and am in wonder - ‘did I write that??  WOW!!’

I find myself resonating with his thoughts on self-knowledge - ‘self-knowledge is impossible when thoughtless activity keeps our souls in confusion.....It is not neccessary to cease all activity in order to think about ourselves....but we do have to cut down our activity to the point where we can think calmly and reasonably about our actions (Creative Silence, Love and Longing)

Has it been the Face of the Invisible that I have been feeling and that at times feels like It is seeking me?  (See blogpost A Hole in the Sky)

Is He calling me to join Him in His mysterious, cosmic dance?  Merton writes: ‘if we could just let go of our own obsession with what we think is the meaning of it all, we might be able to hear His call and follow Him in his mysterious, cosmic dance.  We do not have to go very far to catch echoes of that game, and of that dancing.  When we are alone on a starlit night; when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they really are children..............’ (News Seeds of Contemplation, The General Dance).  Was Merton thinking about Christ talking about becoming like a child (Matt 18:3; Luke 18:17)?

“Yet the fact remains that we are invited to forget ourselves on purpose, cast our awful solemnity to the winds and join in the general dance.”  (News Seeds of Contemplation, The General Dance, 1972).

On the way home, the presence of the Spirit was still there. 
What came to mind was the old ‘Shaker hymn’ that I have often sung. 
And the song that it is often paired with - Lord of the Dance - by Donovan (Leitch)(didn’t know it was by him though), released in 1971.


Simple Gifts       
Listen to it here: http://youtu.be/fYi9Vr8bHJY

  'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
    'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
    And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
        'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

    When true simplicity is gain'd,
        To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
    To turn, turn* will be our delight,
        Till by turning, turning we come 'round right

*implies a dance move - as perhaps does the previous line - thus connecting it with ‘Lord of the Dance’ - as well as the similarity in the music.

Lord of the Dance
Hear it here:http://youtu.be/HqAjtEaN02k
(Slightly different lyrics than the official version)

I danced in the morning when the world was begun
I danced in the Moon and the stars and the Sun
I came down from Heaven and I danced on the Earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth:

Chorus:
Dance then, wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said He!

I danced for the scribe and the pharisee
But they would not dance and they wouldn't follow me
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John
They came with me and the Dance went on:

Chorus:

I danced on the Sabbath and I healed the lame
The holy people said it was a shame!
They whipped me and stripped me and hung me high
And left me there on a cross to die!

Chorus:

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black
It's hard to dance with the world on your back
They buried my body and they thought I'd gone
But I am the Dance and I still go on!

Chorus:

They cut me down but I leap up high
I am the Life that will never never die!
I'll live in you if you'll live in Me
I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!

Chorus