Tag Archive | religion

Decoration Weekend – A Time To Remember

May23

We Celebrate Memorial Day This Weekend!
We give our thanks and gratitude to all of
the Men and Women of the Armed Forces,
Along with all of our Animal Soldiers who serve at their side,
And each member of their families!!
We honor those who protect our Country and our Freedom
Past, Present and Future.
Thank you for your service and your sacrifice.

Memorial Day

Produced by The U.S. Air Force News Agency

Thank You To ALL The Animal Vets

Thank You To ALL The Animal Vets

Decoration Day
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.

Regardless of the exact date or location of its origins, one thing is clear – Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed.

The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
~ USMemorialDay.org

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© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2013 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

A Homily: How Do You Know You’re Healed

May17
Empowered

Empowered Healing

The Road To Recovery

Yesterday a fellow Minister asked a question that got me thinking. “How do you personally know that you have transcended a challenging or stressful situation?”

I interpret the question of transcended to mean, when do you know you have overcome the situation where real deep healing can begin and take place? What’s the point where you can forgive, let go and move on to heal yourself from within?

I think it’s different for each person. We all go through Trials, Trauma and Grief in our own way. But the healing process or phases of healing are generally the same regardless of the challenge or situation. Whatever inspires us to move through those phases can be as varied as the number of people on the planet. Real healing isn’t a moment in time, it’s a process that can take years. but it does have an end point of sorts.

I wrote an article many years ago that goes into much greater detail about this process: Dealing With Trials & Grief: Trials, Trauma & Grief (on SpringsHaven.com) in case you’re interested.

Basically the phases can be summed up as:
Shock / Acknowledgement; Denial / Acceptance; Guilt / Depression / Anger; Forgiveness; Hope / Action and Letting Go

When you’ve lived through the struggle and found yourself out the other side, that’s when the real healing begins. How long we spend in each phase of the process is up to the individual. But it can also aide or slow down the overall healing if we rush through or dwell too long in one healing phase. Continue reading →

Merry Beltaine and Samhain

May1
Merry Bealtaine!

May Day Bouquet

It’s May Day! 

Here in the northern hemisphere it’s May Day, the official start of spring. A time to celebrate the return of the Sun and the warm days of summer. To prepare for the growing season and the celebration of the return of life.

Known as the Festival of Fire, Beltaine honors both the union of male and female, and the return of the Sun God, Bel. By the Solar Calendar, the holiday is celebrated on May 1st. But by the Lunar Calendar it’s honored on May 6th. To learn more about this holiday, visit Beltaine: The Fire Festival.

The Old Farmers Almanac has this to say about May Day:
Ancient spring rites that related human fertility to crop fertility gave birth to most modern May Day festivities. May 1 is the traditional day to crown the May queen, dance around the maypole, perform mummers’ plays, and generally celebrate the return of spring. Although our Pilgrim fathers were horrified by these reminders of a pagan past and outlawed all such activities, the maypole dance remains an enduring event. In Great Britain, the custom of “bringing in the May” involves gathering “knots,” or branches with buds, on the eve or early morning of May 1. In England, a favorite branch is hawthorn. In Scotland and Wales, people choose the rowan, or mountain ash. In North America, we often select forsythia, lilac, or pussy willow branches to bring spring and the prospect of new life into our homes.

Making a May Day basket is also one of these fairly modern traditions that can be shared by Pagan and non-Pagan alike. One of my favorite celebration items is making a May Day bouquet. These flower filled bouquets are most often in a cone shape, hold blooming flowers of your liking and hung on the front door handle.

But what about the seasonal changes in the southern hemisphere? They’re entering into fall, not spring.  Continue reading →

Issue Ordering Readings On Spring’s Haven

Apr22

paypalSPECIAL NOTICE:     04/2015

We have been notified about an issue on our Spring’s Haven pages for ordering Services.

When you order any of our services, you’re linked to PayPal’s secure transaction site. But the ordering window is adding a Shipping and Handling charge where it hadn’t been doing so before. Nor should it be doing that at all.

We’ve contacted PayPal and reported the issue. Hopefully this error will be resolved quickly!

We apologize for the inconvenience.

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2015 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Remembering To Be Mindful

Apr16

mindfulbell-appPut Being Mindful Into Daily Practice

Mindfulness is a state of being where balance and peace within the moment, within the self and being are the center of all things. It’s not just looking at your thoughts, but your present state of attitude and how that translates into the manifestation of actions and reactions. (Read more about Mindfulness – Being Aware Of Your Spiritual Manifestation).

Today there are many ways to help you remember to take a moment and be aware of your thoughts and actions. Put a poster up in your office, put an image on your screen saver or something I’ve found that has been better than all those combined… There’s an app for that!

Put your smart phone or tablet to work for you and your spiritual awareness. There are many apps that provide Mindful reminders. The one I found works on Android, it’s free and it has no special permission requirements to work. That means it’s not phoning home every 10seconds.

It’s called the Mindfulness Bell. Let me give you some basic functions of this app so you can find one that works for you. Continue reading →

Religious Freedom vs Rights Of Conscience

Mar31
Patriotic Wolf - Artist Unknown

Patriotic Wolf – Artist Unknown

Press Release – March 31, 2015

Everyone at Spring’s Haven and Springwolf Reflections are disappointed by the recent legislation passed in Indiana. We do not embrace nor participate in any form of exclusion or intolerance.

We strongly support the ideas and concepts set forth by our Founding Fathers and echo the sentiments of President Thomas Jefferson who felt there should be a “high wall between church and state” in the support of Civil Rights of all religions. Consequently we support Virginia’s 1776 Religious Freedom law. – Religious Freedom in Virginia.

But this cannot be confused with the modern “Rights of Conscience” laws being brought forth in State Congressional Houses today. A similar law as vetoed in Arizona last year and we admire and respect the State Governor for standing up to bigotry and discrimination.  We hope the Governor of Arkansas will do the same when a similar bill comes up for confirmation. And we implore our own state of Virginia NOT to pass HOUSE BILL NO. 1414 Offered January 14, 2015.

As a spiritual organization we respect the beliefs of others, and we open our doors to all who enter in peace and compassion, regardless of race, color, creed, gender, religion or sexual identity. We welcome you with open arms and friendship. Continue reading →

Sunday Homily: Writing Your Abundance Check

Mar22

wolfpackA New Moon Ritual

My friend Rev. Lyn Williams sends out a reminder every month on FB to Write Your Abundance Check.

I think many of us could use this, so I’d like to share it with you.  It’s a great way of putting your hopes, faith, dreams or desire for abundance into physical action.

I’m a firm believer that making a wish is great on a spiritual level. Asking for help to make life a little easier can have a great deal of influence in our lives. But only if we put some action behind it.

It reminds me of a story I think I’ve shared here before. But in case I haven’t, let me tell it again. Continue reading →

The First of the 2015 Equinox Holidays

Mar20

springtimeAstronomical and Meteorological Spring or Fall

In most parts of the world, we define the seasons in two ways. By the Astronomical or Meteorological dates. Astronomical seasons refer to the position of Earth’s orbit in relation to the sun taking into account equinoxes and solstices. Meteorological seasons are instead based on the annual temperature cycle and measure the meteorological state as well as coinciding with the calendar to determine a clear transition between the seasons. ~ MetOffice-UK

The Solstices and Equinoxes are considered to be the astronomical transition points between the seasons. Because they are connected to the Sun and Moon, they were important times to early Pagans.

Of course in the old days, our ancestors didn’t have the benefit of the Naval or Royal Observatories and Satellites to mark the exact second of the Equinox. They relied on Astronomical monuments, like Stonehenge as an example to tell them when the sun was nearing an equinox.

We have the benefit of technology and hundreds of years of study to help us out today.
The March equinox happens at the same moment across the world but is converted to local time. In 2015, it falls on March 20 at 6:45 P.M. EDT, 5:45 P.M. CDT, 4:45 P.M. MDT, and 3:45 P.M. PDT, for example. ~ Farmer’s Almanac Continue reading →

Friday The 13th, March 2015

Mar13

13What’s Behind The Day

It’s known as “Black Friday” or “Black Cat Day”. And it’s a good day for Pagans because it’s seen as the perfect day. But here’s an interesting synchronicity; this post is the 1300th article here on Reflections.

The Thirteen represents good luck and moving with the flow of Divine energy. Going with the flow is an important part of Pagan perspectives. Fighting against the tide is akin to fighting against change making bad situations even worse than they already are. Where as going with the flow of change brings peace and harmony. Even if you’re flowing with the tide, you are always in control of the paddle of your ship. Guide it safely forward and you’ll reap the benefits of the opportunities that cross your path. Continue reading →