Tag Archive | religion

Setting Up Your Ministry / Church / Center

Oct7
Springwolf's Hanko Logo

Spring’s Official Hanko

What Are The Legal Things To Consider

So you have received your ordination and you’re ready to start-up your Church, Spiritual Center or Professional Services Business. Now what? How do you get started and how do you define your practice?

Start with the first step; registering as an ordained minister. Doing that is separate from defining a Church or Business. Each state is different, but you will register yourself as a Minister within the county you live in, or the county you will be practicing your ministry in.

Once you are registered in your county, you are registered for the entire state. But not for any other state. Being a Licensed Minister, authorized to conduct weddings, is a state by state thing. You generally can’t register in a state you don’t have residence in. I am registered in Virginia. But I have a lot of family in North Carolina, friends in Maryland and more family in Tennessee. If I’m asked to officiate a wedding in one of those states or any other state, it’s easy enough to apply for temporary recognition.

Each state allows for temporary registration for a specific day. Usually the day of the wedding and with the county where the wedding is being held. You should do this 10 to 15 days prior to the service, or earlier if possible. Check with the state you’re going to. Some have requirements for when you can or must register. But you don’t want to wait till the wedding arrives and find out you can’t because you waited too long. Continue reading →

Being Mindful Each Moment Of The Day

Sep27

Nature is filled with the tiniest moments of exceptional beauty.
Take a moment to appreciate their gift, before they’re gone forever.
~ Springwolf 🐾 © 2014

MomentsOfBeauty

Moments Of Beauty
Image credit: Earth Pics @Earth_Pics

 

It’s important to take a moment throughout the day to be Mindful of what you’re doing and how it resonates with your soul, spiritual mission and mental outlook. Both for a state of being and for a sense of living your beliefs and putting them into practice. ~ A Sunday Homily: Mindfulness

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2014 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The 2014 September Equinox

Sep18
The Apple Feast

The Apple Feast

Celebrating Mabon and Ostara

There are two equinoxes every year – in September and March – when the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal. These equinox events vary in date and time by a few hours to a day. Generally they occur on or around September 21st or 22nd. And of course it depends on where you are on the planet for the exact time of the event.

Seasons are opposite on either side of the equator, so the equinox in September is known as the “autumnal (fall) equinox” in the northern hemisphere, and in the southern hemisphere, it’s known as the “spring (vernal) equinox”.

The September equinox occurs the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator – from north to south.

This year, the September Equinox in Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A. is on Monday, September 22, 2014 at 10:29 PM EDT. In Adelaide Australia the event occurs on Tuesday 11:59 AM. You can visit TimeandDate.com to find the exact time for the equinox in your area. Continue reading →

Reflecting On The Praying Mantis

Sep11
Praying Mantis ~ Springwolf 🐾 © 2014

Praying Mantis ~ Springwolf 🐾 © 2014

Animal Sign

I believe animals cross our path to bring us spiritual messages. Sometimes the messages are about us, our character, strengths or weaknesses. Sometimes they’re about events in our life and our thoughts impacting those events.

I’ve mentioned before, my favorite author on this subject is Ted Andrews. He has two books that I highly recommend, “Animal Speak” and “Animal Wise”.

He puts into words the wisdom of the Shamanistic approach to animal sign I was taught in my early studies. I high recommend his books.  Continue reading →

We Will Always Remember

Sep11
9-11 Never Forget by Springwolf 🐾 ©2012

9-11 Never Forget by Springwolf 🐾 ©2012

 

 

We Will Always Remember and Never Forget

Never Forget those we lost, their family and friends.
Never Forget those first responders and their heroic efforts.
Never Forget those who sacrificed their lives in the aftermath.
Never Forget those who volunteered to serve in response.
Never Forget those who didn’t come home from far and near.
We will always remember, with tears, thoughts and prayers.

~ Springwolf 🐾 ©2011

 

 

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2014 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Homily: When The Divine Universe Speaks

Aug24
numb3

The Connection Of Mind, Body, Spirit

We Should Take Time To Listen

My friend Rev. R. White posted an inspiring photo yesterday and shared a discussion about “how easy it is to become distracted from the path we want to follow by the need to survive”.

This is an issue many around the world face on a daily basis. We create our plans, work on our dreams and do our very best to move forward and walk our talk. Then the mail arrives, or the phone rings and we receive a  message that turns everything upside down or throws an anchor in our wheels that brings everything to a screeching halt.

What we had been setting aside to put toward the next step of our dream, has to be diverted to the needs of survival. It’s frustrating, it’s disheartening and it’s easy to lose focus and feel as if once more the rug has been pulled out from beneath our feet.

Then a message comes along in our day to remind us of the bigger picture of the Mind/Body/Spirit connection of our existence. Often times we are so wound up in the struggle, that we don’t remember to breath, much less take a few moments to remember out teachings and to practice our beliefs. We can become so angry that all we see is the fear and we can’t get past the anxiety. Continue reading →

It’s Raining Tears

Aug13
Healing Through Compassion & Affirmation

Caring and Compassion

And The World Cries

I woke up Monday morning with a heavy heart. It’s raining here in Virginia. It’s dark, gloomy and it simply feels like the whole world is crying.

As an experienced empath (someone who can feel the energy of other living things), I learned decades ago to keep myself shielded from the outside world. When I was younger I would be having a great carefree day, walk past someone who was probably having the worst day in their lives and suddenly I felt like crying. Many untrained empaths have this problem every day and struggle to keep the ‘mood’ of someone else at bay.

You don’t have to be a “gifted” empath for this to happen. We are all psychic to some degree. Some are merely more in tune with those 6th Senses than others. We all have gut feelings, intuition, call it what you want. But humans are part of the animal kingdom, and like those animals, we have natural instincts that keep us safe and help us avoid danger. Continue reading →

Everything In Moderation

Aug8
Moderation: Have your cake and eat it too

Moderation: Have your cake and eat it too

An Exercise Of Living In Balance With Out Limitation

My friend Angela shared a lessons she’s trying learn at this time in her life. A lesson for determining what you want for yourself, regardless of the “should’s” and anything viewed as limiting.

My Dad’s Mom taught me some great lessons in this area. So I thought I’d use Angela as my inspiration this evening and tell you about my Grand Mother. Or Maw as we called her.

She was a little lady by today’s standards. Petite and very tough. She was married on July 4th, 1922 to my grandfather and spent her honeymoon in the new house he had purchased for her and their soon to be family. One of the first things he did for her, was take her to the local voting registrar and get her a voting card. She voted in every Presidential election throughout her life.

She lost her middle son in 1945 during WWII when he was killed in action in Germany. Within 3 years of his death, her husband (my grandfather) died after a long illness. With her remaining children grown and her husband gone, she lived out the rest of her life alone in that very same house. She never remarried and remained close to her two remaining children. She filled her days with work. probably to keep busy. I doubt anyone knows or ever knew how she felt and what she went through to cope through her losses. Continue reading →

Merry Lammas & Imbolg 2014

Aug1
Arctic Wolf Fire

“Arctic Wolf Fire”
By Tom-in-Silence

The Festivals of Fire and Light
Celebrations of August 1st or 2nd

These Sabbats (Pagan Holidays) are observed on August 1st or 2nd, depending on one’s personal Tradition (spiritual denomination). The early pagans were not blessed with NASA or the Naval Observatory, so their celebrations varied slightly from places to place and Tradition to Tradition. Over time these holidays began to find stability as official calendars become more commonplace throughout Indo-European countries.

Even though many parts of the world transitioned to Solar calendars, Pagans still celebrated their rituals on a Lunar cycle. Thus our holiday observances actually begin  at sunset on the evening before the scheduled day of the Sabbat. And that too can depend on where you are in the world.

May Your Season Be Blessed with Abundance and Happiness

Here in the Northern Hemisphere we are still enjoying the warmth of the summer months. Our days are long and Sun is with us into the later hours of the evening. The sun begins to set near 8:00pm; for instance sunset here on the east coast of the U.S., sunset is officially 8:14pm.  Where as in the Southern Hemisphere of Winter sunset is officially at 5:32pm. I don’t know about you; but I’ve always enjoyed the fall and winter holidays the most. They start earlier and there’s more time to sing, dance and be merry!

Continue reading →