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Living Tissue Emerges From 3-D Printer
Harvard bioengineers say they have taken a big step toward using 3-D printers to make living tissue. They've made a machine with multiple printer heads that each extrudes a different biological building block to make complex tissue and blood vessels.
Their work represents a significant advance toward producing living medical models upon which drugs could be tested for safety and effectiveness.
It also advances the ball in the direction of an even bigger goal. Such a machine and the techniques being refined by researchers offer a glimpse of the early steps in a sci-fi healthcare scenario: One day surgeons might feed detailed CT scans of human body parts into a 3-D printer, manipulate them with design software, and produce healthy replacements for diseased or injured tissues or organs.
Read more below and click the gifs for explanations.
"This is the foundational step toward creating 3-D living tissue," said Jennifer Lewis, senior author of the study published Feb. 18 in the journal Advanced Materials, in a university release.
The work, performed at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, allows engineers to embed vascular networks into 3-D printed cellular agglomerations. These tiny vessels are critical to increasing the size of synthesized tissues because they provide a path for nutrients in and wastes out of cells laid down deep inside the printed products. Such networks mimic those found in natural tissues.
To make the tissue construct, Lewis's team produced three "bio-inks" that are laid down by separate printer heads. One ink contains extracellular matrix, a complex mixture of water, proteins and carbohydrates that connects individual cells together to form tissues. Another contains extracellular matrix and living cells. A third used to make the vessels unusually melts as it cools so that researchers could chill the sample and suck out the ink to leave behind hollow tubes.
Lewis and her team can then seed the hollow tubes with endothelial cells, which grow into blood-vessel lining.
"Tissue engineers have been waiting for a method like this," said the Wyss Institute's Dr. Don Ingber. "The ability to form functional vascular networks in 3D tissues before they are implanted not only enables thicker tissues to be formed, it also raises the possibility of surgically connecting these networks to the natural vasculature to promote immediate perfusion of the implanted tissue, which should greatly increase their engraftment and survival."
(Using their custom-built printer, the fugitive ink for the vasculature, and other biological inks containing extracellular matrix and human cells, the researchers printed a 3-D tissue construct.)
All Images: Gifs made from Vimeo movies of the Wyss Institute printing process. Courtesy Wyss Institute/Harvard.
Living Tissue Emerges From 3-D Printer "Harvard bioengineers say they have taken a big step toward using 3-D printers to...
this shit could actually be a massive fucking help for me because they could 3D print a pancreas and toss it in me and...


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Hi-Rez Studios to Unveil Global Agenda at E3
Hi-Rez Studios to Unveil Global Agenda at E3 Highly Anticipated Spy-Fi Action MMO Available on Expo Floor for Hands-On Preview Hi-Rez Studios confirm
Hi-Rez Studios to Unveil Global Agenda at E3 Highly Anticipated Spy-Fi Action MMO Available on Expo Floor for Hands-On Preview Hi-Rez Studios confirm
Atlus Online Tinkers with Hands-On Demos of Upcoming Steam Punk MMORPG at E3 2009 Atlus Online, a daily destination for community-focused gaming and
BIGGER AND BETTER - HYDROTILT XL WITH LEVEL EDITOR AVAILABLE NOW FOR iPHONE AND iPOD TOUCH New XL Level Editor Allows Players to Construct Custom Lev
EA THROWS A PARTY WITH BOOM BLOX BASH PARTY FOR Wii Highly-Anticipated Sequel from EA and Steven Spielberg Features Even More Blox-busting Action for
Deadline for Early Access Beta Nears for Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent The exclusive Early Access Beta is just around the corner for Atlus Onlin
May 19, 2009 MTV Games, Harmonix and EA Announce Rock Band Available Now Nationwide Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Gam
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IMAGINE MAKEUP ARTIST AND IMAGINE MUSIC FEST NOW AVAILABLE IN RETAIL STORES Today Ubisoft announced that Imagine Makeup Artist and Imagine Music Fest
EA Ships EA SPORTS Active to Stores First in a New Line of Virtual Fitness Products Delivers Personalized Circuit Workouts and 30-Day Challenge for I
Spore Galactic Adventures Goes to the (Robot) Chickens Maxis Teams with Adult Swims Robot Chicken Writers to Create Hysterical Adventures for Spore G
505 Games and Rolling Stone Magazine Unveil Rolling Stone: Drum King for Nintendo Wii New Music Rhythm Game Brings Air Drumming to Nintendo Wii Conso
Microsoft Launches Strategic Options Pack for Halo Wars fans can continue the fight in the best selling real-time strategy game on any current genera
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Majesco Announces My Hero Brand for Nintendo DS Step into the Shoes of Real-Life Heroes Including Astronauts, Firefighters, and Doctors; First Two Ti
Perfect World International Launches Second Expansion Delivers New Features, Systems, and Genies! Perfect World Entertainment Inc. today announced th
Vogsters Offers Portable Robot Warfare for the iPhone Wise-cracking robots, a zany plot and an award-winning real-time strategy experience combine in
Pocket God Gets an Update How Many Spears Does it Take to Bring Down a Tyrannosaurus? Bolt Creative today announced the third episode in a trilogy of
Post Launch Trailer for Zeno Clash Released ACE Team's Next Project: Zeno Clash 2 ACE Team is releasing a post launch Zeno Clash trailer to celebrate

subset: commoncrawl


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- Roll out the fence
Position the roll of fence wire near an end brace. Roll out about 50 feet of fence.
- Strip off the vertical stays
If you are using Stay-Tuff fencing, you can skip this step, because all of our fencing is made with our patent-pending Redi-Roll feature. We pre-strip the last 18 inches of the vertical stays, giving you plenty of clear wire to tie off around the end brace. Cut off the end stay to get to the stripped portion of the fencing.
If you have purchased wire that is not manufactured by Stay-Tuff, strip 3 to 4 vertical stays from the fence to facilitate tying off the wire.
- Align the fence
Lift the fence up toward the end post. While holding the fence roughly in the position where it will ultimately be tied off, partially hammer a fencing staple into the knot one horizontal wire down from the top. This temporary staple helps hold the fence in position as you tie the wire off.
- Tie the fence wire to the end brace using a High-Tensile Knot
We recommend that you tie several of the horizontal wires in the middle of the fence first. This will allow you to move the fence wire up or down the fence post to the height off the ground that you want it before tying off the remaining wires.
Following are the instructions for tying a high-tensile knot, which is the best way to tie off high-tensile Stay-Tuff fencing.
Wrap one horizontal line wire around the post one time and measure where it crosses itself.
Make a "z" shaped bend in the wire at the point where the wires cross.
Pass the bottom part of the "z" bent wire back up inside the wire coming around the post.
Pull the "z" bent wire up so that it can be passed over the the top of the wire coming around the post. To do this, slip your thumb into the loop and pull upwards.
Bend the wire over the top of the wire coming around the post.
Wrap the end of the wire from the bottom around the line wire in the fence fabric.
Wrap the wire around the line wire two to three times. You'll probably need leather gloves for this. As you wrap the wire, you will notice that it will get hot. This is because the wire is being "work hardened".
To break the wire, rotate it at 90 degrees to the way that it has been wrapped around the line wire. Take the wire and bend it downwards along the plane of the fence line.
After about a half a turn the wire will snap.
As you can see, the high-tensile knot neatly finishes off the loose ends of the tie wire. Although it takes a little time to master all the steps, the end result is worth it.
Tie off the remainder of the line wires using the steps above. You'll find this easier to do if you raise the fence a few inches off the ground and tie the bottom wire first. Slide the fence down into place before tying the remaining wires.
Note: Remove the temporary staple that you hammered in to hold the fence in position while you tied the first two middle line wires.
Now do the same for the other end of the fence.


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Berkley Gulp! Alive! Eel Soft BaitsItem Number: 12839984
Price: $19.99
Buy One Get One 50% Off Entire Stock of Lures!! Must Add All to Cart. (See Promotion Details)
Product Information
Customer Reviews
Berkley's ® Gulp! Alive! ® Eel Soft Bait is the ideal replacement for live eels. They're a winning combination of realistic look and feel and powerful scent that is so close to the real thing, it's irresistible. Stored in Gulp! ® attractant solution, these baits hold flavor and scent longer, and they offer more ways to rig thanks to their durable construction. Soak between uses for the best performance.
- The perfect substitute for live eels
- Infused with authentic scent and flavor
- Appearance and action mimic real eels
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- Effective with cobias and stripers
- Length: 8"
- Weight: 18.2 oz
- Model: GAOE8
- Berkley
Country of Origin: United States
Customer Reviews
Rated 5 out of 5�by 2 reviewers.
Rated 5 out of 5�by DLarge eels alive! Closest thing to live eels. Stripers get a hold of it and don't let go. September 10, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5�by William C. Very realistic, convenient, and wiggly! This is a VERY convenient bait to have around as a pitch bait around buoys and other structure. Quality is readily apparent even just by looking at it in the container, and rigging is easy. August 7, 2013
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Yale University students and faculty have access to some of the finest collegiate resources in the world. Archaeological Studies students may research using the second-largest academic library in the world, extremely important and extensive museum collections, and state of the art research facilities ranging from a Center for Earth Observation to a metallurgical laboratory.
Yale University offers its students many options when it comes to funding their research. Some of these are intended primarily for Archaeology students, including those listed below.
Albers-Coe-Hazard Applications
The Josef Albers Traveling Fellowships
[pdf] — Josef Albers was a well known modernist painter and theorist who was chair of the Yale Department of Design from 1950-1958. The Josef Albers Foundation established the Albers Traveling Fellowship to be used for awards to Yale students (graduate and undergraduate), post-doctoral fellows, and junior faculty for travel and research expenses in connection with scholarly research involving pre-Columbian art and artifacts of Mesoamerica, Central America, and South America.
The Michael Coe Fieldwork Fund
[pdf] — Michael D. Coe is the Charles J. MacCurdy Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Yale. Renowned for his decades of research, especially that on the Maya and Olmec civilizations, Coe retired in 1994. The Coe Fieldwork Fund was established primarily for undergraduate Archaeological Studies majors seeking to fulfill their summer fieldwork requirement, although others, including M.A. and Ph.D. students, may be considered. See the description for application requirements.
The Augusta Hazard Fund
[pdf] — The Augusta Hazard Fund is a research fellowhip available to Ph.D. graduate students who plan foreign travel for archaeological research during the summer. Grants, which are intended to help defray travel expenses, ordinarily range from $1000-$1500.
Research Facilities
A number of research facilities are available to archaeological studies students. They include:
- The Center for Earth Observation
- An Anthropological Anatomy Lab
- The Yale University Archaeology Laboratories (YUAL), a collection of nine separate archaeology teaching labs and other associated spaces
The Yale University Library System is the second-largest academic collection in the world. With around 13 million volumes spread over 22 buildings, the collection is one of the world's great centers for scholarly research.
Sterling Memorial Library, the largest and most central library on campus, contains around 4 million volumes. Of particular importance to students of Achaeological Studies are the Art & Architecture, Anthropology, Geology, and Classics collections.
Yale University has major museums of interest to individuals studying Archaeological Studies. The Peabody Museum of Natural History contains extensive collections which are largely available to students for research. From Incan pottery or Egyptian statues to fine palaeontological examples of ancint species, the Peabody boasts one of the most important collections in the country.
The Yale University Art Gallery gives students and affiliates of the university the opportunity to work with some spectacular pieces of art. Of particular importance to Archaeological Studies students are the Ancient Art and the Art of the Ancient Americas collections.
Summer Programs
For information regarding our Summer Program, please email Karen Phillips, the Registrar of Archaeological Studies.


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The Wicked Dreams of Ivy
October 23rd, 2008
"My favorite position is doggy," says Ivy Dreams, so hot she leaves burn marks on the bed sheets. "A close second would have to be me on top of my partner. What satisfies me most of all in a guy is a good, hard man. A man who can stay hard and keep it hard without special needs. The guy I'm with in these photos from my movie Big Girl Sex School had a thick cock and he was dominant and horny. I couldn't get all of his cock down my mouth, he was so big. I liked the fact that he was hot for me. Porn sex can be way hotter than everyday sex. I'm being recorded so I want to look and be my hottest. Most guys are very critical when they watch a porn video. They'll criticize your talents and they know when a girl is being plastic. It was very exciting making this movie with all the other beautiful girls. In real life, cock size is only half of being pleased. I preferably like the eight-inch range. The other half is in how you take care of your girl other ways in the bedroom. I love having a guy lick and kiss my neck and shoulders, then move onto my nipples before finding my warm spot. I haven't had a lot of sex outdoors but I have had sex on a boat and in a few cars. It is exciting, knowing that you're out of the house and being naughty. When I'm alone and horny, I play with myself. I love my toys! I have many vibes and a few eggs that really do the trick. But nothing beats the real thing."
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L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.
Search Detection Navigation Guidance Aeronautical And Nautical NY, United States
| New York Stock Exchange: LLL
Similar to: Garmin Ltd.
L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. operates as a holding company. It operates through its subsidiary L-3 Communications Corp., which is a prime contractor in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, command, control, communications, aircraft modernization and maintenance, and sustainment of aircraft, maritime vessels and ground vehicles, and national security solutions. It also provides broad range of electronic systems used in military and commercial platforms. The company operates its business through Aerospace Systems, Electronic Systems, Communication Systems and National Security Systems segments. The Aerospace Systems segment delivers integrated solutions for the global ISR market and provides modernization, upgrade, sustainment, and maintenance and logistics support for a wide variety of aircraft and ground systems. The Electronic Systems segment provides a broad range of components, products, subsystems, systems and related services for military and commercial customers. The Communication Systems segment delivers products and services for the global communications market, specializing in strategic and tactical airborne, space, ground and sea-based communication systems. The National Security Solutions segment provides cyber security solutions, high-performance computing, enterprise IT services, analytics and intelligence analysis. L-3 Communications Holdings was founded in April 1997 and is headquartered in New York, NY.


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Monthly Poets' Corner Open Mic Reading @ Cultural Center of Cape Cod
When: Thu Oct 25th
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Where: Cultural Center of Cape Cod | 307 Old Main Street | South Yarmouth
Monthly Poets' Corner Open Mic Reading
October 25, 7pm. Come early to sign up for the open mic. Lamont Steptoe, the featured reader, performs afterwards along with music by Mwalim.
Lamont Steptoe is a poet, activist, Vietnam Veteran, photographer and founder/publisher of Whirlwind Press. He is the author of ten books of poetry and is the editor of two collections of poems by South African poet, Dennis Brutus. Steptoe's books include In the Kitchen of the Masters (1997) and Catfish & Neckbone Jazz (1992) both published by Iniquity Press/Vendetta Books. His poems have also been featured in various anthologies including Furious Flower: From the Black Art Movement to the Present (University of Virginia Press, 2004) and The Oxford Anthology of African American Poetry (Oxford University Press, 2005). He has performed his work at the Library of Congress, the National Library of Nicaragua, the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, Shakespeare & Co. in Paris, the Knitting Factory, the SchomburgCenter for Black Culture, and various colleges and universities throughout the United States. He was awarded the Life-time Achievement Award by the Kuntu Writers Workshop from the University of Pittsburgh in 2002, a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Literary Fellowship in 1996 and has been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Steptoe was awarded the American Book Award in 2005. In 2004, rapper Mos Def, opened the Def Poetry Jam program on HBO with a poem from Mad Minute. Steptoe has participated in numerous workshops and has collaborated with Sonia Sanchez, Allen Ginsburg, Ishmael Reed, Margaret Walker Alexander, and Sam Allen. The mic is open to all ages. Free and open to the public. Bring your own refreshments. Hosted by Barry Hellman and Joe Gouveia on the last Thursday of each month, January-October. Come hear Lamont read, Mwalim play, and share something of your own. Cultural Center of Cape Cod, 307 Old Main St., South Yarmouth 508-394-7100.
See more events with tags: open mic mwalim poetry reading cultural center


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The voices of the choir rise in wonderful harmonies, the light reflects on the icons, incense wafts into the ceiling – it is a wonderful liturgy on a feast day. We stand in the Church and begin to notice, with some guilt, that our mind has wandered. Worse, still, we are bored.
This is perhaps the most common experience in the Orthodox liturgy. Not often discussed outside of confession, it is a reflection of the modern soul. It is not the fault of the liturgy itself – but a symptom of the disease that infects our lives. It reveals the terrible truth that were we to be this moment in paradise, we would be distinctly uncomfortable, even miserable.
Above all, paradise begins in the heart. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Christ did not say to His disciples, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for God will reveal Himself to them." God may be seen at any time. It is not His hiddenness that obscures Him from our vision, but the opaque quality of an impure heart.
All of this can make for a quiet despair, particularly in the life of a convert. We read the words of St. Vladimir's envoys to Constantinople:
When we journeyed among the Bulgars, we beheld how they worship in their temple, called a mosque, while they stand ungirt. The Bulgarian bows, sits down, looks hither and thither like one possessed, and there is no happiness among them, but instead only sorrow and a dreadful stench. Their religion is not good. Then we went among the Germans, and saw them performing many ceremonies in their temples; but we beheld no glory there. Then we went on to Greece, and the Greeks led us to the edifices where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendour or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We know only that God dwells there among men, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. For we cannot forget that beauty. Every man, after tasting something sweet, is afterward unwilling to accept that which is bitter, and therefore we cannot dwell longer here.
"We cannot forget that beauty…" but we quickly become immune to its charm.
We are not at all the same people who embraced Orthodoxy along with Prince Vladimir. They willingly (and famously) stood for hour upon hour. The Tsar himself was known to spend as many as seven hours a day in services. An English visitor to Russia in the 16th century described the people as having "legs like stone."
Our consumer culture caters to a different set of inner needs. We are the same human beings as those of 9th century Rus, but we have been nurtured in a different manner. Everyone born into the world shares desires and hungers, the capacity for the same passions and addictions. But rarely in human history have a people been pointedly and purposively groomed for consumption. We crave what we call entertainment – experiences that we find pleasant. But such experiences are not purely objective. What is pleasant today is boring tomorrow. We are like children with Christmas toys that are no longer new.
Virtues are formed by the practices in which engage. If we want to be patient, we will have to practice patience. By the same token, vices and addictions are the result of practice as well. Practices are any activity in which we regularly engage – thus they may be intentional or unintentional. What you do will determine what you are. If the primary activity in our life is consumption, then we will develop the instincts, the "virtues" of a consumer. In popular culture, this is largely an unintentional practice. We learn to respond to perceived needs. That these perceived needs may themselves be produced in us by those who want us to consume their products is itself often obscured. At the heart of a consumer culture is pleasure. We do those things, buy those things, consume those things, engage in those activities that bring us pleasure.
The fathers wrote at great length about the role of pleasure in the Christian life. We seek to avoid pain (odyne) and acquire pleasure (hedone). The cycle set in motion by these two polarities is the root of all the passions. It is the means of our enslavement. Paradise is not for slaves but for the free.
Which brings us back to the Divine Liturgy. The liturgy is paradise. It reveals God and manifests His presence. We join our voices with the angels and mystically represent the cherubim. But we are not entertained. For a couple of centuries, many Christians have used a mission imperative as the tool for shaping worship. Worship and evangelism are made coterminous. "Whatever works," becomes the operating mantra for the Christian assembly. Market research directs musical content as well as much of the program of ministry. Worship is now consumed.
It makes complete sense for a consumer culture to have a consumer Church. But you cannot have a consumer's paradise. For the passions that form the basis of consumerism cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. The same passions have a very difficult time even bearing with the Divine Liturgy.
Was it a good service? Did you enjoy the Liturgy? How was Church today? These are not uncommon questions – but they are profoundly inappropriate.
Worship is communion, not consumption. The virtues required by Paradise do not include the ability to be entertained. But the consumer Christian has been shaped for entertainment. It is not entirely his fault – consumerism is the hallmark of our culture. The economy needs for us to consume. Christianity that serves the culture, in our present context, does not serve the gospel. To market the faith to be consumed is like giving drugs to an addict. Of course the addict likes the drugs. Of course the drugs appeal to him – he's an addict!
It is a great irony that consumer Christianity offers death that is perceived to be life. While classical Christianity offers life that is clearly labeled as death. If you want to be saved, you'll have to die. You will have to die to your desires and the passions through which you consume.
I recently ran across a small book – a very easy, even entertaining read. It's title: Help! I'm Bored in Church! Heed it's lessons. It will help make you fit for paradise.
Author comments have a tan color background for you to easily identify the posts author in the comments
makes me mad, Fr Steven, sure the ones who are filled and feel it, that is fine, but to call us who find it "boring" when for me it is just a hiding place, and a hope for eternity of that well im not really up for a billion years of church. Glory to God,I agree, but the this is the only way and the others are all wrong or the zelot stance on anything is dangerous. I dont ever see where the Lord said to stand in church for hours and hope for salvation, I thought His message was feed the hungry and aid the dope sick and the lost. All the self congraulation of any bunch of regular attendees is probably not a bad thing, but for me the work is outside. I needed the church more than anybody when I was in prison and addicted to drugs, now I need to show by my work and my daily life what God did for me. I maybe think yu ignore my comments but I am not saying Church and services are bad, but we too serve and worship out in the battle field of dispair
Seems to me that standing in church for hours on end is for *our* benefit, not for God's. It takes that long – years and years of weeks and weeks of hours and hours – before we finally settle down and clear the noise from our minds so we can hear God's voice spoken into our hearts. Our Lord's disciples spent three years of living with Him, every day, before they went out and did anything. And even that they didn't do, until they had received His Holy Spirit. Same with Noah – once the Flood had receded, he didn't just hop out of the Ark and roll up his sleeves and get to work. He waited until he had the word from God to leave. How much more do we, in this restless age, need to learn the value of standing still and waiting for God to speak to us.
It should not be and either/or situation. Worship has always been central to life in Christ, so has feeding the poor and tending to the needs of others. That tending is no all physical and a life without worship in community is not really what we are called to.
The best do both like St. Basil the Great. I am not the best, but I know that I, for one, will try to hold more fully in my heart those of my brothers and sisters who are out doing the work first when I am in the Liturgy.
Being there, helps me to be more charitable and giving and gives me an energy to get through the week that I don't have otherwise. It teaches me to pray. When I don't go, I notice the difference.
I go because I am maimed, halt and lame and, despite myself, I've been invited. Strange as it may seem, when I'm there I somehow know that our Lord is glad that I responded to His invitation. So, I go. The fact is that I have no life in me and whatever life I have is in His Body and Blood.
The Divine Liturgy is 1 1/2 hours in my parish; another hour and 15 if one includes Orthros. That is unacceptably short for some and a mere accommodation to modern laxity. Perhaps it is but it is what I have.
If I am being especially faithful and attend the full cycle of services at my parish on a normal week, I'd be in Church praying a total of about 10 hours or about 520 hours a year which is a little less than 6% of my time.
Plenty of hours left to work, eat, sleep, take care of personal things and have some fun now and then.
I need to do more with that time. Thank you Dominic for making me aware of how much time I have to attend to the Lord AND do all of the other things I have to do (but frequently don't).
Sorry for the ramble.
I see a lot of similar arguments from the ones that claims that the monastic is one who 'flees' the Christian responsibility of extending charity (proper) to the world. That the retreat into the dessert is an escape from reality. It's a false notion and a dangerous one. The monastic or the hermit does no flee reality but seeks to confront it.
In many ways, the cathedral in the city with it's congregation is like the monestary of the dessert with its community. I find St Athanasius biography about St Anthony a very good remedy for such notions. A bit later St Evagrius of Pontus writes more to the point about the life of the monk and concludes (in my opinion:) that the monk and the Christian have the same vocation, its just that the monk helps articulate/reveal the Christian vocation.
As you say father there is no argument. It's like breathing in and out. What better place to receive fresh air and life then from the table of the Lord. It is only from receiving His life we can hope to help and give life to others for when we rest in Him it is actually Him doing the battle for us. Thanks for this post fr Stephen
This is an excellent post, Fr. Stephen. Indeed, our culture is addicted to entertainment. I had a humorous experience a few months ago when a young person coming to my door to sell me some "bundle" cable contract. When I told her that I didn't have a television, she was shocked and asked what I did if I didn't watch TV! (It also made me sad that she appeared genuinely perplexed…)
It seems that our culture breeds boredom which is then attributed to what is going on outside of us (e.g. "church is boring") rather than what is going on inside (e.g. "I find it hard to be still or look within.")
Many years ago, a RC priest told me that he never got bored saying Mass because each time was a new encounter with Christ. If, as you suggest, we consider our liturgy as "communion", how could it be boring? (I may feel bored or restless but that is but a symptom of my illness.)
Also, a question, if I may: what is the reason for standing for hours through the Divine Liturgy and other services? (Forgive me, but I keep picturing unhealthily swelling ankles.)
your comment – in connection to what Father Stephen so pertinently explained in the post – reminded me of something fascinating and very very true I once read.
It was in the intro of a small book that tried to summarise – in a distinctly peculiar way- Saint Isaac (the Syrian) and it goes something like this:
Man only ever finds out his wretched addiction to futility through discovering how unbelievably boring it initially is to be doing absolutely nothing in the presence of God, with zero contact with anyone, in the total solitude of the hesychastic desert.
This seemingly total inactivity in all its unbeareableness (the encounter with his unbearably boring self in the absence of all external distraction) is actually invaluable and has the power to teach such a deep lesson that travelling the world and the seven seas never can…
I was just reminded reading Dino's comment that in many languages to be bored is a reflexive verb which literally translates: I bore myself.
I've always thought that instructive.
Thank you for this post, Fr. Stephen, it is very encouraging and instructive — as are the comments so far!
I am still in the "honeymoon" period perhaps. My mind does wander during service, but I have yet to be bored with the Divine Liturgy where the words "Lover of Mankind" are used so often!
I would like for you to offer some definition clarity because I cannot imagine why anyone would want to spend eternity in Paradise if there is not some sort of positive emotional or sensory experience. When I think of entertainment I include anything that brings me joy or enjoyment. Perhaps my understanding of entertainment is broader than your definition?
to answer one of Mary Benton's questions; our prayer and liturgy are based on the Jewish temple and synagogue worship – how often do we see in the Gospels, Jesus (and the disciples) went into the synagogue/temple to pray at the third/sixth/ninth hour.
It is this pattern that we follow, and the way of honouring God when we pray is standing, following Our Lord's example.
Sitting is of course regarded as common sense for the elderly, the disabled, children and any others who require it.
About standing, my dad taught me that I should stand when an adult comes into the room and that on the bus I should stand and offer my seat to a lady, or an elderly person. The nuns taught me to kneel in prayer. At mass I followed the crowd–kneel, stand, sit, stand, kneel, keep kneeling, sit. Later, travelling in Europe, I visited beautiful churches without pews and thought, sadly, these buildings must have become museums.
I was used to standing in museums, at political rallies, in lines for important events, at NFL football games (even though I had a seat), and at baseball playoffs or world series when I couldn't get regular tickets–but not in prayer.
When I met a prayerful Orthodox priest who showed me his small parish church without pews, I thought how odd. People stand all throughout the Divine Liturgy? I could never manage that. He told me it's OK to sit if I want to, and pointed to benches around the sides and in back. I came the next Sunday, stood transfixed (exaggeration, but not by too much), and left nearly two hours later wondering what had just happened. I was happy, moved, peaceful, and not at all sore or stiff. I came back, and back. Later the good priest told me how the Jewish people in biblical times, in Jesus's time too–biblical of course, but not Old biblical–stood in prayer, stood in the temple. Also he reminded me that standing is a sign of respect (my long-reposed dad's words came to mind).
Of course, I do not have back or foot problems. Strangely, I have more trouble sitting for a long time. Also, a knee problem eventually led me to the 3-point stance (kneel/sit) I once observed with disdain. The point is, I was never able to connect standing with the idea of prayer. Now I wonder if I could pray any other way.
I can actually very well relate to this post and I'm so glad this issue has been addressed in writing by Father Stephen, because a "lack of feeling" is sometimes my biggest struggle in church.
I started attending the Liturgy several years ago after having done a very bad thing and realizing I needed to come to terms with God. The first few months were downright unbearable among the elderly, listening to what seemed to go on for hours on end in a language I simply could not understand although linguistically, it was my native language. I just couldnt comprehend a single thing that was going on, my brain felt completely crushed and foggy. The only thing pushing me through this mental torture was the thought that I was *wrong*, my subjective experience was *wrong* and what was happening there was actually the *right* (or true) thing.
Meanwhile some things have changed, one day I just realized that hello, I actually *do* understand the words, I actually *am* paying attention to this, I *am* somewhat more present in the Liturgy. Some time later I even grew to know the sequence of events and the answers by heart.
Sometimes there has been joy and a feeling of communion and presence. But often I still catch myself wandering with my thoughts outside the Liturgy, to things unrelated to church. I seem to be caught between a rock and a hard place (I think this is the expression in English) because many of the "worldly" things that used to bring me joy or entertainment in the past now leave me unmoved; while the church experience (or rather I in relation to it) don't really deliver an intense enough substitute either. The thought that if I were to die now, I might find paradise boring and unpleasant is sometimes killing me.
Again, what helps me get through this one day at a time is again the thought that somehow I am still *wrong* about it. I have read and believe there is joy in the Kingdom, so much that the angels and saints there constantly rejoice, sing and dance about something I do not yet perceive. I have read about the mystical ecstasies of some (I dont wish one for myself because Im completely clueless as to what Id be doing with it afterwards), that there is something up there in communion with Christ God that is completely overwhelming in the best and most glorious way. I really hope it is so for some and maybe it will be so for me one day too.
I think Im only writing this to mention the one thing that has been helping me so far in overcoming (or better yet, enduring) this and some other struggles and conflicts with myself and others — the liberating thought that I am wrong but God and the ones who understand Him better than I – are right.
Michael Baumann,
You write:
"I was just reminded reading Dino's comment that in many languages to be bored is a reflexive verb which literally translates: I bore myself."
That is actually a very good point, although I've never thought about it until now. For a native speaker, the language is usually not something he thinks about.
Speaking for myself, I don't know if I'm ever bored in church with that kind of boredom that would make me turn the tv on. However, I often catch myself thinking about the most diverse things and losing contact with the words and music of the Liturgy (or Vespers, or some other service). Perhaps it's not boredom, but it's most likely part of the same problem: that in the secular culture we are used to living in a bubble of entertainment and consumerism, surrounded by things and sensations that cater to our ego. Even social contacts that, instead of being direct, are mediated by specialized websites (I need not name them, everybody knows them), become part of this canvas or screen that surrounds our ego and feeds the passions. But during prayer and during church services, we have to be present in front of God, and God is present in front of us. And this is difficult, especially for the modern man who then wants to withdraw into the bubble of entertainment and be entertained, all by himself (in my language, to be entertained is also reflexive, just like to be bored).
Father, bless!
Great piece of writing, quite thought-provoving — thank you!
A couple of thoughts Dominic from one who has been there.
You have been saved, as the Israelites were saved out of Egypt. However they still didn't know how to live depending upon God, so they spent 40 years in the wilderness. Once God saves us he begins the process of forming us into the person he wants us to be.
We also can be compared to wild untamed horses. A caught but a wild horse is useless until he is taught and tamed. We too are useless unless we are taught and tamed. This process takes time.
Paul had a vision of who Jesus was, was blinded for a time and then spent I think it was 7 years in the boondocks before he began the ministry that we read about.
You sound to me as if you are in a state of rebellion concerning where God has put you. The only thing to do is confess and confess the rebellion until God can do something about it. He has His ideas of what you can be but He can only work with you when you humbly decide to listen to Him, and not yourself. He sees the big picture, you and all the rest of us, a very tiny picture.
The liturgy used to be quite the laborious endeavor for me as others have mentioned here. I was usually bored out of my mind after the first half an hour. It's a wonder I stuck with Orthodoxy at all. I just had something within me almost forcefully driving me toward it no matter how bored or frustrated I got.
After several months of exploring Orthodoxy, I learned from my priest to pray like the Orthodox at home. Developing a prayer life throughout the week made all of the difference.
I still get bored and my mind still wonders much more than I'd like to admit, but I find the liturgy to be edifying now and I don't find it to be an epic struggle like I used to.
While I think this article was right on target, some of the comments on this thread are scarily out of touch with reality and I think really represent the challenge the Church faces in America.
For example, this is clearly written by someone who either does not have children in the Church or soon will not: "The Divine Liturgy is 1 1/2 hours in my parish; another hour and 15 if one includes Orthros. That is unacceptably short for some and a mere accommodation to modern laxity. Perhaps it is but it is what I have.
If I am being especially faithful and attend the full cycle of services at my parish on a normal week, I'd be in Church praying a total of about 10 hours or about 520 hours a year which is a little less than 6% of my time."
Keeping an 8-10 year old standing in services that are elongated for extended periods week after week is a sure fire way to make sure they get out as soon as they have a chance. Forcing kids to try to live by a life emulating the monastic Typikon is, forgive me, insane.
This is probably one of the main reasons inter-generational "retention" in the Orthodox Church is less than 50% for the first generation in America.
By the third generation, OCA retention rates probably hover around 10%. In one particularly unhealthy parish I was blessed to attend for many years, only one of the kids kept coming through their high school years: the parents couldn't even force their kids as teenagers to keep up with the services.
Is there a tension for a parish that puts all its efforts into serving as full a cycle of services as possible and actually living the Gospel? Almost always – as an observation I can only think of one exception. What doesn't happen in most of these parishes is robust service to the poor and sick or outreach. We are masters of hiding our light in a bushel in Orthodoxy in America: one of the reasons is all the effort often goes into preparing for and participating in as many services as possible. Certainly not the only reason, but a significant factor for the ongoing collapse of Orthodoxy in America. And yet "Frjakob" pops up to tell us just how much our parish lives really need to mirror the monastic experience. Gospodi… Fr. Alexander Men pray for us!
Beware something the Russians call "prelest": "by their fruits ye shall know them."
Anna, He is not just present in front of us. He is in us certainly once we have been Christamated.
As Fr.Stephen points out however, purificatiion is required to see Him. That is certainly part of what goes on in the Divine Liturgy.
Our boredom, distraction and pains are what is in our way–manifestations of our impurity.
In my parish we have large icons at the west end of the have of Sts Symeon and Daniel the Stylites. We also have pews and my legs and feet are not the best. When I need strength in standing I ask for their intercession, especially St. Symeon.
Doesn't always help but it always helps a little, that and the 90 year old sittis who don't sit.
The Lord told us to love and serve our neighbor. But he also told us to love and serve our God. In both instances, he is our example. Jesus healed the sick and tended the outcast — but he also spent considerable time in communion with the Father.
One of my favorite gospel passages is Luke 5:12-16:
"While Jesus was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, 'Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, 'I will; be clean.' And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but, 'Go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.' But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw often to desolate places and pray."
So, yes, minister to the dope sick. But also "withdraw often … and pray."
There's one more passage that might help put your mind at ease. It is from the Epistle to the Hebrews:
"Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (10:24-25).
Again, there is the dual command to do good works and to assemble in prayer. As I said in another post, the liturgy is the place where we receive the love of God, which we then take into the world, so that we might address our brothers' physical *and* spiritual needs.
As a side note, you might appreciate the words of Pope Francis.
I love the voluptuous and poetic worship of the Christian east, but there's something about the terse and laconic Latin liturgy — its noble simplicity, its filial directness — that is truly endearing. The collect of the Roman rite is a tiny but brilliant theological gem, which "by its very brevity appears to disclaim all ability to make comprehensible the nature of the unfathomable" (Joseph Jungmann).
I wondered when the concerns raised by "anon" would appear here. I have similar ones, but from a different perspective. No child is "forced" to stand in the church I attend. In fact I was at first surprised to see them sitting when there were many grandparent-types standing. Gradually I realized that prayerfulness was being modeled for (not demanded from) the children by the adults.
Also I witness regularly fathers standing behind their sons, or maybe sitting next to them, hands occasionally on their shoulders or gently patting their backs as if to say "we're in this together," or "it's good to be here" (expressing, it seems to me, the kind of closeness experienced on campouts or at sports games). I see mothers showing affection to small and large children in various unobtrusive ways.
As a former high school teacher, I wonder at the regular presence in church of older boys–until I realize that their fathers are right there with them–and then I think (being easily distracted, and catching myself in "unprayerful" behavior, like so many on the persons who left comments) how much more successful our work in schools would be if fathers or mothers were to come to class with their children, even only occasionally. In other words. ..
This is not to discount the discouragement many parents and grandparents feel when they hear, as I do regularly from a 15 year old granddaughter, "Church is so not with it. Sure I believe in God, but–" I worry that young persons will not experience the little "c" communion, not to mention the mystery of the cup, that I do at least occasionally (when I am not distracted or preoccupied or just daydreaming). But then I remember how long it took me to get to this place and how quietly persistent God was in His invitations. And I feel faith & hope returning.
" Dictionary definition of "terse and laconic":using very few words:
"his laconic reply suggested a lack of interest in the topic"…
We are creatures who are subject to time and restraints of it. God is not.
Lots of problems and challenges here with all the comments and premises.
As a new and faltering convert I find this more troubling and confusing as just how to be at peace with my quest and commitments and quite guilty of not being properly connected???
I had a Protestant friend recently comment that he wished we (Orthodox) would lighten up on the Traditional, robes, dress,etc. It is at the same time so foreign to us Western converts, yet also deeply attractive and encouraging. However, there is a deep disconnect many times between the"spiritual" and the practical??? Many times I would like to leave this crazy worldly existence and become a monk to pursue the ultimate jewel of communion with God. Sometimes that is downright frightening though. I find myself "warring" with my thought process both in and out of liturgy as to just where and how to proceed. Sometimes it is most inspiring, and sometimes it is met with abject failure and disappointment. How do I reconcile these 2 opposing ways of perception and therefore reality?
When we understand, and the problem is we don't, what ails us (a fallen Nous) we can recognize what is good for us and what is harmful to us. Take heroine way from a heroine addict and watch them go crazy & suffer in the silence of a room. But once they are off the heroine and it is out of their system the silence in the room is so peaceful, it is a new experience, it is heaven on earth and they cannot ever imagine going back to the chaos of their addiction. Problem is they usually forget the peace and run right back to the drug that has enslaved them. Lord have mercy on me! I forever hear Jesus saying to me: "Do you want to be made well?" (John 5:6)
Anon. My son is now 27 and in Liturgy nearly every Sunday and living a life "not of this world" is important to him. When he was younger he was an acolyte and served as often as he could. During his first Holy Week (age 7) he served every service and was one of only 2 acolytes during Holy Thursday(3 hours of standing holding a candle while the Gospels are being read). I did not ask that of him nor demand it. I would not have been able to keep him from it.
His mother and I taught him at home and we encouraged his active participation in the responses at an early age. The "Lord have mercies"; the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the prayer before communion.
As my wife was the chanter at the time my son was really young, he was with me in the pews (yes pews). When he got fussy, I took him out until he was ready to go back. Since he never wanted to miss communion, the fussiness didn't last. If parents think they can bring their children to.service and ignore them while they are there (as much as possible), don't train them up in the way they should go, the children will see no reason to stay.
If the parents teach the children how to participate with sober joy and worship with them it works. The work of transitioning the faith to children is the parents most important work.
Too often, IMO, we don't expect or ask enough of our children and do too little to instruct them in the faith and model the faith for them (often in asking their forgiveness).
The way his late mother and I did things is not the only way but it is not the services that drive children away. To think that is just silly.
Now at 27 my son is in a position to disciple others. For that I am deeply thankful to God but it did not happen by magic. Many of his contemporaries are also quite strong in the faith as well, including acting as chanters. sub-deacons, a priest, youth ministers and a lot of mothers and fathers who bring their children every Sunday.
Dennis, just let it be. Attend, in the full meaning of the word, and listen with an open heart. You would not be there if you were not an invitee of our Lord.
Don't be "guilty" about any of this. It's more like a diagnosis of our condition than a commentary on bad choices. "Boredom" is the most natural response people like us could have to God. We shouldn't feel guilty about it – just aware that it's a symptom of a life conformed by consumerism. And then, with patience, we allow God to change us. Don't expect anything overnight. We have to be in this for the long haul. Christ said,"Save your soul through patience." Luke 21:19 That's my translation – more accurate than many.
Anon: First I want to thank you for your great concern over the retention of youth in the Church. Maybe Im reading to much into your post but it seems like you have a big heart for this particular area and for this I thank you. Throughout Scriptures and the tradition and history of the Church it seems like revival (life again)have always sprung up where we expect it the least, in the desert. Israel walks through the desert, the prophets pray, prepare and preach in the desert. St John dwells in the desert and Jesus Himself is walking in the desert for 40 days. Not to mention many saints in Church history. Im not saying that all cathedrals should become monasteries/convents. What I'm trying to present is that every Christian has a desert to walk through and in that desert you will find life giving water. It is in that sense that we are 'all monks.' It's in the desert we forget entertainment (becuase we have to focus on survival finding the spring of water). I apoligize if this was not clearly communicated, English is my second language. Blessings on your day.
Although I am RC and not Orthodox, I'd like to add a comment to your concerns about children as well.
I remember when Catholic services for Good Friday lasted 2-3 hours and I attended with my family. It did seem horribly long to me as a child but I never questioned whether to go. At later times, I questioned what I believed, as many teens and young adults do – and I came out believing.
Now I often wish our liturgies and services were longer! Although I don't disagree with all of the changes my church has made since my childhood, I can see that some of them have made us lazy. Or perhaps I should say, they have made it easy for us to be lazy.
I would also like to add that, while parents have a huge influence on their children's spirituality, they do not have control of it. I know of parents who have done a marvelous job living and modeling faith and their adult children do not continue on. Parents have a great deal to compete with in this consumerist culture – and many hard decisions to make. I hope you have support from other parents and your priest to help you with this – it cannot be easy.
Great comments! And as usual Father…thanks to you for your insights into the spiritual life. For those parents who might feel guilty about a wrong turn their children have taken…or who might be saying, "What's the use?," remember that Adam and Eve had the perfect parent, God, and fell. Free will always leaves that possibility. But God wasn't through with them yet! And He's not finished with your children yet either. Keep praying! Our prayers make it seem as if they are kicking against the goads. I know how painful that can be as I had a believing wife and mother praying for my conversion.
frjakob – you express yourself extremely well. I re-read your comment several times and will want to save it. Thank you for your helpful insight.
Father Stephen, I think I was very explicit about stating that I thought your article was on target, but my concern was with the responses. I am sorry I was not more clear about that. I am deeply sympathetic to your main points and observations *esp.* vis a vis consumerism and its corrosive effects on the human person.
That said, it is objectively true that Orthodoxy in America has been in a long, inter-generational decline. When I read the internet Orthodox warriors in the combox opining that what we really need is more and longer services to be healed, I think, frankly, they are suffering from serious delusion. And it is especially clear that they have no experience of Orthodoxy in America, at least not over many generations.
Speaking of parishes and vigils etc, mainly in those 'ethnic' parishes (that need to address quite a few other issues), I noticed this one a few times:
Mainly -but not only- due to the chanters' preferences for s l o w e r chanting, a severely shortened vigil (in content) can actually take as long as a non-shortened one in some monasteries! Something is not quite right there…
Anon: to be clear, I was not wanting longer services. I don't take advantage of what we have. Its just that there are folks I know who think the length of the services in my parish coupled with the pews are way too worldly.
I can't do a thing about it. The main thing wrong with the Orthodox Church is me. The parish I am graced to attend is a cathedral parish with a great bishop, two good priests and a deacon, a plethora of sub-deacons and chanters a beautiful choir and a loving and generous congregation that has at least a smattering of many ethnic variations. Why I wouldn't want to spend more time there is beyond me–yet I make excuses.
My son is bored all the time now because he wants to be doing something physical. Herding his young God son and keeping him from jumping out of the balcony plus running the sound system keeps him busy.
The services need to be prayerful. The only way I can have an impact on that is to learn to pray and practice it.
I am blessed yet often act as if I am not.
I have another question, if I may, from a slightly different perspective.
As I have viewed pictures of Orthodox Divine Liturgy and services (not having attended any yet), I am struck by how ornate are the vestments, holy vessels, etc. While I have, at times, seen similar tendencies in my own RC tradition, simplicity seems to me more congruent with the way of Jesus and His apostles.
While I realize that the material beauty of these items has a different meaning from our consumer culture's attachment to material "beauty" (often not beautiful at all), I wonder at the emphasis on the outer appearances.
Worn reverently, very plain vestments speak to me of the purity of heart that we seek. When treated as sacred, simple vessels represent to me the poverty of our nature before what is most Holy.
Please note that I am not trying to be critical or argumentative at all. Just wanting to understand this aspect of Orthodox practice.
Excellent! Just excellent! Thank you.
One reason — one reason —- I switched from the local Anglican 'social club' at 10 am Sundays was I wanted Worship, not 'entertainment.' Alright, so I've discovered leg muscles I didn't know I had (ouch!)
"my" 35 adult mission parish + about 35 youngsters Is all God, we are one huge family.
And most of us are converts.
I looked, briefly at the Russians and the Greeks, but 'I might dilute the Faith' (whatever that means?)
Are we bored? Well, no. our age span is from 40 days to 40-something years and we all came from other practising faiths. We did most assuredly not come off the street.
I think one of the modern idols of society is 'more is better' (except, of course for church services – we/they want a 'warm fuzzy feeling' then off to the golf course – or skiing)
if in fact we/they go to church at all.
Another idol is/are the 'Me-attitudes'
Orthodoxy, on the other hand, has more-is-better Liturgy, Fasting, and Beatitudes – and yet we are the fastest growing 'denomination' in Canada and the US. Tell me why?
Could it be that God is present, and felt to be present and seen-to-be-present in each other. We are not a 'love-in group' not be any means, but any of us will fill in for another's dish-chores no questions asked at no notice at all.
Bored? not at all. A toddler toddles off, the nearest adult moves so he/she can keep an eye on the child. "Suffer the little children …" hardly boring, and just as worshipful to my recently converted mind as listening to the prayers.
Someone's absence at Liturgy is noted … a phone call — are you OK?
I can relate, Charlie. Sounds like where I go each Sunday and, if no conflict here at home ("mixed" family), Saturday evening.
Our little church is part of a larger Russian group, "jurisdiction" I think they call it, based in Chicago, and I felt comfortable and at home from the outset three years ago. Of course, our services are in English, and the mix of ethnic
and convert is close to even, although the priest, deacon, readers (2 of 3),choir for the most part, and many regular participants are converts.
So I was puzzled to hear that you felt unwelcome in a Russian church, or am I misinterpreting your quoted statement about how someone "might dilute the faith"?
Note: it is my understanding that ideally there would be only one jurisdiction for each national group. That is, an American (U.S.-ian?) Orthodox church, a Canadian one, etc., and that the liturgies should be in the language of the people–i.e., for us, English. No dilution, regardless of ethnic background.
Thanks for your encouraging comment Mary, if you feel inclined I offered a longer reflection on my blog. Have a blessed day!
Thank you, Fr. Stephen, for your in depth response.
My initial reading of it was led me to think that you were being critical of simplicity ("myth", "romanticism")! I expect you were referring to some of those you have known who advocated simplicity, not simplicity itself.
I tied Jesus and the apostles to simplicity because the Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head and chose fisherman as His apostles. I also tend to associate simplicity to asceticism, something clearly an important part of Orthodoxy. Hence, my wondering about the ornate quality of worship – again, not to criticize it.
Beauty is incredibly important. And yet experience of beauty depends on our hearts being pure – otherwise we might think that we can buy it or create it. Then it ceases to be Beauty (God revealing Himself) and becomes one more object to possess.
God, of course, can and does reveal Himself in both the simple and the ornate. Our ability to see Him there (rather than corrupt what we see) is part of the process of our salvation.
May we know His grace in abundance – for we are surrounded by many pitfalls in this process.
Fr. Stephen, As a non-Orthodox, I must say that reading your blog makes me want to become Orthodox! This post, like so many others, is absolutely pure gold. Perhaps I like it so much because it's dead on. What you describe here, is what I see in my Protestant Evangelical church and it's what's driving me to Orthodoxy. In particular, I LOVE your response to Anon from Jan 4 at 4:07 PM. I'm the father of 3 girls who are approaching their teen years and one of my deepest desires (and things I worry the most about) is to see them following the faith when they become adults. What you wrote in your comments (Jan 4, 4:07) was medicine for my soul. Thank you!!
Father, Even monastic priests wear ornate vestments when they serve the Divine Liturgy.
The vestments serve a purpose and are an avenue of transmitting grace. Iconic as you say.
But when does the ornate quality of the vestments, etc. become excessive, i.e. guilding the lily as a matter of display rather than honoring God? (I'm thinking of some things adopted during the Turkish Yoke that were more about being the head of the Christian millet rather than about the episcopal office in the Church).
The Second Vatican Council said that vestments should be models of "noble beauty" but not "sumptuous display." I think this is just right. If only anyone had listened!
I never understood this issue with the vestments of priests, it's not like they wear comfortable or sensual or secularly appreciated clothes, they almost contain something of the Cross about them – even in all their ornamentation.
Every single item of priestly vestments worn (as well as this "humble" magnificence they have compared to secular equivalents) -and except for its significant symbolism – is meant to make the priest:
1) more 'consecrated' (as in "set aside" for that one special purpose, as holy offering, unusable for absolutely everything else)
2) more humble – the more magnificent, the more humble – like a tree that stoops further down, the bigger and more fruit it carries.
That's exactly how I see it too Father "David trying to put on Saul's armour".
Once there was a Bishop who was being vested in Jerusalem (in THAT famous Church where they have all the oil lamps in the ceiling) and as the others flipped over the final vestment (with the special whole in the middle for his head), they accidentally caught the lamps above and spilt all that oil on his head! At that time the chanting says 'clothe yourself with splendor and majesty" PSalm 44 (in Greek τῇ ὡραιότητί σου καὶ τῷ κάλλει") and the Bishop meekly joked to the priests to make them feel better: "το χάλι, το χάλι!", which rhymes perfectly with "τω κάλει" but is a funny expression that means "his dreadfulness"…
It combined this sense of humble acceptance that the world might laugh at, yet is great in the eyes of the Spirit, despite the tragicomic aspect involved.
May I join in this conversation, and offer folks a different perspective on boredom?
Why does boredom need to be percieved as something negative? Perhaps it is given by God for our purification and enlightenment, or even to serve to increase our hunger and thirst for a deeper experience of God? Boredom may be the singlemost valuable gift that we can offer to God during those Liturgies where we experience it. Our liturgy within the Liturgy, so to speak, may simply be to endure boredom in faith, to offer it back to God in a spirit of humility, and ultimately to wait for God (in His good time) to transform it from a experience of emptiness and frustration into one of communion and fulfillment.
To paraphrase (badly) a famous poem: " [Perhaps} They also serve who stand and…sigh."
That sounds a lot like "παρεστηκως" ("which standeth before thee"), in deuteronomy 1:38 LXX, a key notion in Orthodox Spirituality…
Dino, certainly the objection to vestments stems, in part, from the iconoclasm of the Protestant denominations and the secular materialism that has succeeded it.
Like anything created, it can be misused and thought of as a 'thing in itself', or used to denote power rather than being redolent with the Cross.
I appreciate your comment about boredom (of the proper sort). It is more humbling to find myself restless and inattentive when I might long to be having a deep spiritual experience. I run up against my human limitations.
At my better moments, I can remember to thank God for such experiences, as they remind me that I am not in charge and that I need His grace just to be able to pray. Being humbled is indeed a gift from God, though not one of the more enjoyable ones.
Mary, Alban,
A long time ago, when I first became interested in writing poems & stories, I was surprised to hear (in an essay about art, I think) that boredom could be a springboard to creativity: the mind that's empty and restless is both open to inspiration and more easily led to pursue it. I wonder if that applies to prayer. It's comforting to think so, but
Mary, your last comment reminded me of a line from The Song of Hannah (1 Kingdoms 2:9).
"The One who gives a prayer to the one praying."
There must be some emptiness in the one praying, an emptiness that God fills.
I enjoyed reading your reply, and I am truly delighted the Lord has called you to work with those who are struggling with drug addiction. May I just offer two observations?
Firstly, there is no conflict or competition between the Divine Liturgy (prayer or services) and pastoral work. It would be impossible for an Orthodox Christian to choose one over another. This would be a false dichotomy, anyway. Liturgy is the supreme work of healing and redemtion of Christ our Pastor, our Shepheard, amongst His people, which culminates in our healing through loving communion with God our Father, through His Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Through Holy Communion, and the in-dwelling of the Holy Trinity in us, we come to share in the life of God. It is this sharing in the life of God, God within us and we within God, that enables us to be insturments of His healing presence to the wider world. We do not heal others, He does. As Christ our Lord said: Apart from me you can do nothing (Jn 15.5).
Secondly, you mentioned about those who "serve and worship out in the battlefield of despair". The battlefield, as you so rightly call it, is not "out there" in the world, with addicts and dealers and the criminal justice system. The real battlefield is the human heart, and the struggle for purification, illumination and life with and in God, is waged, and won or lost there, within the human heart. If you carry out your fight for healing and salvation (yours and others) solely in the world, you will despair, because you will be attempting to measure success in worldly terms.
St. Seraphim of Sarov is reported to have said: "Acquire the Spirit of Peace and thousands around you will be saved." In the Orthodox Church, salvation is often understood in terms of healing, so it could read "Aquire the Spirit of peace and thousands around you will be healed." The Spirit of peace, is indeed the Holy Spirit, and it is principally in the Divine Liturgy that Christians experience not only Christ's Pascha, His victory over sin, death and Satan, but it is also where they experience again the reality of Pentecost, where Christ sends His Holy Spirit anew on His church gathered in worship. Having acquired the Spirit of healing within our hearts at the Divine Liturgy, and sustained by our daily prayer, then, and then only, are we truly untied to Christ, and can become agents of His healing.
Thank you again, Dominic, for your posts on here. May God continue to bless you in all that you do in Him.
Fr. Stephen,
I always enjoy your posts but I found this one frustrating. I'm acutely aware of the consumerism that's eating up everything around us – and that struggles in long church services (Orthodox or otherwise) are largely our own problem. There is absolutely no disagreement on any of this for my part. I would not look for or expect many concessions in service length and so forth.
What I heard in Anon's statement that I identified with was something like this: I understand all this and therefore can counsel myself to quiet down, endure the length, concentrate on the words being said, etc – but I have a real struggle knowing how to transmit all this to my children, and it makes me feel helpless. I stand with them in the service, try to do it together and so on, but now my 13 year-old is simply counting the days until I will allow him to stop attending. My wife and I strive to model the Christian life and have good relationships with all our children, but it doesn't keep them from being bored in church.
I'm happy that all four of yours remained faithful – and that Michael's son couldn't be kept away – but what about the rest of us? Do you have any wisdom on keeping our children's hearts? If you tell me the book suggested in your post will apply to them as well, I'll buy it.
Right now I'm frustrated and "just keep coming to services" doesn't cut it. It reminds me of one Orthodox parish where the people asked for more body life, so the priest added more services. There's a disconnect here somewhere. I have a very hard time believing that Heaven is going to just be one long church service. I know there's a huge paradigm shift that needs to happen in everyone's heart, but surely there have to be ways to connect with those who've lost their way – our own hearts included.
Drewster, if you allow me (I dont have kids yet). I understand you attend church together with your family.. I suppose it could be pretty difficult in the US because of long distances and so on, but do your kids have a relationship of sorts with the priest? I mean regular confession and Communion.
I have learned that it isnt only the "services" that keep us coming week after week, but also a certain.. bond that we develop with our priests (most importantly) and with the other members of the parish. It is of course very different at 30 form what it is at 13 (I didnt have this experience when I was 13, at all) but I think the openness and authenticity of your priest could draw the hearts of your children, who would then begin to feel not like they attend something passively, but actually feel they are an active part of something bigger.
Just my 5 cents, I dont know if it is of any help and as stated, I dont have any experience like this of my own.
I appreciated your initial comments, by the way.
Our priest is our youth group leader as well. So yes they have a relationship with him. Of course at this age except for their parents it's all about peers. To be honest I've been around long enough that I don't expect to find any magic answer to this. I know what a terrifically strong pull the world is at their age; only a few seem to make it through this stage unscathed here in North America.
But in light of this momentary "failure" on the part of my son, it's torturous to think that nothing can be done except to keep praying for him, going to services, etc. The thought exacerbates all the irritations I've ever felt about long services and the whole bit.
(dEEp breath!) I know God is good and in control of the universe. And through faith I know that all will be well. Thanks for responding with compassion.
Fr. Stephen,
I appreciate your candid anecdotes and that you didn't try to brush away my frustrations. Growing up Protestant I didn't see much of the casual "the kids will be fine" attitude. So it was slightly scandalous for me in my current church when the kids (mine grew up in a large group of church kids their age) were allowed to have clipboards with coloring books and crayons – or even story books.
Those kids are now mostly in the range of 8-13 and the tricky part is when to take away the proverbial clipboards way and expect more adult attention from them, more than just the Gospel reading, the Kiss of Peace and the Eucharist.
It was awkward to work through the conversation of "you were too young to participate much before, but now you need to change the way you attend" but I'm comfortable with that now. As the kids learn to read, we stand by them and go through the liturgy books together in church. For those that are amenable, we do the same with the songbooks. When they were old enough, the kids would rotate through serving as acolytes as well – the younger ones still do this.
But the struggle is how to communicate the riches of what lie before and around us while we worship. I fully understand that one of the biggest battles is in my own heart, but must I simply watch my children drop like flies around me while I'm working through that?
Again I don't really expect any miracle answers. I am grateful for the listening ear though.
This conversation on children reminded me that it's a pity that many Orthodox churches -the Temples themselves/ the buildings – have had so many influences from outside, or are simply not entirely as adorned as they could. I say this because those rare Churches that are covered in byzantine iconography on every inch of every nook and cranny and have the whole sensorial experience (Incense, candles, traditional chanting) really are ahead of all others in having the ability to help a small child's soul have an awareness of the specialness of the place; even if the child is just sweeping a corner playing with another for 95% of their time there.
Children being involved in helping the priest also set a great example.
All this is the sort of thing that stays implanted in their memory too, even when they 'don't make it unscathed' later on.
Obviously, a priest's holiness, (as that of others) will make the greatest and most powerful impression in this regard – ie: functioning as an 'Araiadne's thread' for those that don't make it unscathed. That goes without saying.
I just thought that these other little things can help a bit too.
Dino, yes, these things help a lot. I wasnt really "churched" as a child and I think I never really attended a Liturgy until I was 23 or something (I described the experience in my 1st comment, to sum it up again, it was bad bad bad).
However my grandma sometimes used to take me to the graveyard where my grandfather is buried and there is naturally this church with byzantine adornments, golden icons, saints and scenes painted on the walls, carpets, those flags for which I hadnt yet found a word in English but they are used for processions. I was just a few years old but all that made a strong impression on me and made me keep quiet and still. There was God there, there was the Theotokos, there were angels, I didnt understand much of it but somehow I understood this was a different and big thing.
Also, Father Stephen, I too remember looking up at a priest in his vestments, I dont recall the context of the service, just that he used the word "God" a lot, and then living with the impression that he _was_ God or at least, someone very much like Him, invested with the authority.
I am pregnant as I write these and how Im gonna raise my children is quite a big concern for me as well because from what I see around, it is still very unclear to me where do these "feelings" as a child come from. They didnt really come from education and frequent exposure. Even after the years and not knowing much about my own religion I used to walk in a church in midday and be still and quiet, so maybe it was temperament.
I really dont know what makes some children/teens so and what makes them otherwise. in Romania children dont really play during the Liturgy, this is something I have only seen when I went to Germany, that there is more freedom of behavior for the kids during the services and indeed they play quietly, color their books etc. I dont know what happens later and how things evolve for them.
Perhaps the fact that we are a little more "formalist" in Romania, and the fact we actually DO have beautifully adorned churches (only understood what a rich luxury this is when I ended up in ersatz places in Germany) that smell of frankincense and myrth – maybe all this help instill a feeling of reverence in kids. And even if is temporarily lost or diminished during the later years, it is never completely deleted and often proves to be a good re-start point for a reconnection.
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."
We North Americans tend to have a very literal view of everything. Looking back at that scripture verse now, I believe there is often a middle piece that is silent. The parent trains up the child – then the child may actually stray anywhere from 1 to 80 years – but all the while carrying his training around until he finally steps in line with it and starts walking down the path he was shown in the beginning.
Or perhaps part of his heart was always following that way and he lived a life divided within himself, one foot on the path all along so to speak.
Switching back to the parent though, there is a sense in which their job is never over. It is their part to train, model and pray. When the children become adults, it is still the parents' job to model and pray.
Right now my son lives in the ignorance of his 13 years. I don't use the word "ignorance" in a derogatory sense; he is simply unaware of so many things that only life experience and God can teach him. Mostly right now his decision to not believe rests on the factor of convenience. If he takes the agnostic stance, he's hoping it will get him out of things like catechism classes, standing up front for the confirmation service, having to wrestle beliefs about how the real world works instead of just living inside his head, and so on.
He doesn't take Christianity seriously yet. My take on this is that he and most of his generation are allowed to wait until they are about 30 before they start confronting the realities of life: living expenses, how they carry themselves, who/what they turn to when life feels lonely or confining, loss, disappointment, confronting their own inner demons, etc.
This deficiency is hard for one set of parents to remedy. As worn out as the phrase is, it really does take a proverbial village to raise a child. And no matter what I did right or wrong in raising my son, it's time for me to face some things: my own limitations & brokenness – and the reality of a God who loves me but whom I've never really had to trust this much before.
It can be dark and lonely down there in that hole of revelation, but the sun does not cease to exist just because the clouds come out or day turns to night. This too shall pass.
Glory be to God for all things!
Elder Porphyrios, Spiritual Counsels
What saves and makes for good children is the life of the parents in the home. The parents need to devote themselves to the love of God. They need to become saints in their relation to their children through their mildness, patience and love. They need to make a new start every day, with a fresh outlook, renewed enthusiasm and love for their children. And the joy that will come to them, the holiness that will visit them, will shower grace on their children. Generally the parents are to blame for the bad behaviour of the children. And their behaviour is not improved by reprimands, disciplining, or strictness. If the parents do not pursue a life of holiness and if they don't engage in spiritual struggle, they make great mistakes and transmit the faults they have within them. If the parents do not live a holy life and do not display love towards each other, the devil torments the parents with the reactions of the children. Love, harmony and understanding between the parents are what are required for the children. This provides a great sense of security and certainty.
The behaviour of the children is directly related to the state of the parents. When the children are hurt by the bad behaviour of the parents towards each other, they lose the strength and desire to progress in their lives. Their lives are constructed shoddily and the edifice of their soul is in constant danger of collapsing. Let me give you two examples.
I have a lot of respect for Elder Porphyrios but I'm not strong enough to hold onto the guilt trip he hands out. It does not motivate me to go back to the task of parenting with renewed vigor. It makes me want to say, "Go sell guilt and shame somewhere else; we're all full up here."
And the passage is totally silent concerning the free will exercised by the children despite the best example by the parents.
BTW, you ended the quote at a very frustrating point. What are the two examples?
The elder's advice is really not any different from Orthodox teaching for anyone, parent or not. I take it that I must focus on my own life in Christ, and trust in God for my children. God is in control, not me. Lord, have mercy!
Elder Porphyrios says somewhere else that parents must be saints, and to speak more to God about one's children rather than to the child.
Great counsel, imo.
ps read link for the examples.
"What saves and makes for good children is the life of the parents in the home."
A lot of non-saints and not-yet-elders have said this. I believe and have experienced it, although with a time delay (in my own case, nearly 40 years after I left home;in my son's case, about 20 – he's a faster learner). My advice, be patient. Don't expect results according to a plan. You are not building something, you are nurturing a growing person. The results are up to him and God. (said with great respect and sympathy)
Fabulous advise, it explains "let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven", very well…
Dear to Christ, Drewster,
You remark (by way of example) regarding your 13-year old son, that "he and most of his generation are allowed to wait until they are about 30 before they start confronting the realities of life: living expenses, how they carry themselves, . . ." Indeed, another aspect of the Modern Project. Give them "the pill" at 14, the vote at 18, but keep them single at college and then back at home until their 26 when they can do amazing things already at 14 and assume wonderful responsbilities while adolescents and so grow into responsbile, mature and wise adults much earlier–if we would let and encourage them.
You continue: "This deficiency is hard for one set of parents to remedy. As worn out as the phrase is, it really does take a proverbial village to raise a child." Not any village will do, however: it takes a Christ-centered family in a Christ-centered village embedded in the Church.
Christ is in our midst,
Dear to Christ Fotina, thank you for the words from Elder Prophyrios. I agree with Fr. Stephen that one cannot alway take an elders words and apply them as a universal generality. However, these do speak to me as a father of four (now grown) children. Despite mistakes made, which I am sure the approach Elder Porphyrios recommends would have eliminated or mitigated, I do not feel they are spreading guilt, but good advice that we can put into practice as grandparents and may also be able to model now for our children to practice as parents. This does not guarantee an outcome, obviously, but that hardly detracts from the wisdom imparted. It would still seem to be Christlike guidance. Thank you for it–and thanks for the link which will all us to see the examples he gives of the application of his advice in practice.
Christ is in our midst,
Three things that don't work when raising children: anger, permissiveness and apathy even if one is a relatively faithful Christian.
Three things that do work: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Be careful how you judge the outcome, it is unlikely that you will see it.
et al,
I appreciate your attempts to give me counsel on this matter. I know your heart is in the right place.


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Whaaaaaaa?!?! Yay! 187.8 y'all!
This feels word because I don't think I ever realized I was out of the 200s and now I'm out of the 190s… My brain better catch up and realize that I'm finally losing weight!
♥ Jul 8th at 10AM / tagged: weigh in. weight. scale. 180s. goodbye 190s!. / reblog / 11 notes
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Last updated on September 14, 2013 at 12:00 am EDT by in5d Alternative News
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Ancient artifacts from all over the world show humanoid figures wearing what appear to be astronaut space suits. The Bible, Vedas and other sacred texts reference supernatural beings that came from the sky: they are called "angels", "gods" and sometimes "creators".
Massive pyramidal structures around the world (Egypt, Mexico, Europe, South America, China, Japan) are built along the same belt between 20° and 32° north latitude, all engineered and executed with remarkable precision and advanced knowledge of geometry, mathematics and astronomy. The same belt connects the Bermuda triangle, the Dragon's triangle and Mexico's Zone of Silence. The three pyramids of Giza are also a mirror image of the three stars on the Orion's Belt constellation.
Indigenous tribes like the Native American Hopi or the Dogon people of Africa point to the sky as the place of their origin - not metaphorical or spiritual origin, but as an exact location of the "parent" beings that brought the entire humanity into existence. These beings, referred to as ancient astronauts, are believed to have come to Earth thousands of years ago and seeded this planet with what we know as life. They are also expected to return soon.
The evidence abounds, our planet is in extremely poor shape and over 20 countries already disclosed their UFO files. The United States, on the other hand, has taken the position that can only be described as deliberate silence. Some files were disclosed in 2011 as a nod to the Freedom of Information Act, but the most fundamental facts about alien visitors are still being denied.
Every human has a right to know the truth, and then decide independently what to make of it. Yet those who wish to shed the light on the issue are often subjected to sharp criticism, public ridicule, censorship, intimidation, and even death. Why is it so important to keep it secret?
Some ufologists believe that at least part of the reason is that the US government doesn't trust the public to handle the news. And boy, are they right! Americans are an unpredictable bunch. We're stressed out, addicted, overworked, overspent, mentally unstable and armed to the teeth. We're still battling poverty, racism, illiteracy...We're still debating whether a woman should have a right to an abortion, or whether healthcare is a universal right or a privilege only the rich can afford. We have GMOs, harmful additives and artificial sweeteners in our food, fluoride in our water, methane in our air...Let's face it: we're not exactly ahead of the curve.
Or could it be that the American people are smarter, stronger, and more tolerant than we've been led to believe? All governments infantilize the people to some degree, so it's up to the people to start acting - and thinking - like adults.
Lets examine the claim that the American people can't handle the truth.
Imagine that sometime in the near future an alien race makes an open contact with earthlings or the US government makes some sort of global announcement of the UFO presence. What would happen next?
Clearly, the world will change in a flash. Everything we know about ourselves will be called into question, and there will be those who won't be able to cope with the new reality. But lets not think in hypothetical terms. Rather, ask yourself: What will my reaction be? What will I do? When the time comes, will I be ready? Will that change my worldview or will I deny it in the face of fact? Will I panic or will I be able to go on with my day without losing my mind? Will I even feel excited? Rejoiced? Hopeful? Vindicated?
You know the answers. Most people have if not a conviction, at least a sneaking suspicion that there is more to the story than water balloons or military tests or methodical pranksters making weird shapes out of crops. So where does the idea that the whole society will be shocked beyond recovery come from?
In 1938 Orson Welles's "Invasion from Mars" radio program caused an immediate panic among the listeners, and the convenient consensus was formed that the American people can't handle the truth about the UFOs. It is still used as a standard hypothesis for public reaction to the UFO disclosure even though it contains an obvious cognitive distortion: the radio program was about an alien invasion, which would understandably be terrifying to many people. The UFO files disclosure is about alien presence on our planet, and should not, therefore, be the cause of mass panic. Mass turbulence perhaps, but the potential long-term benefits of the disclosure far outweigh the initial shock.
And even if some people do panic, is it the same as to say that all American people will panic? Or that our times are not drastically different from only 50 years ago? As the former Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson wrote,
"It would help everyone if the U.S. government disclosed everything it knows. The American people can handle the truth no matter how bizarre or mundane, and contrary to what you see in the movies."
The fact is, human civilization is evolving.
It's not always evident but we are becoming more tolerant and willing to accept differences rather than denounce them, becoming more spiritual without the need to belong to a particular religious tradition, becoming more cosmopolitan. The feminine virtues of acceptance, compassion and care are being re-discovered once again as the essential principles that sustain communities in the long run. Shouldn't these evolving attitudes also apply to the issue of the ET reality?
They should and they do, but there is a disturbing trend in our society: whenever there is a possibility to make a real change to the status quo, it's eradicated with an argument that the American people can't handle it. Gay marriage? It's too progressive. Decriminalizing drugs? No thank you. Gun control? There will be riots in the streets. Alternative energy? Our infrastructure can't handle that. A woman President? We're not there yet.
Aren't you sick of hearing this?
Aren't you fed up with being infantilized and patronized? Aren't you outraged that your voice is always drowned out for the sake of some pseudo public safety, some illusion of peace and prosperity in the anticipation of a make-believe mass panic?
The American people should be given more credit, even the religious ones, as the scientific data on the topic consistently confirms. The national polls show that about half of the US population believes that intelligent life exists on other planets, about a third believes in alien visitations and the majority (about 80 percent) believes that the government is concealing some information about the UFOs from the public.
In addition, a number of surveys that targeted religious groups attempted to determine whether people would lose their faith. The findings demonstrated that not only did religious people believe they'd keep their faith, they even said that the discovery of extraterrestrial life "would confirm God's glory as the creator of the universe."
UFO disclosure will start a whole new chapter in human history.
But people tend to resist any change. We seek stability - it's the function of the reptilian brain, the part that has to do with rigid programmed responses like instincts or habits. For those who'd rather not rock the boat the question to contemplate on is: what is the world you are clinging to?
Take a good look at that world. Take a look at the devastation we have inflicted on our planet and ourselves. It's amazing that we've even made it this far.
Almost any area of human activity is plagued with lies, oppression and inequality. Millions die from starvation and simple, curable diseases are suppressed while select few control the resource distribution to perpetuate the status quo and maintain enormous profits, even at the cost of an ecological catastrophe that will make this planet unlivable.
The problem is, the evolution of consciousness is fairly useless if there is no air to breathe.
Learning about our place in the cosmos, possibly our origins and our true potential will end the primitive out-of-control human civilization as we know it. Just imagine what we could be if our lives were not run by the financial institutions we've created.
Imagine free energy for everyone – something that advanced intergalactic races have surely accomplished? Or being able to cure "incurable" diseases like cancer or AIDS? Imagine, say, 50 years without wars, poverty, genocide?
What if, instead of trying to survive the best we can, people were able to realize their full potential as species?
This is what a relationship with a cosmic community can give us: a new era of peace and prosperity, the world without incurable diseases, the air without pollution, the food without chemicals, the freedom to evolve spiritually, and true brotherhood of all races and creeds, because after all, we are ONE human race. Whatever the appearances, we still have a lot more commonalities than differences. And whatever the challenges, we will not be alone. Not anymore.
P.S. To learn more on what happens after the government discloses the truth about alien contact, see "A.D. After Disclosure – The People's Guide to Life After Contact", a momentous book that can be described as an informed speculation on what to expect when Disclosure actually occurs and how to prepare for it.
About the Author
Eden Shetiyah is a freelance writer and editor from San Diego, California. Eden specializes in UFO-related topics and spiritual psychology. She is also interested in metaphysics, Goddess spirituality, death and NDE, mystical or religious experiences, shamanic studies, ancient civilizations, alchemy and magic, healing and alternative cultural narratives. Eden is a published author of short stories and a contributor to a number of online publications.
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