September 3, 2026

I came across this quote today from Brother David Steindl-Rast

“Another name for God is surprise.”

Along with the quote were a few paragraphs by Mark Nepo (a favorite author of mine) that gave the quote such an interesting slant.  It seems to me a supportive way to think of times of difficulty…

The Gift of Surprise

Another Name for God is surprise.   ~ Brother David Steindli-Rast

While rushing to complete your dearest plans that you tell no one, you can bump into another and groceries will fly and while picking up the ketchup, you might fall in love. Or in your second year of college, while studying what Mommy and Daddy want you to be, you can accidentally open a book on Albert Schweitzer and discover that you feel compelled to go to Africa.  Or, understanding geometry, you might decide to become a gardner, finding endless joy in creating landscapes. Or the death of your grandmother might open a side of  you that is starving for history. In my case, losing a rib to cancer made me discover the Adam in me.

It seems that any moment of interest or pain or adversity can surprise us into the larger totality of life, breaking our surrender limits and allowing us the chance to redefine ourselves in regard to the larger sense that is upon us.  That we are opened—so suddenly, so often—is the way the soul unfolds on Earth.

We can never be prepared for everything. No one person can anticipate all of life. In fact, over preparation is yet another way to wall ourselves in from life. Rather, we can only prepare for how we might respond to the gift of surprise that often moves in on us faster than our reflex to resist.

Life is surprising, thank God, and God—the chance to know Oneness—lives in surprise. For God is seldom in our plans, but always in the unexpected.

Suggestions:

• Center yourself and ask for the strength of spirit to be open to surprise during this phase.
• As you exhale, try to relax your resistance to the unexpected.
• As you inhale, try to make a passage way for everything larger than you.
• Then enter into your day.

~*~*~*~

Following an eclipse season is an especially important time for us to anticipate positive surprise.  I love thinking of God—Oneness—in just that way.

May pleasant and even wonderful surprises find us all these days and may we be on hand to support those whose surprises are difficult.  That is my prayer.

Sending you loving energy today, as always,
😘 Mayet

August 27, 2026

Last week’s revelations about Mercy really delighted me.  And shortly after I sent that off for set up and publishing I came across two terrific Rumi quotes about mercy and one from the Dalia Lama. I thought it would be fun to simply give you those this week, to further illuminate the Mercy revelations.  

“Be like the sun for grace and mercy. Be like the night to cover others’ faults. Be like running water for generosity.”  ~ Rumi

“Infinite mercy flows continually. But you’re asleep and can’t see it.” ~ Rumi

“Mercy and compassion are the true core of all major religions and the natural foundation for human survival.  And a warm heart is essential for inner peace and global harmony.”  ~ Dalai Lama

Short and sweet today and fun to ponder.

With hugs and love, of course,
Mayet Leilani

August 20, 2026

Article highlights:

• Mercy translates as womb frequency!
• Mercy is a whole lot more than we’ve known.

Recently I was pondering and writing about mercy.  I often like to take a second look at biblical terms, ones carved in stone over time becoming harsher and more judgey along the way. 

I feel into them for their earlier—usually far more approachable and useful—meanings.  I did that about the concept of mercy.  Here’s a shorter except from that pondering.

A Closer Look At Mercy

A key insight is that our modern English word mercy carries a particular emotional tone: pity, leniency, forgiveness, or withholding deserved punishment. That meaning was shaped by centuries of legal and theological thinking. But when we move closer to the languages and cultures surrounding Jesus, we find something far richer.

In Hebrew, the word often translated as mercy is rachamim (רַחֲמִים). It comes from the root rechem, meaning womb. That changes everything, doesn’t it?

Mercy is no longer primarily a judge deciding not to punish. Mercy becomes the response of a mother toward her child. It’s tenderness arising from profound kinship. It’s the impulse to nurture, protect, restore, and hold close. 

God’s mercy, then, isn’t only God’s willingness to overlook human failure. It is God’s inability to cease loving what has emerged from the Divine womb. This maternal dimension remains invisible in most modern translations.

Similarly, another important Hebrew word often translated as mercy is chesed (חסד). Chesed means steadfast love, loving-kindness, enduring devotion. Again, this is  larger than usually defined. It suggests that mercy remains constant even when circumstances become difficult.

When we arrive in the Aramaic-speaking world of Jesus, the picture expands further.

Jesus almost certainly spoke a Galilean form of Aramaic. In Aramaic Christianity, especially in the Syriac tradition, the word often associated with mercy is rahma or rahme, sharing the same Semitic root as the Hebrew womb imagery.

Placed beside the Hebrew and Aramaic understanding, a different image of mercy begins to emerge. Persian spirituality emphasized the restoration of harmony, alignment with truth, and participation in cosmic order. The emphasis was less on escaping punishment and more on returning to right relationship with reality itself.

* Mercy is womb-love.

• Mercy is not primarily judgment softened by compassion.
• Mercy is the life-giving force that continually seeks reunion, healing, and wholeness.
• Mercy is not just the suspension of justice/punishment. It’s the force that restores relationship.
• Mercy is one of the primary ways reality heals itself.

Seen this way, many of Jesus’ actions take on a different flavor. When he heals the sick, he’s not simply demonstrating supernatural power. He is using true mercy to accomplish this. When he eats with tax collectors and outcasts, it’s AS the frequency of mercy. When he tells stories of prodigal sons, lost sheep, and forgiving fathers, he is teaching about, and with, the energy of mercy.

Notably, mercy in these stories is rarely earned. It arises naturally from Love itself. The father does not forgive because the son has completed a sufficient process of repentance. The father runs toward the son before the apology is finished.

The shepherd does not calculate whether the sheep deserves rescue. The sun shines on the just and unjust alike. Mercy as a fundamental quality of being, not reward.

With more expansive understanding, we can see mercy as an intrinsic quality of life itself. It’s the movement toward healing after injury. It gives the softening that follows hardness. It’s in the extended hand when someone falls. 

Mercy and truth become partners. Truth reveals what is. Without truth, mercy becomes sentimentality. Without mercy, truth becomes brutality. Mercy allows us to remain present with what is revealed. 

Mercy is the atmosphere that makes “becoming” possible. Mercy is the frequency allowing growth to continue despite imperfection. It create the conditions for transformation. Perhaps this is why the great spiritual teachers consistently emphasize both.

From this perspective, mercy is not something we beg for from an external authority. Nor is it merely something granted to us. Mercy is a field we can enter that allows a way of seeing, relating and allows a way to participate in reality. 

It seems to me we are meant to recognize mercy as one of the fundamental forces through which existence continually renews itself. Like Love, mercy is a beautiful, elevating frequency.

The womb never ceases its work. Life keeps unfolding life. Love keeps finding ways to restore connection. And perhaps that ongoing movement toward wholeness is what the ancient teachers were trying to describe all along when they spoke of mercy.

Mercy, what a gift indeed!

With love,
Mayet