Reflection Masthead
Issue 142 - Manzanita - September 2016

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Manzanita OR
Manzanita OR

Enjoy this video of Cannon Beach at Manzanita, Oregon. Invite the Pacific waves to soothe and purify your soul.
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Past Issues

1-Inaugural

2-Creating Sacred Space

3-Leaving Footprints

4-Ordinary

5-Ordered Life

76-Vanier Visit

87-Wondrous Fear, Holy Awe

91-Crater Lake

100-Iceland

101-On Reflections 

108-NBA Championship

110-On Freedom 

112 Robin Williams 

121-Radical Amazement 

122-St.John's Bible 

126-Call of the King 

127-Living Our Stories 

130-G.E.Mullan 

132-Danube Reflections  

136-Stillness  

138-Daniel Berrigan 

140-Violence 

 141-Books  

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Copyright (c) 2016 Soul Windows Ministries

Sincerely,  Bill Howden & Jan Davis
Soul Windows Ministries 
Reflecting on memories of the glorious Pacific coast and long-time dear friends. . . A visit with Bill's Redmond HS classmate Ron Emery and Ann. . . Happenings that leave sand prints on the heart. . . .
Purity of Soul 
       Nothing touches the soul quite like a surging wash of foamy surf, later trickling through the crystal grains of sand on its outflow. The wash of the ocean's energy seems to purify my soul and wash away all the debris. The Pacific pacifies, empowers, and pares away pretenses, leaving only purity of soul. During our recent visit to Manzanita, Oregon, I received Three Gifts, much like Anne Morrow Lindberg's Gift from the Sea.
       First was a live sand dollar that swam onto the sand where she presented herself as gift, pure gift. She was whole and complete, and in her simplicity, reflected her purity of soul. She simply was. Second was a pair of Dungeness Crabs, chosen from a pool of live cr abs to be our lunch. Nothing else was necessary, only the white, delicate meat. Pure and simple, no flavorings, sauces, or stuffings. Third was Bill. Now Bill is something else. Bill is a Maine Coon cat who lives his life with purity of soul - if such can be said about a cat. He is a hunter. He goes out early for his morning catch, be it bird, chipmunk, bunny, or lizard. He brings it to the back door to enjoy his rightly reward. Bill expects nothing more, except to hunt and to share his love as a pet. That's what cats do.
       During our outings to the beach, the recurring waves of Pacific foam were reminder of how simple and pure is the soul of creation. It's more than a notion, awakening us to the wide-eyed perception of the vast coast. Vibrations of light painting seascapes of vibrant colors were gifts not only to us photographers but were also gifts to purify the soul.
                                                    ---by Jan 
 
The Grand and the Intimate
There is much to see at any ocean's shore. As I read Jan's piece about our visit to the Oregon Coast, I noticed that she focused on intimate details, such as the sand dollar. Our host, Ann, took a lovely, evocative picture of a single bare footprint in the sand.
For me, however, what lingers is not so much the details as the grandeur. I think of Haystack Rock, a great stone monolith rising 235
Haystack Rock
feet out of the rolling waves. It is dwarfed by Neahkahnie Mountain (seen in the video), whose cliffs arise directly from the surf and whose peak reaches nearly 1700 feet above the beach. Westward lies the endless expanse of sea and sky. All human sounds are muffled by the restless roar of the waves.
I feel small when I stand on those shores, humbled before grand expanses and great powers. I live most of my life in manmade environments - furniture and rooms, cars and cubicles. It is easy for we humans, especially we urban humans, to think everything is scaled to our size, climate-controlled; to think we are the masters of our own environment.
It is a healthy thing to feel small, surrounded by grand mountains that will endure long after my brief lifetime. It is a good thing to be humbled before the immense scope of the sky and the constant power of the waves, to be dwarfed by rocks and trees.
It is a good thing to be put into my proper place. 

                                                               --by Bill