Blessed Be

Author: Ariel
Posted: February 24th. 2008

Probably the most common phrase that we use in the Craft is "Blessed Be." This phrase is possibly the

major common denominator in all of the different Craft traditions.

It is something that is a unifying principle within Witchcraft and although it is the most often articulated

saying we have, it seems to me to be the least understood one I know of.

When we say "Blessed Be, " all too often it is simply new jargon, or a substitute for "Hi, " "How are

you?" or "Good Bye." Yet, these two words comprise one of the most powerful and sophisticated

sentences in the English language.

"Blessed Be" is an ultimate Zen phrase, "Blessed be that which is"; "All that is, is blessed". We are

recognizing a truth that all is inherently blessed. We are reminded that in the present moment,

everything is perfect. There is nothing that needs to be changed, and nothing that needs to be improved.

In this moment, everything is sacred. Being at one with the sacred now is a blessed state indeed, and

saying "blessed be" from that point of view is a potent statement of recognition of the perfection of this

moment. There is no future to obsess about, and no past to regret.

There is only this moment; it goes on forever, and all is truly blessed.

Another important facet of this gem of a saying is that it is a constant reminder of our function in the

Craft: We are here to bless.

Once we develop a significant relationship with Spirit, in whatever way it presents itself to us, we

eventually come to recognize that what the world needs from us is our blessing. The only significant

contribution we have to offer the world is blessing.

In any situation, with any person or group of people, we are here to say (and mean) "Blessed Be, " either

silently or aloud.

When we take an honest look at any problem in the world, it becomes apparent that the problem stems

from a lack of blessing, and the only cure is to bless.

I know for myself, I can honestly say that anytime I have been less than loving or compassionate in my

life, it was in response to a great deal of pain I was experiencing at the time.

What I didn't need in order to turn my life around was more judgment, anger and criticism. What I

needed was love and blessing.

I needed someone to say "Blessed Be" and mean it.

We are children of divinity--children of the Mother and Father, of Spirit, of God, or whatever you choose

to call it. As divine children, we are here as expressions of our parents. We are here as lights in a dark

world. Our function is to recognize the light and divinity in everyone else.

"Blessed Be" can also be another way of saying "The divine love in me recognizes the divine love in

you". We are here as healers of this world. Whether we take this job seriously or not will determine what

direction our world takes.

We have the power to transform the world in every moment just by seeing any situation from the point of

view that we are divine beings here to bring blessing.

It isn't a question of whether or not we have the power to bless, it is a question of whether we choose to

use it or not.

If we say "Blessed Be" consistently and mean it, this planet can heal very quickly.

One thing that I have learned in my life is that there is enough pain in this world. We all know what pain

is. We have been to hell already; we don't need to indulge in pain any longer in order to know we want

something else.

I can honestly look at my life and say that what I really need is not more misery. I see that what many of

us are doing is indulge in misery out of habit, or addiction. It takes a great deal of determination to

understand that our addictions are not serving us any longer and then decide that we are going to

relinquish our investment in them.

Unfortunately, like any addiction, we often wait until we hit rock bottom before we realize that we have

a problem. In Alcoholics Anonymous, the first step to sobriety is for the alcoholic to recognize that they

are powerless over alcohol, and that there is a higher power who can restore them to sanity.

This is what blessing is all about. Whatever our wound, the healing comes about from blessing.

If we have a strained relationship with another person, our greatest work to bring us happiness in that

relationship is the honest blessing of that person.

If we have a problem with our job, the healing comes about from blessing the job, and all the people in it

on every level.

The act of blessing that I describe is not an abdication of power; it is a reclaiming of power.

Some might worry that we need to protect and need to defend ourselves, and that if we are blessing all

the time, it will just leave us vulnerable to attack. This worry comes from the erroneous point of view

that Spirit is ineffectual. We would do well to remember that the power of love is fierce.

Spirit is intelligent. It knows what to do. When we bless the world, we are in a position of ultimate power.

Just as when our physical immune system is healthy, it takes care of all the viral and bacterial activity

without us needing to know what is happening.

The Craft of blessing results in building a spiritual immune system that is so strong that nothing can touch

us. It is not necessary for us to carry out punishment (curses) on others in order to be safe and protected.

In fact, cursing is a domain in which we leave ourselves the most open and vulnerable to attack.

Cursing is very subtle stuff. Curses aren't necessarily consciously cast. Anytime we desire the pain and

destruction of another person for any reason, we are withholding our blessing, and are by default cursing.

Resentments and grudges do come up however, and I am not suggesting that we are supposed to just

suppress our feelings and pretend like we are not feeling rage when we are feeling it.

What I am suggesting however is that when we are feeling anything other than love for people that we

recognize it and bring it to Spirit to heal.

This is the ultimate magic: transformation.

When we are feeling anger toward another person, we can say "Goddess, I am really pissed of at

so-and-so, and want to crush their big fat head right now. Please heal this situation. Please bring me back

in harmony with your compassion. Show me what I need to do in this situation, let me know what to say in

order that this situation be healed."

We aren't denying our rage, but we are embracing our ability to move beyond it. A curse is when the rage

and desire to destroy are kept within us to fester.

Curses are psychic malignancies.

Blessing is a silent art. Just because we bless someone doesn't mean we have to have lunch with him or

her.

Blessing is not about forcing our personal wills on any situation. It is simply recognizing the people and

situation before us as divine, and seeing the love at the heart of whatever is going on regardless of the

drama that is being played out.

We simply access the Spirit within us and ask for its will to be done in our presence. We withdraw our

preconceived notions of what is supposed to happen, or what we think we want to have happen, and allow

ourselves to invoke the presence of pure love.

When we are facing a problem, and we think we have tried everything, it is very important that we ask

ourselves whether or not we have given our blessing. Often this is something that we have overlooked.

I can't count the number of times I have been in the throes of misery and the one thing I have NOT tried

is asking Spirit directly to take the problem and heal it for me. Once we renounce our addiction in the

pain, we are transformed.

We have shifted our plane of experience from one of cursing, to one of blessing.

There is no more simple, or more powerful magical charm in the universe than "Blessed Be."

I found this thought i would pass this along
Posted by: Witch of the North.

Jennifer