{"id":6240,"date":"2014-03-23T21:20:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-24T01:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/?p=6240"},"modified":"2014-03-24T17:02:18","modified_gmt":"2014-03-24T21:02:18","slug":"touching-souls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html","title":{"rendered":"Touching Souls"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"lotustouchingsouls\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Love is touching souls.<\/p>\n

Surely you touched mine.<\/p>\n

‘Cause part of you pours out of me.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In these lines from time to time.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, you’re in my blood like holy wine…”<\/p>\n

-Joni Mitchell (A Case of You)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I just returned from a memorial service for a woman I didn’t know well. I met Zea likely 10 years ago at some gathering or another. I can’t\u00a0recall the circumstances, but one memory remains with me….I felt that I was in the presence of a magical being. A wisp of a woman; yet I was to learn today, how incredibly strong and resilient she was. When I ran into her over the years, she always had a bright smile and warm hug and we would catch up on goings on in between meetings and greetings. The last two times I saw her were this summer with her partner Alex at a music festival and at the house-warming for our friends Karen and Bill. Both times, I would never have known she was battling challenges that eventually led her to leave this life. Her passing sent shock waves through our community and brought people together from all of those overlapping soul circles that I love to talk about, to honor her. She was part of so many groups that focused on music, dance, yoga, service,\u00a0 spirituality, and the deaf community (since her 19 year old\u00a0son\u00a0 who shared a laughter, tear and love filled tribute to his mother who wouldn’t be there to celebrate his college graduation or marriage or her grandchildren, was born deaf). People came from far and wide to pay tribute too\u00a0with their presence. The common question was “How did you know Zea?”\u00a0 From there, stories would be shared and\u00a0our own tears would turn to smiles and then to laughter. You know how some dancers are danced by the music they hear?\u00a0 From what I heard, she was<\/strong> dance itself…graceful, light and lovely~<\/p>\n

Since pink was her favorite color, we were asked to don that hue to celebrate her fashion sense. I enjoyed seeing the various shades in the form of t-shirts, hats, scarves, socks, shawls, ties, dresses and shoes. I thought of us as a pond filled with lotus blossoms, floating on top of the muddy, watery depths.<\/p>\n

Exquisite images taken by Alex who is a professional photographer, were displayed. They\u00a0portrayed her tenacity and tenderness, her playfulness and poignancy; the poetic and the profound. Musical comfort offered up\u00a0by other friends was the Irish Blessing called May The Longtime Sun, that was adopted by the Kundalini Yoga community.<\/p>\n

May the longtime sun<\/p>\n

Shine upon you<\/p>\n

All love surround you<\/p>\n

And the pure light within you<\/p>\n

Guide your way on<\/p>\n

Mishkan Shalom, the\u00a0Reconstructionist synagogue\u00a0 of which Zea was a member was the location for the love fest that offered a container for her family of origin and family of choice to pour out both grief and gratitude. Dis-believing head shakes and tears spiced the service.\u00a0\u00a0Rabbi\u00a0Shawn Zevit spoke of the compassion with which she was embraced for the suffering she endured and her untimely exit. As I sat a few rows back, I mused about the unbreakable thread that entwined those gathered. Many I have known for the past 15 years and of course, we all said that we would rather have seen each other during happier circumstances. The cool thing is, we actually do see each other on celebratory occasions. Although we are an affectionate bunch in general, hugs lasted longer, as if we were more deeply appreciative of each other. My wise father used to say “You never know what tomorrow will bring,” so I acknowledge my connection with those in my life.<\/p>\n

The other thought that walked out of the building with me; actually, entered with me as well, is that we never know what goes on behind closed doors in someone’s life and what struggles are raging within them. Even those closest to us may not want to show that face. Sometimes all we can do is love them through the journey on this side of the veil and the other.<\/p>\n

I am grateful for my overlapping circle of soul friends who touch my heart. ~<\/p>\n

May The Longtime Sun by Snatam Kaur \u00a0http:\/\/youtu.be\/i5dRRhASY7c<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo credit:\u00a0\u00a0everystockphoto\/\u00a0Lotus\/flickrPrince<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Love is touching souls. Surely you touched mine. ‘Cause part of you pours out of me. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In these lines from time to time. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, you’re in my blood like holy wine…” -Joni Mitchell (A Case of You)   I just returned from a memorial service for a woman I didn’t know well. I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,70,27,41,1246,94,49,3,22,4,54,128,30,3055],"tags":[3720,4861,4897,3721,2178,3717,3719,3718,3716,849,1515],"class_list":["post-6240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attracting-what-you-desire","category-community","category-dance","category-death","category-faith","category-family","category-friendship","category-gratitude","category-healing","category-inspiration","category-interfaith","category-kirtan","category-love","category-tribute","tag-a-case-of-you","tag-death","tag-edie-weinstein","tag-irish-blessing","tag-joni-mitchell","tag-kripalu-yoga","tag-kundalini-yoga","tag-may-the-longtime-sun","tag-memorial","tag-reconstrutionist-judaism","tag-snatam-kaur"],"yoast_head":"\nTouching Souls - The Bliss Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Touching Souls - The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"“Love is touching souls. Surely you touched mine. ‘Cause part of you pours out of me. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In these lines from time to time. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, you’re in my blood like holy wine…” -Joni Mitchell (A Case of You)   I just returned from a memorial service for a woman I didn’t know well. I…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-24T01:20:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-03-24T21:02:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/files\/2014\/03\/lotustouchingsouls.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EdieWeinstein1\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Touching Souls - The Bliss Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Touching Souls - The Bliss Blog","og_description":"“Love is touching souls. Surely you touched mine. ‘Cause part of you pours out of me. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In these lines from time to time. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, you’re in my blood like holy wine…” -Joni Mitchell (A Case of You)   I just returned from a memorial service for a woman I didn’t know well. I…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html","og_site_name":"The Bliss Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga","article_published_time":"2014-03-24T01:20:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-03-24T21:02:18+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/files\/2014\/03\/lotustouchingsouls.jpg"}],"author":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EdieWeinstein1","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html","name":"Touching Souls - The Bliss Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/files\/2014\/03\/lotustouchingsouls.jpg","datePublished":"2014-03-24T01:20:00+00:00","dateModified":"2014-03-24T21:02:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/edcd643a643a9ca91adb1e8f9e177386"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/files\/2014\/03\/lotustouchingsouls.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/files\/2014\/03\/lotustouchingsouls.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/touching-souls.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Touching Souls"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/","name":"The Bliss Blog","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Edie Weinstein","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/edcd643a643a9ca91adb1e8f9e177386","name":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/0d6\/0d6cd7619da51a9a40cc705280e88f9cx96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/0d6\/0d6cd7619da51a9a40cc705280e88f9cx96.jpg","caption":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW"},"description":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW is a colorfully creative journalist, inspiring transformational speaker, licensed social worker, interfaith minister, editor, radio host, BLISS coach, event producer, Cosmic Concierge, the author of The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming The Ordinary Into The Extraordinary and co-author of Embraced By the Divine: The Emerging Woman\u2019s Gateway to Power, Passion and Purpose. She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. Edie is the founder of Hug Mobsters Armed With Love, which offers FREE HUGS events on a planned and spontaneous basis. www.opti-mystical.com.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.opti-mystical.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga","https:\/\/x.com\/EdieWeinstein1"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/author\/eweinstein"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/233"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6240"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6260,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6240\/revisions\/6260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}