{"id":2359,"date":"2017-09-22T06:00:40","date_gmt":"2017-09-22T10:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/?p=2359"},"modified":"2017-08-25T19:18:46","modified_gmt":"2017-08-25T23:18:46","slug":"become-devotee-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thequeenofmyself\/2017\/09\/become-devotee-2.html","title":{"rendered":"How to Become a Devotee"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Terry Wolverton<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Submit your eyes to the unfolding<\/p>\n<p>textures of pre-dawn light.<\/p>\n<p>Utter the riotous syllables of leaves.<\/p>\n<p>Relinquish regret; scatter ashes to wind.<\/p>\n<p>Run in green spaces; fall in green grass.<\/p>\n<p>Rise up. Run farther.<\/p>\n<p>Enter a continuum of sheer belief.<\/p>\n<p>Do no stray from this spot.<\/p>\n<p>Narrow the aperture through which fear<\/p>\n<p>can enter.<\/p>\n<p>Deepen the hunger for late afternoon rain.<\/p>\n<p>Eavesdrop on the stories stones tell.<\/p>\n<p>Raze the edifice of exceptionalism.<\/p>\n<p>Sanctify each epiphany your fingertips graze.<\/p>\n<p>Embolden the weather of amber and indigo.<\/p>\n<p>Prepare to remain grateful when complaint<\/p>\n<p>is the collective mantra.<\/p>\n<p>Author the face that appears<\/p>\n<p>in the midnight mirror.<\/p>\n<p>Receive the stranger who arrives for tea.<\/p>\n<p>Attune yourself to the message of<\/p>\n<p>lightning strikes.<\/p>\n<p>Tithe a percentage of your dreams to the<\/p>\n<p>sleepless who burn on fevered sheets.<\/p>\n<p>Expose your optimism.<\/p>\n<p>Name your demons; claim these bastard<\/p>\n<p>children and croon them to sleep<\/p>\n<p>with songs of a shimmering world.<\/p>\n<p>Escape the cocoon of your excuses.<\/p>\n<p>Salve the bruises of the disillusioned.<\/p>\n<p>Seed the trembling earth with your<\/p>\n<p>pearled eyeteeth.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>***<br \/>\nDonna Henes is the author of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thequeenofmyself.com\">The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife.<\/a> She offers counseling and upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.donnahenes.net\/queen\/consult.shtml\">Consult the MIDLIFE MIDWIFE\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Queen welcomes questions concerning all issues of interest to women in their mature years. Send your inquiries to <a href=\"mailto:thequeenofmyself@aol.com\">thequeenofmyself@aol.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Terry Wolverton Submit your eyes to the unfolding textures of pre-dawn light. Utter the riotous syllables of leaves. Relinquish regret; scatter ashes to wind. Run in green spaces; fall in green grass. Rise up. Run farther. Enter a continuum of sheer belief. Do no stray from this spot. Narrow the aperture through which fear&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13,877],"class_list":["post-2359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration","tag-holistic-living","tag-poem"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Become a Devotee - The Queen of My Self<\/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\/thequeenofmyself\/2017\/09\/become-devotee-2.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Become a Devotee - The Queen of My Self\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Terry Wolverton Submit your eyes to the unfolding textures of pre-dawn light. Utter the riotous syllables of leaves. Relinquish regret; scatter ashes to wind. Run in green spaces; fall in green grass. Rise up. Run farther. Enter a continuum of sheer belief. Do no stray from this spot. 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She has published four books, a CD, an acclaimed Ezine and writes for The Huffington Post and UPI Religion and Spirituality Forum. 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