"An Oasis for the Heart & Soul"

Greetings Dear HeartSpirit Community!

Happy February! Happy Love Month!

February is known as the Love Month because of Valentine's Day. It is the day when loved ones share how much they love each other with fancy dinners, candy, flowers, cards, and other acts of love. As I wrote those words, a question popped into my head, "Well, who invented Valentine's Day anyway?: My first thought was Hallmark! :-) And, off I went to Google. I learned that, "The English poet Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to record St. Valentine's Day as a day of romantic celebration in his 1375 poem “Parliament of Foules...” (history.com). I also learned that Valentine's Day "...originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, through later folk traditions, has become a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world." (Wikipedia)

"But, what does Valentine's Day and Love Month mean to YOU?" MySelf asked myself. As a single person, it means I get to lavish the love on ME! I get to lavish the love on my family and friends. I am reminded that Love is all around me...and that I am loved, loving, and lovable. And, as I thought about it, Love is another name for God. Love is that state of openness and acceptance we have for ourselves, that we then shower upon others. As with everything, it all starts within. Love yourself. Take yourself out to dinner. Buy yourself a card and flowers (I am going to do that), and remember Love is who you are.

Whichever way you choose to celebrate (or not celebrate) Valentine's Day, enjoy it. Wanna know another great thing about Valentine's Day? Candy prices the day after! :-)

Happy February! May you walk with Love this month! I Love You!

Sending Love & Valentine Wishes

Ouida Joi AKA Rev. O

P. S. Please check out our usual monthly gatherings, and our new Wednesday Evening Interfaith Taize' Service and Monday Prayer Calls. (info below).

February 2023 Zoom Gatherings!

*Please see flyers below for Zoom information*

*Please visit the HeartSpirit website for more information*

• HeartSpirit Meditation, Wednesday, February 1, 6pm-6:30pm Eastern / 3pm-3:30pm Pacific

• Interfaith Taize' Service, Wednesday, February 25, 5pm Eastern / 2pm Pacific

• 3rd Sunday HeartSpirit Sacred Circle, Sunday, February 19, 1pm Eastern / 10am Pacific

• Monday Morning Prayer Calls, February 13 & 27, 8am-8:20am Eastern / 5am-5:20am Pacific

Please join us for one or both of these lovely Circles. In the 30-minute meditation, we have guided and silent meditations, and a time for brief sharing. All are welcome.

In our monthly 3rd Sunday Circle (Service), we have music, meditation, a short talk, short sharing, and a closing ritual. All are welcome.

Have something heavy on your Heart? Want some prayer support to start your week? Have a decision to make? Or maybe a prayer of gratitude! Then join us for a sacred time of prayer and support on the telephone (freeconferencecall.com). All are welcome. All faiths and traditions are honored.

What is Taize"? (pronounced tah-ZAY)"Taizé is a monastic community located in Taizé, France, founded in the 1940s by a Swiss Brother named Roger Louis Schütz-Marsauche, familiarly called Brother Roger..."

"A Taizé worship service involves sung and chanted prayers, meditation, a period of silence, liturgical readings, and icons. There is no preaching. The style of prayer practiced at Taizé has attracted many worshipers from around the globe and from many different denominations." (gotquestions.org).

Please join us for this beautiful sacred time of Taize'-type contemplation in the HeartSpirit way. Feel free to bring a prayer or short reading to share. All are welcome.

February is African-American History Month, also known as Black History Month. African-American men and women have made significant contributions to the United States. We honor the Ancestors, and we honor those African-Americans today making a difference in the lives of all Americans. Ase' - Rev. Ouida Joi

Note: Ase' is a word from Yoruba, an African Earth-Based Religion. Ase' is a word of power similar to saying, "may it be so."

Wikipedia states: "Ase or ashe (from Yoruba àṣẹ) is a philosophical concept defined by the Yoruba of Nigeria to represent the power that makes things happen and produces change in the Yoruba religion."

Sending Blessings for a Month filled with Love!