Tree of the Cross, giving voice to yearning within. The returning movement of intention to be with God the whole day. The master says, “not to be habitually forgetful,” prayer of aspiration! Help me in this God. On Notes From A Study House: Those places we would find ourselves, that are larger than ourselves, are an abyss that can be a pathway. Many writers have written of the mythologies involved with adventures in our lives. There are inner places we go, and these may be describable and others may be more a sense or spiritual dimension. From the religious standpoint, I think this kind of pathway is one that can be taken in dedication during ones lifetime to it as a contemplative monk does. In some sense, the Psalms describe these experiences that we all share, or that may be some of that unknowing that is more familiar to some than others. There is the connotation of dangers, and of falling, and of perhaps even difficult times. This is beyond the psychology of the sense. I like the mystery of some special adventure and life experience that is offered. And that there is an eternal that is accessible. The abyss is a living place. That is what I believe he is speaking about, and it is part of a school of thought that is practiced as the spiritual life by religious people. Apparently, this kind of reverence or living with God is approachable in one’s life in the ordinary world outside the cloister or Church walls. (CAPTION) The Western Wall, in the midst of the Old City in Jerusalem, is the section of the Western suporting wall of the Temple Mount which has remained intact since the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple, from which, according to numerous sources, the Divine Presence has never departed. Jewish travelers over the centuries used to marvel at the immense dimensions of the lower stones and believed they were part of Solomon’s Temple. Sultan Suleiman, the Muslim conqueror of Jerusalem, granted permission to the Jews to hold prayers there. Photo: Rick White ©2004