Some write,some have rites and some have OCD

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I may have put a jokey title but I know OCD is nothing to joke about…… it is  hard for sufferers and their families

Yet all rites and rituals are cousins to OCD.I suppose the distinction may  come  if you find that you grow fearful and distraught when, by some chance, you cannot carry out your usual rites and rituals like washing your hands ten times or avoiding cracks in the sidewalk or pavement……many children fear that but most forget as they grow more confident

I certainly hate to see my early morning tea if it’s in the wrong cup but not enough to stop me from drinking 5 mugfuls of it.I am a tea lady ..one drink I cannot live without

Religion has, as one important aspect, a way of attempting to create order in a frightening world.We make offerings to placate the gods who cause storms and fires and epidemic diseases.Though by now we ourselves  have created even worse darker gods, like nuclear bombs

I think the value of rellgion is the coming together and getting strength through that.

It unites people in a helpful way [ except for the other people who have different rites.]

People with OCD often have rituals which are private… and if they can’t do them they are agitated  almost beyond endurance…But if they can do them they feel safer… And sometimes they can  take  over  a life and then the person needs help or courage to face the hidden fear and outface it.

The same way,if your religion takes over your life  I think you need help.Religion is to encourage you live a better life not cause you excessive misery and pain… or not too much…we all do wrong,we all make mistakes… we do penance.We are forgiven,we forgive….  some people don’t, so avoid such people if you can.They even frighten God!

Whatever God is. he accepts us…. that’s my firm belief.. and ….if He won’t accept me then I won’t accept Him or Her

Does God have a body…does he have a mind?

I guess we cannot conceive what God may be or not in discursive language at any rate

Do you mind,Lord?

No,not at all.. I am listening

Thank  you,God

My pleasure.

We are here, waiting patiently, despite all the trials.and the troubles..ready to listen

Lost or broken rituals

May the day bless you with happiness and joy

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My early life and its rituals:

In the evening after we finished our homework we packed our satchels ready for school.We filled our fountain pens with ink and sharpened our pencils.We used pencils a good deal as  ink was not cheap.Then  we wound up our watches and dad polished all our shoes and brushed them till they gleamed.When I was small I recall us kneeeling in a semi circle by the fire and saying night prayers out loud together.Then later we stopped doing that and so we said them in our bedrooms.We always knelt down.Dad used to sing lullabies when my sister was a baby.Now babies probably have a digital device playing music to them or a mini TV over the cot.In the morning  the prayers were a bit rushed as we were not so good at getting up.Then after breakfast our watches and satchels were ready so we couls dash off to school.I think now even watches are run on batteries  and people use ballpoints with long kasting refills there are few acts we need to do regularly but writing a blog could be one if done thoughtfuly.SatchelI had a satchel like this until I saved enough money to buy a briefcase.

What to wear or not!

There is so much rubbish about what to wear;how to look thinner,sexier,hide your hips etc.If  clothes are a major issue for you there are some good choice.Imitate the late Jean Muir  and dress  in only one color.And if you find some super shoes buy 2 pairs.And why not begin to wear petticoats again…I know they are not in fashion but they keep your clothes cleaner and also keep you warmer.Anf they are pretty.I like to look pretty myself so I try.And don’t try to look thinner..drop the burden and be seen how you areIf you don’t need to dress up.women spent most of the 70’s in jeans and sweaters and no make up…that’s the hippy bohemian style.And get a good coat for winter.I see people out semi naked in the snow and ice!And they are not poor.It’s just a craze amaong the young.

Now I am going out to buy a new dress for a party

Like a river

Life goes on like a river flowing.So we need to flow too even if we have to navigate rocks and boulders.Sometimes it’s easy flowing downhill but landslips may block the way.But the water keeps pushing and finds a way round all obstacles.

Sometimes we may suffer and even despair.In ancient books we read that God can touch us at that moment

.It’s hard to describe but wait on God .Simone Weil wrote a book called “Waiting on God”

I find it interesting to use the words wait on in different ways.

Beloved world

Let your lips meet gently
the top one resting against the lower
touching with tenderness
your own  skin to skin.
Forefinger  propped on chin,
I let the others dangle,
like leaves on a branch;
how softly gravity  tugs them downwards.
Let heart beat quietly,slowly
as  the blood circulates carrying  its music ,
a river,following the path of least resistance.
How the blood vessels receive willingly this flow,
touching it kindly as with tiny  open fingers,
helping and being helped.
How the hair on the head floats
on the breeze,like tentacles of an octopus
waving goodbye.
Top  eyelid loves the lower one;
as we blink they touch
like lovers kissing swiftly
behind a tree.
and how the light comes in
we see a world.
Mine may not be yours,
but the blink of my eyelid
sends waves through the air,
so we’re all touching and being touched,
lips kissing each other,
kiss all living creatures.
skin to skin
air to air.
And inside us,the rich darkness
of creative night
transforms  in turn
these touches
into dreams.

Gina Lazenby interviews Stephanie Dowrick | Stephanie Dowrick