|
|
||||||||
Sofia Wisdom
Sofia has prepared the feast This section provides Biblical references about an entity that appears in the Old Testament more frequently than any other except for God, Moses, David and Job. In Hebrew she is known as Hochmah, in Greek Sofia, and in English she is Wisdom. These passages offer a doorway into feminine spirituality. The Bible personifies Hochmah, and she is feminine: Wisdom is bright and does not grow dim. As a songwriter, I strive to communicate the only truth I know: my experience. For me, Sofia fulfills a personal need to experience the grace of God in a feminine form. Hochmah/Sofia/Wisdom transcends boundaries of space and time ... is always present. Wisdom can do all things In the passages that follow I've paired lyrics from my songs with Old Testament passages about Sofia. My reflections follow, with personal anecdotes to illustrate. You may find it enlightening to explore your own life stories through the lens of these Sofia passages. Meeting SofiaWatch for her early and you will have no trouble; "Welcome me in. You're not alone. The searching is over and
you never left home. Take just one step. Know I am here. Follow
your heart there is nothing to fear. Come Home." One night, in the wee hours of the morning, I sat awake, gripped with fear and anxiety, in the throws of a panic attack. Although I hadn't played in years, my guitar happened to be in sight. The idea came that to play it might help. A song came immediately, and I felt a benevolent presence communicating to me through the words and music. Though it is the last song on the CD, "Come Home" was the first song written in the collection. I believe that this was my first conscious contact with Sofia. The experience of how the song came, more than the lyrics, illustrates this Bible passage: "Watch for Her early" reminds me that it was 4:00 a.m. when I desperately reached for the guitar. She was clearly "sitting at my gate," ready to speak to me at once. By grace I was "on the alert for her" just enough to follow a prompting to pick up my guitar. "Anxiety will quickly leave you," was a promise kept. The Way to HerWho has ever climbed the sky and caught her "The night wind chills my face. I'm awake. Silvery starlit clouds
sweeping the sky. I'm alive out under this starry night, and this
song is singing me. Your world touches mine.... All I do is search
for the road to you. It was always at my feet." The search for love inspired this song. I have believed that there is someone out there who could cherish me in such a way as to satisfy my deep sense of longing. To "climb the sky" or "cross the ocean" to find that kind of love would be easier than the more difficult, yet wiser, path of looking in the mirror – peeling away, layer by layer, the defensive blocks that obscure love for one's self. "No one knows the way to her" tells me that the roadmap is unique for each soul. I have struggled with this search until it brought me to my knees. All I have learned is that the way to her – divine love – is not what I think. She has not left tracks on "the path she treads." But by grace, I have felt her in rare, miraculous, holy instants. All Are WelcomeSofia teaches her children and gives help to those who seek her. "There's a lovely cottage in the woods beyond the north edge of town,
and the pathway to its open door is welcoming and wide.... The crone that
tends the mantle wears Sofia's vests of love. She sets the table with
a banquet for the hungry hearts." The title song on the recording was inspired by my experience with the healing power of being welcomed and seen – as is. Any place of refuge (the cottage in the woods) which is dedicated to wisdom and healing becomes sacred space: "The Lord blesses the place she enters." It was in the context of formal therapy that I finally let go of a lifetime of denial and experienced the miracle of asking for help: "Sofia teaches her children and gives help to those who seek her." Why do I still forget to let go and ask for help? "Whoever holds her fast inherits glory," speaks to the necessity of staying with our healing, with our process "from early morning." For me, the promise of being "filled with joy" has slowly unfolded. But that promise is made to "whoever," and is therefore an inclusive invitation. We are all welcome to "inherit glory." In the BeginningYHVH created me when his purpose first unfolded, "soft golden foothills / meadow and range / wide shifting sand dunes.
None of these—none of these. Salt Doll: now you stand in awe before the
crashing waves and endless waters of the sea. Drawn into an ancient memory." Something very deep stirs in my gut when I read this stunning passage from Proverbs titled: "Wisdom as creator." I was similarly moved when I heard the story of the Salt Doll searching for her true home. The unifying idea is this: Something sacred and potent exists, a fertile container, before anything takes form. For me, this is basic feminine theology, ancient goddess tradition. In the song, Salt Doll is driven to reconnect with her beginning. Having forgotten what and where that was, she must search. In the Bible passage Wisdom tells us: "The deep was not, when I was born." One might say that Sofia describes herself as a vast energetic sea of unformed potential, from which Salt Doll began. Feminine StrengthThere is in her a spirit that is intelligent, "Your patient weaving brought forth the woman that we know. And so,
the day has come for Marni to let go." Discovering your Sofia connection can be a deeply affirming experience. Through my own exploration I have begun to identify with more competent, creative, and liberated parts of myself. Sofia mirrors this back for me. Perhaps welcoming the timeless, archetypal presence of powerful feminine energy within all beings could enliven both men and women. References and Additional Reading
|
|||||||||
|
Home | Lyrics | Bio | Partners | Wisdom | Links | Comments | Purchase Please contact the webmaster with questions or comments about this site |
|||||||||
