"Now the last end of everything is that which is intended by the prime author or mover thereof. The prime author and mover of the universe is intelligence; therefore the last end of the universe must be the good of the intelligence, and that is truth.

Truth then must be the final end of the whole universe; and about the consideration of that end, wisdom must primarily be concerned. And therefore the Divine Wisdom, clothed in flesh, testifies that He came into the world for the manifestation of truth: For this was I born, and unto this I came into the World, to give testimony to the truth (John xvii, 37).

The Philosopher also rules that the first philosophy is the science of truth, not of any and every truth, but of that truth which is the origin of all truth, and appertains to the first principle of the being of all things; hence its truth is the principle of all truth, for things are in truth as they are in being."

-Summa Contra Gentiles, by Saint Thomas Aquinas

Johannes Tauler was born in Strasbourg, Germany, around the year 1300CE. He was a humble man with a keen mind for spiritual guidance. Johannes Tauler was a mystic.

He emphasized Abgeschiedenheit, or detachment from worldly things, and the way to do this was through love of higher self - our 'divine nature' - and contemplation on 'holy creation', or the beauty of the world. Earth, Tauler taught, was the place of our Seelengrund, the 'soul's ground', which is the inner silence found in meditation.

Many of misconstued his message regarding Abgeschiedenheit, when it is very simple to understand. Tauler, as a Lebmeister, or 'living master', taught that the world is to be cherished for all humans are of the world; but like a child who leaves a parent, humans - when they come of 'age', self-realized - should leave the mother for the 'father', or the higher self.

".. if the holy Church were to refuse us the holy Sacrament externally, we must submit; but nobody can deprive us the privilege of taking it spiritually."

In this, Tauler relates that regardless of what the Church has to offer, there is a greater nectar within.

"Before you have journeyed far, you must expect enemies of all kinds, who will surround you and busily endeavour to hinder you from going forward. Indeed, if they can by any means, they will, wither by persuasions, flatteries, or violence, force you to return to your former habits of sinfulness. For there is nothing annoys them so much as to see a resolute desire to love Jesus and to labour to find him."
-Henry Suso

The 'resolute desire to love Jesus' is like saying: The resolute desire to know Self. Many desire us to be the same, or to never change. But when change calls us we must go where it beckons; ever "going forward".

"Holy persons draw to themselves all that is earthy."
-Hildegard von Bingen

For the earth is our home, and the spirits of earth your compass. Born of fire our lives expire in ice, frozen for a spell until the flame of our desire returns us to Mother.

"The man who finds his homeland sweet is still a tender beginner; he to whom every soil is as his native one is already strong; but he is perfect to whom the entire world is as a foreign land."
-Hugh of St. Victor, German mystic

It is not of this world that our folk's soul belongs, but to the other world. Like Hugh I too live in other worlds. Even when having tea with mother - we saunter out from our kitchen perched atop the city to soar in pristine heights of entirity.

Oh Nicholas, Oh Nicholas!
Does the flame still consume you?
Or have you long since become like water or air?

Oh Nicholas, Oh Nicholas!
How skillful and clever you are!
Not even the Inquisition could find you!
Until the day they seized you!

Oh Nicholas, Oh Nicholas!
John and James ever at your side!
More loyal hounds none could ask for!
Was it the Gottesfreunde who told you to no longer hide?

* * *

Nicholas of Basel was a German mystic and member of the Berghard community. He was burnt at the stake by the Inquistion; the charge was heresy. Nicholas was a Heathen.

"Follow not the false light of Christ, oh you who would not become lost. This is a dark light that will blind you to the true heavenly home among our ancestors."
-Nicholas of Basel

"I had a sister, whom God had given me for consolation in body and soul and who was very faithful to me. By divine design she served me joyfully throughout the years and protected me from all things that could disturb me. /.../ This sister became very ill by God's design. /.../
I was with her all the time until she died. /.../ I was asked by the true Friend of God whom He had given me as a great consolation to write down for him what God had given me. It was my opinion that he himself should be the author, but that could not be. He said that I should begin it and write whatever God gave me."
-Margareta Ebner, German mystic

Margareta is that True Friend of God, just as I am that Gottesfreund. What Margareta could not say - living as she did in the 1300s - is that the Gottesfreund did not have a man's voice. What Margareta was afraid to say was that she spoke to herself - Her Self; that her solace and consolation came only from within her cherished body.

Beautiful Margareta, surrounded by female angels, do you now know that voice is your own?
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintm2y.jpg

Gottesfreunde. Yes, I am Gottesfreunde.

"Of all the wonderful works which God had wrought in me I was not allowed to tell a single word to anybody until the time when it should please God to reveal to a man in the Oberland to come to me. When he came to me God gave me the power to tell him everything."
-Rulman Merswin, Story of the First Four Years of a New Life, 1343

I am this 'Friend of God', this Gottesfreunde, who is there when secrets are revealed from the mouths of those who often know not what they speak. The butcher and Jew, the bike courier and bag lady, the flower vender and street sweeper, the dog that shits on the sidewalk and the pigeon that hustles for crumbs, all reveal word upon word to me. My soul is the Oberland, a receptacle - for the soul of my folk is divine and illumined with great blood from a magnificient Tree.

"Suffering is a short pain and a long joy."
-Heinrich Seuse, German mystic

Which is life - suffering or joy? And why is suffering connected with joy? Cannot, is not, suffering the impetus of joy? How else would we know joy were it not for suffering. Perhaps the suffering is that joy does not last long enough, because many are too busy seeking suffering. Joy exists, waving like a banner in the hand of a child or the tightened fist of a warrior, for those who seek it, who grasp it, who expose it for all to see. This joy is nothing more than what lies inside - our spine is the rod that supports the banner of our mind.

"The soul is a breath of living spirit that with excellent sensitivity permeates the entire body to give it life. Just so, the breath of the air makes the earth fruitful. Thus the air is the soul of the earth, moistening it; greening it."
-Hildegard von Bingen

Breath and breathing has been in my thoughts as the air that hangs around every corner, rising from the curbstones, in New York City, seems laden with gray tentacles of retractivity. Does this grayness permeate all the cities residents? Does it give us life - a life of greyness? And does that greyness led to turning away from those that walk by our side? Is there fruitfulness in greyness, can it have a soul of brilliance or one of smudge. The greening of the gray creeps up from every crack, only to be crushed beneath the weight of so heavy a breath.

"God Hugs you! You are encircled by the arms of the mystery of God!"
-Hildegard von Bingen

I understand "god" as a pulsing, creative, swirling force of unknown origin and composition. "God" to me is breath and air, never seen but always present. I am "god" and I am the mystery of "god", and none but myself can encircle me by arms, for I alone hold the key to succor.

"The knower and the known are one. Simple people imagine that they should see God as if he stood there and they here. This is not so. God and I, we are one in knowledge."
- Meister Eckart

Closer still, god and I are one, we are one and the same, there is no difference between god and who I am. There would be no god if not for me, nor me if not for god.

“In this light my spirit suddenly saw through all, and in and by all creatures, even in herbs and grass it knew God, who he is, and how he is, and what his will is: And suddenly in that light my will was set on by a mighty impulse, to describe the being of God.”
- Jacob Boehme

This recalls the quote by Hildegard von Bingen about the sun. An idea that I have related to when meditating. This inner sun has illumined for me great vistas of inner knowing and calm. My impulse however is not so much to describe this as to aid others when compelled by it. And so when I 'journey' beyond the world of this mind I walk in sunshine.

The book I ordered has arrived, entitled German Mysticism from Hildegard of Bingen to Ludwig Wittgenstein:
http://www.sunypress.edu/details.asp?id=52676

After my evening meditation, which will focus on Yngona Desmond's latest thoughts, "Seiðus MUST!" (June 18, 2006):
http://vinlands-volva.blogspot.com/
I will begin reading this new book. I looks very promising and covers an area I am very interested in.

It has recently come to my attention the the Troth is an overly New Age organization with many Wiccan practitioners. Also, like many Pagans who come from Christianity, these Troth individuals, specifically their 'oracular seidhr' individuals, are still clinging to their Pagan beliefs while trying to be Asatru.

So there are Asatruers doing magic in the Troth while encased in the dogmas of Paganism and Christiantiy. I find this to be a sad and disappointing situation because Germanic Religion is so much more than this.

As a German-American woman, living the faith of her heritage, where am I to go? Where is there a place for me to express my deep cultural pride while practicing my ancestral mysticism? In a world so vast, there are too few options.

"It is easier to gaze into the sun, than into the face of the mystery of god. Such is its beauty and its radiance."
- Hildegard von Bingen

The sun's blaze shines within my own being. When I meditate I am engulfed in its warmth and encouragement towards growth. It is this same light that guides me onwards into dark worlds where I seeth for my family - soothing and caressing the threads of their lives.

"Be not lax in celebrating. Be not lazy in the festive service of God. Be ablaze with enthusiasm. Let us be an alive, burning offering before the altar of God."
- Hildegard von Bingen

I hear in this quote a voice filled with passon and exuberance for a personal god, and so I become compelled to praise my gods!

May we all be alive and aflame for our gods!

"Just as a circle embraces all that is within it,
so does the God-head embrace all.
No one has the power to divide this circle,
or surpass it, or to limit it."
- Hildegard von Bingen

This is how I feel about being a Heathen and a mystic,
that "no one has the power to divide this circle".

Dividing this circle would be to weaken it.
Germanic mysticism has a rich and vibrant history,
it is not in need of new age elements
or influences from other cultures.

"Up to my fifteenth year I saw much,
and related some of the things seen to others,
who would inquire with astonishment,
whence such things might come.
Frequently, in my conversations,
I would relate future things which I saw as if present,
but, noting the amazement of my listeners,
I became more reticent."
- Hildegard von Bingen

"And it came to pass .. when I was 42 years and 7 months old,
that the heavens were opened and a blinding light of
exceptional brilliance flowed through my entire brain.
And so it kindled my whole heart and breast like a flame,
not burning but warming .. and suddenly I understood
the meaning of expositions of the books.
But although I heard and saw these things,
because of doubt and low opinion of myself and
because of diverse sayings of men,
I refused for a long time a call to write,
not out of stubbornness but out of humility,
until weighed down by a scourge of god,
I fell onto a bed of sickness."
- Hildegard von Bingen