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There are wind chimes along the steps of Wen Wu Temple which are used by visitors to ask for blessings. Their function is somewhat like that of a wishing well. Visitors first buy wind chimes for their specific animal of the Chinese zodiac, and then have the chimes passed through incense smoke by temple workers. Then the visitors write their names and the contents of their wishes, and go to the top of the Year of Steps to ring the chimes, and finally go down the steps and hang the chimes beside those steps that represent their birthdays, symbolizing the completion of their efforts.
Source: www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw/en/03000573.aspx
It is said that the wind will send your prayers to the saints and gods of Wen Wu Temple....
I asked Jade to translate of few of the wishes (not these ones). They were: to become pregnant, for money, and for an ill grandma to get better. Any help from my Chinese flickr friends in translating what the wishes are on these chimes would be appreciated.
Hindu Puja Ceremony, Varanasi, India
The nightly fire puja is a ceremonial dedication to the River Ganges, Sun, Lord Shiva, Fire and the whole universe. Lots of incense smoke, loud clanging bells and chanting add to the tone of this daily sundown ritual along the banks of the Ganges River.
Galungan is the most important feast for Balinese Hindus, a celebration to honor the creator of the universe (Ida Sang Hyang Widi) and the spirits of the honored ancestors.
The festival symbolizes the victory of good (Dharma) over evil (Adharma), and encourages the Balinese to show their gratitude to the creator and sainted ancestors.
Galungan occurs once in the 210-day cycle of the Balinese calendar, and marks the time of the year when the spirits of the ancestors are believed to visit the earth. Balinese Hindus perform rituals that are meant to welcome and entertain these returning spirits.
Collage Play With Crowabout- Week 104
Credits:
Astrid Maclean for borders & hat
mightee*mouse- grapes and large turkey
Norma Frances- scalloped border
melissamh- Thanksgiving Greetings
Rubyblossom- background
Distress inks, water and eggshell watercolor paper. The sentiment is white embossed on vellum. Some new stamps have reached Moscow, Russia:) This card goes to my husband who is my true blessing!
UPD: blogged - mdoricheva.blogspot.ru/2014/01/hero-arts-2014.html
Location: South airport apartments, Taipei City
By Voigtlaender Bessa R3A + Schneider Cine-Xenon 50/2 Arri + Kodak Vision 2 200T(5217)
St Mary, Diss, Norfolk
If I was asked which town out of all of those I have visited is most typical of Norfolk, then I would certainly say Diss. It is ancient, quirky, predominantly working class. Its people are friendly yet reticent, politically conservative, socially liberal, welcoming but uncompromising. Its architecture is utilitarian, with glimpses of sudden loveliness that make you gasp.
Betjeman loved Diss above all East Anglian towns, and often said he was more proud of being president of the Diss Society than of being Poet Laureate. His friend Mary Wilson, a minor poet and wife of the Prime Minister of the day, had been brought up in Diss; he wrote to her: Dear Mary, yes, it will be bliss, to go with you by train to Diss...
In the 1970s, there was a local lobby for Diss to be the centre of regional government in the east of England, sitting as it does exactly halfway between Norwich and Ipswich. Whitehall smiled and nodded, and then sensibly opted for Cambridge, reasonably considering that one shouldn't allow such things as regional government to get too far out of ones grasp.
Diss became a backwater in the 17th and 18th centuries, and no major fire led to its rebuilding like Bungay, Beccles and other places in the Waveney valley. Because of this, Diss is second only to Sudbury in having more surviving medieval houses than any other town in East Anglia of its size. The other feel of the place is 19th century, because Diss was a railway town, and still is. Tudor and Victorian architecture is a happy combination, and Diss retains narrow streets and cobbled yards that have been bulldozed elsewhere.
More recently, European money has funded a major refurbishing of the Mere area (did I mention that Diss is the only market town in England built around a large lake?) and the town is also taking part in CittaSlow, a European-led project for small towns which aims to keep fast cars and fast food out, making the streets safe for pedestrians, pavement cafes and good food. And right in the heart of the town, hemmed in by narrow streets and leaning 16th century buildings, is the great church of St Mary.
The massive rebuilt Victorian chancel detracts from the nave, but this is also huge, and largely the product of the late 15th century. The attention to detail on the buttresses is remarkable. Every one has a pedestal in the form of an animal that once supported an image of a Saint. It must have been quite a sight. The 14th century tower has a processional archway through the base, as at St Peter Mancroft in Norwich, and like that church this one also has a wooden fleche turret surmounting the tower, dating from 1906.
This, then, is a grand, urban church, central and essential to the townscape. Its churchyard is crossed by pathways that lead between the market square and the houses beyond the church; there is constant pedestrian traffic. Like all great urban churches St Mary is open all day, everyday, and is well-used. Not once have I ever been alone inside.
Being a grand, urban church, I am afraid that St Mary is almost entirely Victorianised. I do not know who the architect was, but I thought I detected the hand of Richard Phipson, responsible for the refurbishment of St Peter Mancroft and the complete rebuilding of St Mary le Tower in Ipswich. He would have been diocesan architect at the time, so whatever plans were made here would have passed through his hands in any case. There are a few medieval survivals - but very few. They are exquisite little panels of 15th and 16th century glass, handily set in the west window of the south aisle so you can get them out the way before you enter into the Victorianism of it all. A pretty girl wears a garland of flowers. A bearded man sits in a chair. A crowned woman in a kennel headdress gazes up piously. A Madonna and child, so faded as to be transparent, to be barely there. They are the ghosts of medieval Diss.
There are two piscinas in the south aisle, one of them 13th century, about four metres short of the east end, and a 15th century one further east. The first piscina obviously marks the end of the original aisle before the 15th century extension.
Everything else is post-Reformation. This is essentially an Anglican church. There is a remarkable decalogue board on the west wall which I take to be 18th century, but the overwhelming impression here is of the 1860s and 1870s, which brought the grand sanctuary and east window, the furnishings and, most of all, the glass. Every window in the nave is filled with the work of Ward & Hughes at their most imposing. Pevsner thought it was terrible, but actually there are a few details that are worth selecting, for taken in isolation they look like illustrations in a Victorian children's book, and are quite charming.
The glass in the chancel is quite something else. It is by Francis Oliphant, and Pevsner considered it an important work, the scenes of the nativity and the entombment in particular. There are a couple of other very interesting 19th century windows in the chancel and south aisle chapel, but unfortunately some of the best, including another Oliphant, were removed in 1980 in an attempt to make the chancel lighter.
A couple of curiosities. There are a number of late 19th and early 20th century brasses around the walls, as if this was a significant local industry in those days. The Camden Society at Cambridge had assumed that there would be a memorial brass revival on the scale of the stained glass revival. This of course did not happen, but two of the best are here, one signed by Weyer & Co of Norwich.
There is a large early 18th century tombchest in the north aisle to one Richard Burton. The lengthy inscription is worth a read. Basically, it says that he left a hundred pounds, and the interest of this was to go to the parish for the work of maintaining his tomb. Any money left over was to be given to the poor of Diss. However, if his executors felt that the tomb was not being maintained, then the job and the money were to default to the parish and poor of neighbouring Roydon instead. Hedging his bets still further, Burton's inscription then goes on to say that if Roydon isn't up to the job, then the benefit will fall to Bressingham, the next parish out.
To finish, it is worth saying that Diss is as proud as any small town is of its famous son and daughters. An expansion in housing around the town in the last fifteen years has left plenty of scope for naming new roads. The aforementioned Betjeman, Wilson, Manning and Burton have all been immortalised. Other commemorated Diss people include another Poet Laureate, John Skelton, probably the most idiosyncratic voice of 16th century poetry. He was renowned for his compassion, and his enthusiasm for inventing words; Keats and Auden both claimed debts. He was Catholic parish priest here for thirty years in pre-Reformation days. He once stood in the pulpit and held up what the church guide charmingly calls a 'love-child', claiming it as his own, and defying the congregation to find fault with it, its mother or with him.
John Wilbye, the Elizabethan composer of madrigals, came from Diss. Thomas Paine is more usually associated with Thetford where he was born, but he lived in Diss for twenty years, and perhaps learned his radical politics here, for Diss in the 18th century was a hotbed of non-conformism. A mark of how civilised this town is can be seen even out in the anonymous roads of the new estates, where many of the street signs include a brief explanation of the person or event the road is named after. Living in Diss must be an education in itself.
Blessing is 23 years old, single, and 5'8" tall, from Ivory Coast; he father, Dr. Oliver Koneh was advisor to the late Head of State, Dr. Robert Guei. There's $2.3m to be collected "from a Leading Bank in Europe"
This picture has also been sent to me by "Rita Idrissa", from Sierra Leone, whose father was the CEO of Alofa Industries Limited, in Freetown. A few weeks before "she" got in touch i had an e mail from "Rita Idrissa", with a totally different photo and history. This other one is shown separately
I have also received this picture from Favour Johnson, the daughter of Johnson Adu. She's 23, 5' 4" from Rwanda, and "light in complexion". Johnsonwas a politician and the managing director of a "Gold & Mine Ind in Kigali", and had $6.7m in Standard Chartered Bank in London.
Jennifer Williams is another name given to this picture: 24 years; 5'7", 55kg and from Ivory Coast: her father was General Williams Donatus, the Former Director Of Cocoa Export; this one's hardly worth the effort - only $2.5m
And another name: Lucy Oromo, 22 from Dafur, sudan, where her father, David R Ukec Oromo was chairman of Gruv-Melton oil and Gas; he'd pushed $6.5m to a bank for Lucy, (who had sent another photo as well - one I hadn't seen before)
And, Morein Ndaye, 24 years old, 5'8" from the Ivory Coast; father was Dr Patric Ndaye chairman managing director Patric Ndaye INDUSTRIAL COMPANY LTD, and also the personal adviser to the former head of state. There's $3.5m. with The Royal Bank of Scotland
And yet another name: Verien Johnson, 23 years old, from Rwanda, who is 5'4" tall, single, and "light in complexion". Yes. Her father was Dr. Koneh Johnson, Managing Director of a "Gold and Mine Ind" in Kigali, with $6.5m in a leading foreign bank.
Naomi Emmanule, 25 from the Ivory Coast, and the daughter of Dr. Emmanule Godwin, a successful businessman, with $6.5m in "Royal Bank in United Kingdom"
Glory Johnson is the daughter of Dr Johnson Apu of the Ivory Coast; she is 23, 5'3", and has a fair skin(!). Daddy was a director of Mavbococoa & Associates Limited, and there's $5.3m with Standard Chartered Bank in London; eventually, I was offered $200000 for my help.
Picture also used by Sandra Hassan, 24years of age and the only daughter of Late Dr. Suleiman Hassan from Democratic Republic of Congo. He was the owner of Suleiman Beverages Industries Limited and also was the minister for commerce and industry in DRC during the regime of the former Head of State (late Laurent Kabila) there is $4.3 with DEXIA-BIL FUND INVESTMENT SERVICES LTD IRELAND, in Dublin
This lovely doily box contains delicate silverware with porcelain-decorated handles I collected while I lived in Japan some years ago.
They had started to tarnish, so I decided to paint them in soft, grey pastels.
Love it!! Blessings
... "I saw seven lean cows which rose out of the river and devoured seven fat cows!
. and, I saw seven withered ears of grain which devoured seven fat ears!"...
Wheat was a key factor enabling the emergence of city-based societies at the start of civilization because it was one of the first crops that could be easily cultivated on a large scale, and had the additional advantage of yielding a harvest that provides long-term storage of food. The archaeological record suggests ... More
Santo Amaro Slum and Christ The Redeemer Statue viewed from Marina da Glória.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Have a blessed day. :¬)
Sundown at the quarry show the blue horizon, the colorful clouds. the prismal cast on the lake, and rays of blessings from the heavens. Another lowlight performance by the "little BIG box".
No PP, just hugs and KISS (Keep it simple stupid)
No HDR, No Retouching, No Photoshop @ ALL....SOOC
Happy Holiday Everyone.....
Faithfuls line up to get their blessings from Yamantaka or Shinjeshe, the terminator of death, on the final day of Jambay Lhakhang Drup festival at Jambay Lhakhang Buddhist temple in the Chokhor Valley in Bhutan's Bumthang district November 13, 2011. It's believed that Yamantaka can break samsara or the cycle of rebirth. Photo by Tim Chong
My Favorite Things circle background stamp stamped with white ink and embossed with white. A peek of red ink was added with Distress inks. The wreath is a Simon Says Stamp die, the flower is a stamp and die from Alternew and the word, blessings is a die from Clearly Besotted.
all hallows blessing, St. Peter’s square, Rome
on distance: www.flickr.com/photos/marfis75/4069646572/in/photostream?...
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Tubmanburg, Monrovia, Liberia - June 5, 2014: When Blessing was 4 months old, her mother, Bendu, was working on a farm in rural Liberia. One day she forgot something at home and left Blessing with a close friend at the farm. When she returned, Blessing would not stop crying. She couldn't figure out what was wrong. Eventually she took off her clothes and discovered bleeding. After an examination at the hospital, they determiend that she had been raped by the man. Blessing spent a month in the hospital recovering. Meanwhile, Bendu filed a report with the police and took him to court. He was released when the family provided evidence that he was underage at the time (approximately 17). Blessing is now 4 years old and lives with her mother and baby sister, Miatta. Photo by Morgana Wingard
As all the Bappas move towards Girgaon Chowpaty all the people who live in the buildings across the procession road gather to enjoy the procession and to take blessings from Bappa.
Downloads and Prints are available at bit.ly/1gbOvdW
Some of your greatest blessings come with patience. -Warren Wiersbe
When I'm worried and I can't sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
(Irving Berlin)
Quando ho paura, e non riesco a dormire
conto le cose belle che ho, anzichè contar le pecore...
e così, mi addormento...
mentre conto
le mie
cose
belle...
A blessing is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.
May the blessing of the rain be on you—
the soft sweet rain.
May it fall upon your spirit
so that all the little flowers may spring up,
and shed their sweetness on the air.
May the blessing of the great rains be on you,
may they beat upon your spirit
and wash it fair and clean,
and leave there many a shining pool
where the blue of heaven shines,
and sometimes a star.
Happy St. Patrick's Day to all my friends at flickr!
Women's hand holding a holy shrine of blessed Abbas's hand where Shia used to visit and taking blessing.
Blessing lives in Hopley, a suburb of Harare where the Women Advocacy Project (WAP) works. She left school after Form 3 because her family was unable to pay her school fees. Blessing married at age 20 and has a baby daughter.
Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate is currently over 80%. Like so many in the communities where WAP works, Blessing and her husband are not working. Blessing does piece work when she can and would love to have a job selling firewood. “I hope my daughter can at least be able to go to school, that way she will be able to sustain herself,” Blessing told WAP.
Photo by Alex Kotowski, 2018 Peace Fellow, The Advocacy Project
June 18, 2018 – Hopley, Zimbabwe
Names have been changed