I found this poem the other day at Northwoods Contemplative and it speaks to me in the most amazing and direct way.   I am in a period of intense wrestling with my relationship to institutional religion, while my faith in God and experience of sacred presence has never been stronger. 
Forget Everything
If someone says, “To be enlightened you must
fast and pray […]

Posted in Photos, Poetry | 12 Comments »

The equinox is in a week, one of the two dates when the sun hovers above the equator and day and night are equal. In the solar calendar it is also the beginning of autumn.  Here in Seattle we are starting to get hints of autumn’s arrival — cooler days that are getting noticeably shorter […]

Posted in Cycles and Seasons, Monastic Spirituality | 14 Comments »

Valentine for Ernest Mann
You can’t order a poem like you order a taco.
Walk up to the counter, say, “I’ll take two”
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.
Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, “Here’s my address,
write me a poem,” deserves something in reply.
So I’ll tell a secret instead:
poems hide. In […]

Posted in Photos, Poetry | 15 Comments »

Peggy Payne was very kind to include me in this Personal Development list that is making rounds.  Thanks for your support and encouragement Peggy! Click over to find a generous list of sites on all aspects of self-growth.
Then, you simply must scroll down or click here to read the latest poetic additions to my Poetry Invitation […]

Posted in Photos, Links & Resources | 7 Comments »

I finally had time today to set up my new Etsy store for easier online orders of my new quarterly spirituality & art journal Praying With the Elements, Annual Subscriptions, and Blossoming Prayer Cards. 
Have you ordered your copy of Praying With the Elements yet?  If this blog is a meaningful part of your day, I […]

Posted in Praying with the Elements, zine journal | 7 Comments »

Act Great
What is the key
To untie the knot of your mind’s suffering?
What
Is the esoteric secret
To slay the crazed one whom each of us
Did wed
And who can ruin
Our heart’s and eye’s exquisite tender
Landscape?
Hafiz has found
Two emerald words that
Restored
Me
That I now cling to as I would sacred
Tresses of my Beloved’s
Hair:
Act great.
My dear, always act great.
What is the […]

Posted in Photos, Poetry | 2 Comments »

 Welcome to another poetry party and you are invited to participate.  This is my third installment, you can click to see the first and second ones.   I shared the other day about the freedom a messy spirituality is inviting me to and my dream of rumpled sheets.  Then over the weekend there was this brilliant moment […]

Posted in Poetry Party Invitation | 23 Comments »

My friend Rachelle over at Magpie Girl will be issuing a creative challenge and invitation twice a month to experiment with some sort of simple art process to get the creative juices going.  She posted her first one today–altering a photo.  Go here to read more about it and here to see the images already contributed.
I have […]

Posted in Photos, Links & Resources | 12 Comments »

“Come to the edge, He said. They said: we are afraid.
Come to the edge, He said.
They came. He pushed them, and they flew…”

-Guillaume Apollinaire.
(quote courtesy of lucy)
-Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts

Posted in Photos, Visual Meditation | 8 Comments »

I freely admit that I crave a certain degree of order in my life.  On the Myers-Briggs I am an INFJ with a fairly strong organizational J.  That J serves me very well in work and thrives on deadlines. It is certainly what got me through a PhD program in under 6 years. I love my home […]

Posted in Spirituality | 14 Comments »