When my yoga teacher invites us into a balance pose, she reminds us to “embrace the wavering.” She says that it is in the subtle movement that happens while trying to balance that actually strengthens our muscles and our pose. So rather than trying to remain absolutely still, balance is about embracing the small (and sometimes [...]
Posted in Lent Easter | 8 Comments »
My sweet Abbess Petunia needs to have another surgery today. Back in November she had a tumor removed that was cancerous but tested as low-grade and they thought it had all been removed. We discovered another small lump near the same spot last week and so they are going back in to remove it.
I have [...]
Posted in Lent Easter | 12 Comments »
Lent
What will you give up for the season,
To help life along
In its curious reversals?
As if we had a choice.
As if the world were not
Constantly shedding us
Like feathers off a duck’s back –
The ground is always littered with our longings.
You can’t help but wonder
About all the heroes,
The lives sacrificed
In the compulsion toward the good.
All those who [...]
Posted in Lent Easter | 2 Comments »
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
Love what it loves.
-Mary Oliver
Photos taken while in Sooke, BC, top photo is of course the lovely Abbess Petunia doing what she does best. (and yes, the Golden is for you lucy)
** Make sure to visit this week’s Poetry Party! **
(c) Christine Valters Paintner at [...]
Posted in Visual Meditation | 7 Comments »
Poetry Party No. 32! I select an image and suggest a title and invite you to respond with your poems, words, reflections, quotes, song lyrics, etc. Leave them in the comments or email me and I’ll add them to the body of the post as they come in along with a link back to your blog [...]
Posted in Poetry Party Invitation | 37 Comments »
A week and a half ago I participated in a Blog Meme Interview and I asked if readers had any other questions for me. kigen asked me: “Is it, and if so, what makes the doing of photography a sacred or religious practice for you?”
The answer is, of course, an unqualified YES! :-)
Mythologist and storyteller Michael [...]
Posted in Art and Spirituality | 11 Comments »
I am not certain how I first discovered Shiloh Sophia McCloud’s work, I am just grateful that I did. I find her art inspiring, invigorating, captivating, whimsical, and utterly delightful. She describes her art below as “images of what is possible for our lives” — and I say amen!
On her website it says that Shiloh has been [...]
Posted in Sacred Artist Interview | 7 Comments »
For the Traveler
Every time you leave home,
Another road takes you
Into a world you were never in.
New strangers on other paths await.
New places that have never seen you
Will startle a little at your entry.
Old places that know you well
Will pretend nothing
Changed since your last visit.
When you travel, you find yourself
Alone in a different way,
More attentive now
To [...]
Posted in Visual Meditation | 4 Comments »
I dedicate this poem to my beloved husband and to Abbess Petunia, the two persons who wrap me in perfect love each day:
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear [...]
Posted in Poetry | 7 Comments »
I was connected to Liora’s work through another artist (I love when that happens) who sent her my way. I loved her vibrant images on her website, especially the mandalas she has created and the way she integrates Buddhist and Hindu symbolism into her work. She teaches art and creativity workshops down in the Florida [...]
Posted in Sacred Artist Interview | 4 Comments »
