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Death and Dancing in the Desert

I recently went out to the desert for a week of retreat.  Last Christmas I had a pulmonary embolism while in Vienna.  Coming so close to the reality of my own death demanded more reflection, more time to be present to what this experience was opening up in my heart.  I knew the desert was the place of fierceness calling to me. In my first few days I found myself deeply drawn to images of death.  In New Mexico there are these wonderful figures everywhere of skeletons dressed in various clothing.  They are in celebration of Day of the Dead

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New book on lectio divina coming in late May

From the Afterword: The Divine Presence is Everywhere in my newest book Lectio Divina–The Sacred Art: Transforming Words & Images Into Heart-Centered Prayer (click the link to pre-order from Amazon.com or order through your local bookseller): Always We Begin Again It is wise to hold all of these worthy goals with humility. Benedict describes his rule of life as a “little Rule for beginners,” and because we are human we will continue to stray from the path we most deeply long for. Life will intervene and throw us off track. We will need to bring ourselves back again and again to the practice.

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The Power of Archetypes

Archetypes are symbols or patterns which appear across cultures.  We find them in the great myths and stories of religious traditions, we find them in our nighttime dreams.  They are active within each of us as a multiplicity of energies which we can draw upon.  When we are living from a place of balance and fullness we have access to more dimensions of ourselves.  Most of us tend to identify with a few dominant archetypes.  Maybe you find a powerful sense of life purpose in caring for others and identify more with the Mother archetype.  Maybe your story carries a lot of abandonment and you

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Beginning Again: Benedictine Wisdom for Living with Chronic Illness

June 12 – August 6, 2011 This summer I will be taking a sabbatical from teaching, but the Abbey is delighted to offer this class with Judy Smoot, a fellow Benedictine oblate, to explore monastic wisdom for living with illness. Course Description This 8-week online course facilitated by Judy Smoot, OblSB , offers participants an opportunity to share with others who live with chronic disease or who support someone with chronic disease. Some illnesses bring little long-term disruption to life.  We may feel that our network of support is sufficient, our way of connecting with God remains unchanged, and there is little

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Mid-Way through Lent: Beginning Again

My latest Seasons of the Soul column at Patheos: In the middle of the journey of our life I found myself astray in a dark wood where the straight road had been lost sight of. –Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy We have just passed the midpoint of our Lenten journey through the desert. This is a ripe moment to pause and reflect on the commitments we made in earnest almost a month ago as ash was smeared across our skin, reminding us of the preciousness of our days. The human heart is a funny thing, full of passion for spirit

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Visual Meditation: Oasis in the Desert

I am heading off to the desert for a time of Lenten retreat and leave you with some rainy day images from the Kubota Japanese Garden here in Seattle.  The desert mothers and fathers will be my companions for this journey.  My heart is ready to move into silence to listen for a deeper voice.  I’ll let you know some of what I discover upon my return.  (Click here for a visual meditation on tulips.)

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Responding with Compassion

Like you, I have been sitting with the devastating events in Japan, wondering how to respond.  We live in times when the global nature of problems and the twenty-four hour coverage regularly overwhelm us.  Then we move to a place of numbness and helplessness.  I have been bringing this to my times of silent prayer and allowing myself to feel the enormity of grief and to listen for the ways I am called to live in a world filled with sorrow.  Being a monk in the world means opening our hearts to the pain of living and to create a

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Entering the Season of Blossoming

Stop by my latest Seasons of the Soul column at Patheos for a reflection on entering this season of blossoming: For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of pruning the vines has come, and the song of the dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance. Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come! –Song of Songs 2:11-13 Spring and all its flowers now joyously break their vow of silence. It is time for

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Stop by Trust Tending for an interview with me about seasonal wisdom

The lovely Kristin Noelle has created a beautiful new blog called Trust Tending: Reflections, Conversations, and Art to Nourish Life Beyond Fear.  She offers a monthly theme, regular reflections, and these wonderful sketches that are so profound in their simplicity.  This month the theme is nature and she invited me to participate in a written interview with her about the role of the seasons in my own life.  Stop by to see the perfect sketch she created to accompany my words (reminds me a lot of this visual meditation I posted last month) and linger over some reflections by me on

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