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Will you go with me to visit the soul?

From the door sill of a dream they called my name… It was the good voice, the voice I loved so much. “-Listen,” said the voice. “Will you go with me to visit the soul?…” And a soft stroke reached up and touched my heart. “With you always” … And in my dream I walked Down a long and solitary corridor, Aware of the touching of the pure robe, And the soft beating of blood in the hand that loved me. -Antonio Machado, from Times Alone: Selected Poetry of Antonio Machado (edited by Robert Bly)

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August 19, 2009

Embodying Intention

I rested into a quiet weekend which did my spirit good.  It is challenging to slow down after a long period of fullness and so I am being present with curiosity to all those internal judgments about the value of my downtime — where do those voices come from?  Living a contemplative life is at the heart of my call in the world and so I laugh when I am confronted again with those same voices many of us struggle with in an ongoing way.  My father was a workaholic, allowing multiple compulsions to numb him from his pain.  I

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August 17, 2009

Transitions

As expected I am learning much from my yoga practice this week.  Showing up each morning and creating space to listen to my body has been powerful on many levels.  In the class we have learned a balanced series of poses that we repeat each day and now move through them at our own pace in silence . The instructor gently moves through the room adjusting us and offering encouragement and suggestions for interior noticings. We begin our time each day with attention to breath and the reminder that the slow, deep breath is the foundational element of our practice with the poses layered

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August 13, 2009

Notice What’s True

I want to unfold. I do not want to remain folded up anywhere, because wherever I am still folded, I am untrue. -Rainer Maria Rilke I am currently participating in a two-week yoga intensive at a studio near my house.  Monday through Friday for two weeks I arrive for my 8:30 class to commit to another day of my practice and see what I discover.  We are moving through the same sequence of poses each day to deepen our attention to what is happening.  Yesterday as we began with some quiet breathing, the teacher asked us to “notice what’s true” for us

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August 12, 2009

Lifelines and Deadlines

I am in the midst of a pretty intense time of creative laboring and as I have told my friends I feel like the time has come to give birth and I am having triplets!  The first creation was the intensive class I taught last week on Contemporary Expressions of Monastic Spirituality with a wonderful group of students who were a gift to journey with through our days of prayer, study, and discussion.  Their papers are due today so I will be making some time this week to be present to their personal explorations of the material and get the

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August 3, 2009

Mandalas

My newest article at Patheos on Mandalas (Part 1 of 2): (photo of rose window at Notre Dame © Kayce Hughlett) Mandala is the Sanskrit word for circle and the great psychologist Carl Jung called it an “archetype of wholeness.” Archetypes are those basic patterns and symbols which repeat across cultures and traditions, emerging from a collective unconscious or shared well of images.  Jung saw mandalas as expressions of the deep self’s longing for integration and a visual map toward our own spiritual centers.  He would spend time each morning creating mandalas in response to his dreams and advised his patients

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July 29, 2009

Invitation to Poetry: Summer’s Sweet Slowness

Welcome to our 38th Poetry Party! I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add them in the comments section and a link to your blog (if you have one).  Make sure to check the comments for new poems added and I encourage you to leave encouraging comments for each other either here or at the poet’s own blog. Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog if you have one and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint

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July 27, 2009

Abbey Updates and Links

Life has been full here at the Abbey this summer.  I am very hard at work this week getting ready to teach an intensive class on Contemporary Expressions of Monastic Spirituality for the School of Theology andMinistry next week.  I am so delighted to immerse myself in the coming days in discussion and exploration of the Benedictine life for contemporary times.  The intensive nature of the class means everything needs to be ready ahead of time but also means that we will get to experience the rhythms of monastic life and prayer as a part of our learning. I am also

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July 23, 2009

Monet Refuses the Operation

Doctor, you say there are no haloes around the streetlights in Paris and what I see is an aberration caused by old age, an affliction. I tell you it has taken me all my life to arrive at the vision of gas lamps as angels, to soften and blur and finally banish the edges you regret I don’t see, to learn that the line I called the horizon does not exist and sky and water, so long apart, are the same state of being. Fifty-four years before I could see Rouen cathedral is built of parallel shafts of sun, and

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July 22, 2009

Summertime Slowness

It’s summertime which means an invitation to indulge in some of summer’s pleasures.  Despite the fact that I have been hard at work writing a second book and preparing to teach, I still take breaks for some of summer’s finer gifts.  Let’s celebrate slowness.  Some things that should be done s-l-o-w-l-y: Taking a long swim in the open water, feeling the stretch of your muscles. Eating fresh sweet berries and juicy peaches. Cooking a meal with complete loving attention to each chop, sprinkle, and stir. Napping in a patch of sunlight. Hiking deep in the emerald woods. Listening to the rhythms

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July 20, 2009