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Giving Thanks

One of the things I love about Thanksgiving is that it is one of those holidays that has escaped a lot of the consumer frenzy (except as a preamble to one of the biggest shopping days of the year). I also love that it is a secular holiday centered on feasting and gratitude. I have so very much to be thankful for, my heart overflows with gratitude for the abundance in my life. A wonderful husband, relatively good health, great friends, work that I love, time and space to nurture delight, many layers of community and support, all of my wonderful

November 21, 2006

Signs of Winter

I went on a lovely walk this morning, my usual 45-minute walk from my house, up and around Volunteer Park, and then back home. It was a crisp and clear morning, another short break from the heavy rains we have been getting. The leaves have largely made their floating pilgrimage to the ground. They now wait for decay to release them into fertile compost for the new growth of spring still hidden deep in the soil. Most of the branches are bare now, like dark skeletons in ecstatic prayers of adoration to holy sky. Some of the willow trees still cling to their leaves, while other trees are

November 20, 2006

In Preparation for a Pilgrimage of Ancestry

Next summer my husband and I will be taking a five-week trip to Ireland and Austria. We saved up our frequent flyer miles for free tickets and without a dog at home to worry about leaving behind for that long, we decided to seize the opportunity. (We will definitely get another dog eventually, but have decided to wait until after this trip). Ireland and Austria may seem like an odd combination, but we each have roots in these places. My father was Austrian and Latvian, he moved to Vienna when he was 12 years old during World War II to live with

November 19, 2006

Cello Dreams and Synchronicity

I have been having dreams lately of cellos. The cello is my favorite instrument and I have always wanted to learn to play sometime in my life. The first two dreams were brief: In the first I am lying down on a bed and a man hands me a cello and tells me to play horizontally and I can beautifully and it brings me great pleasure. In the second dream a woman is teaching me to play cello, she is very demanding but only because she knows I can play well, and my fingers get raw from pressing the strings. Yesterday morning I awoke from a dream

November 17, 2006

The Practice of Dream-Tending

I have written here a few months ago of The Illumination of Dreams. Dream-tending is one of my primary spiritual practices. I deeply believe that our dreams are gifts from God originating in a wisdom that is far greater than our waking consciousness. Our dreams are not bound by the cognitive restrictions of our waking life–they speak in a different language from our usual linear and rational thinking, in the language of poetry and image and symbol. They let us know how we really feel and think, not the way we pretend to think and feel and so help us to live more deeply from our authentic selves.

November 16, 2006

An Ancient Muse

I am so excited, I just discovered that one of my absolute favorite musicians, Loreena McKennitt is releasing a new album next week titled An Ancient Muse! How much do I love her? Well I wrote a glowing review of her music eight years ago for Sojourners magazine (can’t believe that is still available online) which was the last time she had a new album! I am beside myself with joy. And I had just sworn off buying any new music or books for a while. . .she is definitely an exception. A post coming in the morning on dreams. . .

November 15, 2006

Simple Musings and Offerings

There are lots of things percolating in me right now. I almost feel as though if I dare to speak them too soon I will lose my grasp. So I am allowing them a little more time. I am working on a post about dreams to respond to Cathleen‘s comment and Me‘s comment to previous posts of mine which I will be able to finish tomorrow. I have also been thinking a lot about the Liturgy of the Hours lately. Then I just read Jorge’s post about The Liturgy of the Toddler and just loved it. I don’t even have children, but if

November 14, 2006

December Gathering and Pilgrimage Opportunity

Please mark your calendars for our December Monthly Gathering: (click on the link for more details about time and place) Tapping Our Dream Wisdom: Come share a dream or learn from the dreams of others, all are welcome to explore the intrigue of our nighttime visions. Why do we dream, what might our dreams be opening us to? The dreams of our ancestors moved them to action and invited them into peace. Jeremy Taylor, a renowned dream work facilitator, advocates that all dreams come for health and healing, as such, this is your invitation to crack open the mystery, challenge

November 13, 2006

Sleep is the Prayer of the Body

Sleep is the prayer of the body shrouding itself in holy surrender. It is an act of supplication, with its secret longing for the things embodied in luminous darkness. What happens in that moment of great release into the total eclipse of night when the body descends into the cradle of dreaming? Does the breath suddenly become slow? Does the heart become still, barely perceptible, in its faithful work? Or do they labor more heavily to make space in the body for the rhythmic eruptions of story and symbol that beg me to awaken to a bigger life? This is

November 12, 2006

Standing in Place

There is a lot weighing on my heart this week, a conflict with a dear friend continues, one of my fellow oblates is in the end stages of pancreatic cancer, and my mother-in-law’s Alzheimer’s is slowly worsening. I feel so very tender. I received a couple of wonderful emails from readers who shared with me how much it meant to them that I wrote my post last week about feeling all too human and needing to let what I wrote be enough. I was touched by reflecting on the gift we offer each other in our shared vulnerability and permission to be

November 8, 2006

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Giving Thanks

Signs of Winter

In Preparation for a Pilgrimage of Ancestry

Cello Dreams and Synchronicity

The Practice of Dream-Tending

An Ancient Muse

Simple Musings and Offerings

December Gathering and Pilgrimage Opportunity

Sleep is the Prayer of the Body

Standing in Place

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