. . .Monastic Mumblings has the funniest post on “How People of Faith Read a Stop Sign” — definitely good for a hearty laugh. . . and the author David James Duncan has a great article on writing advice (that I found over at Kristin’s blog) where he claims having fun became for him the key to the door of the literary kingdom. Enjoy!
Dear ones, I am feeling very tired. I have been pushing to get the draft done of our lectio divina book (which it finally is, now for editing!), I teach all day tomorrow and Saturday the Awakening program I love (but always exhausting), and I am having some conflicts with a good friend which is emotionally draining. So I am feeling my humanness especially right now and trying to listen deeply and gently to myself in the midst all that is stirring in me. I am aware of my longings for Sabbath, for time to just play and be with my husband,
One of the ways I understand Saints are as those people who have been honored for embracing their flowering, for allowing themselves to bud and blossom and burst forth fully into the world. These last few months, I have been contemplating the idea of what it would mean to extend my image of the Communion of Saints to include not only the ones I love who have gone before me, but other members of creation as well. Animals don’t refuse their own flowering, they are simply what God created them to be. This image has arisen for me especially in response to
So I don’t know if any of you have this problem, but in my daily life I often have conversations in my imagination and then forget whether I said things out loud. My poor husband always looks a little worried about me when I start a sentence with “I am not sure if I actually said this to you or just imagined I did, but. . .” So the same thing happened with this wonderful GridBlog idea. I read about it at Kristin’s blog a week or so ago who heard about it from Bob at The Corner (click on this link
I’ll take all the time I please this afternoon before leaving my place alongside this river. It pleases me, loving rivers. Loving them all the way back to their source. Loving everything that increases me. -Raymond Carver from a poem titled “Where Water Comes Together With Other Water” in a book by the same name. A student included this poem in her last reflection paper and it was one of those wonderful unbidden gifts of the day. I am in love again (how easily I fall in love with poetry!) I want to love “everything that increases me.” I want to love the
I mentioned before borrowing some of Michael Meade’s CD’s from the library and listening to them while driving on my retreat. He has such a wonderful way of weaving in poetry and storytelling with his own insights about the mythical and imaginative life. In his CD titled The Great Dance: Finding One’s Way in Troubled Times, he quotes the poet Blake as saying “there is a moment of eternity waiting for you every day.” Meade sats the word “moment” comes from the Latin root momentus, which means to move. We are moved when we touch the eternal and timeless. There is a sense
It is just my husband and I to share our Sabbath meal tonight. I have been very tired the last few days because of some hormonal stuff, so I got the ingredients for two of my favorite, easiest, and most comforting dishes with the recipes below. The chicken is so simple and satisfying. It is adapted from The Taste of the Season: Inspired Recipes for Fall and Winter by Diane Worthington (I love her cookbooks and have several). She has you make a sauce at the end which I tried once but it didn’t work right and I discovered the chicken is
I found this poem by Rilke today and I am in love, utterly and completely in love with his images. This is what I was saying in my earlier post on Living Intuitively, Unfolding Organically but with far fewer and more beautiful words. . . I believe in all that has never yet been spoken. I want to free what waits within me so that what no one has dared to wish for may for once spring clear without my contriving. If this is arrogant, God, forgive me, but this is what I need to say. May what I do flow from
Join us for our next Monthly Gathering on Friday, November 10th! We will explore the Holy moments of encountering the Divine at Mount Sinai using bibliodrama, a spontaneous role playing method for exploring sacred texts. Participants will be guided throughout the easy process. Sacred stories have profound energy and meaning. When you take a step inside them and speak from the spontaneity of your Soul, new understanding as well as deep personal relevance can emerge. All are invited to participate; and it is okay to come observe. Facilitator: Cynthia Gayle, MC, LMHC, CP is a psychotherapist, and a psychodramatist, with a specialty in bibliodrama, the exploration of
I realize that in my post earlier about all of the things that comprised my retreat I forgot to mention the art class I took at the end which was wonderful. The teacher showed us many ways of combining text and art and I was so inspired by her wonderful work. She likes to work small so she can do several pieces at a time. Below are some of my very beginning attempts at using embossing, graphite powder, crushed pastels, and colored pencils. The scanner doesn’t reproduce the color and texture very well and also cuts off the lovely white border created by
