Slowing-Down Space
It is the end of one of those very long days and my body is tired, my spirit weary. I walk into the kitchen to fill up two large pots with water and put them on the stove to heat. Then I head into the bathroom and begin to fill the tub. We live in […]
Forget Everything
I found this poem the other day at Northwoods Contemplative and it speaks to me in the most amazing and direct way. I am in a period of intense wrestling with my relationship to institutional religion, while my faith in God and experience of sacred presence has never been stronger. Forget Everything If someone says, “To be enlightened you must […]
Preparing for Autumn
The equinox is in a week, one of the two dates when the sun hovers above the equator and day and night are equal. In the solar calendar it is also the beginning of autumn. Here in Seattle we are starting to get hints of autumn’s arrival — cooler days that are getting noticeably shorter […]
Always Act Great
Act Great What is the key To untie the knot of your mind’s suffering? What Is the esoteric secret To slay the crazed one whom each of us Did wed And who can ruin Our heart’s and eye’s exquisite tender Landscape? Hafiz has found Two emerald words that Restored Me That I now cling to […]
Invitation to Poetry: Rumpled Sheets
Welcome to another poetry party and you are invited to participate. This is my third installment, you can click to see the first and second ones. I shared the other day about the freedom a messy spirituality is inviting me to and my dream of rumpled sheets. Then over the weekend there was this brilliant moment […]
God Loves Us When We Dance
My friend Rachelle over at Magpie Girl will be issuing a creative challenge and invitation twice a month to experiment with some sort of simple art process to get the creative juices going. She posted her first one today–altering a photo. Go here to read more about it and here to see the images already contributed. I […]
Photo Essay: Point Defiance, Tacoma
“Come to the edge, He said. They said: we are afraid. Come to the edge, He said. They came. He pushed them, and they flew…” -Guillaume Apollinaire. (quote courtesy of lucy) -Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts