I first met Dana when she attended a contemplative art retreat I led a couple of years ago.  I discovered not only a kindred spirit but a very wise woman with a multitude of gifts.  Dana has created a beautiful website called Sacred Life-Arts which is an online sanctuary, classroom, and resource center devoted to bringing creative inspiration and spiritual illumination to women.  Be sure to check out her free 7-day e-course on Living with Divine Awareness: Sacred Practices to Awaken the Senses. Leave a comment below for a chance to win a free signed copy of Our Turn Our Time:

Roy DeLeon is a fellow oblate with me at St. Placid Priory in Lacey, WA.  Roy is also trained as a yoga teacher and invites people into the physical poses of this practice as an embodied way of praying with the psalms and other scriptures.  Roy will be offering a weekly movement prayer as a part of the Advent 2011–Birthing the Holy: Becoming a Monk in the World online retreat (November 27-December 24, 2011). Leave a comment below and enter for a chance to win a free signed copy of Roy’s wonderful book Praying with the Body: Bringing the Psalms to Life.

I got to know Mary first through her books and then later had the joy of meeting her in person at a Spiritual Directors International conference.  She is an Episcopal priest and the author of several books on how Benedictine practice can be supportive of those living with illness.  In her writing I discovered a wise companion and guide and a doorway into the gifts of balance monastic wisdom offers. Leave a comment below and enter for a chance to win a free signed copy of her latest marvelous book on Celtic Christian Spirituality. “What is a monk in the

To see the word cloud enlarged either click on the image or click here Nearly 300 of you responded to my invitation to allow a word to choose you which you might live into for the coming year.  The responses have been inspiring, beautiful, and profound.  Pour yourself a cup of tea and linger over them and listen for your own stirrings in response.  The image above is a Wordle (word cloud) created from all the words shared.  You can click here for a larger image or here for a PDF Version. (*Please note: the word size is in proportion to the number of

This summer has offered many things to my heart: renewal, restoration, healing, and an invitation into a wide and wild imagination.  I look forward to sharing some of those stories here in the coming weeks. For now, just an image which are speaking to me in these August days of presence to the gifts in this moment now.  I find myself in late summer longing for the cool crisp days of autumn, but I call myself back, remembering that this season has its own grace.