This year, when festive lights twinkle in homes worldwide, we will find ourselves at a significant milestone. It is the 800th anniversary of a tradition that has, for centuries, symbolized the true essence of Christmas—the crèche. The word crèche originates from the Old French term for a crib or manger. This iconic scene, which reenacts…
DetailsThis Thanksgiving, we are so thankful for the strong women who came before us. Prairiewoods was founded by six Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, an order of sisters out of La Crosse, Wisconsin. One of our foundresses, Sister Betty Daugherty, wrote the article below on spirituality in a newsletter that was published in the spring…
DetailsSpirituality is such a difficult concept to explain. The word brings different meanings, feelings, and thoughts to every one of us. A huge influence on my spirituality is the Native American ideology that everything in nature is spiritual. From the rock to the eagle, to humans, we all have our parts to keep the balance…
DetailsAs is perhaps true for each of us, my spirituality sounds in who I was as a child. I grew up on a small Eastern Iowa farm from 1950 through 1965. My mother, though loving, embraced and enforced a stringent Christian fundamentalism. My father, often absent, was kind when present. Serendipitously, we lived with my…
DetailsOne of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 46:10: Be still and know that I am God. Recently my spiritual director shared the Hebrew translation of this scripture given by a theologian speaking at her Community meeting: “You have been holding onto something for far too long. Let it fall.” In our binary way of thinking,…
DetailsSong for Autumn In the deep fall don’t you imagine the leaves think how comfortable it will be to touch the earth instead of the nothingness of air and the endless freshets of wind? And don’t you think the trees themselves, especially those with mossy, warm caves, begin to think of the birds that will…
DetailsA recent trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains included two remarkable experiences with place and kinship—and together with two longtime, ongoing experiences led to a deepening awareness of kinship with place. Only recently learning of the ancient bristlecone pine forest, this trip offered a chance to meet these beings inhabiting parts of the Sierra Nevada…
DetailsThese are difficult times. Events unfolding in the Middle East are unimaginably horrific. How do any of us imagine a way forward from the terrible violence we are witnessing now, and how do we find a new way that does not perpetuate more terror and pain? I have returned to a poem by Denise Levertov…
DetailsOn a hot and humid day in early August, I placed my hand on the smooth, gray bark of a centuries-old beech tree in Pennsylvania. I did so both to honor this magnificent arbor elder and to share greetings from another standing a thousand miles away, our own Grandmother Oak at Prairiewoods. I was at…
DetailsIn this time of turning may you be unafraid to turn inward, to quiet your mind and heart, to listen for the great turning circling around you, to know yourself as no more and no less than a part of all this turning. —Carol Tyx photo by Diane Wheeler Dunn
DetailsRecently the ongoingness of my life journey has become clearer. I have become aware of some wide patterns I seem to live, one in particular. Throughout my life I have enjoyed “moving on”—I start an adventure/experience, dig into the learning and practices, become knowledgeable and/or somewhat proficient; and then something new will catch my attention…
DetailsRecently I was treated to a late summer tour of Prairiewoods by Aaron Brewer, the Land Sustainability Coordinator. The weather was perfect, with clear skies and a lovely mix of late summer heat and autumn light. We rode in the “Mule,” the all-terrain vehicle that I’ve often watched Sister Nancy Hoffman drive fearlessly over the…
DetailsFrom all the studying and seeking and praying, I have learned that the more I learn, the less I know about spirituality. I evolve to a point where I think I know something, then I learn something else, and I evolve again and again. This is the spiral of spiritual evolution. My beliefs will be…
DetailsMany of us know and love the poetry of Rumi, Hafez, and Kabir, medieval mystics whose passions and insights have been translated into modern language as a gift intended to help us cultivate our own love for God. I’ve been working on a project that has allowed me to see this kind of work from…
DetailsWhen I think of spirituality, my mind journeys to the heart of nature. It’s like I can see the trees swaying in the wind, feel the vastness of the open sky, and hear the gentle babbling of rivers. I can’t help but feel that these beautiful elements of nature are part of something much, much…
DetailsA few summers ago, I was fortunate to stay at Prairiewoods for an artist’s retreat of blissful painting, reading and walking in the woods and prairie. But the surprise highlight of my five-day personal retreat emerged each night just before night fell. At dusk that first night, I noticed some lights out the window in…
DetailsEverything is energy. Light. Quantum physics speaks of 94% of the universe as being made of energy or light. That includes you. Spiritual traditions have been speaking of this life force energy as Light or Spirit filling and interconnecting all of creation—including humans—for thousands of years. In India it’s called prana, in Hebrew it’s ruach…
DetailsThe Way It Is There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread. But it is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can’t get lost. Tragedies happen; people get hurt or…
DetailsI circle around God, around the primordial tower. I‘ve been circling for a thousand years and I still don’t know: am I a falcon, a storm, or a great song? —Ranier Maria Rilke I find much comfort in and resonance with these words of the poet Ranier Maria Rilke. I too am one who has…
DetailsMy spirituality has evolved over many years, as have the spiritual practices that embody it. It now centers on listening with reverence to mystery and practices that open the heart to pain and suffering. “Every being has its own interior, its self, its mystery, its numinous aspect. To deprive any being of this sacred quality…
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