Good morning, Prairiewoods Family! We are going virtual with our weekly Tuesday Prayer Experience Series. Please consider joining us via Zoom this Tuesday, March 31, from 11:30 a.m.–noon, as well as subsequent Tuesdays for the time being. This series offers an opportunity for us to pray together. We are blessed with many ways to pray, ranging…
As you may know, we coined the phrase PanDeepening as we work to see this unique moment in history as an opportunity to go more deeply into all our relationships and interconnections. Each day, we post activities, reflections and thoughts intended to help our community thrive, find ways to hold hope and become our own calm center…
I must admit, I’m struggling. In this time of social distancing, I—like many of you—am feeling fearful. My anxiety is often taking precedence over my sense of hope and optimism. But I’m reminded of a story Mary Pipher wrote in her book Women Rowing North: My brother told a story about a tailor who wanted…
I was moved by Sister Ann Jackson’s blog last week entitled “Coming Home.” What especially spoke to me was the stanza from the poem she shared by Jane Hooper as cited in Cynthia Bourgeault’s book The Wisdom Way of Knowing (p. 38–40). Please come home. Please come home INTO YOUR OWN BODY. Your own vessel, your…
In 2013 I completed the eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, facilitated by Chris Klug and based on the model developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Today I continue to use many of the techniques I learned in that program and often refer to it as a life-enhancing experience.…
One day a young Buddhist on his journey home came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his pursuit to continue his journey, he…
“I hear the drizzle of the rain Like a memory, it falls Soft and warm, continuing Tapping on my roof and walls …” (Kathy’s Song by Paul Simon, 1965) When in the ’60s Paul Simon penned these lyrics for his British soulmate, Kathy Chitty, life was in turmoil. Upheaval was everywhere and themes of…
Dearest Prairiewoods Family, I am delighted to share about new research that I recently learned about at a Forest Bathing class that was held in January by Dr. Suzanne Bartlett Hackenmiller at Prairiewoods. She shared that just 5 minutes a day in Nature has health and wellness benefits! I was beyond excited to hear this and…
People across the world approach this profound change in daily living and long for expression. Some experience this time as a sacred invitation to discover a new sense of home—locally and globally—deeper and more expansive. This beautiful poem below by Jane Hooper, cited in Cynthia Bourgeault’s The Wisdom Way of Knowing, and Sara Thomsen’s beautiful…
As we at Prairiewoods focus on shifting our attention from the pandemic to #PanDeepening, we are looking at meditations, readings and activities that help us go deeper and get more centered within ourselves and in our God. In today’s PanDeepening, let’s slow down, quiet our minds and listen to the words of a gifted Celtic…