The Prairiewoods courtyard is a spiritual intersection red stream flash Left to right Observed if not absorbed yellow stream flash Right to left Do my eyes deceive? Should green be near? Perhaps Earth to sky? This traffic light of mini super beings are simply song birds of the spiritual courtyard enjoying life shared and together.…
Details“Behold, my brothers, the spring has come; the earth has received the embrace of the sun and we shall soon see the results of that love! Every seed has awakened and so has all animal life. It is through this mysterious power that we too have our being and we therefore yield to our neighbors,…
DetailsPrairiewoods is currently exploring the characteristics of ecological spirituality, and we turn our focus to an examination of dualism versus non-dualism. First, what does dualism mean? Dualism (noun) 1. a theory that considers reality to consist of two irreducible (cannot be reduced or simplified) elements or modes 2. a doctrine that the universe is under…
Details“The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, God’s boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is a caress of God.” —Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 84 I was brought up in a split world. There were sacred things and profane things. Heaven and Earth. Right answers and wrong answers, and the person who got…
Details“Trees heal.” —Susan Bauer-Wu, A Future We Can Love A tree in Gatesville, Texas. I grew up in west Texas, where there are few trees, the southernmost part of the Great Plains. My mother, however, grew up in central Texas, where there are many beautiful live oak trees. On a visit to my grandmother, who…
Details“Elders belong to the earth, honoring all the names of love. They tend the universe, offering blessing to everything wild.” —Belden Lane, The Great Conversation: Nature and the Care of the Soul Prairiewoods’ Grandmother Oak is one of my most important elderhood mentors. She has grown for three centuries into a beautiful arbor elder, living…
DetailsIt is my great privilege to live On a North bank of Indian Creek Where in our back yard, The creek flows from East to West. And where forty or fifty yards downstream The creek begins to make a grand U-turn Achieved with great dignity Over another hundred yards or so Which, when once complete…
Details“Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” —Mary Oliver, Sometimes My lifelong goal as a writer: to articulate the ways that how we treat the earth and the body are deeply rooted, and how grief, love, and care for the natural world in the tending of the dying and dead…
DetailsThe Breath is my shepherd in deepest ravines highest mountains. Secured. Assured. Absolute. Divinity of all Creation. Even though organs fail flesh rots kin feed bones whiten scatter. My shepherd The Breath remains. Divine, Secure, Assured, Absolute, for Eternity. —Keith Knapp, written during a Silent Directed Retreat at Prairiewoods, June 2024 image of a…
DetailsMy favorite poet, Mary Oliver, wrote in Sometimes: “Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” —Mary Oliver, Sometimes Straightforward, simple directions for telling a bit of my story. When I received a congratulatory birthday note from the Iowa House on my 80th birthday, I gasped in astonishment! “80, how can…
DetailsAfter the August 2020 derecho, Laura Weber, former Prairiewoods associate director and retreat coordinator, expressed the emotions and powerful energy of how the storm impacted the lands and life at Prairiewoods. She used deeply expressive language like the “Gentle giants of unwavering peace” to describe the trees. I was especially enamored by the last two…
DetailsThe “New Universe Story” by Thomas Berry transforms and redefines our understanding of the 14-billion-year-old evolving universe and our place within it! It takes us from the formation of the galaxies and the origin of Earth and life to the development of self-reflective consciousness. Berry bridges scientific understanding and spiritual consciousness. Rooted in his awareness…
DetailsEvery time I come to Prairiewoods, I stroll along the Cosmic Walk path that marks key moments in the birth and evolution of our universe and our planet home Earth. Every time I am struck by how far I walk, across the creek, up the hill, through the woods, across the ridge—through billions of years…
Details“It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living.” —Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now As we approach the end of May, one of the busiest times of the year, it may bring closure to another school year for students and teachers. People graduate from various training programs and…
DetailsRemember the truth that is being whispered in the peaceful stillness. Listen to the birds rejoice as they glide through the sky, being bathed with sunlight. Join the tree branches in their swaying dance, praising their creator. Embrace the wind’s gentle caress as it rolls over your cheeks and swirls your hair. Welcome the harmony…
DetailsLast night at twilight (one of my favorite times), I was doing a walk about and thinking of transitions. As the sun set, I saw this pink glow in the east. Something, for whatever reason I hadn’t “seen” before. All I could think of at that point was a term that had been rolling around in my head for…
DetailsJanuary Palm fronds sing their song Is all creation singing? Shhh, let’s all listen February Today’s encounters Dragonfly, hawk, butterfly The wings are busy May Wrens, frogs, water’s flow How many songs make a day? Ears of the heart know August Pine cones cushion path Holy water falls from sky Wind is Spirit’s voice September…
DetailsFor my husband, Matt, and I, Prairiewoods has always been a place for connection … connection with nature, connection with our spirit, and connection with others seeking to heal their mind, body, and spirit. We especially enjoy our walks through the beautiful gardens, woodlands, and prairies that provide opportunity to connect with nature. The many…
DetailsGwen Frostic, Michigan ecologist and artist, wrote in 1973 that activism on behalf of working for a better future for our planet is not in creating big groups, big plans, unions and community ties. It is in being one who goes deeper into the world. To not belong, but to become. When I was a…
DetailsAs Prairiewoods enters its twenty-eighth spring and summer, we are conscious of three horizons present simultaneously. The first horizon is our past—the very ground of our being. The second horizon is our present—a time of great awakening and preparing for the next evolution. And the third horizon is our becoming—the future to which Prairiewoods is…
Details
