A Letter from the Land

When the temperatures drop, the number of hours of daylight shortens and a tree’s sugar intake is reduced, the leaves shine the most. We all marvel in the beauty of brilliant oranges, deep reds and bright yellow hues that the trees have been hiding under shades of green the entire season. Something about the changing…

Wild Moments

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.” ―Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire…

Sense of Oneness

Two events—Prairiewoods’ Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) eight-week class and a weeklong silent retreat—deepened my sense of oneness. Both experiences helped me slow down and become more aware of everything around me. One example is eating. In the MBSR class, we ate a single raisin in excruciatingly slow fashion, first examining it visually, then feeling…

Revisiting a Sense of Oneness

It is early September 2024. My windows are open, and the symphony of the woods is lilting through the screen. The crickets provide an anchoring hum, birdsong provides a melody, and the gentle, rhythmic movement of the leaves adds percussion to this morning’s serenade. The early sun is resting on the trees, coaxing the woods…

Prayerful Silence

Prairiewoods retreat Prayerful silence, Nature, grace God’s exuberance —Mary Martens, BVM, written while on a Silent Directed Retreat at Prairiewoods   image of the Prairiewoods labyrinth at sunrise by Emily Osweiler   Are you wondering if a Silent Directed Retreat is right for you? We invite you to take time to rest in silence, to…