Recently 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…
From 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…
Many 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…
When 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…
A 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…
Everything 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…
The 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…
I 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…
My 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…
I ask “What is NOT spirituality? Every breath, every moment, we are living with Spirit. With Divine breath, we are experiencing all of life. Rumi speaks “Oh human angel, your path is perfection in the divine sense—not in some artificial absence of struggle, but in the wrestling of darkness and light that ignites the fire within…