A great blessing, among many, of Prairiewoods is the honor of walking with people in discovering nature as threshold into deeper awareness of God. In these days of pandemic—a.k.a. pan-deepening at Prairiewoods—we witness young and old of all faiths, race, economic status drawn to the intriguing woods, wetland and prairie. As John Muir, father of…
“We are pregnant with a new earth. All of us. The virus is beginning the contractions. Shedding light on our fears as we get closer to the birth. What we are in the process of letting go of What we will take with us. What we will leave behind.” —Kali Quinn, “Learning about the process…
Note: The post below was shared on May 11, 2017, on my personal blog (no longer being published). I share it here today because the idea of Ubuntu is so important in the midst of this global pandemic. Also, it feels appropriate as we are mere days away from welcoming Sara Thomsen back as music…
“Conversation is perhaps our greatest hope not only for healing the rifts in human understanding but also for restoring and reinspiring our relationship with the natural world, which is our first and most profound home. Care of the world is always essential, and care arises from conversation.” —Thomas Dean, Introduction, Tallgrass Conversations: In Search of…
10 years ago, I attended a panel talk at UNI. The stage was set for inviting a discussion-style offering between esteemed community voices and … the Dalai Lama. My initial disappointment around attending the panel vs. his keynote quickly faded as I watched. I had so wanted to focus on listening to what this world-renowned…
In uncertain times, we look to the wisdom of our elders, our sages and our most cherished teachers to help us understand or at least cope with what frightens or bewilders us. For many years, I cherished the wisdom of Wolfie, the magnificent Siberian Husky named for my Grandma, who blessed me with her wisdom…
Good morning, Prairiewoods family, The first line of Wild Geese by Mary Oliver came to me on Tuesday evening. “You do not have to be good.” David Whyte, in his Poetry of Self Compassion, shares that the whole poem IS good, but you really only need the first line. “You do not have to be good … You do not…
Synchronicity, isn’t it, that we celebrate spring amid this pandemic—pan-deepening? All around we observe creation in the midst of birth pains. The slow, sure greening is generative hope. New birth is not only happening around us, it’s within us. The Spirit is arousing within us, praying us. With Earth, we too experience birth pangs as…
You’ve likely seen them, but do you know what mandalas actually are? Mandala is the Sanskrit word for “circle” and represents any circular work of sacred art. Mandalas start in the center and build outward, and all of their beauty and energy are contained within the circle. They include organic or geometric shapes that are…
I vaguely remember the first Earth Day in 1970. (I was only 9.) Like many things pre-internet, it took a while for Earth Day to enter the midwestern consciousness. However, four years later my junior high school newspaper was publishing a special Earth Day edition. My assignment? To write a book review of Rachel Carson’s…