As I read the recent Prairiewoods blog Many Voices, Shared Questions (Leslie Wright, Jan. 6, 2023), I asked myself, do I identify as religious or spiritual? The answer for me was a bit of each. After all I am a Licensed Leader at my Unity Center here in Cedar Rapids, so that makes me religious,…
Fifth in a series of reflections on the questions posed in The Web of Meaning by Jeremy Lent, Prairiewoods’ Spirituality in the 21st Century facilitator, April 28–29, 2023 “I am here to weave my unique strand into the web of meaning.” —Jeremy Lent, The Web of Meaning Last week I attended the presentation of The…
I have been privileged to be a part of a small book group that is reading The Web of Meaning by Jeremy Lent, who will be our featured speaker at the Spirituality in the 21st Century 2023 conference on April 28–29 with Prairiewoods. This is a profound book that looks deeply into the situation that…
Fourth in a series of reflections on the questions posed in The Web of Meaning by Jeremy Lent, Prairiewoods’ Spirituality in the 21st Century facilitator, April 28–29, 2023 “As a living being in the midst of life, I should pursue symbiotic, fractal flourishing for myself, for humankind and for all life.” —Jeremy Lent, The Web…
Self-described “author and integrator” Jeremy Lent, who will be visiting Prairiewoods in April for Spirituality in the 21st Century, calls for creating a new web of meaning to enable the development of an ecological civilization in which “all humans flourish as part of a thriving Earth.” Following the flood in Cedar Rapids in 2008 I…
Third in a series of reflections on the questions posed in The Web of Meaning by Jeremy Lent, Prairiewoods’ Spirituality in the 21st Century facilitator, April 28–29, 2023 Yesterday the beautiful day took us on a drive along the Old River Road in search of eagles who winter by the roller dam. There were not…
“The basis of spiritual renewal is not the guilt feelings that frequently arise in sensitized individuals in rich industrial societies. Instead, it is a crazy mysticism of becoming empty that reduces the real misery of the poor and diminishes one’s own slavery. Becoming empty or ‘letting go’ of the ego, possession, and violence is the…
Second in a series of reflections on the questions posed in The Web of Meaning by Jeremy Lent, Prairiewoods’ Spirituality in the 21st Century facilitator, April 28–29, 2023 Where am I? Literally—I am sitting in my family room, a comfortable place surrounded by the familiar. Double glass doors open to the back yard; a view…
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed.” —Genesis 1:31 One of the unique things about the creation narrative is this depiction of Yahweh the creator surveying all that was made and in response exclaiming, “It is all very good.” From the stars in the universe, to the asteroids darting…
“I am the integrated product of my animate and conceptual consciousness—an ongoing process of ‘I’ and ‘self’ continually interacting.” Prairiewoods has always held a vision for me, a vision that includes understanding how I belong to this time and place. I have regularly attended Spirituality in the 21st Century, and this year is no exception.…