Because of love I kneel down here— To a bird, a seed, a story. To a wildflower, a stream, a vision of The light cracking on sky Because of love I leave myself here— On the far side of the place where I thought I was going— Nearer to something that I cannot name, And…
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…
The gas grill on the back of a pickup truck in front of me, as our vehicles zoomed 65 miles per hour down the highway, was a stresser. Could I really trust the grill was securely strapped in? Simply having to ask myself the question made it a lane changer. Three days later, while visiting…
When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come to the…
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…
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…
In silence I block out the world so I can know God. In silence I feel my soul so I can know God. In silence I remember the stories of my faith so I can know God. In Silence I know God. —Mary (Zoubek) Mell, written while on a Silent Directed Retreat at Prairiewoods …
by Erin Lothes, PhD, as originally published in New Theology Review 26:2, March 2014 Every year, the Venetian doge sails out into the lagoon from San Marco Square to throw a jeweled ring into the waters, ceremonially sealing the marriage of Venice with the sea. For centuries Venice’s fortunes rose and fell with the maritime…
“The call rings forth: imagine a new future in collaboration with Earth’s wisdom, reweave communion with kith and kin, return to the universal tree of life and liveliness.” —Leah Rampy, PhD, Earth and Soul, p. 145 Throughout her book, Leah Rampy tells us to take time to be connected or reconnected to the kith and…
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.…