“We must seed a new consciousness … drawing its inspiration from perennial spiritual and moral insights, intuition, and experience. We call this new awareness interspiritual, implying not the homogenization of religion, but the recovering of the shared mystic heart beating in the center of the world’s deepest spiritual traditions.” —Wayne Teasdale, The Mystic Heart The Fetzer Institute published What Does…
Have you heard the phrase holding space? One person can hold space for another by just listening to what they have to say—without judging, without problem-solving, without comparing their experiences. It is a loving, compassionate act. Sometimes holding space can mean literally “holding space,” offering someone a place to be as they sort things out…
What is Peace? What does it mean? It’s more than a cessation of war, of violence or fighting. It’s more than keeping up a façade of pleasantness, or “appropriate” behavior. It goes much deeper than appearances, pat phrases or pretense. Deep within, we are connected. Connected with everyone and everything, vibrating and oscillating, breathing with…
Today I walked the labyrinth with a friend for the first time in quite a while. Little did I know that in that one simple act I would experience the fullness and the heart of all that is Prairiewoods. We walked through the woods on the way to the labyrinth, in golden light, and felt…
The concept of “re-wilding” creation takes its cues from a philosophy of “Nature knows best,” by restricting human interference in creation’s own healing as an approach to ecological restoration and wholeness. Eminent biologist E.O. Wilson (1929–2021) had proposed—provocatively—setting aside and protecting half the biosphere for nature to heal and regenerate, and thus restoring balance to a human-befouled…
We all choose our way To embrace or reject The kin of the park The kin of the pack Standing as tall arbor elders Rock jumping as Sierra Fence lizards Not as master or leader, but as collaborative guide of compassion to nurture and hold that which breathes, that breathes the breath of life here…
Each year, my husband and I and our beloved dogs look forward to Prairiewoods’ annual Blessing of the Animals. It’s a chance for our pups to meet dozens of other dogs, cats, guinea pigs, bunnies, bearded dragons, donkeys, turtles, etc. from around the corridor. (And this year’s Blessing will be extra special for me, because…
The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day; the score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play. And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same, a sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game. ********* The sneer is gone from Casey’s lip, his teeth…
Crises we experience today—spiritual, ecological, political, global—signify that we have lost consciousness (and perhaps conscience) regarding the sacred at the heart of all life. The Season of Creation invites us to re-awaken and transform the way we choose to live, relate and engage with creation. The celebration was birthed in 1989 when the Eastern Orthodox…
Beating flutter of the Divine within Convergence points all, between and among Start of a cry emerged, mothers joy Love contained, first glimpse of wonder Earth arbor and kin, seen and touched The last sigh of life, compassionate connection Deep remembrance, physically undeniable Unsure mind, but unforgotten Body spirit, remembrance of the One, the butterfly…