Blessed Are The Mothers In 1870, author, suffragist, and pacifist Julia Ward Howe campaigned for Mother’s Peace Day, the forerunner of Mother’s Day (which was also created thanks to the vision of a mother and daughter, both named Anna Jarvis). In her Mother’s Peace Day Proclamation, Howe, the author of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” … Read more
This May Eve, as I burn, Year wheel take another turn. Fire flame and fire bright, Bless us on this May Eve night. Today is May Eve, Walpurgisnacht, Beltane Eve! One of the most magical nights of the year, in Germany, Walpurgisnacht begins at sunrise today and ends at sunrise on the first day of … Read more
When you have completed 95 percent of your journey, you are only halfway there. — Japanese Proverb Dear ones – what a fantastic time I had with my beloveds on my retreat in West Virginia. We worked deep magic, blessed by the beautiful land and the sweet beginnings of Springtime in the Appalachian mountains. We … Read more
The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery – not over nature but of ourselves. — Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring Today marks the end of Winter, and seven years since the U.S. invaded Iraq for excuses based on lies and greed. Rather than pouring our economic well-being and … Read more
Another encore post, this time, from one I wrote back in 2005. Court the Wild: Find Your Secret Spot in Nature Courting the wild–spending one to two hours each day in nature–is a suggestion from author Jim Merkel. In his book, Radical Simplicity (New Society Publishers ©2003) he offers this important recommendation for how to … Read more
A painting is never finished — it simply stops in interesting places. — Paul Gardner Today, we bid goodbye to the work begun at Imbolc, 2009, working our way through The Artist’s Way. I leave you with some final thoughts. First, as we have admitted by now that we are recovering artists, we are urged … Read more
We are now at the end of this journey together on The Artist’s Way. Which is to say, we are now just beginning our own Artist’s Way: living the life of Creator. Here are the last exercises that Julia recommends. I hope you’ll spend some quality time this weekend working through them. Tomorrow, 1. Write … Read more
One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. — Andre Gide As we come to the end of this journey, we may find ourselves facing a final exam or two. This is what Julia calls The Test. It is as if our most vulnerable … Read more
The race isn’t over until you cross the finish line. You’ll be surprised at how much can change in the last twenty strides. –Jackie Dugall (Women’s Cross Country champion and award-winning coach) Just as our Tarot card of the week has predicted, we are leaving behind the tenderly placed heart lessons found in the chapters … Read more
Very often the effort men put into activities that seem completely useless turns out to be extremely important in ways no one could foresee. Play has always been the mainspring of culture. — Italo Calvino (Journalist and writer, 1923-1985) The ego trip of pursuing ART, with a capital A is just another trap which is … Read more