Prayer for the Great Familyafter a Mohawk prayer, by Gary Snyder, Turtle Island Gratitude to Mother Earth, sailing through night and day—and to her soil: rich, rare and sweetin our minds so be it. Gratitude to Plants, the sun-facing, light-changing leafand fine root-hairs; standing still through windand rain; their dance is in the flowering spiral … Read more
Manifest plainness,Embrace simplicity,Reduce selfishness,Have few desires. — Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching Today is Fat Tuesday, Mardis Gras, sometimes called Shrove Tuesday. On this day, Christians prepare for a season of purification and deprivation, in alignment with their God’s vision quest. I love what author and Wise One of Time Waverly Fitzgerald has written about how … Read more
If you give birth to the genius within you,it will free you.If you do not give birth to the genius within you,it will destroy you. — from the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas Throughout history, humans have found pathways that are aimed at awakening our consciousness to those transcendent levels that we may occasionally, or accidentally, … Read more
Life’s splendor forever lies in wait about each one of us in all its fullness, but veiled from view, deep down, invisible, far off. It is there, though, not hostile, not reluctant, not deaf. If you summon it by the right word, by its right name, it will come. — Franz Kafka We’ve been getting … Read more
Illustrious Kharites, mighty named, from Zeus descended, and Eunomia famed [Eurynome], Thalia and Aglaia fair and bright, and blest Euphrosyne, whom joys delight.– from The Hymns of Orpheus, translated by Thomas Taylor (1792) The Graces, also called the Charites (sometimes spelled Kharites), were three beautiful daughters of Zeus, the supreme God of ancient Greece. Their … Read more
Though my soul may set in darkness,It will rise in perfect light,I have loved the stars too fondlyTo be fearful of the night. — Sarah Williams (1837 – 1868) On Sunday, we take the next step in our Solstice Sunwheel ritual. At sunset, or some other quiet time, you will first re-light the first candle, … Read more
DREAMS WITHIN DREAMSby Fiona MacLeod (William Sharp) I have gone out and seen the lands of Faery,And have found sorrow and peace and beauty there,And have not known one from the other, but found eachLovely and gracious alike, delicate and fair.“They are children of one mother, she that is called Longing,Desire, Love,” one told me: … Read more
© Jane Dahmen – Maine Fall I am rich today with autumn’s gold, All that my covetous hands can hold; Frost-painted leaves and goldenrod, A goldfinch on a milkweed pod, Huge golden pumpkins in the field With heaps of corn from a bounteous yield, Golden apples heavy on the trees Rivaling those of Hesperides, Golden … Read more
Holding Peace by Nancy Howe© 2001-2007 Free Spirit ArtFrom Pronoia by Rob Brezsny: At the Beauty and Truth Laboratory, we believe that stories about the rot are not inherently more captivating than stories about the splendor. On the contrary, given how predictable and omnipresent the former have become, they are actually quite dull. Obsessing on … Read more