“I felt in need of a great pilgrimage,
so I sat still for three days.”
-Hafiz
Go Outside
“Go outside
and let your breath
be stolen away.
Find the forests,
seek the seas,
meditate
on the mountains,
mist covered
from morning.
We are nurtured
by nature, born
for the wild places;
we’ve no business
in cities, in buildings
taller than trees
can grow.
Go outside,
and begin living
again.”-Tyler Knott Gregson
What Is A Prayer?
“It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patcha few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorwayinto thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.”-Mary Oliver
From The Minds Journal I found the following interpretation of prayer and it resonated deeply. For me, nature’s wonder, these mountains, this majesty, allows and invites a prayerful approach; a reverent way of being alive absorbed by this commanding presence.
Keep praying always…. in all the ways that speak to you.
The Moon of Your Heart
“Put your thoughts to sleep, do not let them cast a shadow over the moon of your heart. Let go of thinking.”
-Rumi
Door to the Temple
Mary Oliver.
A treasure, a poet, a conduit to wonder…
“I could not be a poet without the natural world. Someone else could. But not me. For me the door to the woods is the door to the temple.”
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“For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.”
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“Today I’m flying low and I’m not saying a word.
I’m letting all of the voodoos of ambition sleep.
The world goes on as it must, the bees in the garden rumbling a little, the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten. And so forth.
But I’m taking the day off. Quiet as a feather. I hardly move though really I’m traveling a terrific distance.
Stillness. One of the doors into the temple.”
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All above quoted words by Mary Oliver
Thank you Mary Oliver for the ropes let down when I was lost. You inspired and lifted me up, reminded me of the always verdant, wise, and loving absorption available in the natural world. Your words were and are a respite. You will be so deeply missed, but your rich deep poetry, music really, will remain – always.
See Things As They Are
“I come to my solitary woodland walk as the homesick go home. I thus dispose of the superfluous and see things as they are, grand and beautiful.”
-Henry David Thoreau
Walk Slowly Into the Mystery
“It only takes a reminder to breathe,
a moment to be still, and just like that,
something in me settles, softens, makes
space for imperfection. The harsh voice
of judgment drops to a whisper and I
remember again that life isn’t a relay
race; that we will all cross the finish
line; that waking up to life is what we
were born for. As many times as I
forget, catch myself charging forward
without even knowing where I’m going,
that many times I can make the choice
to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk
slowly into the mystery.”-Danna Faulds
Welcome the New Year!
“And now we welcome the new year,
full of things that have never been.”
-Ranier Maria Rilke
Each of these snowflakes have never been before. Each new crystal is a unique expression of wonder! Light filled, every one. These are a few of the many many reasons that I am completely enamored of snow! The peacefulness, the beauty, the calm, the quiet, the sweetness, the meditative stillness, and that unique expression of wonder – it all embraces me completely.
And aren’t we all like this too, unique expressions of wonder? Light filled crystals of being? Yes, I think we are. May we all be filled with this light and wonder, knowing our unique expression of being this New Year…
It is very softly snowing on this dawn of the newest year and all of these feelings are very present – as am I. And in stillness I am listening to what my heart prays…
“Sit in stillness and listen to what your heart prays.”
-Ruth Jewell
Winter Solstice
“We are approaching the threshold of winter.
Life is being drawn into the earth, painlessly descending down into the very heart of herself.
And we as natural human animals are being called to do the same, the pull to descend into our bodies, into sleep, darkness and the depths of our own inner caves continually tugging at our marrow.
But many find the descent into their own body a scary thing indeed, fearing the unmet emotions and past events that they have stored in the dark caves inside themselves, not wanting to face what they have so carefully and unkindly avoided.
This winter solstice time is no longer celebrated as it once was, with the understanding that this period of descent into our own darkness was so necessary in order to find our light. That true freedom comes from accepting with forgiveness and love what we have been through and vanquishing the hold it has on us, bringing the golden treasure back from the cave of our darker depths.
This is a time of rest and deep reflection, a time to wipe the slate clean as it were and clear out the old so you can walk into spring feeling ready to grow and skip without a dusty mountain on your back & chains around your ankles tied to the caves in your soul.
A time for the medicine of story, of fire, of nourishment and love.
A period of reconnecting, relearning & reclaiming of what this time means brings winter back to a time of kindness, love, rebirth, peace and unburdening instead of a time of dread, fear, depression and avoidance.
This modern culture teaches avoidance at a max at this time; alcohol, lights, shopping, overworking, over spending, bad food and consumerism.
And yet the natural tug to go inwards as nearly all creatures are doing is strong and people are left feeling as if there is something wrong with them, that winter is cruel and leaves them feeling abandoned and afraid. Whereas in actual fact winter is so kind, yes she points us in her quiet soft way towards our inner self, towards the darkness and potential death of what we were, but this journey if held with care is essential.
She is like a strong teacher that asks you to awaken your inner loving elder or therapist, holding yourself with awareness of forgiveness and allowing yourself to grieve, to cry, rage, laugh, & face what we need to face in order to be freed from the jagged bonds we wrapped around our hearts, in order to reach a place of healing & light without going into overwhelm.
Winter takes away the distractions, the noise and presents us with the perfect time to rest and withdraw into a womb like love, bringing fire & light to our hearth.”-Brigit Anna McNeill
“Winter is showing you that this is the time where you are the embryo in the womb, the seed in the darkness. This is the time where nature asks- what do you need to heal, to feel safe enough to become whole, to become who you deeply are.
What needs attending to so you can rest well in your body, what needs loving so you can grow well in the light that is to come.”-Brigit Anna McNeill
“This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight, the year’s threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go of and becomes the future; the place of caught breath.”
-Margaret Atwood
I love this illustration by Jessica Boehman that accompanied Brigit Anna McNeill’s beautiful words on the wisdom of winter, found on her Facebook page. The drawing by Jessica and the words by Brigit resonated deeply as our northwest Montana winter begins…
Just This Breath
“Settle in the here and now.
Reach down into the center
where the world is not spinning
and drink this holy peace.
Feel relief flood into every
cell. Nothing to do. Nothing
to be but what you are already.
Nothing to receive but what
flows effortlessly from the
mystery into form.Nothing to run from or run
toward. Just this breath,
Awareness knowing itself as
embodiment. Just this breath,
awareness waking up to truth.”-Danna Faulds
