Yes, I do enjoy gardening. Connecting with the land, planting seeds and bulbs, feeling awe at the sight of new growth — all of these help me to know my belonging in this world. I also find satisfaction in exploring my place in a larger context, while being solidly planted in the earth. That’s what this piece is about. You, … Read More
Two Spiritual Paths, two poems
This post is about two paths of spiritual awakening that activate from the same place: an irresistible pull to know what lies beyond physical reality. Divergence Imagine that one of the paths goes to the right, the other to the left. The one to the right leads “down” into the earth, to the realm of plant spirits and medicines, the … Read More
I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
I have always loved this poem. It was composed by John Magee, a Spitfire pilot serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force, at the beginning of the Second World War. He was 19 years old when he wrote these words, and still 19 when he died. Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, and danced the skies on … Read More
Born Whole post #18 – How you can work with me
Healing work: EFT and energetic/shamanic work for pre-birth or other life issues – A private session in person, on the phone, or online to heal your own pre-birth (or past life, or current life) traumas and issues one on one, in privacy and full confidentiality. Training in Spiritual and Shamanic awareness, expansion, and power – Two introductory online workshops where … Read More
A gift of gratitude
This morning I offered three sacred herbs to the water in a ceremony of gratitude. My gratitude today was for my spiritual path and the teachings of giving back. As I made the offering I spoke my gratitude for my teachers, to my teachers, and for the lineages they have carried and shared. In my mind I saw teachers I … Read More
Loneliness and ceremony
Sometimes as I am preparing to lead a ceremony with other people I feel lonely. That feeling may remain until I arrive at the place where the ceremony will be held, when I can connect with those unseen ones who will guide, accompany, and witness me and the other two-leggeds who will participate. Then the loneliness disappears and I understand … Read More
Circle in the sand
It’s early morning. In the beach sand by the ocean I draw a circle, as perfect as I can make it. This sand already holds the tracks of water, deer, crow, gull, otter, rabbit, and now this two-legged one. I mark the directions, the cardinal points of east, south, west, and north. In my mind and heart I also mark … Read More
Limitations of a spiritual teacher
One day I drove five hours; the route and place I knew only from a map. But the map is not the territory; the lines and dots and names, once seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted in experience, transcend that impoverished flat map, whose value now is only in the memory – which also is a map, not the formed … Read More
Consciousness in the River
Your life in this “ever-moving present moment” is like floating down a river. The river is a metaphor for consciousness. Look at the surface of the river in this present moment. Open to your senses. Feel the breeze on your skin, see the beauty of a flower or cloud, hear the sounds of waves and birds, smell the aromas of … Read More
Cellar
“Make the most of this one life” they say. “You only live once” they parrot, unthinkingly. Do not despair. Do not believe this will be only once, a single time. You are in a cellar in this life. The bulbs are few and forty watts at most. You move about in semi-dark; you do your best. From time to time, … Read More