Jeff Japp, in his Stuff Jeff Reads blog, muses about another of the super-insidious yet not as often mentioned "isms" ingrained and "toxic-normalized" into our culture, alongside racism and sexism/misogyny, linking what we see now with what Shakespeare wrote about in... Continue Reading →
Two years ago, I wrote a post called "I Build A Lighted House (and Therein I Dwell). The Energies of Now -- and current 'happenings' in culture -- make this a timely message once again. Here goes ... “I build... Continue Reading →
I wrote this post last Autumn and stowed it away in the Drafts folder to be rediscovered today. Seems as timely a topic as ever, so here it is ... “Researching her film, The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard discovered... Continue Reading →
Every one of us experiences various life milestones, some of which are reflected in one's astrological natal and transits chart -- the first Saturn Return (and second), the Uranus Oppositions and Squares, the Chiron Return, Progressed Lunar Return, and a... Continue Reading →
We've had, and are in the midst of, some energy and theme shifts in recent weeks and days. On May 15th, humanity's maverick, rule-bending champion, Prometheus, returned to the Garden on the New Moon to join a Posse of the... Continue Reading →
Happy Protomagia, as my Greek friend Marinela says, a.k.a. Beltane or May Day (a traditional "thank God we survived the long Winter" celebratory and abundance-appreciating reference before 'May Day' got co-opted for martial purposes! Also connected with Persephone and her... Continue Reading →
Elegant Mystery has shared several images of Leonora Carrington's surrealist artwork, and the short documentary film about this amazing woman's life. What a wonderful, inspired, and deeply moving story! Leonora Carrington's story gives one example of what happens when a... Continue Reading →
What does one say in the face of the unspeakable, as Thomas Merton called it? I know that I'm not the only one who's been deeply reflecting on this in recent days and weeks, even in the midst of the... Continue Reading →
"You make a life out of what you have, not what you're missing." ~ Ruby in The Forgotten Garden (Kate Morton) This simple comment from Kate Morton's novel, The Forgotten Garden, could be a reflection in itself. Much of consumer-culture... Continue Reading →
Wild times, eh? And it's Independence Day (or week, or year?) here in the U.S. In such a large (just shy of 322-million people) and very diverse population as we have in many parts of the U.S., 'holidays' like this... Continue Reading →
Blog sister, Jessica Davidson, has posted a beautiful musing on the powerful story of The Handless Maiden, emphasizing how potent and meaningful this story is just now. Jessica writes: "The Handless Maiden is a myth that speaks powerfully to our... Continue Reading →
“In dark times, let’s be skillful enough to learn how to fly in the darkness like bats. Let’s be healthy enough to vomit the lies we’re obliged to swallow each day. Let’s be brave enough to have the courage to... Continue Reading →
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward many are strong at the broken places." Ernest Hemingway (This is an update and re-feature of a post I wrote in 2008, in my previous Engaged Spirituality, Mystic Activism blog. It seemed ripe for... Continue Reading →
"... if you're a teacher your words can be meaningful, but if you're a compassionate teacher, they can be especially meaningful. If you're a doctor you can do some good things, but if you're a caring doctor you can do... Continue Reading →
Here's a thought-and-heart-stirring post from Jessica Davidson about Mental Health Awareness Week (in the U.K.): "It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and this year the focus is on why people struggle to thrive with good mental health. Instead of looking at... Continue Reading →
I'm writing this on Day Two of our snow-infused Winter Wonderland here in New York, with at least two feet of fresh snow since the wee hours Tuesday. In case we were confused about it, Mother Nature has, once again,... Continue Reading →
"We cannot live in a world that is not our own, in a world that is interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not home. Part of the terror is to take back our own listening, to use... Continue Reading →
“The first steps toward the creation of wholehearted empowerment in our lives are to leave space for it and ask for it with sincerity. We can’t overlook the power of devotion to create the feeling of possibility in our lives.... Continue Reading →
"If everything is uncertain, then the future is open to human creativity, to possibility and therefore to a better world." ~ Immanuel Wallerstein We don't normally see chaos as an ally, because it seems so, well, chaotic. Uncertain. It feels... Continue Reading →
"Imaginal hygiene is the inner art of self-managing the imagination, to defend it from forces that compromise, pollute, colonize, shrink, and sterilize it, and to cultivate those that illuminate, expand, and nourish it." ~ M. T. Xen, by way of... Continue Reading →
The topic of this musing is very much linked to the reminder that resurfaced recently -- that I shared in the most recent post, "In This Moment, I Begin Anew." The topic on the table? Being present and in the... Continue Reading →
Here's a trio of Museworthy quotations or excerpts from one eloquent and visionary leader, and two inspired writers of different generations, but all "born into interesting times." Two were born in the mid to late 1920s, and the third was... Continue Reading →
It's no secret now that we're at a bit of a craggy crossroads, we humans? It seems that Life herself is more urgently stirring up the recollection, resurrection, and/or Phoenixing of whole areas of innate and indigenous-soul genius that were... Continue Reading →
“We cannot think our way out of this crisis, we must imagine it.” ~ Becca Tarnas, Toward an Imaginal Ecology That echos two of Albert Einstein's insights. Here's the first, and you'll likely recognize it: "We can't solve problems by... Continue Reading →
I share the following from Alastair McIntosh's 2015 Sunderland P. Gardner Lecture (Canadian Quaker Learning Series #7), with Mr. McIntosh's permission. This reflection is also very much aligned with some of the archetypal macro-themes of the current Saturn-Neptune and Uranus-Pluto... Continue Reading →
We’re born into this world already with just the blend of inherent traits, ancestral intelligence, and soul imperatives we need for this lifetime’s expedition. Some of this encoding is time-released, and some is latent until it’s activated by certain forces... Continue Reading →
Earth Energy Reader (in The Shift Has Hit the Fan blog) shares an interesting comparison from Chris Hedges, on the similarities between mystics and rebels, and a few related musings. In a time and culture of Spiritual Entertainment and commoditized,... Continue Reading →