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 →
"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 →
“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and... Continue Reading →
"There is mystery at the heart of what holds us together, expressed in shared symbols, stories and experiences." ~ Brigidine Sisters We enter into the Mysteries of Imbolc, Candlemas, or Fèill Bhrìghde. As I've mentioned in previous musings, Imbolc-Candlemas has... Continue Reading →
Many of us wonder how we might not just face the challenges presenting us today, personally and collectively, but also envision and co-create a more heart-centered paradigm. In some sacred teachings and ancient wisdom traditions, we've heard that it takes both a change of mind and foremost, a change of heart. In the story of Sophia, Holy Wisdom, and interpretations of the teachings of some of the ancient Mystery Schools, human beings were endowed with certain Divine gifts through which we might unfold and express our Divine potential. [Continue reading to see the specific Sophia Gifts we're endowed with ...]
“I took the other road, all right, but only because it was the easy road for me, the way I wanted to go. If I’ve encountered some unnecessary resistance that’s because most of the traffic is going the other way.”... Continue Reading →
Are you tuning in at this Medusa-flavored new moon to receive Wisdom from the depths? For those with a two-second attention span, at this new moon you're invited to call Wisdom and heartfulness 'down to Earth' to illuminate and guide... Continue Reading →
Thanks to a lovely synchronicity via the blog-o-sphere, I attended a gathering this past weekend, Friday into Sunday, on the topic of an emerging InterSpirituality. First the sweet magic last week of connecting with a fellow blogger and woman of... Continue Reading →
Julian of Norwich, born in 1342, is considered to be one of the most important Christian (or any tradition) mystics and spiritual mothers. There's good reason for that. Read on. She was an anchoress at St. Julian of Le Mans,... Continue Reading →
"A culture falls apart when its sense of youthful imagination disappears at the same time that the wisdom of the elders is forgotten." ~ Michael Meade Thanks to a few evocative posts and links from my fellow blogger at Elegant... Continue Reading →
This is so lovely, and the perfect match to my earlier 'Breath of Life' (reblog) post for this Big Love (and thin veils) day (and month ahead). Thanks to Vondadrees for this one (and do click through to Vondadrees blog;... Continue Reading →
I love this post, and the music that Boštjan shares! It's really in sync with the current Energies of Now: We're in the dark moon just before the upcoming Aquarian new moon (the 2nd in the sign). The twin-set of... Continue Reading →
In Mysticism, Evelyn Underhill gives another perspective on the Withdrawal and Return stages of the Hero's Journey through which all heroines and heroes, all spiritual initiates and sages, must trek. We've just forgotten what many of our ancestors and the... Continue Reading →
Now that we're in retrospective mode, seeing 2020 in the rearview mirror while integrating all of the many experiences and perspective-shifters (or at least, perspective challengers) that the last year included, The Hero/Heroine's Journey yet again renews its relevance. The... Continue Reading →
When we wander off the well-traveled path and begin to do a bit of deeper-digging, we realize pretty quickly that the foundational stories we've been taught and told are either incomplete -- key bits left out, you might say --... Continue Reading →
"Let the stream follow its course, it will know the way among the mountains. Watch, and it will lead you to the ocean with gentle certainty -- unforced. Have faith in your direction." David M. Bell, Spirit of Nature: The... Continue Reading →
"We cannot see our reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see." - Taoist Proverb I've always found calm, and sometimes clarity, too, in these very Taoist, natural-element bits of wisdom, especially water-related ones.... Continue Reading →
What do astronomy, Grace, Greek mythology, and April have in common? Last week, astronomers shared news of their discovery that Chariklo, an asteroid (or possibly dwarf planet), has rings around it -- something thought to occur only in larger planetary bodies,... Continue Reading →
Sometimes it's good to shake up stuck notions, when they get so calcified they become toxic. That's when we need to 'go all Hafiz', and turn it upside down to shake the nonsense out and reveal the original Wisdom of it.... Continue Reading →
A perfect set of musings for the dark moon, dark of night, or dark of Winter (whether you're in seasonal Winter, as we are now here in New York, or in the Dark Night or winter passage of some life-cycle you're... Continue Reading →
"Women cannot simply retrieve or re-appropriate tradition. They must find a deeper spirituality, a new mysticism." ~ Beverly Lanzetta, Radical Wisdom That's just one of the things I've learned on my own journey, once Mother Wisdom had grown impatient with... Continue Reading →
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." -... Continue Reading →
“If only the sun-drenched celebrities are being noticed and worshiped, then our children are going to have a tough time seeing the value in the shadows, where the thinkers, probers and scientists are keeping society together.” ~ Rita Dove, Poet,... Continue Reading →
“The true teacher is one who has experienced it absolutely through and through, and speaks from the authority of having experienced it -- not read about it, heard about it, learned about it, but done it.” ~ David Hawkins Sir David... Continue Reading →
"Asking for help does not mean that we are weak or incompetent. It usually indicates an advanced level of honesty and intelligence." - Anne Silson Schaef If experience has taught me anything -- and indeed, it's taught me much --... Continue Reading →
“The older I become, the more I sense, the less I speak, the more I pray — in ever so many ways.” I included this wonderful reflection from Clarissa Pinkola-Estes' book Untie the Strong Woman in a previous Sophia's Children post... Continue Reading →
Most of us have experienced it at some point: "There's no going back." That's one of the big differences between change and transformation. With transformation, there is no 'back there' to return to, because 'back there' is rubble. Probably smoking rubble.... Continue Reading →
“I have had many Zen masters as teachers – and all of them cats!” ~ Eckhart Tolle Any among us who are of the Feline Tribe understand The Way of Cat. And we know that we learn much from our... Continue Reading →
Just in case Super-Storm Sandy is all it's projected to be, I'm posting an earlier version of a blog post on my list for this week. A super-juicy Taurus full moon, a super cocktail of a storm, and the cross-quarter... Continue Reading →
From Celestial Tarot by