Category Archives: spirituality

Eagle Poem by Joy Harjo

Eagle Poem “To pray you open your whole self To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon To one whole voice that is you. And know there is more That you can’t see, can’t hear; Can’t know except in moments … Continue reading

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Henri Frederic Amiel on Mystery

Toko-pa is a regular here…and here we are grateful for this post on her Facebook page of Henri Amiel’s beautiful words and the gorgeous painting by Katherine Goncharova. This sense of respecting the mystery at the heart of ourselves, each other … Continue reading

Posted in awakening, beauty, cognitive, compassion, consciousness, creativity, cultural questions, encounter, feminine, growth, meaning, non-directive counselling, Palace Gate Counselling Service, presence, rewilding, self, self concept, spirituality, surrender, Toko-pa, transformation, vulnerability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Heavy – Mary Oliver

Deeply sad to hear of the death of Mary Oliver, who has accompanied many of us over the sunlit grasslands and through the tight ravines. Gratitude for all she offers, and to Vera de Chalambert on Facebook for reminding us … Continue reading

Posted in beauty, consciousness, creativity, dying, emotions, grief, love, Mary Oliver, poetry, presence, relationship, sadness & pain, spirituality, surrender | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Francis Weller on remembering relationship with the earth

“Still, the ground beneath me felt unsteady, as though at any moment it could shake and easily take me to the ground. I stumbled upon what Zen priest and author Susan Murphy calls the koan of the earth. How do … Continue reading

Posted in awakening, consciousness, cultural questions, Disconnection, ecological, ecological issues, embodiment, empathy, encounter, ethics, fear, Francis Weller, grief, growth, healing, interconnection & belonging, natural world, paradigm shift, perception, presence, relationship, rewilding, spirituality, transformation, vulnerability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thanks by W.S. Merwin

“Listen with the night falling we are saying thank you we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings we are running out of the glass rooms with our mouths full of food to look at the sky … Continue reading

Posted in core conditions, cultural questions, Disconnection, gratitude, grief, loss, love, meaning, natural world, paradigm shift, perception, poetry, sadness & pain, spirituality, violence, vulnerability, W.S. Merwin | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Francis Weller on our shrunk & impoverished experience of being alive

Two favourites, Jewels Wingfield herself, and Francis Weller…. Here are the words, for those who have difficulty following Facebook links:- “Modern technological society has forgotten what it feels like to be embedded in a living culture, one rich with stories … Continue reading

Posted in awakening, community, consciousness, cultural questions, Disconnection, Francis Weller, grief, interconnection & belonging, meaning, paradigm shift, presence, rewilding, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Adrift – Mark Nepo

‘Everything is beautiful and I am so sad. This is how the heart makes a duet of wonder and grief. The light spraying through the lace of the fern is as delicate as the fibers of memory forming their web … Continue reading

Posted in beauty, emotions, flow, gratitude, grief, immanence, joy, loss, love, Mark Nepo, meaning, presence, rewilding, spirituality, surrender, tears, transformation, vulnerability, wonder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jeff Foster on Sadness and anger

Some extraordinarily important words from Jeff about our relationship with emotions perceived as ‘difficult’ and the judgments these attract…. We are often struck by how common those judgments are, even among the ‘spiritual’ and even among therapists – as if … Continue reading

Posted in acceptance, anger, boundaries, congruence, Disconnection, emotions, human condition, Jeff Foster, loss, love, meaning, perception, power, presence, sadness & pain, self, self concept, shaming, spirituality, surrender, transformation, vulnerability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Robert Macfarlane on the Celtic culture of retreat, & wildness

‘[The] Celtic Christian culture of retreat originated in the Ireland of the fifth and sixth centuries. Begun by St Patrick in the 430s, and inspired by the desert saints of the preceding centuries, the practice of retreat spread to what … Continue reading

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Joanna Macy on Separation, Connection & the 3 Movements

“In the first movement, our infancy as a species, we felt no separation from the natural world around us. Trees, rocks, and plants surrounded us with a living presence as intimate and pulsing as our own bodies. In that primal … Continue reading

Posted in actualizing tendency, awakening, consciousness, cultural questions, Disconnection, ecological, growth, human condition, identity, interconnection & belonging, Joanna Macy, meaning, natural world, organismic experiencing, perception, person centred, physical being, presence, rewilding, self, self concept, spirituality, transformation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment