• being human,  breath,  embodiment,  learning,  reading

    Life’s Longing for Itself

    “Your children are not your children. They are sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth…..” Khalil Gibran

  • being human,  reading

    I Want to Be the Kind of Woman

    I want to be the kind of woman | who milks goats each morning | and drinks straight from the bucket — | who isn’t afraid to reach into the hive. I want to be the kind of woman | who lies down in winter, | in the brown mulch of leaves | and sleeps until spring | who loves the generous folds of her body. I want to be the kind of woman | who has found her sealskin, | who would cross oceans to make | her dead father love her once again. I want to be the kind of woman | who can name hyssop, nettle, lady’s mantle | and knows all their healing uses. I want to be the kind of woman | who goes out under the night sky | to chant with owls and wolves, | who falls…

  • being human,  embodiment,  reading,  spiritual direction

    Mystery & Magic in the Unfolding

    I lean in to the mystical. I can’t get enough of it … reading about it, having my own direct experiences (even if they’re brief and sometimes sporadic), living for the ‘big aha’s’ of life. So reading about boundaries and ethics didn’t set my soul on fire but I absolutely see the importance of it. The Virtual Residential Intensive (VRI) also made it come alive, as we talked about how we are physically integrating the principles more deeply into our lives. It might be one of the most important topics we cover related to how we do the work of spiritual direction. In terms of ethics as a Spiritual Director, SDI does a great job of outlining them. It feels pretty straightforward to me, not unlike the ethics I’m bound to as a yoga teacher. It’s important to understand the power dynamics at play…

  • being human,  reading,  writing

    January Books Read

    As I wrote in a previous post, I have a goal of reading 108 books and/or literary essays this year. Besides the ongoing books I’m reading throughout the year (which were listed in that post), here is a list of books and essays read in January 2021: Dear Ijeawele or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Pray, Decide and Don’t Worry: Bobby & Jackie Angel with Mike Schmitz In the School of the Holy Spirit: Jacques Philippe Praying the Rosary Like Never Before: Edward Sri We Should All Be Feminists: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Stitches: Anne Lamott Intimations: Zadie Smith The Naked Now: Richard Rohr Turn My Mourning Into Dancing: Henri Nouwen Liturgy of the Ordinary: Tish Harrison Warren A Healing Space: Matt Licata Seven Brief Lessons on Physics: Carlo Rovelli On Likability: Lacy M. Johnson Obituary for Dead Languages: Heather Altfeld…