Category: Spiritual Teachings

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Snowy Blessings

Winter Blessings
My Two Guides in Winter

May you awaken to the mystery of being here and
enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.
May you have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.
May you receive great encouragement when new frontiers beckon.
May you respond to the call of your gift and find the courage to follow its path.
May the flame of anger free you from falsity.
May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame
and may anxiety never linger about you.
May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.
May you take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.
May you be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.
May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

~ John O’Donohue ~

☾ ☽

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Day of the Dead

Fairy Frost whispers, "winter is coming"
Fairy Frost whispers, “winter is coming”

Winter is rapidly approaching here in the Rockies. And it is no accident the el Dia de los Muertos is traditionally celebrated today;  winter is the season of death. This Day of the Dead is a time to connect with, honor and celebrate everything you received and learned from your dead loved ones.

Take a few moments today to pause and honor everyone and everything you have loved that is no longer with you. Light a candle, say a prayer of thanks, offer blessings.

Celtic Blessings to You and Yours

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours

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Celtic New Year

Samhain

As the shadows lengthen and the days grow short, my Celtic ancestors celebrated the start of their year.  Depending on which source you believe, the Celtic New Year’s Festival of Samhain happened on November 1st, also known in some parts as the Day of the Dead… OR Samhain may have been celebrated at the time of the new moon in late October or early November.  This year, the closest new moon falls on November 3.  So, either way, now is the time to celebrate!

As winter approaches, I find it quite natural to pause long enough to acknowledge all the blessings I have received in the past year. And I also like to reflect on what I would like to create and grow in the coming year. 

In honor of the approaching Celtic New Year, I offer blessings from elemental earth, air, fire, water and spirit to you.

“May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.”

~John O’Donohue, Anam Cara

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Smoke and Stone

Smoke and Stone
Smoke and Stone

I sit

breathing out my worry

and my wonder

as I silently ask the Goddess

what exactly is compassion?

and can I offer it to myself?

I sit

breathing out my fear

am I brave enough

to love

like a Boddhisattva

without reason, without end?

I sit

watching the Goddess

smoke dances, we sit

suddenly, the stone of me cracks

there is nowhere to hide

I am love.

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I Am

Reflection
Reflections
Wonderland Lake  October, 2013

I Am

My bones are mountains.
My tears, rushing rivers.
The earth’s crust is my skin.
Trees adorn my head.

The sun, moon, and stars
Are in my eyes.
The ether of the Universe is my breath.
Separateness is an illusion.

I am all things and all things are me.

~Anya Phenix

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Stillness

Still Pool
 

A huge thunderstorm brews just over the horizon as I take a wonder walk at Wonderland Lake.  Thunder rumbles on the ridge, yet the lake is still, perfectly still. Reflections of the foothills play on the surface of the water. The air is charged with magic potential.  My mind stills. I remember a passage from one of my favorite books: 

The silence is all there is. It is the alpha and the omega.
It is God’s brooding over the face of the waters;
it is the blended note of the ten thousand things, the whine of wings.”

~Annie Dillard, Teaching A Stone To Talk

☯

In the stillness before the storm, this space is alive with joy. Mother Nature shares her wisdom, whenever I remember to pause and listen.

Be Still.  
Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity.  

~Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

☯

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Seek Wildness

The Path into the Woods
The Path into the Woods

“To learn to see, to learn to hear, you must…
Go into the wilderness alone.
For it is not I who teach you the ways of the Gods.
Such things are learned only in solitude.”

~Matsuwa, Huichol Shaman