Confronting the Shadows
"Attend to a physical, emotional or spiritual pain in your life with an attitude of 'lightness,' with reverence toward its mystery. Hold a prayerful attitude of openness to God's movement in that mystery.
"Today, confront the shadows in your life. Do a 'spring cleaning' of your psyche by looking at your buried secrets and opening them to the fresh air of conscious exploration and openness. Pray for the courage to reverse old patterns that encourage you to dramatize past hurts; pray for the courage to find new ways of being."
— Ponderings from the Precipice: Soulwork for a New Millennium
Destruction and Silence
"Go to a place where destruction and violence have taken place. You may find yourself in the inner city, where people are mistreated and abused, or in a place where pollution abounds, in a toxic dump where poison and aggression against Earth is painfully present.
"In silence, be present to this locus of violence. Allow this place of human pain or ecological devastation to speak to you. Observe what is there; what do you see, hear, touch, smell? What do you think?
"After about ten minutes, focus your attention specifically on the pain of the people or the place where violence has occurred.
"After another ten minutes, find a quiet place and record your reactions. If possible, share your experience with a friend or colleague. Reflect on how your understanding of violence has been enhanced as a result of this process."
— Ponderings from the Precipice: Soulwork for a New Millennium
Little Deaths
"Pray for the grace to accept the 'little deaths' that are an inevitable part of your life story — the uncertainty of employment, health problems, fractured relationships with family and friends."
— Ponderings from the Precipice: Soulwork for a New Millennium
Walkabout Praying
"My prayer has become a 'walkabout,' a moving upon the Earth and celebrating each being as a manifestation of God."
— Ponderings from the Precipice: Soulwork for a New Millennium
Diversity and Creativity
"At the heart of creativity is diversity. Diversity is at the core of the universe and is its art form. We need to embrace and appreciate the differences in places and people. However, creativity and diversity have not been espoused by the bureaucratic structures of our dominant culture. Schools, governments, and corporations prefer predictable, managed behavior. In the creative process, we surrender and often become astonished at what happens as we revere the diversity of ethos, language, history, and place. As we challenge the conformity that leads to boredom and burnout, the door opens to joy, inspiration, and healing."
— Lyrics for Re-Creation
Communion
"Communion means we are all related. We are one, although we are many; we are together, although we are apart. We honor the wisdom of the late scientist David Bohm, who reminded us that science teaches that there is no basis for separation. Communion invites us to celebrate and participate in the unity and interconnectedness of the universe."
— Lyrics for Re-Creation
The Strength of a Circle
"Common to us all, this strength is often symbolized by a circle. This is the power drawn on when people gather together in groups as equals, whether in women's or men's circles, round tables, sweat lodges, or drumming circles. In communication with Earth and one another, we not only know our calling, we feel it."
— Lyrics for Re-Creation
Differentiation
"Differentiation honors the fact that every person, stone, tree, and animal is a unique creation. Indeed, the universe thrives on diversity. Learning not only to tolerate but to respect our differences, both individual and cultural, is crucial to the work of liberation. Differentiation provides multiple sources from which solutions to our problems are found."
— Lyrics for Re-Creation
Fear and Promise
"In our tears, we discover a reason to dream and the promise of a future filled with hope. No one has spoken more eloquently of this moment of fear and promise than a four-year-old child from Russia. These are her words:
May there always be sunlight.
May there always be trees.
May there always be mama and papa.
May there always be me."
When Grace Happens
"Grace happens when in our restlessness we discover colleagues in pursuit of justice who also long for a life of harmony, balance and peace.
Grace happens when we discover at the threshold of unexplored frontiers a quantum realm wherein reside the secrets of what it means to be alive.
Grace happens when we embark anew on a journey to celebrate fresh expressions of wisdom, to see each expression of creation as a unique manifestation of sacredness and new life."
— At the Edge of our Longing: Unspoken Hunger for Sacredness and Depth
Healing in the Age of Anxiety
"In this new 'age of anxiety,' amidst terrorist attacks and military retaliation, the words of Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu Tum point us toward healing:
There will be no Peace if there is no Justice.
There will be no Justice if there is no Equity.
There will be no Equity if there is no Progress.
There will be no Progress if there is no Democracy.
There will be no Democracy if there is no Respect
For the Identity and Dignity of the Peoples and Cultures."
— At the Edge of our Longing: Unspoken Hunger for Sacredness and Depth
The Invisible Becomes Apparent
"Born into a world of wonder and surprise,
we treasure our moments of deep delight.
Yet lurking among shadows on our path
are burdensome rocks and bitter fruit.
Pain and joy always marinate our soul.
Relish each taste as a page of sacred scripture,
a day of divine disclosure.
Through the people and projects of our life
our presence will remain.
As the invisible becomes apparent,
our excursion is widened,
and we are all welcomed home."
