Life is but a dream. I wrote outside in the garden yesterday. My garden is my chapel with no walls. It is sacred space just outside my door. I do not have to travel anywhere to find sacred ground. ..I recognize it everywhere. I no longer reach for beauty I am living inside it and allowing it to speak through the circle of life. I never write alone...Angels, guides, ancestors, birds, trees, flowers, Rosie...all bear witness to the unfolding. It was 36 degrees out and a

I wrote my name in the sand the last time I visited the Pacific Ocean. Not on paper. Not in ink. Not in a place meant to keep it. I wrote it where it would be taken. Angelface Mystic. My letters are written uneven and were shaped by hand and breath. I was not concerned with perfection--only with my presence. There is something about writing your name into the earth that returns me to myself. My feet were pressing into the ground. The breezy air was moving in and out of m

Thunderbird of Sound and Light. There are mornings I have shared, that meet me in stillness. Coffee warm in my hand. Light moving softly through the trees out my windows. My breath... inhale...peace exhale...gratitude pause... Nothing is asking anything of me. I am not reaching for anything. In these moments, I understand the sacred as quiet. Not loud. Not proving. Not performing. Just...present. And yet - this is not the whole of me. There is also a current that mov

I woke up at 5 a.m. and slowly descended the stairs in my dark and quiet home. I walked into the kitchen and mindfully fill the coffee carafe with filtered water from the refrigerator. As the carafe fills, I begin with standing grounded on the wood floor. I imagine I am standing on a wood floor in a yoga studio. As I inhale, I flex my feet and lift up onto the balls of my feet pause for a moment and slowly lower back down onto my heels as I lift my toes on the exhale. A fl

Even in the quiet dark, something is already glowing. Don't Rush the Morning: Meet It Where You Are The bare, dark, trees etched against the sky, stand rooted to the earth while still holding the darkness of night, as the sky gently shifts from a deep blue -- into a soft pink, the flame of my salt lamp reflecting its own light -- like a flame in the distant sky, like a heartbeat that never stopped beating, my angel wings hanging quietly suspended in the clear glass window bet

Inhale Exhale Pause Happy St. Patrick's Day A few weeks ago I read about sacred Blue Lotus Essential Oils used in meditation. I decided to order some. Sahu Sacred Oils are made the ancient way by a dedicated family in Egypt who owns the press and who work alongside hardworking farmers and workers to produce these sacred essences and bring them to life and to the world in a sustainable way that supports the family and community. Craftsmanship at its finest. My little bottle

Inhale. Exhale. Pause. Every morning I wake up early. I come downstairs and look out my large windows that open to the eastern sky and I greet the quiet darkness before dawn breaks. I begin to prepare a pot of coffee with freshly roasted coffee beans. As the coffee brews, I feed Rosie, fill her water dish and we step outside. I love the quiet. The morning does not need to be conquered. It only asks to meet it with your presence. I stand on the earth and look up at the s

Walking in the woods I came upon this adorable snowperson. Inhale, exhale, pause. Inhale is the snowfall. Exhale is the melting, life returning to movement. This snowperson is definitely is in the pause phase of her existence. The pause is the gentle moment - the snowperson stands quietly in the sun. Between the falling snow and the melting there is the pause...the stillness. Will winter hold on a bit longer or is today the day spring melts her and transforms her back to

The first time I have ever been able to practice yoga outside, on my deck, in February. I turned 65 on Sunday, February 15. A big birthday. I live in Minnesota and the weather on my birthday is usually cold, snowy, and or icy. Birthday plans throughout the years have oftentimes been canceled or had to be rescheduled because of the weather. Not this year! As you can see from the picture above, my yoga mat is laid out on my deck. The weather is a birthday from the univer

Stillness at dawn invites me to step closer to myself and honor what endures. Friends. Friendship has many layers. Especially friendships that have endured decades. The stillness of going within invites me to slow down and to honor the connections and enter into the quiet roots of my relationships with my friends. Friendships that last need recognition not constant affirmation. Distance does not stop the beating hearts of our connection. In the stillness, I feel: the year

A stunning visitor appears out my window. Oh… yes. This is just one of my stunning visitors to my front landscape just outside my window. This cardinal feels like a, "sacred fire" set against winter’s stillness. His visit brings warmth and comfort to my heart. A messenger sent from a loved one in heaven. A symbol of encouragement, hope, steadiness, and dignity. A thread woven into our family's memory of how love continues. He is framed by the dark green branches of the

Cross the bridge to breathing in peace and exhaling in gratitude. Have you ever sent a gift, written a heart-felt card, showed up for someone in need and not received a simple, "thank you?" I would guess at some point in your life, yes, would be the answer. How does that feel in your body, your heart, your mind? Do you begin to start a story of resentment, "Well, that's the last time I do something nice for someone!" "That so and so is so ungrateful!" I know that I have

Lake Pepin at Dawn Inhaling peace and exhaling gratitude is a practice you can feel in your body. There is a lightness felt in your chest. Similar to how the dawn begins in your heart way before it breaks over the horizon. A steady breath has already settled in. This embodiment practice you feel gives your nervous system time to rearrange itself. You are learning a new rhythm. A rhythm to be the peace you want to see, feel, and know in this world and wrap that peace in

Yoga practice is a beautiful gift you give to yourself. You honor yourself by showing up on your mat. You are saying, "Yes" daily, weekly, monthly, to being at home with your body. A bow to what remains within, without, as above, and so below. Hand on heart, "May I arrive on this mat, in this moment, for what yoga softens, strengthens, unfolds, and reveals to me. I allow the light within me to arrive and shine quietly. (As Rosie is my witness.) Yoga, is unforced nouri

I dwell once again in the house of today. The icy sidewalks slow my body. Winter's cold invites the quiet, slow, pace. I let sensation lead. I move at the speed of my breath. Nothing rushes me. Presence is asked for. The world teaches stillness. And I listen. I met today at its true pace. I walked embraced in quiet sunshine. The silent landscape adjusted itself to my pace, my presence, my breath. I remain. This is enough. I dwell in the house of today. When you enter the hous

I dwell in the house of today. And the quiet meets me fully. Silence is my muse. I am listening. I consent to what comes. I am open to receive. Dawn holds the space where language gathers in the light of my heart and meets the rising day. Anything is possible. Nothing demands. There is no urgency for words. And the words arrive. One by one. Gently. And they rest upon the page.

Snow is the pause made visible. It softens the landscape. Listening from the silence inside out has served me well throughout my life. It drives some people close to me crazy. Crazy that I don't jump in and speak up right away or act before I have time to assess any given situation. Silence, like snow, is not empty or wasted time. It is a place where I have learned to gather my voice. My husband jumps right into action...oftentimes acting and speaking before he has time to

Light a candle for those loved ones you are missing at your table this holiday. When love remembers, grief finds me. Perhaps, during the holidays, grief finds me more easily. It is like the falling snow outside my window. A soft front moves through my body, cool at the edges and tender at my center. I feel grief in the quiet moments: when a song flows from the stereo reminding me of someone I loved when laughter echoes where a voice used to live when I bake Christmas cookie

My blue jay messenger is back in my birdbath. Just there within my view. Hello. What would you like me to share today, blue jay? Blue jays are fearless messengers and invite me to be the same. Trust the messages that come through you. Always come as you are. Their loud and piercing call reminds me to not change who I am for the world. Speak from the place beneath thought and beneath fear. Speak where truth resides. A place where words and messages are not rushed, not f

Snow. The word magically drops me into the sacred and cavernous space in my heart and brings illumination and awakens delight. It is white, pure, and it glistens in the sunlight and the moon light. Too many sparkles to count. This labyrinth drew my attention as we happened upon it whilst walking in the woods. Walking a labyrinth always invites inner exploration into my center of being. Snow answers the ancient call of my heart for I have the heart of a child. The echo to