When I was in high school, I enrolled in a horticulture class. For an entire year, I spent a few hours each afternoon immersed in the study of plants, soil, and growing things. My classmates and I would board a school bus that transported us across town from the high school to a building near the vocational college. At the time, I thought I was simply learning how to grow plants. I had no idea that class would plant seeds of healing, wonder and transformation that would c

"Don't let what is precious be carried away by the demands of the world." As I sat outside this morning on my weathered Adirondack rocking chair with my morning coffee I reflected on my latest dreams. I do not always remember my dreams. The last few nights I have remembered bits and pieces of my most recent dreams. Dreams come from the deep subconscious and speak to us through symbols. I have learned to regard them as important messengers--offering clues, insights, and in

As I sip my morning brew I glance out the windows at the birdbath. I have many places inside and outside of my home where I can observe the worlds: human neighborhood in front, and living sanctuary all around me. Many birds have visited the birdbath this morning as I write from my office perch. Suddenly the birdbath becomes active with splashing and song. Every time I see movement or a flicker crossing the street out the corner of my eye - there is another species of bird

Morning sun pouring in. I did not sleep well last night. I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and struggled to get back to sleep. Sleep evaded me in all ways. I put on my earbuds and listened to a healing meditation...in the hopes I would eventually fall back to sleep. I did not. I had slept for five hours so I gave up trying to fall back to sleep and walked downstairs at 4:30 a.m. and started unloading the dishwasher, filling Rosie's water dish, and setting up the coffee to turn on l

We enter gently the stone spiral. We walk in what is already whole. We leave more rooted and grounded than when we arrived. A place where the visible and the invisible meet. A few of my grandchildren laugh as they cross the first threshold light-footed, soft-hearted, and inviting me to follow them. They are excited to show me the mystery of the labyrinth and how it magically draws us inward. They know what I once knew as a child. A spiral is not unlike the feeling of love

The earth remembers me. I am not becoming-- I am belonging. Today I walk the path. It is curved the way life curves without explanation. With the sun in my face, trees waking, water reflecting light back to the sky without effort. The earth is not something I visit or celebrate for one day only...She is a powerful loving force I belong to always in all ways. As I witness all of her glorious returning, green rising, branches broadening and softening, life is remembering its

Begin again...green rising from the soil. Spring time is my favorite season of the year where everything comes back to life. Love is made visible. Everywhere I look outside my home...it is training my nervous system to be at peace. Love, gentleness, grounding, perspective and returning to spring green in my heart. After a long, cold winter's rest, the yard's buried treasures begin again to wake up, without fail. I love to watch them slowly and gracefully emerge from the e

Beneath the willow I remember... I bend without breaking. I feel without fear. I return, again, and again to the quiet green life within me. Willow trees are linked to feminine energy. It listens more than it speaks. It invites you inward toward your own knowing. They are a symbol for renewal, rebirth, and new life after you have lost someone. It grows fast with just a single cutting or deep pruning. It always returns. Their roots grow near water and their branches reach

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