Grounding + Becoming
A Spacious Wisdom Cross-Pollination
Listen for what’s already in you, the seed within reaching toward sunlight. Stretch into what only you can become.
There is no limit to what Wisdom will shine through to reach us. Silence, nature, art, music, words, and connection are some of the prisms through which the invisible may become briefly visible to our subtle senses.
What we will need for the terrain ahead is mysteriously sprinkled around us days, weeks, months, or even years before we actually need it. There is a resonance we cannot quite explain—a knowing that doesn’t seem to conform to our linear timeline and context.
We recognize it.
Father Bruno Barnhart distills the essence of Wisdom:
“If we require a definition, let us call it knowing: a knowing that is personal, experiential, and tending toward union with that which is known.”
Wisdom cannot be known with the mind alone; it ripens in us, as us.
You are known, and you know.
Wisdom practices help us fine-tune our senses and cultivate inner stability to be present to reality, even when it is hard.
Follow the threads that draw you and listen for what is stirred within.
What is the opposite of a great poem?
I’ve been carrying an evocative question as I continue this work of “becoming.”
We Are Here: Artifacts of Presence
We have talked at length about what’s been shifting in our sense of the world and our inklings about why we are here. In this offering, there’s a deepening.
Contemplative Curiosity: Neil Theise on Complexity
A 10-ish minute spiritual practice -- bringing curiosity to a quote on complexity by Dr. Neil Theise.
Good Conversations as Food + Drink for the Soul
John O’Donohue said good conversations are like “food and drink for the soul.” What does this stir in you?
A night of complete undoing
John O’Donohue give us words for the obscurity we encounter in our dark nights of the soul. I take comfort in knowing I’m not the only one to encounter this location in my spiritual geography.
Contemplative Curiosity: Cynthia Bourgeault on Surrender
Here’s a 10-minute unconventional spiritual practice - bringing curiosity and presence to a Cynthia Bourgeault quote about bracing and surrender.
She hadn’t been wide awake for years
What does this wisdom collage stir in you? Do the words or images draw you in? Do you resist them?
Incredible Hulk Moments
Do you ever go from calm to “losing it,” and wonder what in the world happened? Suddenly you have no connection to your thinking mind. What is your self-talk like after these moments? Are you hard on yourself?
Being with others when they are in pain
I’m always on the look out for ways to be with people more skillfully and artfully. Dr. Ham has some wonderful videos that break complex concepts into simple explanations that make sense to me.
You’re on the Right Path
Here’s an invitation to an unconventional spiritual practice —bringing curiosity to evocative images to notice resonance and resistance. What does this wisdom collage stir in you?
Contemplative Curiosity: Lama Rod Owens on Goodness
What do you notice and wonder as you read this Lama Rod Owens quote on goodness?
Leaves and Blossoms Along the Way by Mary Oliver
Listen for your inner wisdom through the prism of poetry with Mary’s Olivers Leaves and Blossoms Along the Way.
Kirsten’s Reading List
I’m reading (and already recommending!) The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors by Lama Rod Owens.
Contemplative Curiosity: Mary Oliver on Moments
Creating space for presence with Mary Oliver's words about moments.
Logos + Mythos
What voices guide you in darkness and complexity? Michael Meade is one of the voices I turn to. He calls me into stories.
End of the…
This practice invites you to engage with evocative images to listen with curiosity for inner resonance and resistance.
Audio Divina: Listening deeply with “Gracias a La Vida”
Here’s an invitation into a new-to-me spiritual practice I encountered on the CAC’s instagram site.
What Does It Mean to Go Slow?
Explore what it means to go slow with this evocative image collage. What does it stir in you?