Have you ever felt a piece of knowledge slide across your skin? Slippery, like that little something or other that won’t come off the tip of your tongue? You know it’s there but you can’t quite touch it? Then, have you noticed the moments when it suddenly comes forth? As if it’s long been settled in the depths of your being, waiting for you to find it? Try it. Then say ‘thank you’ for what has been entrusted to you, now trusts you to reveal itself. There is a learning that ke

A recent exchange on Facebook began with something like this: “Are racists and xenophobes mentally ill?  No, they are ‘sick people’ who are spiritually ill. They have lost their connection to the community, to hope and to love.” That’s not an exact quote but it gets to the gist. When I asked how ‘spiritually ill’ was defined, there wasn’t a definition but I was asked to contribute to that and how keep each other ‘spiritually well’ and how do we deal with people who are spirit

This is the second in a multi-part series that will chronicle my journey into the world of sex-trafficking and murder in Indian Country and beyond. The first can be read here. If you’ve already read it, scroll until the font change. Headlines, hashtags, and public service announcements don’t provide a way to explore the nuances, relationships and historical responsibilities involved in the discussion and eradication of the trafficking of vulnerable Native American children an

Until it’s not More on Empath myth busting Always we want to learn from outside, from absorbing other people’s knowledge. It’s safer that way. The trouble is that it’s always other people’s knowledge. We already have everything we need to know, in the darkness inside ourselves. The longing is what turns us inside out until we find the sun and the moon and stars inside~ —Peter Kingsley from his book The Dark Places of Wisdom It’s much the same way with learning how to

For eons, we have sliced, diced and otherwise organized ourselves and the world in attempts to understand the same. We’ve adopted parlance, accepted philosophies, and constructed ways to structure our individual nature, each other and the systems around us. Human, self, ego, soul. Super-human, super ego, over soul, higher or deeper self. Personality, intellect, intuition; weird, normal, spiritual or notso. Angel, evil; human and nature. Consciousness that separates that human

“When I run after what I think I want, my days are a furnace of stress and anxiety; if I sit in my own place of patience, what I need flows to me, and without pain. From this I understand that what I want also wants me, is looking for me and attracting me. There is a great secret here for anyone who can grasp it… Rumi Oh, my love, how you’ve spiritualed; sought out, pleaded for, meditated on that direct, unmediated, experience of spirit, the invisible divine and holy B

“From ancient times down to the present, there is found among various peoples a certain perception of that hidden power which hovers over the course of things and over the events of human history.” —Nostra Aetate, Second Vatican Council “Truth is not a reward for good behaviour, nor a prize for passing some tests. It cannot be brought about. It is the primary, the unborn, the ancient source of all that is. You are eligible because you are. You need not merit truth. It is your

The Transference of the Holy Spirit or Horse Shit Last week a friend shared this video on her Facebook page. I’m not sure the original source. After clicking through to trace it, I ended up giving up.  Whoever you are, thank you for the thought fodder (or folly). As best I can offer in words, this video depicts a minister or healer ‘throwing energy’ and exclaiming the power of Jesus Christ.  We see things like this all of the time. One FB responder reminded us to think of  Pe

Perfection of appearance, perhaps? “Why don’t you share your spiritual practice with us?” “I don’t have a spiritual practice.” “What do you mean?” “Just that.” “That’s confusing. Why not?” “Why do you practice? Is it like learning the piano? What are you trying to perfect?” “Well, connection with God and the universe and ….” (it went on for a bit). “I don’t have a ‘practice’ because I don’t need to perfect my connection to anything. How I experience the world is always in tha

The familiar life horizon has been outgrown; the concepts, ideals, and emotional patterns no longer fit; the time for the passing of a threshold is at hand. – Joseph Campbell A personal experience connected to the universal one of desire for community, the dangers of secrets, and bridging the past and present with something resembling grace. #community #spiritual #Grace #connection #healing

Some things can’t be denied. Won’t be for long. They have the capacity to wait for us to arrive to the space where they’ve been all along. When still water rises to meet me And the sun lays its hands on my back, It’s easy to dismiss the gentle sounds of homecoming. But when rising sap reaches out to gently touch my face, While the ground hums a welcoming sigh underneath my feet, And the clay of a place begins to gently rebind me to the original heart, It’s hard to deny how an

Today, no matter what it takes, we ride home together.  ~ Brian Andres It really does. When we live in a state of poverty, we are imprisoned by the limitations of need. Health, food and shelter provide feelings of safety. Safety allows us to feel vulnerable, creates the capacity to feel hope and share that with others. I began the day by asking someone to pay me for services rendered and explained the impact of delay which included “a level of stress that shuts me down physic

It’s time for a new abolition movement On February 11, the New York Times published the following editorial. I’ve included it here in full purposefully. It is important to remember that the hangings, burnings and dismemberments of black American men, women and children that were relatively common in this country between the Civil War and World War II were often public events. They were sometimes advertised in newspapers and drew hundreds and even thousands of white spectators