Substack Through the Seasons with Megan Gilger. Always makes me think.
I had picked the word intentional for the coming year, but I think mindful is more what I meant. Actually, this whole post is what I meant. Thanks as again for your thoughts and ideas.
Dear Susan: Your wanting to live "A year of Spiritual Thinking" parallels my aspiration--which has been percolating for awhile, but came more into view about 24 hrs ago. Thank you so much.
I am so looking forward to this! It is a shift I have been making too. Learning to let go of expectations, be fully present moment to moment, even when it is intensely uncomfortable, nurturing gratitude….
I think learning how to be as present as we can be, especially when it is uncomfortable, will be both difficult/scary and immensely rewarding. I am so glad to have your company along the way.
I'm glad to have provided you with a nudge! The website is surely intriguing, and if you do go, I imagine it will be an enriching experience on all sorts of levels. Blessings!
You'll likely have many companions on this journey, Susan. When I first began mindfulness practice after I left the university, I learned from Jack Kornfield. This book is older, but I think you might enjoy it: After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, a quiet reminder of the value of understanding through dailiness.
Thank you, Susan! I look forward to learning from everyone I meet along the way. I appreciate Jack Kornfield very much. I think After the Ecstasy, the Laundry was the first book I read when I was learning about mindfulness, and your mention of it is a good reminder to read it again. I can't find my copy anymore--too many moves, I suspect, so I'll add it to my list.
I find all the things you are going to experience and contemplate are easier as I get older. I hope you find it an enjoyable experience and that it becomes easier as you allow yourself to relax into that space.
Thank you for the encouragement, Roberta! I am not retired, so it's harder for me because I still need to earn an income. But I believe I can still shift my perspective and go about my work--both the re-storying of this house and the writing new stories about our relationship with this earth--with a deeper understanding of and immersion in spirituality. I expect the process to change me in some ways, and I am interested, if a little apprehensive, about what that will mean.
What a beautiful intention for the coming year! For inspiration, I think right away of someone you most likely know already: Tias Little, a yoga teacher so close to you. His Sunday morning newsletter is a little gem, and when I wake up and read it, it often touches me right...there. And there are so many on this platform! I've seen you interacting with @Karen Davis, so I know you already know her. I also appreciate the Sunday morning poetry musings of @Devin Kelly for getting to that heart-place in human experience. Do you know @Lisa Jensen?—writer, poet, newly certified in forest therapy. I look forward to reading all that you share from this way of being in the world! <3
Thank you, Priscilla! I will add Devin and Lisa to my reading list. And I'll look up Tias Little, who I haven't run across here, but then, I'm not really all that sociable.... BTW, maybe I've said this before, but I think of you every time I go to town, because my route around downtown is Paseo de Peralta, and on the curve by Kakawa Chocolate you always come to mind since we met there. Hugs to you!
Aw, thanks for letting me know! Wasn't that a fun time? I remember that conversation fondly. And the chocolate!!! Tias is just up the road from you. I learned of him before I moved to SF from a friend of mine who made her living with a yoga studio in CA; she called him her best/favorite teacher. I took a series with him and loved it, am still practicing what I learned there. It was so rich.
From my perspective you've been living a spiritual life every since I've known you. How else could you have surfed so gracefully through so many tsunami-like transitions?
Thank you for that perspective, Janet! I appreciate your view. I guess I've lived a double-life: as spiritual as possible while hustling to earn a living as a freelancer and house re-storyer. I can't retire--freelancers just die writing!--but I can shift the emphasis from hustling to being.
Susan! This sounds like such a perfect step for you to take in your life right now, and I want to follow along! You already do have such a spiritual perspective that I love, in your haikus, in your quest for a home, in your stories and remembrance of Richard. Ironically, for experiences that don't have words, you are so good at conveying those experiences, pointing us towards them with words. I look forward to what you see and write - however much you want to share. Blessings on your journey!
Dear Carolyn, thank you for this lovely comment and for your faith in my ability to dive into something I have never thought of myself as expert at. (Unlike amazing and courageous you, I am non-adventurous and generally stick to what I think I do well.) It's time for me to stretch my spiritual wings and see where they will take me. Blessings back to you and a warm hug!
I did my Msc research into what spirituality means to the spiritual but not religious among us... there are free resources on my website and a copy of my paper (www.fiona-English.com)
I did something similar last December, Susan. Kept a detailed journal during the year that I will use for the foundation of my 2024 writing and sharing. I have been awed, humbled, and amazed by the outcome as I arrived at my one year mark - winter solstice. I know the sacred mystery you have created for yourself in the coming year will profoundly grace your life and all with whom you share it. Wishing you beautiful holidays as you enter into your brave and powerful spiritual quest.
What wonderful synchronicity, Mary Jo! I'll look forward to your reading and sharing after your year of immersing yourself in the sacred mystery. May you find yourself humbled as you read over your journal, and thank you for your support! Happiest of winter solstice wishes to you. <3
A wonderful intention. Words that have guided my inner journey “to know the self is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self …..” Dogen’s Genjokoan
Many blessings to you on this day—I love all that you’ve written and will ponder more deeply about it before writing anything more..,one small, but important observation from one writer to another: the quote “ After the Ecstasy, the Laundry” is attributed to Jack Kornfield, and is the title of one of his many books. Kornfield is one of the most respected Buddhist teachers in the West. He trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma, and India and is the founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center just north of San Francisco. I can’t say too much about him, but think it’s important to acknowledge quote.
Thank you, Susie! I knew that as a Buddhist saying before Jack's book came out, but I'll bow to your longer knowledge and change the attribution on the post as it's archived. Blessings back to you and much love.
Two words, possibly similar in intent, or perhaps flip sides of the same coin? - Assumptions and Expectations. I struggle with both, and perhaps in letting them go, I will be on the first rung of the ladder to a spiritual enrichment in my own life!
Assumptions are at least as tricky as expectations. I think of assumptions as internal, things we impose on ourselves, and expectations as external, things imposed from those outside us (but which we may unconsciously internalize as our own). In Bless the Birds, I wrote this about assumptions: "Assumptions... are the shorthand of life, unspoken premises we rely on to simplify our days. They shape our roles and interactions, our biases and beliefs, for good or ill. .... Unexamined, assumptions become straitjackets we chafe against at best, and at worst, positively dangerous, like the assumptions that once we “beat” the novel coronavirus, life will return to normal, or that humans have some divine mandate to exploit this planet for our benefit." The first step, and sometimes the trickiest, in letting go of assumptions and expectations is recognizing them. Once we can see them, it's somehow easier to practice letting them go. May this new chapter in your life help you find the path that helps you grow into whomever you hope to be! Blessings.
What a wonderful gift your writing is. So often it reminds me that there are kindred walking this journey - with gaia, with letting go, with listening - not just to words but the song of the winds and waves. Feelung how energy moves our beingness with energy and light. Love getting so many idea shared here.
Perhaps the book Emptiness Dreaming by Bill Bauman would speak to you.
It offers a quantum perspective by someone who speaks fluent light, love and energy and brings together science & spirituality.
It's interesting, isn't it, how our paths in the larger realm of life have converged even as our physical beings moved farther apart in the geographic realm? One of life's little jokes, I think. I'm glad we're still journeying on similar threads, and I will look for Emptiness Dreaming! Hugs and blessings.
Thank you, Susan! I'm delighted by our similar intentions. I'll be thinking of you often as each of our respective days unfold in the coming year. Shalom, beautiful woman.
Substack Through the Seasons with Megan Gilger. Always makes me think.
I had picked the word intentional for the coming year, but I think mindful is more what I meant. Actually, this whole post is what I meant. Thanks as again for your thoughts and ideas.
Perfect! I'll add her to my reading list.
I think intentions are great, but I like mindful because of the sense of paying attention, not simply cleaving to intentions. :)
Dear Susan: Your wanting to live "A year of Spiritual Thinking" parallels my aspiration--which has been percolating for awhile, but came more into view about 24 hrs ago. Thank you so much.
What lovely synchronicity! I'll look forward to reading more. Blessings!
I am so looking forward to this! It is a shift I have been making too. Learning to let go of expectations, be fully present moment to moment, even when it is intensely uncomfortable, nurturing gratitude….
I think learning how to be as present as we can be, especially when it is uncomfortable, will be both difficult/scary and immensely rewarding. I am so glad to have your company along the way.
This post resonates with me, thank you. For the last few days I have been thinking to join this retreat, and I think I was just nudged a little closer: https://christinecenter.org/event/spiritual-deepening/
I'm glad to have provided you with a nudge! The website is surely intriguing, and if you do go, I imagine it will be an enriching experience on all sorts of levels. Blessings!
You'll likely have many companions on this journey, Susan. When I first began mindfulness practice after I left the university, I learned from Jack Kornfield. This book is older, but I think you might enjoy it: After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, a quiet reminder of the value of understanding through dailiness.
Thank you, Susan! I look forward to learning from everyone I meet along the way. I appreciate Jack Kornfield very much. I think After the Ecstasy, the Laundry was the first book I read when I was learning about mindfulness, and your mention of it is a good reminder to read it again. I can't find my copy anymore--too many moves, I suspect, so I'll add it to my list.
I find all the things you are going to experience and contemplate are easier as I get older. I hope you find it an enjoyable experience and that it becomes easier as you allow yourself to relax into that space.
Thank you for the encouragement, Roberta! I am not retired, so it's harder for me because I still need to earn an income. But I believe I can still shift my perspective and go about my work--both the re-storying of this house and the writing new stories about our relationship with this earth--with a deeper understanding of and immersion in spirituality. I expect the process to change me in some ways, and I am interested, if a little apprehensive, about what that will mean.
What a beautiful intention for the coming year! For inspiration, I think right away of someone you most likely know already: Tias Little, a yoga teacher so close to you. His Sunday morning newsletter is a little gem, and when I wake up and read it, it often touches me right...there. And there are so many on this platform! I've seen you interacting with @Karen Davis, so I know you already know her. I also appreciate the Sunday morning poetry musings of @Devin Kelly for getting to that heart-place in human experience. Do you know @Lisa Jensen?—writer, poet, newly certified in forest therapy. I look forward to reading all that you share from this way of being in the world! <3
Thank you, Priscilla! I will add Devin and Lisa to my reading list. And I'll look up Tias Little, who I haven't run across here, but then, I'm not really all that sociable.... BTW, maybe I've said this before, but I think of you every time I go to town, because my route around downtown is Paseo de Peralta, and on the curve by Kakawa Chocolate you always come to mind since we met there. Hugs to you!
Aw, thanks for letting me know! Wasn't that a fun time? I remember that conversation fondly. And the chocolate!!! Tias is just up the road from you. I learned of him before I moved to SF from a friend of mine who made her living with a yoga studio in CA; she called him her best/favorite teacher. I took a series with him and loved it, am still practicing what I learned there. It was so rich.
From my perspective you've been living a spiritual life every since I've known you. How else could you have surfed so gracefully through so many tsunami-like transitions?
Thank you for that perspective, Janet! I appreciate your view. I guess I've lived a double-life: as spiritual as possible while hustling to earn a living as a freelancer and house re-storyer. I can't retire--freelancers just die writing!--but I can shift the emphasis from hustling to being.
Susan! This sounds like such a perfect step for you to take in your life right now, and I want to follow along! You already do have such a spiritual perspective that I love, in your haikus, in your quest for a home, in your stories and remembrance of Richard. Ironically, for experiences that don't have words, you are so good at conveying those experiences, pointing us towards them with words. I look forward to what you see and write - however much you want to share. Blessings on your journey!
Dear Carolyn, thank you for this lovely comment and for your faith in my ability to dive into something I have never thought of myself as expert at. (Unlike amazing and courageous you, I am non-adventurous and generally stick to what I think I do well.) It's time for me to stretch my spiritual wings and see where they will take me. Blessings back to you and a warm hug!
I did my Msc research into what spirituality means to the spiritual but not religious among us... there are free resources on my website and a copy of my paper (www.fiona-English.com)
Thank you so much, Fiona! I will peruse your website and am looking forward to reading your Expressions Substack. Many blessings to you!
I did something similar last December, Susan. Kept a detailed journal during the year that I will use for the foundation of my 2024 writing and sharing. I have been awed, humbled, and amazed by the outcome as I arrived at my one year mark - winter solstice. I know the sacred mystery you have created for yourself in the coming year will profoundly grace your life and all with whom you share it. Wishing you beautiful holidays as you enter into your brave and powerful spiritual quest.
What wonderful synchronicity, Mary Jo! I'll look forward to your reading and sharing after your year of immersing yourself in the sacred mystery. May you find yourself humbled as you read over your journal, and thank you for your support! Happiest of winter solstice wishes to you. <3
A wonderful intention. Words that have guided my inner journey “to know the self is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self …..” Dogen’s Genjokoan
Oh, yes! Thank you, lali, for those words. Such wisdom and so many layers there.
Dear Susan,
Many blessings to you on this day—I love all that you’ve written and will ponder more deeply about it before writing anything more..,one small, but important observation from one writer to another: the quote “ After the Ecstasy, the Laundry” is attributed to Jack Kornfield, and is the title of one of his many books. Kornfield is one of the most respected Buddhist teachers in the West. He trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma, and India and is the founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center just north of San Francisco. I can’t say too much about him, but think it’s important to acknowledge quote.
Thank you, Susie! I knew that as a Buddhist saying before Jack's book came out, but I'll bow to your longer knowledge and change the attribution on the post as it's archived. Blessings back to you and much love.
Two words, possibly similar in intent, or perhaps flip sides of the same coin? - Assumptions and Expectations. I struggle with both, and perhaps in letting them go, I will be on the first rung of the ladder to a spiritual enrichment in my own life!
Assumptions are at least as tricky as expectations. I think of assumptions as internal, things we impose on ourselves, and expectations as external, things imposed from those outside us (but which we may unconsciously internalize as our own). In Bless the Birds, I wrote this about assumptions: "Assumptions... are the shorthand of life, unspoken premises we rely on to simplify our days. They shape our roles and interactions, our biases and beliefs, for good or ill. .... Unexamined, assumptions become straitjackets we chafe against at best, and at worst, positively dangerous, like the assumptions that once we “beat” the novel coronavirus, life will return to normal, or that humans have some divine mandate to exploit this planet for our benefit." The first step, and sometimes the trickiest, in letting go of assumptions and expectations is recognizing them. Once we can see them, it's somehow easier to practice letting them go. May this new chapter in your life help you find the path that helps you grow into whomever you hope to be! Blessings.
What a wonderful gift your writing is. So often it reminds me that there are kindred walking this journey - with gaia, with letting go, with listening - not just to words but the song of the winds and waves. Feelung how energy moves our beingness with energy and light. Love getting so many idea shared here.
Perhaps the book Emptiness Dreaming by Bill Bauman would speak to you.
It offers a quantum perspective by someone who speaks fluent light, love and energy and brings together science & spirituality.
It's interesting, isn't it, how our paths in the larger realm of life have converged even as our physical beings moved farther apart in the geographic realm? One of life's little jokes, I think. I'm glad we're still journeying on similar threads, and I will look for Emptiness Dreaming! Hugs and blessings.
Thank you, Susan! I'm delighted by our similar intentions. I'll be thinking of you often as each of our respective days unfold in the coming year. Shalom, beautiful woman.
Many blessings back to you, Mary Jo!