Some photos from the last month or two...
I am working on a podcast about contemplation and will be posting more regularly once that begins in August. I can't wait to share it with you. The conversations I have had so far have been so wonderful and enriching.
In the meantime, I have been spending lots of time outdoors and of course, loving it. What a gift it is to live where I live and have trails beside an ocean inlet and up into the coastal mountains right outside my door.
I think these were all shot with my iPhone. Amazing what the cameras on our phones can capture!
If you click on a photo, you can enlarge it.
Take good care and remember to take time to notice,
~ Rod
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The meditation I created is called Experiencing Oneness in a Divided World. In it, we explore a deep and comforting truth: that everything is connected.
As I venture out this morning, I'm thinking about the Mary Oliver poem, wild Geese, where she says, “You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
I just want to bow 🙇♂️ in gratitude (also laugh because there’s a 🙇 bowing emoji)
For a period in my life I used to go to a particular place in a park not far from my house to meditate and pray. It was the beginning of a practice that I continue to practice to this very day, although this post is about a time when I took a break.
Our guest today is author Eric Janzen. Eric is probably best known for his high fantasy fiction books. He's written a trilogy called The Dreamtrekker Journals Trilogy, and more recently released a new series entitled The Essence Tales. In Eric's bio, he says he will continue writing until he can't anymore.
Our daughter Jess gifted me with a poem today. She says... Wrapping up my last few days on the coast for now… it’s been so amazing to get so much “normal” time with my family, and one of my favorite things is morning walks with dad. His practice of noticing and of being quiet enough in spirit to notice the minute details is always a gift.
Our new little bundle of joy - August (Gus) Matthew Toews - has reminded us all how powerful and incredible love is.
I am contemplating emptiness this morning which I know sends cautionary shivers down the spines of some Christians. I was warned about this by a "well-meaning" Christian on the weekend when I used the word emptiness at a retreat I was co-leading.
snowy days (meditation) Hints of Gladness
Are sounds like this (birdsong, babbling brooks) meant to touch our souls? I think they are.