In this the shrouding gloom of winter
The soul feels ardently impelled
To manifest its innate strength,
To guide itself to realms of darkness,
Anticipating thus
Through warmth of heart the sense-world’s revelation.
— Rudolf Steiner
In the beginning of all things, wisdom and knowledge were with the animals; for Tuawa, the One Above, did not speak directly to man. He sent Animals to tell man that he showed himself through the beasts, and that from them, and from the stars and the sun and the moon, man should learn… For all things speak of Tuawa.
~ Chief Letakis-Lesa of the Pawnees Tribe (1904).
–Sue Monk Kidd
Across many cultures and generations worldwide, women have gathered around quilting circles, kitchen tables, church basements, community halls, and bonfires. We yearn to be nourished with food, to be healed, to sing together, to give and receive emotional support, to connect to the sacred, to know the stories of our ancestors, and to be guided as we transition from one life stage to the next. We each need these traditions in order to embody the fullness of who we are, and pass along the wisdom we gain for generations to come.
Kristen Roderick
You are not IN the universe, you ARE the universe. An intrinsic part of it. Ultimately you are not a person, but a focal point where the universe is becoming conscious of itself. What an amazing miracle.
-Eckhart Tolle
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dance.
–T.S. Elliot
Night, the beloved.
Night, when words fade and things come alive.
When the destructive analysis of day is done, and all that is truly important becomes whole and sound again.
When man reassembles his fragmentary self
and grows with the calm of a tree.
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
And so, instead of trying to ‘fix’ our lives, instead of trying to neatly resolve the unresolvable and quickly complete the epic story of a fictitious ‘me’, we simply relax into utter not knowing, unraveling in the warm embrace of mystery, sinking deeply into the moment, savoring it fully, in all its uniqueness and wonder.
And then, perhaps without any effort, without any struggle or stress, without ‘you’ being involved at all, the true answers will emerge in their own sweet time.
– Jeff Foster
Storytelling at its most profound level is able to take us into this space. Indeed it has been used for this very purpose for a very long time.
The soul’s creative might
Strives outward from the heart’s own core
To kindle and inflame god-given powers
In human life to right activity;
The soul thus shapes itself
In human loving and human working.
–Rudolf Steiner
(It seems that) there is always someone ready to ignore, minimize, or put down some beneficial thing to which you have given your heart, mind and toil. Do not become discouraged by this. Hold close to your own heart that which is dear to you. Do not abandon it.