When people ask the meaning of the name, Circles of Air and Stone, we answer with a poem.
Circles of Air, Circles of Stone…
The Earth circles, and night follows day.
We bury our seeds; we bury our bones;
While sacred birds circle and prey.
Circles of Air are traced by hawks spiraling high in the sky. Sky symbolizes heaven, the infinite; and sky teachings point… Read More »
When I was in fourth grade, one of my classmates was the local minister’s daughter. She wasn’t very likeable – snobbish and condescending – but I did think a preacher was something I’d like to be. Whether that was from a desire to talk about God, or that the thought of someone actually listening to me was so appealing, I’m not sure. But now, after almost four decades leading vision… Read More »
We approach Independence Day, and we are a polarized country. Headlines scream out with vitriol, each side claim the moral high ground, tries to appear noble, right, and virtuous, while the other side is evil, lawbreaking, or stupid. It’s ugly. Pick either side and you can be self-righteous, feel like a victim, and point the finger at “them” … after all, they’re the problem.
When I turn toward Nature, the… Read More »
Immersing ourselves in Nature, with its “harsh and exciting” landscapes and forces, moves us beyond the polarities of good and evil, the polarities of daily life. Heavens, whether they be on puffy clouds with everyone dressed in white or filled with two hundred virgins, and hells – usually below the earth and fiery – are irrelevant. Everything is right here, and the urge to make some parts of it good… Read More »
I was at a retreat this past weekend, where our group addressed and explored the third and final stage of the heroic journey – the Return. After the first stage, where our protagonists respond to a “Call to Adventure,” for a time leaving the familiarity of their previously-known lives to explore all that might be beyond that – fluid and shifting, emotionally rich and challenging… inspiring, frightening and freeing –… Read More »
