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"Never doubt that grace is leading your awakening.
No matter what's going on for each of us in this moment, this - exactly this -
is what our own awakening looks like."
Kathleen Dowling Singh
Welcome to our spiritual kitchen table. A place to gather without pretense and feed our souls with wisdom. Pull up a chair! Grab some coffee and let's have at it.
I have often heard it said, "When the student is ready the teacher will appear." Most attribute this quote to Buddha but regardless of its origin, in my own life this has been a ground-tested and long enduring truth. Each teacher stays a while and then the student (me in this case) moves on to the next teacher. I am so grateful for all the teachers in my life and at the same time I am fully aware that if they had not come along, the same lessons would have arrived through a willow tree, or ocean waves or the words of a child. This does not diminish my teachers but points to a deeper truth: the ultimate teacher is planted within. Our teachers help us remember what we already know at a level deep within our center, where our body and mind meets our spirit, or in other words - our soul. So this site will currate teachers, books, and ideas to keep our souls reaching, growing, remembering and connecting with each other. I don't pretend to know what path you should take - but I am certain of this: there is a divine spark inside you that knows exactly what you need right now. The key to the whole gig is learning to listen.
So, how to begin? As I think back I realize that I started a practice when my children were small that was probably very helpful in my journey. I woke up an hour before the house came alive and spent 30 minutes pouring out my concerns to God, then I listened. I just sat quietly and listened. It seems so passive and unproductive but it energized my day. I now realize that this silent listening was my first venture into meditation. Centering prayer, a form of Christian meditiation, was first developed by Thomas Keating and later championed by Cynthia Bourgeault. She has written two books on the technique which are listed in the next section, Centering Prayer. This practice of silent sitting and listening is a great way to begin tuning into your inner teacher. The following pages (toolbar to the left) will offer you a "cliffnotes" version of some of the practices as well as online resources, books and videos. Give it a go!
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