you are your own responsibility

June 11, 2009 by rachel

I just found the guts of this poetry scribbled 6 or 7 months ago on three little pieces of paper stapled in the corner. I then stumbled upon the work of Steve Banks, a wildly creative artist from Davenport, Iowa. I couldn’t resist this image, or his description of it, “…The all-seeing Priestess straddles two worlds. One of technology and sensory over-stimulation, and the other world, one of loosely flowing organic serenity.” You are your own responsibility Uphold your end […]

Categories: inspiration, love, personal growth, poetry, prose poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: Artist Steve Banks, awakening, consciousness, healing, higher consciousness, inspiration, life, mysticism, opening heart, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation

keep moving: turn the knob and open the door

March 19, 2009 by rachel

This is what I lay at your feet: The elevation of your sin above my joy Your immutable commitment to your own swirling Charybdis Your lust to live a life predicated on lies And an insatiable appetite to manipulate Every tender expression into a gamble against unbeatable odds. This is what I own: Enchanted by sugarspunfine words and misguided supplication I willingly unshrouded, Exposed crystalline layers to malificent tundra Shook the heavens in fervent self-immolation Stripped bare to bone, I […]

Categories: inspiration, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: ascension, awakening, body mind & spirit, Charybdis, consciousness, Earth Art, inspiration, intelligent inspiration, NASA, NASA Satellite Photo, poetry, satellite photos earth, soul journey, spiritual poetry, spirituality, surrender, The Optimist, transformation, transformative poetry, Whirlpool Photo

5 minutes of rumi, safri duo, and deep soul peace (video)

March 9, 2009 by rachel

Do you have five minutes to invest in the deep nourishment of your soul? This video, uploaded by rahmama2, blends magnificent poetry by Jelaluddin Rumi (as translated by Coleman Barks) with uplifting music and stunning photographic images. (Though I cringe, even I can momentarily overlook the typo confusing “you’re” with “your.”) Note that we are nearly at the Full Moon, making the text even more potent and poignant for us all. If you are as taken as I am by […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, love, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation, video • Tags: awakening, body mind & spirit, consciousness, divine union, ecstatic union, higher consciousness, inspiration, Islamic Arts, Islamic poetry, love, poetry, Rumi, Rumi poetry, Safri Duo, Sufi, Sufism, surrender, transformation, video

this much i know

March 4, 2009 by rachel

I wrote this poem July 17, 1998, and have titled, untitled, and re-titled it over the years. This much I know that in the days before you came, I slept long, languid hours drifting in and out of sleep while unseen familiar forces worked mightily that my DNA wordlessly reorganized that my psyche laid weather satellite maps over my flesh like a grid of divinity that thunder rolled across the drought of my plains and I danced hiphop with Jesus […]

Categories: poetry, transformation • Tags: Ayn Rand, Camille Claudel, poetry, transformation

well, dang if I didn’t grab first place in the “inaugural poem we should have had” contest!

March 2, 2009 by rachel

Looks like I nosed out second-place winner William Haskins and snagged First Place in a contest for “The Inaugural Poem We Should Have Had,” sponsored by absolutewrite.com (see details and links in post directly below). My entry was “Prayer for Inclusion,” which I posted on January 20, 2009 (Inauguration Day), and which can be found listed in the Pages section of the right-hand sidebar  — or click right here if you’re short on time or energy. As any writer, artist, […]

Categories: barack obama, inspiration, poetry, writing & creativity • Tags: absolutewrite.com, barack obama, inaugural poem, inaugural poem contest, inaugural poem contest first place, inspiration, poetry, prayer, Prayer for Inclusion, writing

the inaugural poem we should have had

February 24, 2009 by rachel

Over at absolutewrite.com, discussion regarding the January 20 inaugural poem led to a contest, “the inaugural poem we should have had.” I didn’t take part in the conversation, but I was intrigued by the idea. They’re currently displaying the 15 entries, which anyone can view — and people who register (free) at the site can vote until March 1 via Private Message (PM).  I have a poem in the field, but I’m not really trolling for votes.  Unless you recognize […]

Categories: barack obama, poetry, writing & creativity • Tags: absolutewrite.com, creativity, inaugural poem, Obama inauguration, poetry, poetry contest, writing

answering the call (in five acts)

February 18, 2009 by rachel

Answering The Call (In Five Acts) I It’s not that God didn’t call me I just wasn’t able to answer! Time and circumstance gnawed through the wires The receiver slipped from its cradle, all circuits busy, And when I opened my mouth to speak Nothing poured forth from recalcitrant lips, Carried off in an instant by an elusive, provocative wind. II It’s not that I couldn’t engage my senses I saw the garden rise up just beyond the cobbled wall! […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, personal growth, planetary shifts, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: ascension, awakening, body mind & spirit, call, consciousness, God, higher consciousness, inspiration, personal growth, poetry, purpose, spirituality, surrender, transformation, vocation

seek no longer: creation is your only purpose

February 9, 2009 by rachel

There comes a time when it is no longer enough to seek out the transformative life. There comes a time to listen deeply and to say Yes! to the faintest inklings of your heart. That is the time when you become a creator in your own right. When you answer the Call without reservation and with fulsome heart. It may not be convenient or practical. It may make no sense to your family or friends. Yet if you have stepped […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, personal growth, planetary shifts, prose poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: artist Lexi Sundell, ascension, awakening, calling, consciousness, creation, empowerment, higher consciousness, inspiration, Lexi Sundell, life, personal growth, poetry, prose poetry, spirituality, transformation, vocation

i’m not telling you anything you don’t already know

February 7, 2009 by rachel

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know! You approach the altar time and again Only to retreat under the weight of your own misgivings, Your feet falter, caught in the glue of ego and indecision And you retreat once more into your lone and empty cell. You know I’m not making this up! You muster a weak smile for the woman on the sidewalk, While those pesky concrete walls encircling your heart Rise up repeatedly in triumphant separation, […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, love, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: body mind & spirit, empowerment, higher consciousness, inspiration, life, personal growth, poetry, spiritual poetry, spirituality, transformation

time for this one again! until then, maintain your faith: inner strength for troubling times

January 29, 2009 by rachel

Even though this post first ran in October, 2008, it seems even more appropos today. Hang in there, folks! This, too, shall pass… until then, maintain your faith: inner strength for troubling times When times are unsettled, There is no place to go but deeper, and deeper still You must excavate and as you do, calcified residue of old ways will be thrown up in your face You will taste it on your lips and gag as you swallow more […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: body mind & spirit, empowerment, faith, inner strength, inspiration, keep the faith, life, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation, troubling times

prayer for inclusion

January 20, 2009 by rachel

Include me. Invite me into the circle and guide me to the spot that bears my name Escort me with a steadying touch, loose your hold and bear me aloft Include my joy and ebullience, my hope and promise, The tracks of endless tears and the wounds of struggle and pain that have marked the past. Include me raw and refined, defiant, quiescent Include me enriched and diminished, broken and healed Embrace me as the one anointed and demeaned, Privileged […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: awakening, community, consciousness, inauguration day poem, inclusion, inspiration, life, poetry, prayer, spirituality, transformation, unity, unity consciousness

india arie, rumi, writing, automotivology, forgiveness, & remembering who you are: favorite posts of 2008

January 6, 2009 by rachel

Even though be whole now is not yet a year old (like me, my blog is a Piscean), the start of this sure-to-be-unforgettable new year is a good time to unearth and recycle some memorable posts from 2008. Here are a few of my favorites, based on a purely non-scientific selection process. 1. I never tire of watching diva India Arie sing the James Taylor classic, The Secret O’ Life. Every word speaks directly to my soul. Maybe yours, too? […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, eclectica, inspiration, love, ordinary oracles, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation, video, writing & creativity • Tags: awakening, body mind & spirit, consciousness, creativity, ecstatic union, forgiveness, India Arie, inspiration, James Taylor, life, love, new paradigm, ordinary oracles, personal growth, poetry, prayer, radical forgiveness, Rumi, The Secret of Life, transformation, video, wisdom, writer, writing, your inner writer

january 1, 2009: say hello to the new

January 1, 2009 by rachel

Seattle-based artist Cathy Woo contacted me after I featured art by another artist of the same name — and, of course, I fell in love with her art! Visit this Cathy Woo’s studio (and learn more about the concept of Zen Dots) by clicking right here. Say Hello To the New, To opening doorways and glistening portals To picking up a broad brush and painting a portrait of the ultimate You To stepping into your place on the circle with […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, love, personal growth, planetary shifts, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: artist Cathy Woo, ascension, awakening, body mind & spirit, Cathy Woo, consciousness, inspiration, life, love, new paradigm, New Year, New Year's Day, poetry, spirituality, transformation

solstice 08: find your light in unlikely places

December 21, 2008 by rachel

Wherever Home is, go there now The map has been etched upon your soul for eons Fire has been laid Nourishment calls your name Do not disappoint her You will be greeted by outstretched arms Tender songs of welcome Eyes that remember how to see Blossoms await your gathering Do not delay the journey Unpack before you go Bring nothing save your soul’s inextinguishable flame Your heart’s desire to Love Your body ripe for new beginnings Ancient stories ache to […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, personal growth, planetary shifts, poetry, spirituality, transformation, video • Tags: Amazing Grace, aurora borealis, awakening, consciousness, inspiration, Inuit, Inuktitut, native american, northern lights, opening heart, poetry, solstice, spirituality, Susan Aglukark, transformation, video, winter solstice

though your spirit be weary, begin again

December 16, 2008 by rachel

How long has it been, this feeling? Of being invisible, incapacitated, Disconnected Alienated Struggling to find your place in a world not of your design? Though your spirit be weary, Begin again. Your deepest desires have not been obliterated They simply wait patiently where you left them for safekeeping And circumnavigated their resting places, Your gifts are still yours to give! Expanded in radiance and ripening in song The old is behind you now, Begin again. Yes, you are weary […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, health/healing, inspiration, personal growth, planetary shifts, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: ascension, awakening, body mind & spirit, consciousness, empowerment, higher consciousness, inspiration, life, new paradigm, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation

I had forgotten, but now I remember

December 7, 2008 by rachel

For reasons that seem unimportant now The memory of limitless existence slipped my mind Loosened from the landscape surrounding my being And lodged itself in a deep cave of forgetting Ah Yes, now I remember… The agreements drawn up and codified Shuttled from lifetime to lifetime on trains endlessly circling the roundhouse Came up for review, And I marked one, then another, with the time/date stamp of The Now Declaring them null and void, and afire with the passion of […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: ascension, awakening, consciousness, empowerment, higher consciousness, inspiration, life, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation

we are the ones: vote to awaken and arouse america

October 28, 2008 by rachel

If you’re still trying to convince yourself, friends or family of the significance of this election, you might want to revisit these posts. This is not typical political fodder, but neither are we in the midst of typical times. A friend and I joined 45,000 others a few days ago to hear Senator Barack Obama speak in Fort Collins, Colorado. To say it was an exhilarating and enlightening experience is an epic understatement! June 9, 2008: can i talk about […]

Categories: barack obama, body mind & spirit, inspiration, planetary shifts, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: 2008 election, awakening, barack obama, Bryan Borland, divine feminine, enlightened vote, Gay & Kathlyn Hendricks, higher consciousness, human evolution, Michele Obama, new paradigm, Obama marriage, paradigm shift, poetry, presidential election, Sen. Obama, The Hendricks Institute, transformation, unity consciousness, Why Vote?

until then, maintain your faith: inner strength for troubling times

October 22, 2008 by rachel

When times are unsettled, There is no place to go but deeper, and deeper still You must excavate and as you do, calcified residue of old ways will be thrown up in your face You will taste it on your lips and gag as you swallow more than you want to And then, after what feels like an eternity You will feel a new radiance rise up in place of the old. Until then, maintain your faith. The change may […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: ascension, faith, higher consciousness, inner strength, inspiration, inspiring, inspiring poem, keep the faith, life, light, lightworker, love, poetry, spirituality, troubled times, trust, uplifting words

a simple test for these times: does it grow corn?

October 14, 2008 by rachel

Among indigenous traditions, it may be asked whether an idea, a vision, or a course of action will “grow corn.” Is it sustainable? Is it anchored in the Earth? Will the village be nourished, hearts and minds and bodies fed? A simple yet powerful test for decisions that must be made not only at personal levels, but within community, national, and global contexts, as well. I wrote this poem in 2004. Does It Grow Corn? The question before you this […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: be whole now, compassion, discernment, Green Solutions, inner knowing, inspiration, integration, life, Native tradition, personal development, poetry, spirituality, sustainability

here is what you must tend to today

October 2, 2008 by rachel

Here is what you must tend to today: You must peel back the bark that sheaths your becoming And bring your most barren recesses into the golden light of afternoon You must fling open the shades that have blocked the imminent arrival of the brilliance that bears your name, Taste joy unadorned on the tip of your tongue And inhale with anticipation your own decay as it hastens the birth of a succulent spring Today, here is what you must […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, personal growth, poetry, transformation • Tags: ascension, awakening, body mind & spirit, Divine, inspiration, life, Mary Saint-Marie, personal growth, poetry, self-expression, Sheoekah, soul, soul journey, spirituality, transformation

this Rumi poem & video ought to be rated R for Ravishing!

September 27, 2008 by rachel

These are challenging times for many, on many different levels. You may feel scattered, untethered, fearful, or filled with deepening sorrow. It may feel harder than ever to stay connected to loving, ecstatic Spirit. Here is a soulful and sensual video (5:30) that offers up ancient Persian poet Rumi’s “Like This,” set to Anoushka Shankar’s “Prayer in Passing” and accompanied by various paintings by Pre-Raphaelite artists, renowned for their obsession with classical mythology, muses, and nymphs. The video is by […]

Categories: inspiration, love, poetry, spirituality, uncategorized, video • Tags: Anoushka Shankar, beloved, divine love, fine art, inspiration, love, mysticism, poetry, pre-Raphaelite, Rumi, spirituality, Sufism, video

prayer for radical forgiveness

September 21, 2008 by rachel

Forgive me for not sharing fully in your pain for my own basket has been filled with seedpods of blossoming sadness and ripened fruit dripping with disappointment Forgive me if I do not remember your name or the light aching for release from your crown for I have been searching too long simply to remember my own name and the codex that bears the story that is mine If I have seemed aloof, apart, forgive me, for my sense of […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, health/healing, inspiration, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation, uncategorized • Tags: body mind & spirit, forgive, forgive me, forgiveness, inspiration, life, personal growth, poem, poetry, prayer, spirituality, Thierry Ona

your personal evolution is not a solo act

September 12, 2008 by rachel

I have just been assisted through a challenging, transformative period by two extraordinarily gifted women — once again reminding me of the unquestionable importance of skilled and compassionate support at critical junctures along the pathway of the soul’s journey. In a day or two, I’ll tell you more about them, but for now, a poetic reminder. The mosaic NASA image is “the sharpest wide-angle view ever obtained of the magnificent starburst galaxy, Messier 82 (M82). Throughout the galaxy’s center, young […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, health/healing, inspiration, love, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation, uncategorized • Tags: ascension, body mind & spirit, higher realms, inspiration, life, NASA photo, personal growth, poetry, transformation

apostrophe catastrophe – and it’s getting possessively(sic) worse!

September 1, 2008 by rachel

Forgive me for turning my attention away from the larger issues of the day, but as a writer, I can no longer avert my gaze! Pity the poor apostrophe, who seems doomed to live an existence of misuse, misalignment, misappropriation, and a torturous life of being utterly misunderstood. It’s as though it’s one minute before midnight — and an egg sac the size of the Milky Way has suddenly burst and spewed countless numbers of these once-sparse punctuation marks in […]

Categories: eclectica, humor, poetry, Rachel Snyder, writing & creativity • Tags: apostrophe, English, grammar, humor, language, poetry, punctuation, Rachel Snyder, writing

poetry for the nomadic soul: migration

August 25, 2008 by rachel

Migration Here is where I lay my head Where I have proffered my heart time and again in absolution, At this very juncture I extracted the juice from an overripe pomegranate Stripped off a smocked robe devoid of fasteners Knelt beneath a river of nectar that choked my bloodstream with its acrid sweetness And shook my fist defiantly in the face I had stroked tenderly mere eons before. Here is my port of storm My underground railroad lugging along an […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: ascension, migration, nomadic, poetry, soul, soul journey, spirituality

what will you create from today?

June 21, 2008 by rachel

Today, create the opening Heart Unshroud your inmost Desires and lay them down gently in a field of dew-kissed wildflower Let flow a river of Forgiveness For yourself, for others And revel in the soft waftings of a breeze as it carries away the unlatched chains of soul’s oppression Create the keys that unlock your ancient Rememberings Take them down from the nail on the wall Feel them slip with ease into their appointed hallways And know that you have […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, health/healing, inspiration, love, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation, uncategorized • Tags: body mind & spirit, consciousness, creation, inspiration, life, love, peace, poetry, prayer, soul, spirituality, transformation

rise up! a poemanifesto for people of integrity

June 1, 2008 by rachel

Now is the time for you to step up! Now, as the world sets to ridding itself of liars and thieves who ply their nefarious trades in the name of liberty and all that is good and true. Now, as the bright light of day shines into darkened corners and illuminates the misdeeds of those who claim to selflessly serve the downtrodden and vulnerable, even as they inflict pain and the horror of untold suffering. If you can speak the […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation, uncategorized • Tags: ascension, inspiration, manifesto, personal integrity, poetry, Rise Up!, transformation

tiny love story for this full moon night

May 19, 2008 by rachel

Short and sweet. The beautiful print, “Red Rose,” is by Anna Flores. See it in a larger version here. the prince walks his path carrying the heart of the queen in his left front pocket when he is certain he cannot go another step he sips gently inhaling roses like some sacred relic of transcendent time

Categories: inspiration, poetry, uncategorized • Tags: Anna Flores print, love, poem, poetry, rose, tiny love story, writing

let this be the day

May 17, 2008 by rachel

Let this be the day The day of silent wisdom flowing through cupped hands Spilling over the battlements in enquenchment Trickling into your parched and blistered heart And bringing forth the tender blossomings hid thereunder Let this be the day you softly douse the final ember Cool the incessant fire that once threatened to leap over hedged edges Sought to swallow every morsel in its hot and baited breath Lick delicately crafted intention into submission And singe spirit’s embryonic beginnings […]

Categories: inspiration, personal growth, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: allow, inspiration, life, personal growth, poetry, prayer, spirituality, surrender, transformation

what there is to love about a man: rituals

May 8, 2008 by rachel

Every year they do it, and have for as many decades as he can remember. Rain or shine, sickness or health. They pick up a cheap bottle of wine and toast the Old Man and curse him and bless him. They drive to the Nation’s Capital to leave homemade Valentines and pictures at the foot of the Wall, and to run their fingers over the names of the fathers they never met. At the Summer Solstice, he takes a young […]

Categories: buy more rachel now!, inspiration, men • Tags: body mind & spirit, cheap wine, fathers, homemade valentines, inspiration, men, poetry, prose, rituals, sons, soul, The Wall

the movable prayer

April 24, 2008 by rachel

Doing a bit of spring blogcleaning! prayer for this time: i am the miracle has now taken up permanent residence in the Pages section in the right-hand sidebar. If you didn’t see it the first time around – or would like to revisit the poem – Scotty will beam you up & over if you click here.

Categories: blogkeeping, inspiration, poetry, spirituality • Tags: consciousness, divine love, I Am, inspiration, miracle, poetry, prayer, spirituality, truth, wisdom

the best gift: a storypoem about receiving

April 22, 2008 by rachel

Now added to the Pages section in the right-hand sidebar, a story-poem that I often share during the winter holiday season. Even though spring is busting out all over, Now is a time in which each of us is called to uncover, discover, recover, and unabashedly share our unique personal gifts. You never know what your offering might mean to someone eager to receive — or how your gracious receiving may foster a deeper desire to give. Available for your […]

Categories: inspiration, poetry, transformation, uncategorized • Tags: flight, folklore, giving and receiving, inspiration, personal gifts, poetry, prince, song, sparrow, story poem, transformation

tacos and words (including mine!) on the menu at neruda poetry festival

April 15, 2008 by rachel

I am participating in a Literary Salon as part of the three-day 9th Annual Neruda Poetry Festival this weekend at El Centro Su Teatro, Denver’s 35-year-old Chicano/Latino Cultural Arts Center. The salon, Tacos & Words, takes place Saturday, April 19 from 4pm to about 6pm (including the taco bar!). Four writers (primarily poets, primarily Xicano, except for yours truly) will share their work and their views on the literary life, in a facilitated roundtable. I plan to share 1-2 poems […]

Categories: poetry, writing & creativity • Tags: Denver, El Centro Su Teatro, Lab at Belmar, literary life, Literary Salon, Neruda Poetry Festival, poetry, Sandra Maria Esteves, tacos, words