the wave is cresting: remain fluid in all things and unduly attached to none

May 13, 2011 by rachel

Thanks to souldipper for pointing me back toward this poem, which I wrote and posted in October 2010, graced by John Singer Sargent’s loose-limbed “Spanish Dancer.” Seems I invariably end up back at Bouguereau when I go trolling for images: note the woman has now shed her clothes! I live in a drought-stricken, dusty place, and, as a double Piscean, I tend to bring my own water (and fluidity) with me wherever I go. Dare I say I relate to […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, personal growth, planetary shifts, poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: change, higher consciousness, spirituality, wisdom

can you remain awestruck during tough times?

June 19, 2009 by rachel

These words are from a book on Faith currently under development by a publisher who shall remain nameless. The NASA image of the sun is not a Summer Solstice photo-but it sure gets me in the mood! Be Awestruck Although it isn’t always easy, the toughest times require you to believe in the greatest, grandest possibilities. Can you allow yourself to be brought to your knees by miracles and finely orchestrated “coincidences” that defy rational thought? Can you soften your […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, personal growth, planetary shifts, prose poetry, spirituality, transformation • Tags: ascension, awakening, body mind & spirit, consciousness, faith, inspiration, life, NASA photo, personal growth, prose poetry, spirituality, sun, surrender, transformation

what there is to love about a man: journey

June 17, 2009 by rachel

This excerpt is from my out-of-print book, What There Is To Love About A Man. The art is by British artist David Preston-Earley, who adds, ” This image is about a mythical journey where the people of the world are carried on the back of a turtle. The turtle is a symbol of fertility and long life. To the Native Americans it was associated with the lunar cycle and also female energies. The spirit of the turtle can also teach […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, health/healing, inspiration, men, personal growth, spirituality, transformation • Tags: awakening, body mind & spirit, consciousness, David Preston-Earley, empowerment, hero's journey, inspiration, men, mysticism, personal growth, spirituality, transformation

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

change is the prelude to growth (video)

April 2, 2009 by rachel

Here’s one of the many beautiful and insightful videos from Humanity Healing, a worldwide organization that can help enlighten you on the subjects of personal and global transformation; spiritual living; starseeds, angelic humans and twin flames; and awakening from a variety of traditions. Enjoy! There’s a significant list of credits at the end of the video, with good links to check out. Learn more about Humanity Healing Foundation at http://www.humanityhealing.net. Check out the Humanity Healing Social Network here. I am […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, love, personal growth, planetary shifts, spirituality, transformation, video • Tags: awakening, body mind & spirit, change, consciousness, Humanity Healing, inspiration, life, personal growth, spirituality, transformation, video

stretch break: the triple crown of transformation

March 23, 2009 by rachel

Here’s the latest stretch break — introducing you to people, concepts, modalities, or expressions that might be a tad outside your usual comfort zone… …or might be the perfect frequency match you’ve been seeking. Either way, if you’re ready to shed your old, stale, ways of being and move (with as much ease and grace as possible) into a new level of living, you’ve come to the right place. Meet three astoundingly gifted women who work separately and together with […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, health/healing, inspiration, personal growth, planetary shifts, spirituality, stretch break, transformation • Tags: Aleya Dao, ascension, awakening, body mind & spirit, CCT, consciousness, Crystalline Consciousness Technique, Energies of Creation, energy healing, energy work, gia combs-ramirez, higher consciousness, inspiration, Lexi Sundell, personal growth, Science of Energy Healing, spirituality, The Journey Work, 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

hallelujah: k d lang says it so much better than I ever could (music/video)

March 12, 2009 by rachel

Historically, I’ve been partial to Jeff Buckley’s cover of this Leonard Cohen song — which is based on the Biblical story of (King) David and Bathsheba and has been analyzed and interpreted for years. Yet today, in this moment, at this juncture in the road, no other rendition carries the power, the majesty, and the achingly delicious surrender that K.D. Lang summons through her body and voice in this commanding-yet-humble, 2005 live performance in Winnipeg. This slays me in the […]

Categories: inspiration, love, spirituality, video • Tags: David & Bathsheba, God, Hallelujah, inspiration, Juno Awards performance, kd lang, Leonard Cohen, life, love, spirituality, surrender, video

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

the 7 words of well-being for men (redux)

February 16, 2009 by rachel

The ground is shifting under the feet of us all, but perhaps even more so, for men determined to release themselves from old ways of being. Someday, the gender distinction will likely prove itself irrelevant. Until then, this feels like a good time to revisit this post, which originally appeared in April, 2008. *    *    *    *    *    *    *    * Even though my books and writing may be labeled “for men” or “for women,” these distinctions often reflect publishing-world […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, health/healing, inspiration, men, personal growth, prose poetry, spirituality, transformation, word of the day • Tags: awakening, body mind & spirit, consciousness, empowerment, eros, healing, hero's journey, higher consciousness, inspiration, life, masculine, men, men's groups, prose poetry, sanctuary, spirituality, transformation, truth, voice, wisdom, word of the day, words, work

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

five words of wisdom for entrepreneurs of heart & spirit

January 27, 2009 by rachel

I created this piece and presented it at a local Leads Group meeting last year. Now, more than ever, independent businessowners need to bring head, heart, and spirit to the table in equal measure. In business as well as personal arenas, it’s time to Be Whole Now! ASK Ask yourself the tough questions. Ask why you are in business. Why you are in this business, in this place, in this time. Ask yourself if you truly love what you’re doing. […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, word of the day • Tags: body mind & spirit, business inspiration, business poetry, business wisdom, conscious business, consciousness, entrepreneur, independent business, inspiration, personal growth, small business, spiritual entrepreneur, spirituality, succeed, success, wisdom, word of the day, words

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

turn, turn, turn: words of wholeness sung by nina simone, judy collins, pete seeger

January 17, 2009 by rachel

This song flashed into my awareness early this morning with the reminder that Divine timing always trumps our calendars, goals, and spreadsheet objectives. After viewing videos of the song performed by The Byrds, The Seekers, Nina Simone, and Judy Collins (60s and 90s versions), I couldn’t choose a favorite. So, here are (1) an early ’60s TV show featuring folksinging icons Collins and songwriter Pete Seeger… … plus (2) a 1969 version by Nina Simone. The words hail from the […]

Categories: inspiration, spirituality, video • Tags: 60s music, Ecclesiastes, inspiration, judy collins, life, nina simone, peace, pete seeger, spirituality, to everything there is a season, transformation, turn turn turn, video

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

life in three words: journey, frustration, opportunity

December 14, 2008 by rachel

Just to put it all in perspective, three Words of Well-Being(tm) from one of my currently-out-of-print books. Nothing you don’t already know, but given the darkening days of December and the tumultuous goings-on in the political and economic corners of our world, it seems a good time for a reminder. My search for evocative art to accompany my posts has led me to the rich work of Sybil Shane and Miyu Tamamura — here expressed in sumi ink and hand-painted […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, health/healing, inspiration, personal growth, spirituality, transformation, word of the day • Tags: awakening, body mind & spirit, consciousness, frustration, higher consciousness, inspiration, Japanese art, journey, life, love, Miyu Tamamura, opportunity, personal growth, spirituality, Sybil Shane, transformation, word of the day

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

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

enough! manifesto for artists, writers, and lovers of beauty & truth

September 24, 2008 by rachel

Now is the time to say Enough! to the marginalization of all who walk the path of beauty and art To the unyielding duress of seeking to balance deep and soulful expression with the strictures of daily existence, Enough! To systems and models that devalue currencies of the heart, imaginings of the soul, visions and dreams fueled by wisdom, experience, and an unquenchable yearning to connect heaven and earth, Enough! To the relentless negation of the unimpeachable sine qua non […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, inspiration, poetry, spirituality, transformation, writing & creativity • Tags: art, artists, beauty, creativity, culture, heart, inspiration, life, manifesto, music, philosophy, spirituality, theatre, truth, writers, writing

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

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

making love to god: part eight

August 6, 2008 by rachel

This is the final excerpt of Making Love To God, my memoir of Divine Union and contemporary spiritual relationship. The series began on July 29, 2008, with the Introduction and Chapter One. You may resonate with the material more powerfully if you follow it in order; all posts are categorized in the Making Love To God category in the sidebar to your right. If you’ve been following the series, you may have noted that the format interweaves the mystical spiritual […]

Categories: inspiration, love, making love to god, spirituality, transformation • Tags: ascension, divine union, ecstatic union, God, inspiration, love, mystic, mysticism, relationships, spiritual relationship, spirituality, transformation

making love to god: part seven

August 5, 2008 by rachel

This is the seventh in a series from Making Love To God, my memoir of Divine Union and contemporary spiritual relationship. The series began on July 29, 2008, with the Introduction and Chapter One, and will continue through completion with Part Eight. If you’ve been following the series, you may have noted that the format interweaves the mystical spiritual journey (The Awakening, The Invitation, The Dark Night, The Unfolding, Peace Everlasting) with the more earthly journey of spiritual relationship (identified […]

Categories: inspiration, love, making love to god, spirituality, transformation • Tags: ascension, divine union, ecstatic union, God, heaven on earth, love, mystic, mysticism, opening heart, spiritual relationship, spirituality, transformation

making love to god: part six

August 4, 2008 by rachel

This is the sixth in a series from Making Love To God, my memoir of Divine Union and contemporary spiritual relationship. The series began on July 29, 2008, with the Introduction and Chapter One, and will continue through completion. You may resonate with the material more powerfully if you follow it in order; all posts are categorized in the Making Love To God category in the sidebar to your right. May we all find the courage to strip away anything […]

Categories: inspiration, love, making love to god, spirituality, transformation, uncategorized • Tags: awakening, dark night of the soul, divine union, ecstatic union, God, love, mystic, mysticism, opening heart, spiritual relationship, spirituality, surrender, transformation

making love to god: part five

August 3, 2008 by rachel

This is the fifth in a series from Making Love To God, my memoir of Divine Union and contemporary spiritual relationship. The series began on July 29, 2008, with the Introduction and Chapter One, and will continue through completion. You may resonate with the material more powerfully if you follow it in order; all posts are categorized in the Making Love To God category in the sidebar to your right. May we all find the courage to strip away anything […]

Categories: inspiration, love, making love to god, spirituality, transformation • Tags: awakening, divine union, ecstatic union, God, love, mystic, mysticism, opening heart, spiritual relationship, spirituality, surrender, transformation

making love to god: part four

August 1, 2008 by rachel

This is the fourth in a series from Making Love To God, my memoir of Divine Union and contemporary spiritual relationship. The series began on July 29, 2008, with the Introduction and Chapter One, and will continue through completion. You may resonate with the material more powerfully if you follow it in order; all posts are categorized in the Making Love To God category in the sidebar to your right. May we all find the courage to strip away anything […]

Categories: body mind & spirit, health/healing, inspiration, love, making love to god, personal growth, spirituality, transformation • Tags: body mind & spirit, divine union, love, mysticism, relationships, sacred union, spiritual relationship, spirituality, transformation