It’s a Real Live Thing

Lessons from a Field Dog. We have in our lives right now a dog trainer – Willy – who is doing an incredible job helping us communicate with and understand our new puppy, Paisley. He has a phrase he says regularly when he is explaining to us the reason (biologically and breed based) that our dog reacts and is the … Read More

On the Wild Garden

On the wild garden. Studies of inner and outer landscapes. What would your life look like if you organized it around generation? Around expanding the life and energy within you so that it blooms and spills out all over your surroundings? What happens when you organize your environment around what makes you feel alive? There is a risk when we … Read More

Garden at the Office

Two things I don’t like:Pushing ink around on paper because I’ve scheduled an hour for some project that really I have nothing to say about right now.Sitting in front of a computer for more than 40 minutes at a time.Three things I love:Writing by hand.Moving my muscles while the project I’m working on unfurls inside of me.Veggies.In the summer — … Read More

Accidents Happen

My partner has a habit of occasionally announcing the statement “NO ACCIDENT” (her voice in all caps) based on a book in which the main character would say this whenever some coincidence that was not coincidental happened.”NO ACCIDENT” is exactly what the card Accident is about.Sometimes, when we go through life, with all our plans, an unplanned, new chunk of … Read More

Holding Space for Flow

In my family, we all have our own rhythms & trajectories. We love the heck out of each other, but to get everyone out the door, into the van and off to a restaurant/camping trip/airport can be a bit like putting a pot on your head and banging it with a spoon.Everyone flows independently. And will not be contained.I have … Read More

Hard Work Held Softly

The Card: RetractionThe card Retraction describes the motion of pulling in from a larger space into a smaller and more concentrated form. It’s a wonderful card if we are feeling overextended, all over the place, or fragmented. It draws our energy back in and focuses our efforts on one or two powerful choices.Retraction often occurs after a period of expansion. … Read More

Moving in the World

Who are the visible and invisible people who share your space when you work? The ghosts and the living that sit down with you at your desk when you begin to write, to create, to work with a client?Sitting down now to write this newsletter I’m surrounded by people. Part of this is because the fire is downstairs, and this … Read More

Shaped by the Journey

A few years ago I took part in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. It was delightful.The woman holding the ceremony was a serious practitioner of the art, and the traditional tearoom installed in her home included the small square entrance that you cannot get through unless you crawl (gracefully) on your knees. This small door (nijiriguchi, or “crawling-in entrance”) harkens … Read More

A Little Breathing Room

‘Doorway’ DefinitionThe card Doorway describes the brief space that connects two places. When this card comes up we notice what places in our lives are asking to be brought together. For example, maybe we act one way at work and a different way with our families.Doorway offers a vantage point where we see the commonalities between different parts of ourselves … Read More

Washing Dishes Together

Material

What does the card Material mean?The card Material is the story of the passionate love affair between humans and the material world. 

More than any other critter I can think of, we humans explore clay & stone, wood & wool, plants & bones — anything we can get our hands on.

Material encourages us to have a relationship with our material surroundings that is balanced … Read More