Wild Gardens: Return to the Garden is part of the Magic Garden Global Literacy project. This literacy project is designed to demonstrate to educators and their students how good curriculum can be delivered and the outcomes published, using new technology such as blogs, writeboard, photo board and many other exciting applications.
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The Affirmation Exercise takes the participant through seven short meditations based on an image and an affirmation. It is designed to probe the areas of our lives that sometimes need a little shoring up or balancing. Click HERE. Then scroll to the bottom and start with the "red" affirmation called "Strength", then work your way to the top. Do them all at once or day-by-day. Spend as much or as little time with each one as you wish. Come back and do them over again. It's your meditation. Design it so it works best for you.
Peace.
 | Heather Blakey on Into the Darkness |
 | pearlz on Into the Darkness |
 | soulsister on Into the Darkness |
 | Traveller on Into the Darkness |
 | porchsitter on Into the Darkness |
Basho was a famous Japanese poet. Take a few minutes a step into his world:
Lori G. (c) 2008
Madrona is a vernal marsh which means that it is dry as a bone in the summer and fall, but when the winter rains come, it fills up and becomes quite lovely. The amazing thing is that it is smack in the middle of a urban setting. There is a giant shopping mall across the street.
Lori G. (c) 2008
Los Angeles artist, J. Michael Walker, has spent the last several years of his life researching the names of the 103 L.A. streets named after saints. From his research he has made a collection of ink and seriograph images along with poetry depicting the saints in unique and contemporary contexts. The culmination of this project will be an exhibition at the Autry Museum early next year and the publication of a book entitled All the Saints of the City of the Angels: Seeking the Soul of L.A. on Its Streets.
What I find intriguing about this project is the artist’s attempt to find the spiritual essence of a place, or, rather, to find his spiritual essence within a place. Perhaps this search is one in the same.
Whatever direction the search, I think it is critical that we, in order to be fully human and whole, need to find that place of “sacredness” where we can encounter and experience the realm of the spirit. This special place can be a physical locale, an established place such as a temple, church or sacred grove, or a mundane place that we have made “holy” for ourselves—a park bench where we rest and feed the birds or a cozy chair in front of a fireplace.
How do you find this place? May I suggest taking a few moments to consider a few questions. Ask youself:
What would my sacred space be like? Is it a real place? If so, where? Is it an imaginary place? Pretend you are describing this imaginary place to someone. Does the space ever change? If so how? What or who populates the space? What can I bring to this space to make it special? What do I take away from it?
Once you have established your space—either a physical place where you can visit or an imaginary one that you visit in your mind’s eye, make it your practice to get to that place as often as you can.
Wherever you go, find yourself there.
Blessings.
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Some sources for inspiring you in your search for a sacred space:
The All the Saints of the City of the Angeles Project
Sacred Cartography (at the Soul Food Café)
Sacred Sites: Places of Peace and Power
Lori G. © 2007
The images above were taken by me at the San Fernando Mission, established in 1797. The mission resides on a street named after this saint.
