Blog
Reflection:
From the moment the swim instructor asked us to turn our two-year-olds onto their backs so they could practice floating, he protested with loud cries. No way was he going to let me lay him back in the water. It was too scary, even with me there beside him.
No amount of convincing was...
Reflection #54 Building Bridges
There are stages in life,
each one a crossing,
each one asking something of us
we did not know we carried
We learned to stand, to strive,
to gather inward, pieces of a life
that feel, at first, like it is only ours to shape and secure
Ego loosens its grip here...
Some of my greatest spiritual teachers are horses.
The more time I spend with them, their breath, their bodies, their instincts, the more I realize they carry a kind of wisdom that speaks directly to the places in us where God is still trying to get through. Horses have been showing me things about...
Someone asked me recently, “Who’s allowed to come to Wisdom Tree Collective gatherings?”
The answer? Everyone.
One of the challenges of building something meant to cultivate deep community and meaningful connection is the subtle formation of an “in-group” and “out-group.” Even with the best intent...
During an Alumni Coffee Hour with WTC- a space where those of us who have completed the program gather to reconnect- Kasey Hitt asked a simple, but powerful question: “How do you pray when the weight of the world feels so heavy?”
I had to pause and consider. But then an honest answer dawned on me. ...
Luke, on the road to Emmaus
Sometimes I feel like I’m walking alongside the disciples on the road to Emmaus before they know Jesus is there. I imagine them as travelers on a journey, seeking their way in a very dark time. For them, Jesus had just been crucified. Like them, I despair over death,...
Today was a glorious day!
Over the past week, I’ve been planning a sanctuary just outside my back window. This backyard spot is a sacred space where my spiritual work unfolds, where I sense the Spirit accompanying me. I thought of a border to hold flowers beside butterfly bushes. I will plant a fl...
I grew up in a family with deep and meaningful table traditions. We gathered for civic holidays, church celebrations, anniversaries, and sometimes birthdays. It felt like we were always cooking and always eating!
All but two of my mother’s seven siblings lived in our small town, so you can imagine ...
Working in Silence
She works in silence behind the curtain of time
From things you do not even know are coming
You see, God does not need to announce Her movements
Just because you cannot trace Her hand
Does not mean Her hand is not there
Behind every No, there is a greater Yes waiting to unfo...
Palm Sunday Dance
A poem by Chuck Wester, WTC Student
I am passed by
the procession
of God.
I stand alone
lost in the narrow
the winding
the streets of
ancient Jerusalem.
And press my ear
to the old stones
that I might
catch an echo
a fading whisperer
of the dance
that...
Wisdom Tree Collective offers a rich variety of inspiring practices. And yet, some exercises that seem simple on the surface can quietly invite us to deeper places.
Recall a moment when you felt loved.
When I first tried this exercise, I was not able to connect with an experience of feeling loved...
A few weeks ago, my college-age daughter shared with me that something I had said to her in sixth grade had become part of her inner critic.
She told me that whenever a paper or project was assigned, she would hear my voice in her ear asking if she had been working on it. That voice pushed her alre...
