October 6, 2026 “Let go and let God” has been a slogan I’ve regularly heard in Alanon meetings. But what does “letting go” actually mean? How do we let go? Why would we want to? What are we meant to let go of? For me, because I tend to be codependent and was raised by parents who insisted that I caregive my younger sister, I’m still learning to accept what is happening with and for myself, my beloveds, and the world. And I’m learning to trust that the Divine will take care

September 15, 2026 It took me a long time to decide to write about chant as a spiritual practice. Not just because chant seems like an antiquated practice, but also because there's often a belief that chant requires a capacity to sing. As someone who has sung in choirs over the years, I wasn't sure that others with less singing experience would be open to this form of prayer. But then something called me back. I was inspired by the recent sing-alongs happening in the country

August 26, 2026 I’ve been told that I have a goofy sense of humour. That's probably true. I learned the importance of laughter from my parents during my childhood. And then I married a man who often makes me laugh—over the years his sense of humour has kept me sane, especially during life's challenging times. I am also blessed to have friends with playful natures—one regularly sends me Instagram leaping goat videos, another creates Christmas videos featuring her live chi

August 4 2026 A few months ago, I wrote a blog about a practice of 15 Second Contemplation, [1] and I promised that I’d write about contemplation itself. But there are so many ways to contemplate that instead I’m limiting this blog to one specific way of entering into this spiritual practice, that is through contemplative photography. What is contemplation? Carmelite William McNamara defines it as “a long loving look at the real,” [2]. Occasionally when I give this defini

July 14, 2026 Are you able to see beauty in this time of destruction, performative cruelty, immorality and corruption? I know that that’s a tall ask. For me, this time of despair can be a barrier to finding beauty, sometimes even when it’s directly in front of me. Christine Valters Paintner says that “despair and beauty dwell together in the same space, not competing, but offering to us the full experience of soulfulness,[1]." In the times when I’m able to see beauty, esp

June 23, 2026 Tears seem particularly important in this time when we are witnessing the destruction and loss of so many things and so many injustices. Even so, it’s not easy to sit with our anger and grief, to allow our tears to flow. Some people have the “gift of tears”—crying whenever they experience deep sorrow or joy. But most of us bottle things up, and when tears come, we wipe them away as if they’re something to be ashamed of. For most of my life I’ve experienced th

June 2, 2026 Occasionally something comes up and people say, “that was a a keeper,” [1]. Well today’s blog is about a new learning I came upon several years back. It’s so simple that it’s become one of my keepers. A 15 second contemplative keeper. Perhaps it might become one of yours too. My keeper has been very helpful to me in this time in which basic understandings about kindness, caring, empathy, and sharing are being disregarded. You know, those basic rules we le

May 12, 2026 Storytelling can be transformational. A wisdom path. Authors Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham say that stories are spiritual when they communicate the mystery and the miracle of being alive, [1]. That these types of stories touch our hearts and assist us in asking the spiritual questions, [2]. Stories can change the storyteller and others who have been touched by the story. As a bookworm from early childhood, I know that I’ve been changed by transformati

April 21, 2026 Joy seems like such a ridiculous thing to talk about when the world seems to be filled with so much that is despairing. But joy is something to be cultivated. To be sought in amongst the thick weeds of lies, immorality, indecency, visible corruption, and violence that we’re witnessing and experiencing in 2026. Joy isn’t the same as happiness. We can have a deep inner joy even when we don’t feel happy. In fact, we can feel sad, angry or a host of other emoti

Photo by David Loretto March 31, 2026 You might be asking why I’m talking about death and not talking about compassion, joy, and other love-based spiritual practices when the world seems to be filled with with so much death and cruelty right now. Why I’m not encouraging myself and you into following Sacred Love. Well, believe it or not, keeping our death before our eyes is a spiritual practice that can lead us into connecting with Sacred Love. To being deeper in relationshi