In my first course, SEEING WITH THE EYE OF THE HEART, we went through the gospel of Mary, verse by verse, looking especially at the concept of the Greek term nous. This word refers to a spiritual capacity Mary’s gospel teaches us we all have the ability to cultivate.
Read MoreWorth is not earned, or given; worth is claimed. What’s so elusive about worth is that it’s easy to forget that it has nothing to do with anyone or anything outside of us. Our worth is inherent. Our worth in being human, our worth to love and be loved, is our birthright.
Read MoreI dreamt once that I was standing at the bottom of the ocean. I felt this intense, heavy weight bearing down on me as if I was holding up the entire sea with my own tiny back. I had to bear the weight of the ocean. I had to be the one the sea could stand on. Then, suddenly, this unexpected soft ripple of light made me lift my head. I had been staring at the sand and mud on the sea floor, but with that glimmer of light, I glanced up to see what was in front of me.
Read MoreLet’s start with this–a teenage girl is sitting at her bedroom window listening intently to a man share stories to a crowd nearby. She’s riveted to every word he says. And even though her mom and her fiancé plead with her to stop listening, she refuses to move. This man, a stranger to her village, is talking about a world that’s entirely foreign to her; a world of freedom, and love–a love that liberates. And what’s so radical about this world she hears him talking about is that it’s open to everyone, including her.
Read MoreJoan of Arc wanted to stay home spinning wool. She had no intention of becoming a child soldier, of dressing as a man, and leading an army with such precision that she would turn the Hundred Years’ War to France’s favor and ultimate victory over England.
Read MoreThe ancient Christian scripture titled The Acts of Paul and Thecla dates back to 70 AD. It tells the story of a Turkish teenager named Thecla who hears Paul teaching about Christ and is completely transformed by it.
Read MoreThe story of the birth of the Hindu goddess Kali is told in ancient scripture that dates back to the 9th century BC. Kali’s name has many meanings. She is the fulfillment of time, the force of time itself. She is the mother of the Universe, and it’s only through her that the Hindu Gods are able to restore peace to the world.
Read MoreBeing human is our purpose. Being human is a privilege. Being human is the whole point. We’re not meant to be soil, or a rock, or a towering Cedar tree, a magnificent Redwood. We’re not meant to be a creature with that crazy looking tentacle that dangles out before an astounding set of teeth in the dark depths of the sea.
Read MoreI woke up from a dream this morning still repeating loudly inside me, like a chant I didn’t realize until that moment was secretly announcing this truth all the time throughout every inch of my body: “I CAN’T RISK EXPOSURE.” At first and in the context of a global pandemic, “I CAN’T RISK EXPOSURE,” seems like it has to do with all the fear around contracting the coronavirus. All the efforts I’ve made for the past six months to keep my son, and myself, and my family safe.
Read MoreIt’s crucial for us to remember how controversial and revolutionary Christ was in word and action for the 1st century. We have forgotten that he wanted to turn the unjust power structures of the Roman Empire on its head, making the first the last, and the last first.
Read MoreThere’s a legend that Mary Magdalene lived in a cave in the south of France on what is referred to now as La Sainte Baume, “The Holy Mountain.” It is said that she was lifted up 7 times a day from the cave to high above the cliffs of the holy mountain.
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A member of my spiritual community wrote in to me recently upset that she wasn’t receiving a clear sense of teaching, or transmission, to then be able to go out and teach about Mary’s gospel and the vast, radical love it reveals. What’s very important to clarify here is that this assumes I “have” something to hand over, or to give, that this community member does not have herself. For me, this perpetuates a very ancient misunderstanding when it comes to religion and hierarchy.
Read MoreI believe in a world I can’t see yet outside of me. I can’t see this world I believe in with my eyes. These eyes though I’ve learned can be deceiving. This world is real though, more real than anything I’ve seen outside of me. This world is real even though I’m actually blind to what it looks like exactly. It’s real because I know it’s real. It’s real because I exist. I have believed in it before I believed in myself, before I even understood what it meant to believe.
Read MoreThe most intimate and gripping passage from the gospel of Mary Magdalene is an exchange between Mary and Christ where she asks him the most significant question I think any of us could ever know the answer to. She asks, “Does a person who sees a vision see it with the soul or with the spirit?” And Christ answers, “A person does not see with the soul or with the spirit. Rather the mind, which exists between these two, sees the vision and that is what…” (Mary 7:7)
Read MoreSomeone reached out to me recently and asked me to share how I ready myself for writing every morning. I have lost the name of the lady who asked, but this is one of the many symptoms of being neck-deep in a book that my morning routine tries to help me manage.
Read MoreI don’t think you need anyone or anything to start speaking, to begin to tell your truth. Eventually, it just gets too tiring. Being someone else, someone others want you to be or that you think others might love more, or want more, just becomes too exhausting. Well, and boring. It’s so much more exhilarating to risk something, to be real.
Read MoreMy voice is often shaky in this video. My heart lodged itself into my throat as I did my best to talk about what breaks my heart the most in this world. I wouldn’t have been able to do this video without my ladylove Kate Northrup. The heartbreak makes me feel so vulnerable, and also at the same time, so powerful. Because this is what I know to be true: the broken open heart holds more light than the closed heart too afraid to break.
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I was standing in front of a microphone with a pair of headphones that didn’t quite fit me. They kept sliding forward and needed my frequent adjustment to hold them into place. I was wearing my gold silk kimono with hand painted angel wings on the back. I had chosen this studio to record the audio version of REVEAL solely based on its name: Studio Unicorn. And because I had gotten that sense, that intuitive lurch when it’s profoundly kind owner reached out to me. He ended up being a Grammy award winning producer, and a devotee of Amma (the hugging saint I adore.)
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It's not dramatic and this is how it's so easily missed. It’s so quick, and small, and so terribly quiet. It takes place in a place within that so many of us have never visited much less venerated. It’s so crucial and essential but we only know this once we’ve found it – once we’ve given up the search to find it in someone else. A well, a chalice, an eternal flame, the holy of holies, the pot of gold, the diamond, the miracle, the elixir of life, the philosopher’s stone, all these begin to convey but fail to fully contain just how much is found there. Here. Within.
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Words are like sutures. They can close up ancient wounds. They’re magic, we know this. Words heal not just from the meaning they convey but also the energy they contain. Words can hold as if tiny little vessels the energy that transmits from the writer to the reader. Words have the power to transport us, and transform us just from taking them in.
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