Introduction Meister Eckhart, the 14th-century Christian mystic, suggests we should fall in love at least three times a day. This has resonated deeply with me as a way to practice living fully into the joyous gorgeousness of the Earth we inhabit. What do we mean by falling in love? Falling in love is the experience … CONTINUE READING
What does Falling in Love with the Earth have to do with the ecological crisis? Human beings are like the fish in this cartoon. Two little fish in the ocean. One fish swims by and asks, “How is the water?” The other says, “What the heck is water?” We have, as human beings in a capitalist, … CONTINUE READING
Reflections from the third gathering of Becoming Eco-mystics The focus of the third gathering of Becoming Eco-mystics included a group reflection on our current norm of feeling separate from the Earth. We are each one thread among many in the tapestry of the biosphere: interdependent, interconnected, impacted by and impacting everything. But we live as if this … CONTINUE READING
Reflections of the Second Gathering of Becoming Eco-mystics Disconcertingly, as people were arriving in the Zoom room for the second session of Becoming Eco-mystics, 80 percent of them had the same name: mine, “Sarah Arthurs.” This was a deliciously timed irony, because the prompt for the first activity was a quote from Iris Murdoch. “Love … CONTINUE READING
Reflections on the First Gathering of Becoming Eco-mystics First-timers are welcome at every session. Thirty-seven of the 70 people who registered came to the first gathering of Becoming Eco-mystics. They were from as far away as Bolivia, many from the United States, and the rest from Canada. As the registration numbers grew, my question became, … CONTINUE READING
Karl Rahner said, “If the church is going to survive, perhaps we all need to become mystics.” Perhaps If we humans are going to survive on the Earth, we need to become eco-mystics. And what, on Monday morning, is that? I think a mystic is someone who periodically and/or pervasively has a sense of being … CONTINUE READING
Mist in the valleyAlberta blue skyLazy afternoon Green foil unwrappedBitter sweetnessSoul food Clouds are racingDogs are barkingTime stands still Alicia Dykstra Soft brown fieldsMountain tops awash in bright pinkFire within burns Busy bees dust themselves with crocus pollenI walk and pause, in relationship with the landEven the dried thistles have their place I pause on … CONTINUE READING
Dear friends and members of the Green Exodus Community, We are glad to share that Green Exodus has been welcomed as a new ministry within the United Church of Canada. This has provided us with some allocated funding for three years pending the ongoing generative nature of our work. What is happening as a result? … CONTINUE READING
Working within the space provided by Creation Spirituality we need the equivalent”ish” of confession in our Christian tradition – we need a way to bring to mind what we are part of and who and what we are. Within the space of Green Exodus this is very much shaped by our exposure to a deepening practice … CONTINUE READING
Last September the Green Exodus community contributed to a series of group poems about the Four Elements. Fire in Us . Continue reading . . .