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Sacred
Imagination
A
Letter of Good-bye |
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by Dana Reynolds |
Dear Readers,
Thank you to all of you who have written to me
with your prayers and good wishes during my recovery
from surgery. There have been many moments of acute
awareness these past weeks, when I have felt peace wash
over me and healing taking place deep inside. I’m
grateful and in awe of the power of love and grace.
I must share with you today that I will not be
writing my monthly column any longer. I am being called
to place all of my time and energy into the creation of
a women’s spiritual/creative center, The Circle: A
Gathering Place for Women, here on the Monterey
Peninsula. I am starting this non-profit organization
with three friends and it has quickly become a full-time
job. We have had our first gathering and over fifty
women attended. The response has been more than we could
have ever imagined. There are countless details to tend
to, much like caring for a newborn child. Sadly, this is
requiring me to let go of certain pursuits and
activities that I love. My column is one of these.
This has been a difficult decision to make. I have
enjoyed being a part of the S.L. family for these past
two years and one of the best things about writing for
Soulful Living has been getting to know Valerie. Her
creative vision will continue to be a source of
inspiration for all of us who read this magazine. I hope
to write an occasional article and in that way I will be
dropping in to say hello from time to time. I’ll keep
you posted on our women’s center. We are creating a
model that we hope to see replicated around the country
within the coming years.
These are challenging times we are living in.
Gather close to those you love. Let them know how much
you care. Practice forgiveness and simple gestures of
loving-kindness. Pray for the leaders of the world that
they will be guided to make decisions for the Highest
good for all concerned. Make art. Dance. Sing. Find joy
and inspiration and share it with others. Bring beauty
into your daily life and spread it wherever you go. Hug
your pet. Trust. Believe. Be well. Until another time,
my friends…….may your sacred imagination bless you
with a passionate and creative life!
Love and Blessings, Dana
Read
Dana's Past "Sacred Imagination" Columns:
March
2002 - "A Message to My Readers"
February
2002 - "The Crafting of Relationship"
January
2002 - "Meditating with the Higher Self"
December
2001 - "The Prayer Cord"
November
2001 - "Explore, Express, Imagine"
October
2001 - "Seeking Sacred Alchemy"
September
2001 - "Invoking Your Muse"
August
2001 - "The Blessings of Daily Bread"
July
2001 - "Entertaining the Dream Visitor"
May
2001 - "Embracing the Whole:
Choices for Conscious Living"
April
2001 "Nourishing the Souls of the Children"
March
2001 "Opening the Senses to Beauty"
February
2001 "The Eyes of Love"
January
2001 "Patterns of Authenticity"
December
2000 "Finding Peace in the Fields of Time"
November
2000 "Cultivating Gratitude: Heart-Hugs and Prayer
Leaves"
October
2000 "Journey to the Center - The Sacred Mystery of
the Labyrinth"
September
2000 "The Heart and Craft of Healing"
August
2000 "Transforming Life’s Challenges into Beauty and Story"
July
2000 "Sacred Spaces Invite the
Muses of the Soul"
Read
Dana's Soulful Living Feature Articles:
Visual
Prayers
Intuition
and the Sacred Imagination: The Dance of Co-creation
For ten years, Dana Reynolds has
been facilitating women’s spiritual presentations and
retreats nationwide. Her work as a Spiritual Midwife,
one who assists women as they birth their creative gifts
into the world, is the foundation of all her endeavors.
Her background as a visual artist and writer enriches
her Spiritual Midwifery: Birthing the Feminine Soul
workshops.
As the creator of an art making
process known as visual prayer, Dana teaches
women how to combine ritual with sacred intention to
create altars, collages, spirit dolls, and other
touchstones. The creation of sacred spaces is also
paramount to the Spiritual Midwifery experience. Her
web-site http://www.sacredimagination.com
offers samplings of her visual prayer collages, poetry,
and a workshop catalogue.
Dana is the author of the
whimsical and colorfully illustrated book, Be An
Angel, a co-creation with illustrator and graphic
designer, Karen Blessen, (Simon & Schuster). Her
essay, Visual Prayers is included in the
anthology, Our Turn, Our Time: Women Coming of Age, edited
by Cynthia Black, (Beyond Words Publishing).
A trained labyrinth
facilitator, Dana incorporates the labyrinth and other
spiritual wisdom into her retreats and workshops. She
recently traveled to Chartres and Vezelay Cathedrals in
France to gather information pertaining to ancient
sacred mystical traditions. She currently lectures on
such topics as spiritual midwifery, sacred journal
keeping, feminine spiritual wisdom, and the early
Christian women saints and mystics.
Dana’s life follows the
spiral path from rim to center and back again. She looks
for the sacred in forgotten places and openly embraces
the great Mystery of life. Guiding women to the
discovery of their creative inner gifts is the passion
that fuels her soul.
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