“Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” 

~Rumi 

This season of light is a special time to highlight the rituals and personal quests that merge self-expression with the art of deeper contemplation and listening. Any practice ignited by seeking to engage and celebrate can be a powerful mode of divine communion that invites the soul to see beauty, acknowledge gifts and open to grace. 

Finding the middle way amidst life’s joys and pains is often a crucial balance of acceptance and sacred stamina that preserves belief in a world capable of healing. Faith is personal, weaving a common cord that has the potential to unite us in a wider circle of hope and ultimately visions of peace. But what are the means by which we slip into that watchful, nonjudgmental place, gently backed by trusting that more will be revealed? 

 By the soft glow of tolerance, method matters less as divinity’s own justice of love opens us to a higher frequency of understanding, and even the simplest acts become masterpieces in compassion. When taken in reverence for all that is, each step can be a prayer, and each breath can send a blessing. 

Our last issue of the year highlights the practices and the consciousness shift that conspire to cultivate a focused concentration for tuning in to a guiding, eternal source. Quiet reflection, meditative postures and mantras, and sacred intent together spin a message of earnest devotion, but honoring the intuitive and innate processes that emerge naturally in any given moment creates meaning and strength just as powerfully. 

Modern mystics don’t evangelize or divide based on comparing dogmas; rather, they exist in conscious contact with a greater Presence, filled with the joy of seeing beyond illusions to a freedom that is pure. 

Catching hold of spirit is less about courage and much more about convictions of the heart, so that being the peace in this world of harsh realities expands to become an active role of sharing resources, speaking truths and above all, remembering love. 

                       ~Jacqueline 

We look ahead to the new year with a prayer of calm, health, safety and kindness for everyone. There is no place for fear in a mind’s eye that envisions unity for all.  

                      ~Jacqueline & Kendra, Co-Publishers