Riehlife Contemplation Series…and Lights Out for Earth Hour

I’ve been harvesting my journals this week. One of the fruits of my harvest is this series of Riehlife contemplations which I hope you’ll enjoy and use: –for cultivating your own contemplations. –for starting conversations with loved ones and friends. –for prompting your writing. What are your foul weather blue sky gifts? What does your…

Writer’s Burrow—What does your safe writing place within look like? How are your writer’s requirements met?

Every writer needs a writing room. What about a burrow…a hole or tunnel dug into the earth to create a space of temporary refuge….and where your thoughts and feelings can inhabit themselves freely, on paper. Dig a deep hole to bury your sorrows. Bury them, do not forget them. For, they are alive and will…

Riehlife Contemplation: What are the rivers you need and want to cross? Jimmy Cliff’s “Too Many Rivers to Cross” can be used as a writing prompt and a life prompt, too.

Jimmy Cliff’s “Too Many Rivers To Cross” was one of the sound track songs from my time in Botswana and Ghana in the 1970s. There were a lot of rivers to cross, and I learned how to cross them…not all at once, but slowly, and one by one. This also made a great slow dance…

Riehlife Meditation on Bumps and Mountains…across the plains of our worlds—conversation starter and writing prompt

When one wrinkle is made smooth, I notice a bump beyond…in the distance…and want to go there and explore. What could that bump be? A mountain, perhaps? Or, just a molehill? I see a vast plain, like a tapestry carpet stretching out before me…miles to the mountain. I will journey over the plains, but need…

Author Anne Schroeder’s World of Connections, and the story of “Ordinary Aphrodite” on its journey from pen to page to paen

Anne Schroeder is a fifth generation Californian, whose love of writing was fueled by stories of immigrant ancestors. Anne evokes the drama of growing up in a close-knit Southern California farm community in her first memoir, “Branches on the Conejo: Leaving the Soil after Five Generations.” Anne and I are linked by our love of…

800 Tibetans March in Chicago…and what you can do to promote peace in Tibet

Paul Norden sent these photos and this message from Chicago. Tibetan woman waves Tibetan flag in Chicago Tibet Peace March (Photo by Paul Norden) Over 800 Tibetans marched in Chicago on Tuesday, March 18. They came from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana and Illinois. The line peacefully ran from the Water Tower up Michigan Ave over 3…

Ste. Genevieve Specialty Foods

Now that I’m back in the heartland of the Midwest, I’m happily enjoying Oberle’s Headcheese. Yes, I understand. It’s an acquired taste. But, for us farmgirls, it’s a natural. Oberle’s Meat Market 21529 Highway 32 Ste. Genevieve, Missouri 63670 (573) 883-5656 Offering the original famous Oberle sausage, smoked pork loin, garlic cheese and a wide…

“Riding Grace: A Triumph of the Soul,” by Alissa Lukara—Evocative Memoir Brings Voice to Silent Survivors

“Reading Riding Grace is like watching a lotus emerge out of murky waters. It emerges, not in one dramatic gesture, but in stages; a stem, a leaf, a petal. This book is an inspiration to anyone seeking deep healing.” Jacqueline Kramer, Author of Buddha Mom:The Path of Mindful Mothering, 10 Spiritual Practices for Busy Parents…