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Rewilding our Souls

Spiritual Practice: Wound Walk

3/28/2020

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​As we carry a lot of anxiety and a variety of different stresses these days due to Covid-19, this spiritual practice in nature may be therapeutic. Do it whenever works in your routine, but consider doing it before Easter, perhaps on Good Friday, a day of grief and lament. 

Wound Walk (adapted from "Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche" by Bill Plotkin)
  • Before you start, take a bit of time to ground yourself - take some deep breaths, release any tension your body is holding, and find a  place of prayerful calm within.
  • Go for a walk, and look for something in nature that looks or feels wounded. For example, a scar on a tree, a pile of garbage, a bulldozed lot, a polluted stream, an area where an invasive species has taken over... (Or, if you can't get out, look for an image online.)
  • Allow the wound you find in nature to evoke an empathetic response of sorrow or compassion in you. 
  • Sit in that place, and open your senses to it. Touch it, if you can. Speak (aloud or silently) what you observe; bear witness to the wound. Imagine what may have caused it. Pay attention to your emotions.
  • Now recall a past or present wound you are carrying - physical, psychological, social, or spiritual. Speak your story (aloud or silently) to this thing or place you are with. Or, think of speaking to the Divine Presence who is also with you, listening. Do not attempt to suppress any painful emotions - allow yourself to release them.
  • Sit together, and when ready, start to ask questions of healing and resilience. What resources can you access to begin to find healing? In what way might your wound be of service to your future resilience? Do not worry about coming to answers, but open yourself to insights or revelations that may come.
  • Close your time with a word of gratitude or prayer.
  • Consider taking time to journal about your experience.

​- Wendy Janzen
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Threshold to a new life

3/26/2020

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"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life."
- John Muir

Early this month, before Covid-19 was a concern here, I was on a walk in one of the natural areas in the city. I kept on noticing, over and over, pairs of trees that felt like thresholds. I wondered why that might be. Was there a threshold that lay ahead that I needed to cross?

Little could I ever have imagined then what this month would hold. It indeed feels like we all have crossed a threshold into a new way of life.
A new reality.
A new way of understanding just how interconnected we all are.
A new level of vulnerability.

​As unsettling as these times are, perhaps we are at a threshold to a new way of life. How will this crisis change us? As much as we probably all long to go back to the way things were, that is not possible. The only way ahead is to go through this together. When we come out the other side, we will have changed, and life will look different.

​- Wendy Janzen
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Pandemic Update

3/20/2020

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March 20, 2020 Announcement
During this unprecedented time of ​responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we, like all communities of faith, are helping to protect public health by ceasing to hold worship gatherings until further notice.
While physical distancing is important, we know the importance of staying connected with others and grounded spiritually. We hope that you have means of staying connected with your family, friends, and neighbours, offering mutual support as particular needs arise. Please stay connected to Burning Bush Forest Church through subscribing to our newsletter, Facebook and/or Instagram. We hope to offer some spiritual practices in nature both here on the website and on social media. 
I hope you stay well. Wild blessings in these wild times.
Wendy
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Vernal Blessing

3/20/2020

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Vernal Blessing - in a time of pandemic

As winter gives over to spring
On this vernal equinox day
May we all find balance between
Light and dark,
Rest and activity,
Body and spirit.

In this time of great unknowing
May we trust the earth’s
Wisdom.
In this time of scarcity
May we experience
Abundance.
In this time of distancing
May we trust in God’s
Presence.

May we awaken,
Like bulbs and buds,
To this new reality
And rise to the occasion.
May each green
Shoot pushing out 
Through the brown leaves
Be a beacon of hope
For such a time as this.

- Wendy Janzen
​
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    Author

    Reflections, poetry, prayers, and resources  written by Wendy Janzen unless otherwise noted.
    ​
    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

    If you are an established church or institution, please consider making a donation when using these resources in addition to attribution. Thanks!

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