A cold dissatisfaction oozes poison into hours
of solitary boredom that once tasted summer’s warmth
and rejoiced in sensate ponderings of heaven’s languid clime.
Now prayers lie frozen on my lips these bitter, ashen afternoons.
Glossy catalogs and magazines lie orphaned at my door,
but I will not adopt their cheer
nor bed th’insouciant whoring of our winter holy days.
So melancholy punctuates the numbing march of time
into that darkened solstice of medieval isolation —
propelled into the farthest arc, forsaken by the sun.
Thus emptied into neediness, to famine and despair,
I search the yawning pitch-smeared void
and there behold a piercing Star!
No gaily burning candle nor twinkling hearthside glow,
this is the hard-edged hopefulness forged pure and straight of cosmic might,
arising out of nothingness toward Life’s salvific land.
My soul, a silent universe,
lies naked in its beam,
a prayer more fragile and profound
than any summer dream.
© 2014, poem and photographs, Priscilla Galasso, All rights reserved
Carl Sagan says that “we are made of star stuff”. My mother-in-law used to say that Jim was “shiny and pink” as a baby. He glowed with the vibrancy of good circulation and white-blond hair, I guess. I remember almost putting his eye out once when that twinkle made me just so curious that I wanted to touch it. 
photo credit unknown
How do you remind yourself of the shimmer that is our existence on this beautiful sphere in this living Universe? Do you surround yourself with round, sparkly things? 
Or do you simply look up from your life?
in response to WordPress’ weekly photo challenge.
<a href="http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/twinkle/">Twinkle</a>© 2014, essay and photographs, Priscilla Galasso, All rights reserved
The afterglow: 5 couples around the table, relaxed adult conversation. “Isn’t this nice?!”
Fear is at the dinner table, and we let it talk. It is mostly about The Unknown. What will happen? What will my options be? Will it hurt? I am uncomfortable. I squirm. I weep. I want to flee, but I stay put. I keep talking. Memories of pain join the conversation. I don’t want to return to that place. I realize that I can’t return to that place. Each place is different. Life moves forward; we flow with it. Now that my emotions and thoughts are freed from repression, I feel movement in myself. It is comforting. I am unstuck, calmer. And exhausted. How much energy it takes to be afraid! I will sleep, and use my energy differently tomorrow. © 2014, essay and photograph, Priscilla Galasso, All rights reserved
“Seeking enlightenment or the Promised Land or the way home, a man would go or be forced to go into the wilderness, measure himself against the Creation, recognize finally his true place within it, and thus be saved both from pride and from despair. 
Human limits. Humility. Our struggles, our desires, our wants, our hopes and feelings of elation are not the stuff to tilt the planet. There is a rightness outside of our sphere. I like to remember that perspective each time I encounter the “world wide web” of hype and OMG! and products and extracting resources and cruelty and pettiness. © 2014, essay and photographs, Priscilla Galasso, All rights reserved
Volume 1, Issue 2
a publication of Bequine Again and The Bardo Group
This Month our Theme is
THIS SEASON in the Christian Church is Advent, a time of spiritual preparation for birth of the Christ spirit in the hearts of human kind.
If you are not Christian, you might use this time and these practices as preparation for the birth of your highest Self as represented by the founder or a saint of your own religion or as an awakening to the Essential Spirit within. If you are atheist, you might see this time as preparation for the birth of the very best You. Inspiration and suggested spiritual practice are gifted to us by Terri Stewart, Priscilla Galasso, JD Gore, and Rev. Tandi Roberts.
In this issue we also look back with Corina Ravenscraft at November and its gifts of Gratitude and Rememberence as we cross the threshold into December. Corina’s second feature is a celebration of December.
Jamie Dedes reviews Writing Your Self: Transforming Personal Material by John Kilick and Myra Schneider. Working with this book might be a good way for you to kick-start the fast-approaching New Year. We have poetry from Jamie, Joseph Hetch, Terri Stewart and Myra Schneider and a sampling of Naomi Baltuck’s singular photo stories, both inspired and inspirational.
Other features include a reflections on: an Ethiopian coffe ceremony with Karen Fayeth; life and isolation with Joseph Hesch, World AIDS day with Tracy Dougherty; the presence God with Liliana Negoi; and an artful medition by the Rev. Tendi Roberts.
You will find team and guest bios HERE along with links to their work and/or websites.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Features/Preparation
Slowly We Go, Terri Stewart
Prepare Ye – The Way and the Wilderness, Priscilla Galasso
Preparation, Frank Watson
Preparation Ritual, Tandi Roberts
I Knew Advent, JD Gore
Features/General Interest
For the Love of a Good Cuppa, Karen Fayeth
Lifting Stones, Lilliana Negoi
World AIDS Day, Tracy Daugherty
Rememberance and Forgiveness, Corina Ravenscraft
Seasonal Cheer, Corina Ravenscraft
Swann in the City, Joseph Hesch
Book Reviews
Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry, Jamie Dedes
Writing Your Self: Transforming Personal Experience, Jamie Dedes
Poetry
Finding Silence, Myra Schneider
Beneath the Surface, Joseph Hesch
You Just Missed it, Joseph Hesch
The Leaves Still Fall, Joseph Hesch
The Republic of Innocence, Jamie Dedes
Winter Is Here, I Know, Jamie Dedes
Photo Stories
Embracing the ‘M’ Word, Naomi Baltuck
The Many Degrees of Spooky, Naomi Baltuck
Virgins No More, Naomi Baltuck
It’s Never Too Late, Naomi Baltuck
Art
Light from Darkenss, Becky Withington
Header: Adoration of the Shepherds, Gerardvan Honhorst (1622)
Above: Angel Gabriel’s Annunciation to Mary, Murillo (1655)
Below: A page from an 11th-century Gospel of Matthew (1:18-21) with Matthew 1:21, (35) providing the origin of the name “Jesus.”
Thoughts of the past, love and war, surface this morning. I thought to revisit the day in my blog and this is what I found…
Ever had a piece of music bring up a memory, a time and place from the past, with such clarity that you felt you were actually there? Last night it happened. I came home from my…
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In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Gone, But Not Forgotten.”
I am encouraged by connections I am making even after the Wilderness 50 Conference. Here’s a re-blog from a new friend and kindred spirit, Bruce. Please visit the original post, as it appears that none of the TEXT that should accompany Charles Brandt’s pictures has been attached!
