When I was a child, I learned from Miss Lunn, my fifth-grade teacher, that Leonardo da Vinci wrote many of his notations in his notebooks…backward. For others to decipher the meaning, a mirror carefully placed to reflect the text, was required to reveal what had been scribed by Da Vinci’s exacting hand.  As a ten-year-old, […]

September. The changing seasons, God’s marking of time as transformative cycles of creation. A divine plan for continuity and metamorphosis are inextricably woven together. At this time of year, here in North American, shifting late afternoon sun scatters new patterns of shadows on the kitchen floor. The days grow shorter. Dawn arrives more slowly, urging […]

August is a month of in-between. Summer is waning and autumn has not yet arrived. This month, the invitation is to take pause to contemplate the myriad forms of Devotion, one of four alchemical chambers of Belle Coeur spirituality. Devotion can be expressed reflectively, creatively, and sacredly.

Garden accoutrements seem to be displayed everywhere this time of year. Statues including pink flamingos, smiling gnomes, somersaulting children, flop-eared bunnies, and plump frogs are tucked into shrubs and carefully arranged on lawns. Fountains gurgle and bubble and sacred representations of St. Francis, Mary, and iron crosses create an outdoor sanctuary. Art for the garden […]

We are dressed in the scaffold of creation:  in seeing . . . to recognize all the world, in hearing . . . to understand, in smelling . . . to discern, in tasting . . . to nurture, in touching . . . to govern. In this way humankind comes to know God, for God is the author of all creation. These words by 12th-century Abbess Hildegard von Bingen, visionary, writer, founder of […]

The house smelled of earth and smoke and a subtle ether of womanly visions.    ~Ink and Honey While I was writing the story of Ink and Honey, I frequently made little sketches of the physical place that was Belle Coeur…the house and sanctuary for the sisterhood. My imagination and senses reveled at the earthy colors, the […]

During the past twenty plus years as a facilitator for the feminine spiritual/creative process, I’ve heard profound stories of heartfelt longing from many women.  The common root of this longing is a desire to be part of a women’s spiritual circle or community.  Women are seeking to know other “sisters” who share a common call… […]

The world turns and the hours of daylight increase. Spring approaches and Lent begins. Last weekend I was blessed to spend a retreat day with my dear friend, visionary, and artist, Karen Blessen. Twenty-three years ago Karen and I co-created the book, [asa2 value=”Title”]0671896946[/asa2].  Ours is a life-long “soul sister” friendship. Our conversations and Karen’s wisdom […]

“I am Goscelin, the scribe. On these pages I will record the stories of our community, the sisters of Belle Coeur, and my observations of the formidable events that befell us. I begin my arduous task tonight as the first cold winds of autumn rattle the shutters, lending a shimmer to the candle flames and […]

It’s early morning the Monday after Thanksgiving here in the U.S, and I find myself hiding in my office. Hiding from my email and the seemingly endless onslaught of “Cyber Monday” deals, sales and promotions. They seem to repeat the same offers that “couldn’t be missed” three days ago on Black Friday. Each email feels […]