https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/home daily 1.0 2021-02-14 https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/about daily 0.75 2024-09-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1604184331571-NNOKGVS0Q12U8NUV8C0R/vanessa%2Bon%2Byoga%2Bmat.jpg About - Hello, Radiant Soul. Welcome to Spiraling Soulward! I created this sacred space for those on the spiritual path who are “wearied by the changes and chances of this life” and are ready to reclaim their connection to that still, small voice within. My spiritual path has been an ever deepening spiral into connection with God. At the age of six I had a vibrant dream where I experienced God’s abiding presence completely surrounding and sustaining me. Since then I have always sensed God’s presence in my life, and I continue to experience the Divine all around me. Over a decade ago, I had a life altering spiritual awakening, accompanied by an debilitating illness, that stripped away everything in my life that made sense to me. Even in the midst of what felt like a complete free fall, God was always there. During a dark night of the soul I found sanctuary in community and the practices of contemplative prayer, yoga, and reiki. I’m most at home resting in the Divine and hiking in the Rocky Mountains, where I hear that still, small voice within. With a core value of curiosity, I follow the Spirit and intellect wherever it leads. I’m trained as a Daring to Rest Yoga Nidra Facilitator and a Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator. I’m blessed to live and work in Denver, Colorado where I practice my sacred calling as a wife, mother, contemplative, and Episcopal priest. By inviting others into a place of deep rest, healing, and reflection, it is a privilege to hold space for those who want to cultivate a more resilient spiritual life by Spiraling Soulward. Love and blessings, Vanessa Stickler Glass “wearied by the changes and chances of this life” from the Book of Common Prayer, p. 133 https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/therestsanctuary daily 0.75 2024-09-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1604116318528-AWVE32JDOEA0D7CY2JFF/purple+yoga+mat+candle+singing+bowl.jpeg The Rest Sanctuary - Welcome to the Rest Sanctuary! Tobias Keene, D.D.S. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Tobias Keene brings a bit of unabashed Southern hospitality to all his patients. He moved to Washington, D.C. over thirty years ago as a freshman at Ivy College. Right after graduation, he attended World University’s School of Dentistry. Before opening Keene Dental in 1994, he worked for free clinics and some of the finest practices in the District. He is part of the 123 Dental Association and stays up-to-date on the latest dental discoveries. When not striving to keep his patients happy and healthy, he’s enjoys hiking with his family in Rock Creek Park. https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/connect daily 0.75 2020-11-24 https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/advent-2020 daily 0.75 2020-12-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1607188368733-QQ2GZGKNYRP7XJ5R6EDM/2ndSund-advent-wreath.jpg Spiraling into Advent 2020 Advent 2 - Peace During Advent we pray for peace. Peace in our hearts; peace in our homes; peace in our world. Yoga nidra cultivates an awareness of the body, mind, and soul, and ultimately, a state of inner peace. The guided meditations spiral you through the physical body, emotional body, and spiritual body. When we bring awareness to the different layers of the body we shed limiting patterns so a new state of being can emerge. How much time have you given yourself to yoga nidra as a practice of peace? What other spiritual practices bring you a sense of peace? Use these journal prompts to dive deeper into understanding your inner and outer state of being. What limits you from experiencing peace? What is it like in body, mind, and spirit when you experience peace? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1608404949377-4CDKP88VD24XU1C2AFXJ/Advent+4.jpg Spiraling into Advent 2020 Advent 4 - Love https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1607798571368-I8BVKTLHSA91F3QZIG5X/3rdSund-advent-wreath.png Spiraling into Advent 2020 Advent 3 - Joy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1607202372721-272V16PBDVWAS3AABPDY/1stSund.advent-wreath.jpg Spiraling into Advent 2020 https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/welcomeyoganidra daily 0.75 2020-11-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1605747034614-GV5VFN1XYBDD9RYSHJWQ/Northern+Colorado.jpeg Welcome Yoga Nidra https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/rest-cave-guide daily 0.75 2021-01-04 https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/christmas daily 0.75 2020-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1606587971064-L3EPGD6U9W0DNEY34YZH/candlelight.jpeg Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by Dr. Maya Angelou - Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by Dr. Maya Angelou Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses. Flood waters await us in our avenues. Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche Over unprotected villages. The sky slips low and grey and threatening. We question ourselves. What have we done to so affront nature? We worry God. Are you there? Are you there really? Does the covenant you made with us still hold? Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters, Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air. The world is encouraged to come away from rancor, Come the way of friendship. It is the Glad Season. Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner. Flood waters recede into memory. Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us As we make our way to higher ground. Hope is born again in the faces of children It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets. Hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things, Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors. In our joy, we think we hear a whisper. At first it is too soft. Then only half heard. We listen carefully as it gathers strength. We hear a sweetness. The word is Peace. It is loud now. It is louder. Louder than the explosion of bombs. We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence. It is what we have hungered for. Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace. A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies. Security for our beloveds and their beloveds. We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas. We beckon this good season to wait a while with us. We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come. Peace. Come and fill us and our world with your majesty. We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian, Implore you, to stay a while with us. So we may learn by your shimmering light How to look beyond complexion and see community. It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time. On this platform of peace, we can create a language To translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other. At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ Into the great religions of the world. We jubilate the precious advent of trust. We shout with glorious tongues at the coming of hope. All the earth's tribes loosen their voices To celebrate the promise of Peace. We, Angels and Mortal's, Believers and Non-Believers, Look heavenward and speak the word aloud. Peace. We look at our world and speak the word aloud. Peace. We look at each other, then into ourselves And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation. Peace, My Brother. Peace, My Sister. Peace, My Soul. https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/bearing-gifts daily 0.75 2021-01-06 https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/hildegard daily 0.75 2021-01-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1609908884063-6VIK2ISBCLIB6WIGIPJO/hildegard.jpg Hildegard https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1609909099850-DPQZNEIUI7R6LK3JQC3Q/Forest+bathing.jpg Hildegard Hildegard had a deep love and respect for nature. She saw our place in creation, and humanity living in harmony with God, each other and creation. She gathered herbs, studied their properties, and created remedies. In addition to all of her other accomplishments, Hildegard was an herbalist and a healer. This week’s supportive practice is an invitation to Forest Bathing. Forest Bathing, known as Shinrin-yoku, has its roots in Japan and Asia where forest bathing is prescribed to provide relaxation and reduce stress. With the proliferation of technology, especially during the pandemic, spending time in nature has taken on a greater urgency. The benefits of forest bathing are similar to yoga nidra - it relieves stress, engages the senses, improves mood, increases immunity and enhances your overall sense of well being. Forest bathing cultivates an awareness of the senses. To prepare for forest bathing, find a place to spend time in nature. If you’re in an urban area, parks work well for forest bathing. Once you’re there, pay attention to the environment. Create a sense of awareness by focusing on an object in nature. Engage all of your senses. What do you feel, see, hear, smell, taste? https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/julian daily 0.75 2021-01-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1610429325616-AJ8XINUQCTO811SW7RC9/Julian+icon.jpg Julian of Norwich Art by Virginia Wieringa https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/teresa daily 0.75 2021-01-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1611114587066-90MYEWE1HTYTS2KBIYSR/Wayfarers+chapel.jpg Teresa of Avila https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1610989625301-3PEC32S97WLESSIEH6XO/Teresa+of+Avila.jpg Teresa of Avila Teresa of Ávila was a sixteenth century Spanish mystic. Her early contemplative life was influenced the by the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, the Founder of the Jesuit order. Born in Castile, Spain in 1515 to a wealthy family, Teresa entered a Carmelite convent at the age of twenty. Teresa’s religious fervor negatively affected her health, and she found herself back at home so her father could oversee her care during the year-long period she experienced paralysis. Once her health returned, Teresa returned to the convent where the visions and revelations returned. In 1562, she founded a reformed house of Carmelites that emphasized the mystical union with Christ as something to which all Christians were called. Few understood Teresa’s visions except John of the Cross who was her friend, spiritual director and fellow co-reformer of their respective Carmelite orders. In 1970, Teresa was named as a doctor of the church by Pope Paul VI, one of only four women who have received this honor from the Vatican (Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Ávila, and Therese of Lisieux). Teresa had a strong and intimate sense of God’s love and goodness. She encouraged others to cultivate a relationship with God through prayer and devotion. She recognized that each person had their own path and encouraged them to follow God’s lead. Her best known works are the Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle, the later refers to an ever deepening journey to God. There are seven rooms in the interior castle. Each room is a concentric circle that leads from the outer to the inner life. Teresa died in 1582 after a life as a reformer, theologian, and spiritual director, always in service to the God of her revelations. https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/modern-day-mystic daily 0.75 2021-01-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1611533787448-878QHI7XQSDV4N85BY7S/Beverly+Lanzetta.jpeg Modern Day Mystic Beverly Lanzetta https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9c93dca124b20803efd54f/1611701571039-6LPGQM1G0HTY43PUPROR/live+a+life+2.jpg Modern Day Mystic Creating a Rule of Life https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/sacred-rest daily 0.75 2021-05-11 https://www.spiralingsoulward.com/retreats daily 0.75 2022-04-30