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Greetings!
It is such an easy season to be outside.
The other morning, knowing that I would be stuck inside for hours later that day, I crept out just past dawn. I had no agenda other than to simply walk in the still-cool air. And wow! - who I saw, heard, and encountered as I moved gently through my neighborhood amazed me. Songbirds, waterfowl, many species of coniferous and deciduous trees, squirrels and chipmunks, one small rabbit, and a host of others crossed my path. Not a single one of these beings was unusual or particularly unexpected. It was simply that every one of them arrived, as did I, to the moment of shared presence. What joy!
I hope that you, too, are finding many opportunities to refresh yourself in the living world. We don't have to be out for a long stretch of time, go a far distance, seek out a fancy destination, or search for the rare and lauded creature; we can simply walk out our door and abide with the more-than-humans who reside near us.
" When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily…
Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, 'Stay awhile.' The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, 'It’s simple,' they say, 'and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.' "
(From When I Am Among the Trees by Mary Oliver)
Join us this month and next for:
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Words Exhibit Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network ...The Words exhibit is on display at BARN through mid-July 2026.
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Jul. 6th & Aug. 3rd (Mon.) Compassionate Spiritual Ecology: A Virtual Gathering via Zoom Free (register to get access) 8:00 – 9:30 AM Pacific / 10:00 - 11:30 AM Central
May you take ample opportunities to simply savor and be saved this summer.
Blessings,
Jennifer Wilhoit
Founder, TEALarbor stories
Important Dates
Learn more about all of these here.
Registration for most paid events closes one week prior to start date.
TEALarbor stories' new Spiritual Ecology Training is available with rolling admissions and one-on-one mentorship. Join us now!
Words Exhibit at Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network ...The Words exhibit is a collaboration between the Writer's Studio and the Print and Book Arts Studio. Please see the visual arts piece I created in response to another author's piece of writing. Exhibit on display at BARN through mid-July 2026.
Jul. 6th & Aug. 3rd (Mon.) Compassionate Spiritual Ecology: A Virtual Gathering via Zoom Free (register to get access)
8:00 – 9:30 AM Pacific / 10:00 - 11:30 AM Central Hosted by Jennifer Wilhoit (TEALarbor stories Spiritual Ecology Training Founder/Mentor) and Brooke Gilley (Naturalist, Spiritual Ecology Training Graduate, Forest Bathing Guide)
Come gather with us for ninety nourishing minutes every first Monday of the month for an exploration of Compassionate Spiritual Ecology. Together we will engage the many ways of embodying Spiritual Ecology values, practices, and rituals to enhance our everyday connections with the sacred in the Earthy wild within and outside of us. Please bring a journal, pens, and a sacred-to-you item to each gathering.
News
Read more about all of these here (or click the teal fonts below).
We had a very deeply engaged group of participants at our Jun. 8th event, Understanding Our Place in the Web of Life: Nourishing Hope Among Us. Hosted by the Bainbridge Island North Kitsap Interfaith Climate Circle's Web of Life planning group, we began by giving overviews of our past four events focusing on Earth, Air, Fire, Water. We launched into the meaning of "web of life" and then proceeded through Joanna Macy's spiral of hopeful action (gratitude, pain, renewed vision, going forward) through a series of meditations, songs and chants, story-share, reflective writing time, and large-group discussion. In sum, we explored our niche in the web of life toward restoring our climate-challenged world.
The Jun. 1st Compassionate Spiritual Ecology Gathering included all the usual components of outdoor time, meditation, discussion, readings, quiet reflection time, and more. We focused our conversation on the role that Earth-based ritual plays in grounding us more deeply in gratitude, reciprocity, and interconnection with all beings. Please join us next month; register for free here.
This year's Annual Spiritual Ecology Retreat happened during the first half of May and was deep, restorative, rich, and beautiful. Participants deepened relations with more-than-human neighbors, nurtured a greater sense of wellbeing and wholeness, and were nourished through creative and nature-based activities. We enjoyed various natural locations on verdant Bainbridge Island including forests, conservation areas, and saltwater beaches to enhance our ability to flow into greater ease and clarity about the next steps on life’s journey.
May's Compassionate Spiritual Ecology Gathering was rich and meaningful as always, chock full of new insights and experiences from all who attended. We had participants join us from Australia, England, India, and North America, which really lent itself to an intercultural conversation about the More-Than-Humans with whom we share this sweet planet. Our conversation focused on conservation, resource use, and wildlife ethics.
The BARN (Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network) Spring Bazaar on May 2nd was, as always, a wonderful event in which to participate. I offered new art cards for sale; these designs come from this year's 50-Day Project during which I crafted one hundred small fabric/paper/thread pieces based on a meditation prior to making each one. I also sold my books and landscape paper collage cards. It's such a beautiful way to connect with the community of shoppers as well as the community of artisans.
Our Apr. 25th Wild Church service at Suquamish United Church of Christ was a beautiful experience. We had a full circle of participants from ages six to seventy-plus. This was our second time offering this nonsectarian opportunity to have quiet time on the landscape while being held in a sacred grove of red cedars, share about that experience, engage in readings or poetry, as well as thank the land and more-than-humans at the end of our time together.
The Words exhibit artists' reception at Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network on April 23rd was delightful! This reception was for the artists and writers in the Words exhibit - a collaboration between the Writer's Studio and the Print and Book Arts Studio. I had a friend from long ago surprise me with her attendance in support of my work, as well as an interfaith friend who stopped by to hear a full description of and view my handmade artist's book with a collage and asemic writing. Please go visit the visual arts piece I created in response to another author's piece of writing; the exhibit will be on display at BARN through mid-July 2026.
The Spiritual Ecology Training has rolling admissions and one-on-one mentorship. You can enroll anytime. Join us now!
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TEALarbor stories' newsletters offer inspiration, encouragement, beauty; inform about the connection between story, the natural world, and all things writerly; and promote professional writing, guiding, and peacemaking services.
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