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Greetings!
This is my season to celebrate! Every September Equinox ("equal night") finds me ready for the deeper dive within as we move (in the Northern Hemisphere) into autumn. It is also a time to remember the balance of light and dark, literal and figurative.
I often mark this equinox by finding parts of nature that are light colored and others that are darker colored (leaves fading to light yellow and leaves that are still mostly dark green, for example). After gathering a few of these items, I like to arrange them into a circle or spiral by either alternating the dark and light colors or grouping them with greens on one side or edge, yellows on the other. I then offer thanks for the beings and cycles that beautify Earth. This is a very simple, tangible way of remembering to find balance within.
Join us this month for:
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Sep. 7th (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
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Sep. 10th (Thurs.) The Heart and Soul of Memoir Writing via Zoom $59. Register here 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
May you follow the example of the natural world's capacity for and return to balance as you find this, too, within yourself.
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!
Sep. 7th (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
Sep. 10th (Thurs.) The Heart and Soul of Memoir Writing via Zoom $59. Register here In collaboration with Chuckanut Writers/Village Books and Whatcom Community College
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
This class focuses on the emotional, psychological, and spiritual aspects of memoir writing. Intended to be a very practical, hands-on guide to the process of memoir writing, students will have the opportunity to engage creative and nature-based ways to handle the inevitable inner landscape difficulties that arise as we delve into writing our stories.
Reminder: There will be no CSE Gathering in October.
Nov. 2nd (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).
Our August Wild Church gathering at Suquamish United Church of Christ was another deep experience. We had hearty participants who enjoyed this nonsectarian opportunity to have quiet time on the landscape while being held in a sacred grove of red cedars. The next quarterly Wild Church convening will be on the morning of October 31st.
Our July and August Compassionate Spiritual Ecology Gatherings were meaningful events. Read more here.
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.
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.
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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