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Years ago, a good friend commented to me that "our children live in a very noisy world." He was speaking of the life environment of inner city families and children.
Of course, he was correct. Here is a paradox we would do well not to ignore: communities of health and strength are built and maintained by individuals who understand the importance of the "inner life." The ability to go inward, to find times for quiet reflection, to pray and to meditate -- this is essential to the growth of authentic, life-sustaining groups. Community development depends on the "soul-development" of each member of the community.
I read Heron Dance as a tool for journeying inward. The latest on-line edition contains the water color I've posted below, along with the following words...
Writing at its best must come from deep within, for often that is where truth and originality lie; none comes entirely from the upper tenth of gray matter. It is when one reaches down into the dark realms of the past that great ideas surge forth. - Sigurd F. Olson from Reflections from the North Country
When we follow the symbolic discipline of moving into the well of our Self, we find that we develop an increased capacity of inward perception. This capacity seems to be inherent in human beings and is a natural mode of awareness. Since it is inward, however, it tends to be little used in cultural situations where the individual's attention is constantly being pressured by the outer environment. When, on the other hand, we establish an atmosphere that makes is possible for the attention to be turned inward in a quiet way, this capacity shows itself to be very actively and strongly present in persons who would have thought they did not possess it at all. -- Ira Progoff, from At a Journal Workshop
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