Category Meditation

Solitary figure standing beside a still lake beneath a luminous full Moon, its light reflected across the water.

The Discipline of Awe: The Aquarius Full Moon, the Barbault Basket, and a sky too meaningful to be reduced to hype

Astrologers are gushing about the Aquarius Full Moon—and not without reason. It illuminates the Jupiter–Pluto opposition at the heart of the Barbault Basket, one of the year’s most striking configurations. But what if an extraordinary sky invites something deeper than prediction or hype? Perhaps its greater gift is awe: the humility to receive meaning without pretending we can master it.

Writer's desk with journal, papers, lamp, and crucifix overlooking a star-filled night sky.

Writing & Alchemy: The Transformation of Experience into Meaning

Writing has always seemed to me a kind of alchemy.

The old alchemists believed that hidden within common and seemingly worthless substances lay the possibility of transformation. Their work began with the prima materia — dark, unformed matter — and through a long process of purification and refinement sought to reveal gold concealed within it.

Person overlooking a sunrise landscape beneath a star-filled sky.

Gratitude: The Courage to See What Remains

Gratitude is not naïveté. It is a way of seeing.

Recently, a professional friend told me she was more of a “glass-half-empty” person than a “glass-half-full” one. She admitted she needed optimistic people around her because otherwise life could begin to feel catastrophic. I suspect many people feel the same way. We are naturally drawn toward those who carry some sense of possibility within them.