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What is the most important transitional moment in your life? Or are there several? Tessa and Dave look back on their early years in Sedona, Arizona. There they discovered an earthy mysticism of gardening, reading, and moonrises that kindled a flame of wonder and sowed the seeds of contemplation that transformed their lives. They encourage you to reflect on the moment and the place that set your life on a new course.

What comes to mind when you think of the desert? Does it sound beautiful? Ominous? Both? Find out how “desert rats,” from author Edward Abbey to artist Georgia O’Keeffe, express the wonder and solace they find in desert landscapes. Learn how indigenous desert dwellers describe their homelands. For some souls, the desert is the ideal place to listen for God. And what do we mean by an “inner desert”? We conclude this conversation with a meditation on the Sonoran Desert at dawn.

Is your life joyful? Do you think everyone has a right to joy? How do we keep joy alive in the midst of so much sorrow in the world? Can we practice it? And what do we mean by joy as resistance? Dave and Tessa grapple with these questions and more in our latest podcast.

Is wilderness important in our lives? Tessa and Dave describe a recent trip to Death Valley and reflect on what struck them most in that vast, wild, empty landscape. They discuss the “practice of the wild” and the joy of encountering our liberating smallness in communion with ancient stone and starlit nights. (Good news: we are upgrading our recording equipment this month. Expect improved sound quality in our April podcast.)

 

According to the Celtic calendar, February 1 marks the first day of spring and celebrates the increasing daylight. In our February Fire and Light podcast, “Ordinary Plenty: Celtic Spirituality,” Dave Denny and I share stories of living in Ireland. We highlight the wonder of burning peat fires, ancient megalithic ruins, and meeting Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney. We celebrate the “ordinary plenty” in everyday life and savor the Divine we experience through our five senses, in “each thing that I pursue in my life… and mine ever-living soul.”

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Do you love animals? How might a swallow, a salmon, a stag or a unicorn speak to our souls? We explore the world of symbols and the beauty of animal images, archetypes, and legends that speak to us of holiness. We welcome the season of Advent by presenting a new way of praying for the coming of Love into our lives.   Join us!

Explore the Day of the Dead and the colors and customs surrounding death, especially joy and hope, beautifully expressed in the film Coco. Learn about building an altar of remembrance for your ancestors. Find out what dying people most regret. Hear about loved ones who have lived and died peacefully. Join us in meditating on what we may learn from our ancestors’ lives and deaths, and how they may inspire us to live.  Join us!

October brings longer nights and warm-toned leaves to the northern hemisphere. It also brings Halloween. Tessa and Dave reflect on the origins, playfulness and profundity of Halloween, from jack-o’-lanterns to the Resurrection. They introduce us to Philip Neri, a seriously silly sixteenth-century saint, and emphasize the importance of laughter, “holy folly” and good cheer.  Join us!

Tessa and Dave share their vibrant experience of the Ninth Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago, which focused on freedom and the rights of women, indigenous peoples, and the earth itself. Dave reflects on Palestinian-Israeli relations and Tessa suggests two practices: celebrating differences and being vulnerable to conversion. Join their meditation on commitment to interfaith cooperation.

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Tessa and Dave begin by remembering the “before” and “after” of their lives in Sedona, Arizona and relate this to “before” and “after” the dropping of the atomic bomb. They respond to “Oppenheimer,” the latest film by Christopher Nolan, about the father of the bomb. Hear their reflections on how the arts help us face shattering memories that many would rather forget or whitewash. Consider the paradox of a cruel and wondrous world. Then celebrate Hope as radical openness for the unimaginable with a Ute poem about earth’s wisdom.

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Where do you place yourself? How does it taste? We share a taste of the Sonoran Desert as we savor picking saguaro fruit with guidance from local Tohono O’odham neighbors. We relish the physical act of picking fruit with a traditional tool and preparing it to eat. And we ponder the spiritual meaning of the sticky red fruit for native communities. In gathering the fruit, Desert People bring down the clouds that release life-giving monsoons in July. How does your land nourish you?

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We welcome the month of June by remembering the summers of our youth: Dave in Indiana and Tessa in Connecticut. We explore how leisure, not work, is the basis of culture. Our conversation includes insights from Tricia Hersey, “the Nap Bishop.” Her book, Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto, encourages us to nap, dream again and escape the “grind culture,” as the Jewish people escaped Pharaoh a long time ago. We think you’ll find our monthly practice “assignment” very easy! Our meditation is guided by the poem “On June,” by James Russell Lowell. If you fall asleep listening to us, our mission is accomplished.

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Tessa and Dave introduce the Irish saying, “my story, your story.” They explore how the concrete details, joys and sorrows of our unique life stories have an uncanny power to communicate across time and cultures. Allow yourself to slow down and ponder the meaning of “destiny” and how your years unfold along themes that weave in and out of life’s seasons. Tessa and Dave note major landmarks or thresholds in their own lives and lead you through a meditation to help you discover and celebrate your own destiny and the legacy you hope to leave for future generations.

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Tessa and Dave explore ways to create breathing room for our spirits in a world of speed and utility. They describe a recent desert camping trip and Dave recites “Superbloom Toast,” a poem celebrating the spectacle of a desert bursting with flowers. Since April is National Poetry Month, they ponder the value of poetry and its relationship to contemplation. This month’s meditation creates breathing space for the spirit by helping us slow down, pay attention, and enjoy everyday wonders. Join us!

Tessa rhapsodizes on the beauty of compost. She celebrates the season of Lent as alchemy: allowing the cast-off peelings, the inedible “garbage” of our lives to be transformed into fertile soil for future flowers. She recommends we get our hands dirty and grow something green in this month that Tohono O’Odham people call the Green Moon. Dave celebrates Women’s History Month by commenting on bell hooks, Naomi Shihab Nye, Valarie Kaur, and desert elder Lorraine Eiler. Join us!

In our second Fire and Light podcast, we explore the beauty of candlelight and the Feast of Candlemas. In honor of Black History Month we reflect on the spirituality of the late civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis. We celebrate the universal appreciation of candlelight in spiritual ceremonies and suggest a candle blessing practice. We close with a meditation by Howard Thurman, author and mystic whose wisdom helped guide the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.  Join us!

In our first Fire and Light podcast, we introduce ourselves and explore our vision for this continuing conversation on the mysteries of life, love, and soul. Each podcast includes a concrete practice to help you live more contemplatively in the world and concludes with a meditation. In this episode, we discuss how everyone is a special kind of mystic. Tessa encourages us to live more naturally in tune with the earth, and we end with a New Year Celtic blessing. Join us!