My Own Sacred Self

Photo belongs to Breema Center

The nunly part of me indulged  herself over the weekend by attending a three day Breema workshop at Breitenbush Hot Springs. My entire being imbibed the forested atmosphere, the sounds and sight of the nearby river, the creatively prepared vegan food, the total quiet of sleeping in the woods, and the total immersion into the bodymind experience of the workshop.

I was much too young to appreciate the hours of silence and the long retreats that were imposed upon my restless, eager self in the convent, but I’ve since attempted to replicate the elements of silence and focused solitude. Sometimes I wonder whether my longing was due to my years as a nun or an inborn inclination toward quiet that cause me to seek it out. In either case, I cherish the opportunities I’ve had to lose myself in such places as Esalen, Breitenbush, alongside the river in the Colombia River Gorge, and in the desert regions of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

Communing with Mother Nature in whatever form it takes replaces my former need for Church and formal religions. Instead, I approach divinity through Mother Earth and ultimately through my own sacred self.