Category Archives: Uncategorized

Night Flight

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February 23, 2026

 

A few nights ago, we had a bat in the house. Not entirely unusual. They fly in through a window we leave partially open for our cat. We did what we always do: turn on all the lights and leave the front door open. No drama. No trauma. It generally doesn’t take long for the bat to find its way back into the night. 

Together with owls, bats are familiar creatures of our night landscape. I appreciate and welcome the world of activity in this nocturnal landscape. Are there creatures to be afraid of in nocturnal landscapes? Yes. There can be predators. And while it is clearly appropriate to fear these, is it appropriate to be cautious and fearful of all nocturnal creatures? While we do associate owls with wisdom, other creatures have been demonized to mythic proportions. Bats have become associated with vampires and wolves that roam the night are woven in werewolf legends. We have come to a place of believing that all manner of monsters lurk in the dark, monsters we’ve created out of the thin night air. As much as I found the Monsters Inc. movie delightful, it absolutely perpetuates our fear of the dark.

There was a time when we were more comfortable with the energies and creatures that inhabit the night. There was a time when we were more comfortable with relying on senses beyond sight to step into the nocturnal landscape. There was a time when especially women were fluent in nocturnal knowings and embraced the requisite adjusted and altered states of awareness. They held rituals and ceremonies under night skies with the cycles of the moon. And they also became vilified for these other ways of seeing and knowing. Thousands were killed for it.

There is much wisdom and solid grounding for us in the dark. We are invited to quit looking under our beds, open fully to all of our senses, and fly with the nocturnal energies.

Blessings of the dark,
Judith

A Harmony Of Miracles

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February 22, 2026

 

I live in the woods where the nights are truly dark. I struggle when I’m visiting places where there are lights on all night. It lands as a jarring disruption to the natural rhythms of the night. Before the inundation of artificial light and the availability of constant light, our ancestors lived in harmony with the cycles of day and night, summer and winter. They considered these times of natural dark as times for gathering around the hearth fire to share music and stories, celebrating the harvest, and resting from busy day light activities. 

In ancient times, people were woven with this balance. They accepted the implicit miracle of this harmony as the way of the world and the of their lives. They lived their lives in alignment with the energies of day and night. Familiar with the world of daylight, they were equally familiar with the landscapes and creatures of the night. 

 Blessings of the dark,
Judith

Dark Discernings

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February 21, 2026

 

These are dark times.

I will not be writing those words again. Not because these times aren’t treacherous. They are. But because I’m choosing to reconsider my relationship with the dark. For me there is an important distinction to be made between the darkness of evil, which is what we are experiencing in these times, and the natural dark, which is an energy and place of many gifts and blessings.

Natural dark and evil dark. Through history and cultural conditioning, these have often become synonymous. Although it hasn’t always been so, which we shall explore. We live every day and every year with the beauty and majesty of the Earth seasons and cosmic cycles, a harmony of light and dark. Yet we have come to inject a discordant note of judgement in this harmony. We have come to a place of welcoming the light and rejecting the dark. 

At Winter Solstice, in the northern hemisphere, we celebrate and welcome the return of the Sun’s light. And we are so anxious to put those months of dark long nights behind us. Yet at Summer Solstice, we never celebrate the return of the dark. We mourn the shortening days. When we embrace this human judgment about light and dark, we lose many gifts and insights present for us in that universal harmony.

How did we get here? It’s a question worth asking. How we move beyond this judgmental perception is the more significant question. For there is great wisdom available to us in this harmonic rhythm of day and night, light and dark. Wisdom we need in these evil dark times.

Blessings of the dark,
Judith

Breath Of Peace. Winds Of Change.

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February 13, 2026

 

Walk for Peace. Their journey to 2,300 miles is complete. But the energy of peace that emanated from those venerable monks is still present and palpable. So many are saying that just being in the presence of the monks changed their life. A dear friend who was able to see them in person described the altered state of consciouness as being monk drunk. A powerful recalibration event for thousands. And in that emanating vibration, for all of us.

A consistent message of the monks throughout the walk was one of breath and breathing. Attending our breath and coming back to the present moment. For this moment is all we really have. And in this moment, grounded in peace, we are ready for right action.

I’ve been wandering through my files for graphics to share. And find that many are aligned and resonant with some of the ten prayers offered by the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara. In the next days I will share some of those. Beginning with his message about breathing. Indeed, in breathing we stay grounded in the storm. Grounded in the possibility of peace.

May we breathe the winds of change. 

Blessings,
Judith