SPRING BLESSINGS! As the lengthening rays of sunlight warm the earth, new growth emerges, huds begin to open and bulbs burst into flower. May we pause in the Silence to see, to touch, to smell, to listen and enjoy the hope of a new Spring.

All life is a form of cosmic celebration. What moves the stars through the heavens, the Earth through its seasons, and human beings through stages of growth and learning -- all is celebration. Look at the birds flying here and there, the flowers blooming, and the trees changing colors in the fall. It's all celebratory. We have only to express and become, ourselves, celebration.

~ Thomas Berry in "New Age Journal" - 1990
Thomas Berry nature Buy on Amazon

The earth is languishing for more contemplatives. We have not even been courteous to her, much less respectful. We have never sincerely asked forgiveness for our massive exploitation of her. We have failed to see that she is numinous and to treat her with proper deference as our mother. It is time now for the child to mother the mother. Nothing less than a mysticism that can perceive the diaphany of the divine at the heart of matter itself is capable of experiencing mystical union with nature. Even if we have not had a vivid mystical experience, we can learn in prayer to meditate on what the union could imply.

~ from WALKING GENTLY ON THE EARTH by J. Yungblut
J. Yungblut Walking Gently On The Earth nature Buy on Amazon

In the mountain, stillness surges up
to explore its own height;
In the lake, movement stands still
to contemplate its own depths.

~ "Fireflies" by Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore nature Buy on Amazon
The universe reverberates with the grandeur of Divine Love.Receive it!
~ Nan Merrill
Nan Merrill nature

Sacred dance expresses spiritual convictions. Dancing is the "breath of life" made visible. I feel I will dance as long as my heart stays strong and my body will move. We dance these ceremonies for the people, for our universe, for peace, love, and caring. We step softly on the earth, lifting our feet to the song and the drum. We do it to be blessed. We ask for the people to be blessed. We ask that life go on as long as it can. We ask that the animals, birds and plants be bountiful. Ceremony constitutes our world; it is our spiritual conversation. Life begets life. This is why we dance.

~ from SWEETWATER WISDOM by Wendy Crockett
Wendy Crockett Sweetwater Wisdom nature Buy on Amazon

I am silent now. It is not an empty silence. It is a natural silence. The silence of wind, of waves, of breath, of the beating of my heart. It is a space in my soul for being aware. It is a silence that listens, gently, taking notice. I can simply Be. I am the space within. I am the round sky and the firm earth. The waves of life wash through me, and the wind of the spirit cries in my heart.

~ from FINDING STONE by Christin L. Weber
Christin L. Weber Finding Stone nature Buy on Amazon

What is needed above all is that we should treat our social and cosmic environment AS AN ACTUAL LIVING BEING, with which we are in the most intimate reciprocal action, though without becoming merged into uniformity with it.

~ Vladimir Soloviev, Russian mystic, 1874
Vladimir Soloviev nature Buy on Amazon

As the human species awakens to itself as a collection of immortal souls learning together, care for the environment and the earth will become a matter of the heart, the natural response of souls moving toward their full potential.

~ Gary Zukav
Gary Zukav nature Buy on Amazon

Silently a flower blooms,
In silence it falls away;
Yet here now, at this moment,
at this place,
the whole of the flower
the whole of the world is blooming.
This is the talk of the flower,
the truth of the blossom;
The glory of eternal life is fully
shining here.

~ "A Flower Does Not Talk" by Zenkai Shibayama
Zenkai Shibayama nature Buy on Amazon

No matter how deeply I go down
into myself,
My God is dark, and like a webbing
made of a hundred roots
that drink in silence.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke thanks to Carolyn Torrance
Rainer Maria Rilke nature Buy on Amazon

I was learning to live in Nature, shaping my life, my everyday activities in a direct way according to the weather, the seasons, the rising and setting of the sun and moon. I was once again becoming aware of Nature's all-powerful presence. If anyone had asked me, I would still have been unable to say what might be learned from Peter asleep among his animals on the prairie as I had seen him that first summer, but I was learning it. I was learning it slowly, painfully, in solitude and silence and out of my own experience.

~ from THE PERFECTION OF THE MORNING by Sharon Butala
Sharon Butala The Perfection Of The Morning nature Buy on Amazon

Is everything holy? I learn that when the upper limb of a cottonwood tree is cut crosswise, the grain reveals a perfect five-pointed star. The star is understood as a sign of the Great Spirit's presence and the tree's holy nature. Even the breeze blowing through the cottonwood leaves is understood to be its prayer... Who would ever notice, in my busy life, that a star is secreted in a cottonwood tree? It makes me wonder, are there equally hidden depths inside of me?

~ from GIFT OF THE RED BIRD by Paula D'Arcy
Paula D'Arcy Gift Of The Red Bird nature Buy on Amazon
In order to see birds, it is necessary to become part of the silence.
~ Nan Merrill
Nan Merrill nature

Entering the world of the spirit, I saw a vision which I could not adequately describe if I lived for a thousand years. The central part was a broad highway lined with beautiful trees radiating all the colors of the rainbow. Each tree bore all the fruits known to me and many others I had never seen before. The nine-pointed star was situated at the end of the road and drew me towards it and in the distance there were parks and gardens with rare trees from many countries and friends of all colors and creeds. Dominating the garden of delight was The Tree of Life with leaves for the healing of the Nations.

~ from MY LIFE, MY TREES by Richard St. Barbe Baker
Richard St. Barbe Baker My Trees, My Life nature Buy on Amazon
As we befriend nature, our soul moves in harmony with all creation.
~ Nan Merrill
Nan Merrill nature