The Spiral Path Blog
Life is never as linear as the calendar might suggest. We move in and out and back and forth, learning and relearning, passing through grief, joy, complexity, fear, disruption, ease – and all of the states in between. Here at the Centre for Holding Space, we want to offer you some reflections for The Spiral Path you’re on, to help you hold space for yourself while you hold space for others.
Ask For What You Need
One of our guiding principles at the Centre for Holding Space comes from Christina Baldwin’s book, The Seven Whispers: A Spiritual Practice For Times Like These. It goes: “Ask for what I need, and offer what I can.” This little truism is the foundation of our...
Orienting Toward Joy
by Heather Plett Two weeks ago, I facilitated a retreat in Costa Rica, and our last session before wrapping up was focused on joy. We talked about how tenderness and liberation lead us toward joy and how that joy can sustain us even when pain and suffering come. Joy...
When you’re ready to see the tree
by Heather Plett Last week, I was walking a circular path through the jungle that I’ve become quite familiar with during my visits to Costa Rica. I walk it nearly every day on my friend Mary’s farm. This time, though, I was walking it with a visitor who’d never walked...
The difference between tenderness and kindness
by Heather Plett Last week, while hosting our Liberation and Tenderness gathering in Costa Rica, I was asked to explain the difference between tenderness and kindness. My response was something like this: Tenderness has the added quality of vulnerability that isn’t...
Peace is an Action
by Emily Gillies When I think of peace, I think how over the years I have noticed a trend in the “meditation” and “self-help” realms where the images and the descriptions we are invited to associate with peace are focused on perfectly tranquil images, likely including...
Rejected. Barriers for entry and how they’re used to uphold systems.
I was in Chartres, France, a few days ago. Everyone who’s been there says that, if I’m visiting the Cathedral, I should do my best to see the crypt. So I did my best. The website said the crypt was open between 2 and 2:45 p.m. It didn’t say a ticket was needed, and I...
