Skye Stephenson
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Honoring our Ancestors
It is that time of year of holidays that focus upon the honoring of ancestors of various types. As I write, it will be Halloween (or Samhain or Day of the Dead) in a few days. And beneath the plastic masks and store-bought candies and blown-up decorations of skeletons and such, this time is spiritually Continue reading
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Ashuelot
About a week or two ago, I took a walk along the Ashuelot River, along the Jonathan Daniels Trail. This is something I often do – several times a week, weather permitting. Such that I have slowly come to know her twists and turns; her moods and ways. This day there was something odd about Continue reading
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Hummingbird in my Garden
When people ask me if I have a pet, I usually say ‘no.’ But sometimes, when I sit in my backyard, I feel as if I do. Of late, my (sort-of) pet is a hummingbird – a female who I watch every morning as she flies between the two red hummingbird feeders I have placed Continue reading
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Songs, Poetry and Healing
It’s summertime, and the livin’s easy. The fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high. This Gershwin tune was one of my mother’s favorites to belt out in her theatrical way. Sometimes, after she finished, she would say (with a bit of melodrama) that in her next life, she hoped to be a singer. For Continue reading
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Summer Solstice
Summer solstice falls on Friday, June 20th. This date when the day is the longest, and night the shortest of the year, is a powerful moment of annual shift. In many spiritual traditions, the summer solstice is associated with the element of fire. Of the four elements (fire, water, earth, air), fire is the one Continue reading
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A Retreat and Some Silence
As I write this article, I am preparing for a spiritual retreat for ten days that will be, in large part, silent. We are also asked to leave behind our cell phones, computers, etc. for the entire time. I realize that this will be the first time in years that I will spend a significant Continue reading
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Not Knowing
I have struggled mightily to know what to write this month for my healing column, with the whole gigantic spectacle of who-knows-what-is-happening going on around us, so relentlessly. I don’t want to avoid the elephant in the room, as they say, since – of course – our own health in affected in many ways by Continue reading
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A Visit to the Peace Tree
It was a warm, for February in Keene. And it also happened to be the first day of the Year of the Snake, by solar calculations. So I decided to get out of the house and take a good, long walk. There were so many things running through my mind right then, about what was Continue reading
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Chinese New Year and the Elements
Wishing you a happy Yin Wood Snake year! The Chinese New Year officially begins on Wednesday, January 29th, 2025. This is the when the second new moon after the winter solstice falls. Because it follows a lunar cycle, the start date differs year to year according to our solar calendar. So February 4th is often Continue reading
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Stepping into the New
As you read this, you are stepping into the new. As in a new year, and also a new time. A new time for the United States, and also – maybe – a new time for you as well. Of course, every morning when we wake up, we are stepping into the new. A new Continue reading
SKYE stephenson 