Tag: recovery

When Gratitude Feels Like Bullshit

“Why do you always park over here?” He slammed the door as he got in the car. “What are you, stupid?” A while ago, I was living with a friend who had a 15-year-old boy; I’d often pick him up from school when she was working. I actually love this kid, so I took a…

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Gratitude and depression

I was dreading Christmas that year, 2011. It wasn’t the first holiday I’d spend alone – it had been seven years since I’d been in a romantic relationship during the holidays, and more than twenty since I would fly back to my hometown. Not that family has to be romantic or genetic; when I lived…

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Gratitude Month is Coming 2018

Daily Gratitude List:  Make a list of things/people/furry critters you are grateful for and share it to the Facebook ItW Gratitude group.  It really lightens the mood of your newsfeed! Each season, Into the Wilderness offers a spiritual challenge on Facebook. Join our mailing list for updates.  

New Spring Programming at Into the Wilderness

Online Morning Meditation:  Online Morning Meditation, MWF,  7:00 a.m. -7:30 am Pacific   Looking for a way to jump start your daily meditation practice?  Start your week with Meditation at 7:00 am Pacific, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  We log in, have an opening prayer, read some scripture, meditate for 5 minutes, and share a bit….

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Lent is Coming: Into Vulnerability

I hate giving things up. I have zero willpower. Seriously, for me, immediate gratification takes too long. So, what to do with Lent, a season that I used to understand as a time to give something up? The gift of Lent for me is this: it is a time to give up something/take up something…

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Valley of Bones

A brief Easter translation-(ish) poem on Ezekiel 37, modified for the for the “reticent, the recalcitrant, the bitter, those staunchly anti-Higher Power,” as requested by my friend Diane: The hand of the holy is on me, and She carries me through the sky and sets me in the middle of a valley; it is full…

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Lent 15: Into the Wilderness

Into the Wilderness is an experimental spiritual community that will meet during Lent. There are three parts to Into the Wilderness – you can choose just one, or do all four. 1. Opening ritual Wednesday, February 18, 6:00– 6:50 p.m. Loper Chapel (First Church Berkeley, at the corner of Dana St and Durant Ave in…

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Ash Wednesday Sermon 3-5-14

Note: This was the opening sermon for Lent in 2014. Matthew 4 1:11  If the link below doesn’t work, just download the zip version here. Sermon 3-5-14 (As of today, I am still not smoking. Thanks, God!) Join us for Lent 15!

New Programming from Into the Wilderness coming in 2015!

Hey folks: New programming from ITW coming in 2015! Artist’s Way Support Gang:  The Artist’s Way has been a popular tool for recovering as an artist (hint: everyone is creative!).  While the book is set up as a 12-week program, we’ll be working on it all year, meeting at an online webinar once each month…

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