Author Archives: amy j howton

this holy week, my heart and mind has been on passion. in Wisdom Jesus cynthia bourgeault writes of how Jesus’ sacramental life offers guidance in the journey of transformation. the Passion is one of these sacraments, including his suffering: the betrayal, arrest, persecution, and crucifixion. so, i’ve been sitting with the sacrament of passion, wonderingContinue reading “passion”

a communal poem from tonight’s closing ceremony of the 40 Day Journey to Remembering Soul and Spirit. with a heart full of gratitude. I used to put others before myself and now I’m making myself a priority. I used to feel unworthy of deep connection and now I wait for alignment knowing the Divine knowsContinue reading “i used to be___ and now i am ___”

there’s no going back. these were the words spoken from a woman in circle reckoning with the reality of life. they came as she shared the story of catching a glimpse of her aging body in the mirror of a dressing room as she tried on a swim suit–her body’s image revealing the changes thatContinue reading “there’s no going back”

during this season of lent, i’ve been hosting a 40 Day Journey to Remembering Soul and Spirit, based on my recently published book, co-authored with Quanita Roberson. the journey is inspired by the Dagara Cosmological Wheel and the elements of fire, water, earth, mineral, and nature. this week has been Earth Week, perfectly aligning withContinue reading “inclusion”

i met quanita three and a half years ago, in august 2019. i’d just returned from a meditation retreat where the red rocks in New Mexico told me that my inescapable fear was fear of myself. she showed up to guide me as i leaned into this fear, learned from it, and grew into moreContinue reading “quanita”

in my story-weaving way, i found myself this morning following the thread of brigid. i lit a fire. and sat with her in the wayfinding of threads in me that are both ancient and new. this is my labor, now. to go inward and pay attention to what is arising in me. draw close toContinue reading “today’s medicine”

i’ve been deep in winter’s hibernation, practicing a different way of knowing, a different way of being. i’ve been moving slowly. allowing myself to be in a new rhythm, resting and still and quiet. this isn’t to say that it always looks like this from the outside. there are times when i’m buzzing like aContinue reading “hibernation, grief, and the feminine”

for the first time since i wrote it in 2011, i read my dissertation recently. a solid decade stood between my now-self and my then-self; so much learning and living in the in-between–so much changed and so much still the same. it felt good and timely to return to my research. i did so becauseContinue reading “expansion”

we had no gps, no service only screenshots of a google map, sheer determination, and wonder all compelled by deep joy to be here in these Blue Ridge Mountains among these October colors wildly adventuring, mother and daughter freedom coursing through our veins can this be right? as the road evolved into a narrow andContinue reading “lady luck”