EREMOS

Reflections

Be Yourself

With graduations coming up, a quote about the importance of being yourself reminded me of the great commencement speeches given over the years.

Laugh!

Like some in our community, you may be dealing with some serious stuff at home or are feeling overwhelmed with anxiety about the future of [...]

Slow Down…

It wasn't that long ago we were all required to slow down whether we wanted to or not; yet, the to-do list (even if filled with fun summer [...]

Imagine…

"The world is holy" Terry Tempest Williams reminds us. This is the epiphany astronaut Edgar Mitchell experienced on his return to Earth [...]

This Dove

"Great ideas, it has been said, come into the world as gently as doves. Perhaps then, if we listen attentively, we shall hear, amid the [...]

Why not enter into these days wondering how it will turn out? Who knows? In our state of wonder, we just might find gifts we never could [...]

Turning

The Winter Solstice has passed and the days ahead will gradually gain minutes of daylight.  The longest night of the year has come and [...]

Vote

Heeding the quiet voice within to experience God in the silence can sometime seem like such a passive gesture when confronted with living [...]

Ever Present

This past Tuesday, I (Dianna) met with our long-time volunteer, Nancy Jewett, to begin sorting through the many quotes or writings we have [...]

Growing Up

Like a college graduate embarking upon a new life, Eremos is moving on to the next phase of its journey. We’re feeling the same [...]

He Lives!

In memory of the recent passing of our Spiritual Amma, Jean Springer, we are re-posting her 2017 Easter blog post. Re-reading it with the [...]

We Are One

October has always seemed like the beginning of the holidays, with children running around the neighborhood looking for a treat or offering [...]

Memorial Day

In some cultures, placing flowers on the graves of relatives who have died is still part of ‘Memorial Day’. They remember, give thanks and [...]

May I?

When I began pondering the meaning of this month of May, I kept sensing it is about requesting: “May I…” and giving permission.

He Lives!

One of the most difficult Christian celebrations for many people is Easter. Well, not so much Easter because we have made it a secular [...]

We Remember

Our cities and towns are filled with veterans who have served our country — many returning proud of their service, and many traumatized, [...]

20 Years!

There was such joy-filled excitement May 8, 1996.  I opened the box containing our Eremos Board Minutes file and the official embossing [...]

A Holy Week

Within the Christian experience, we’re now immersed in the intensity of ‘holy week’. There are so many themes running through it that it is [...]

Love Does That!

The month of April we spent contemplating Andrew Harvey’s book The Hope:  A Guide to Sacred Activism.  If you have not read it, I highly [...]

We wait

This week I have watched lives disintegrate and have shared in the terror, grief and pain people have experienced.  Once again, my heart [...]

Unveiled

“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same [...]

Summertime

“I just don’t want to do anything”.  “I don’t have any energy lately”.  Comments I keep hearing as we journey deeper into summer’s [...]

My Beloved

In his beautiful poem ‘Spiritual Canticle’ John of the Cross (16th century mystic) wrote in stanza 13 My Beloved, the mountains The [...]

18

“Give thanks to the Lord who is good, whose love is everlasting” Psalm 118 This refrain sums up my soul as I reflect on Eremos becoming a [...]

Restless Spirit

Recently a woman spoke to me of the restlessness she felt just before giving birth. Her sense of ‘it is time to bring forth this baby’ made [...]

Lessons Learned

A few days ago, I met with three young women and a five-week old baby girl. As with most gatherings of women and babies, all our eyes were [...]

Gazing

As I sat in the quiet of the early morning, pondering the events of this past week, a phrase from scripture came to me ‘All of us, gazing [...]

It is Easter

As I gaze out into the beauty of a soft sunny day in Austin. I hear the song of birds excited to be alive, calling to one another with [...]

Transitions

Some years ago we had a wonderful wooden well in our front lawn. The well somehow survived three moves, lots of rain, heat, cold and wind [...]

Behold

I was at an ordination this weekend in which the newly ordained pastor was commissioned with one word: ‘Behold’.  The young woman stood [...]

You know me!

Visiting a local nursing home facility yesterday, I smiled at one of the residents, greeted her and touched her shoulder gently.  She [...]

Where is God?

Where is God when hopes and dreams are lost?  So many people these days are finding their worlds turned upside down for one reason or [...]

Quinceanera

Eremos is 15 years old! We are fifteen years in the emerging of a contemplative space within Austin. Some of you here were part of Eremos [...]

Epiphany

Time seems to pass so quickly. I had intended to write a note to wish everyone a blessed new year, but Christmas flowed into a new year and [...]

I am so busy!

One of the phrases I keep hearing from people (myself included) is:  I am so busy! I am not sure what this actually means.  Is it that we [...]

He is Risen

Today the Christian church proclaims to the world “He is Risen Alleluia!” What joy floods our minds and hearts as we celebrate [...]