Tag: inspiration

From the Book Page

Pre-orders

I am ending this year with the signing of One World: A Journey of Becoming for pre-orders, then boxing them up with the gift of a greeting card and a bookmark. They mail on January 2.

What a year it has been, words that come to me as I reflect back to January. A year of deep loss and a year of birthing anew. A year of war and violence and a year of love and care expressed in unexpected ways. A year of new people entering my life and a year of saying goodbye to others.

I am currently reading the book Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe by Brian Swimme gifted to me by Leo. I feel delight and find awe in the image of “primal light” he offers, light that is all around and in us from the beginning of time and has traveled from fourteen billion light years away to us, now. He speaks beautifully of all life evolving, including each of us as we are never separate from the universe. In my words, we are becoming.

I invite you to read Brain Swimme for mind expansion. I invite you to order and read One World: A Journey of Becoming for heart and mind contemplation.

Jump to my shop page: janisdehler.com/shop

Wishing you joy in your evolving New Year!                  Janis

When We Gather


They arrive at noon 
bearing food and gifts,
bringing love and light 
within their hearts 
for all to share, 
whether laughter or tears,
cookies or bread, 
it’s all spread about, as
we mark forty-seven years
of opening our door
on this night, to celebrate 
the birth of Jesus, 
our family tradition. 

Some of us are church goers, 
others do not partake, 
but the truth of this is, 
it matters not, 
as we celebrate the light, 
shining within each heart. 
Some days it dims as 
the weight of loss pushes down, 
but we know it is here,
as we spread hugs all around.

Our oldest was two 
when it all began; 
now, new little boys toddle 
in laughter with visions of play. 
We lost a generation 
through these years, 
yet time brings new babes 
as life’s story gets told. 

The light of solstice, 
the light of the Christ, 
the light found in Buddha, 
and Amma, a Hindu saint,
whether the Tao, 
or the Bhagavad-Gita, 
the Tanakh, the Bible, 
the words from the Koran, 
or of our dear mother earth, 
I am formed by it all, 
in truth profound.

What rests at the core: 
love, compassion, wisdom, 
and giving as we are able. 
For me, the true message 
for us to gain.
Welcome arms open to all, 
each in their own spirit found.
May our oneness be proclaimed, 
at this, our blessed table. 

Blessings,
Janis

News From The Book Page

Holiday Greetings to all,

My mind and body have been moving in different directions these days as I try to get ready for holiday gatherings as well as launch a book. The pre-orders are going well, and I look forward to mailing each one on January 2, 2024—a lovely way to start a new year! Thank you to all who have pre-ordered. There is still time to do so: www.janisdehler.com/shop.

What I would like to share with you today comes as a reminder to my Twin Cities area friends and family to set your calendars for January 11 and join me at The University of St. Catherine, Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality, for a conversation with Mari Ann Graham, Director of the Masters in Social Work Program, who will interview me regarding my book and paintings, One World: A Journey of Becoming. I am curious to hear her questions. What direction will she go? I hope you are curious as well and join me for an evening of conversation, refreshments, a book signing, and art. The following link will take you to your free registration or $16 with the pre-order of a book.

https://www.wisdomwayscenter.org/events-calendar/book-launch-one-world-a-journey-to-becoming-with-janis-dehler

Stay tuned next Wednesday for more information about my book launch event north of the Twin Cities on January 14. My goodness, this is fun!

Now, off to take all the groceries I bought yesterday and make a raspberry pie, a squash lasagna, wild rice soup, wrap more presents, arrange some flowers…..

Bye for now! May your days be Merry…

The Light We Shine

Winter Solstice arrives,
we breathe a sigh,
light returns,
measured in seconds 
until, once again, we
feel the joy 
         of illumination.

This season sings
of radiance, 
candles are lit, 
twinkle lights abound,
menorah, manger, 
sun, all symbols for 
	  our fascination.

Opening doors
hearts,
we find the light,
hidden within
all along, now bidden,
we are never without,
          our true celebration.

A re-blog from Dec. 2022.

May we breathe peace into chaos, may we enjoy harmony in our encounters. Wishing us all joy in our days and serenity in our nights. May every day be seen as holy as we radiate light into this world.

Blessings and love,

Janis

Book Launch and Pre-Order

WordPress friends and family,

I am excited to announce that it is time to pre-order your copy of: One World: A Journey of Becoming, a book of original poetry and art that follows the events of the worldwide pandemic to current events of the day.

“…Janis’ deeply inspiring poetry, prose, and art are worth savoring. Janis creates from the heart, and this will touch your very soul.”

Mari Ann Graham, Director MSW Program, The University of St. Catherine

LEARN MORE about the book: https://janisdehler.com/river-spirit-books

Find an event to attend: https://janisdehler.com/events

Pre-order a book now to recieve by January 7, 2007: https://janisdehler.com/shop US customerts receive bonus gifts: a One World art and poetry bookmark and greeting card. My apologies to international orders through The Great British Bookshop. I won’t be able to accommodate the shipping of pre-order gifts.

It was rocky at times as I attempted to bring this inspiration into reality. Deaths, a stroke, a closing of my husbands place of business started by others 70 years ago, war, and tumultuous world events have been the back drop as I worked to stay the course and get it done.

It is a joy to hold the book in my hands. To flip the pages. To witness the beauty that was offered by those hired to help and guide me along the way.

My hope is for the reader to find a place to rest within the words and the visual art spaces; to drift into the heart space to ponder, finding a sense of renewal and gratitude, while experiencing the common ground we walk together in our one world.

Peace, Janis

A Hard Freeze to Thaw

I watch Spirit River, day after day,

while ice forms; now found at the edges, 

then to expand towards center. 

As days and nights reach single digits, 

the river will appear as one solid mass,

creating the illusion of strength; 

we feel fear as we move closer.



Like the heart after hurt, loss, anger,

or long held resentment, the frozen 

solid shield protects the truth found hidden

deep, where life continues to flow, 

waiting for the crack that forms 

when the pressure insists, or when spring

thaw allows the life beneath into the light of day.



“Everyone we meet has wounds upon their heart.
Everyone is waiting for someone to scatter the seeds of love amongst their tears and to be patient enough to wait for their beautiful fragrance of dreams to awaken once more.”

Mimi Novic, Guidebook To Your Heart

“Time heals all wounds, I’m sure it’s true, but not until after the wounds have been felt.”

Lisa Grunwald, New Year’s Eve

“Heart breaking is heart in making,
Wounds bleeding are wonders in making.”

Abhijit Naskar, Aşk Mafia: Armor of The World

A Beating Heart

Each Sunday I write a poem or prose inspired by the sacred found in the ordinary during the week.

Today, the sacred is found in the moments watching my husband’s heart beating, pumping, with blood flowing, as the radiologist studies closely to find any abnormalities hidden in the ordinary beating of his heart—that which is extraordinary.

Valves opening and closing in a pulsing rhythm, on and on in each moment, each day. Through all manner of heartache, heart opening, shock, joy, grief, and peace, his heart is relied upon to simply beat.

Then the doctor shows me what he has found; a tiny hole, there from birth, has allowed a blood clot to flow through. For 75 years this hole sat silent, unobserved, hidden in the steady pump of life, until today.

Now we know. With all symptoms of this small stroke relieved, we go home with hearts pumping in gratitude.

Perfection is within imperfection. Joy found in heartache. Calm found in chaos. A heart beating, even now, with a hole hidden, deep within.  

“I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.”

Neil Armstrong

The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.”

Joseph Campbell

“Everything can change in a heartbeat.”

Travis Pastrana

For Ongoing Resource List: Reading for Heart and Mind

Click

The Untold Story

When we are born the heavens tell a story.
We don’t know the text, so we fill in the blanks, 
to live it out or to create a new path. Without a plot
to foretell the dangers that come our way,

we trip and dance and love and grieve, 
as details of a life unfold, 
and arguments of free will rise.
We ask ourselves, “to do or not to do” —

a question we face each day, as we 
flow through life’s ups and downs,
then wonder if we still end up, after all the fuss, 
in the place foretold at our birth,
where we were headed all along.

Just as the river meanders,
with new routes created 
by natures unfolding desires,
may it be so— 
that we move along,
to exactly where we need to be.

“The world you are forced to inhabit does not match up to the world.”

Rosemary Breen, Pisces: Horoscope Compatibility

“I knew at an early age I wanted to act. Acting was always easy for me. I don’t believe in predestination, but I do believe that once you get wherever it is you are going, that is where you were going to be.”

Morgan Freeman

“What I’m saying is . . . remembering feels like time travel, right? Dreaming works the same way. Well, what if that’s all we have in the first place? Thoughts arranged in time. And we’re free—if we can only learn how—to change those thoughts around all we like. So, no predestination. One world. One ever-changing universe. And we can change it!”

Cliff Jones Jr., Dreck

For Ongoing Resource List: Reading for Heart and Mind

Click

Awaken to Morning

Each morning, the news feed stuns me: 
	images, pain, apprehension—
        helplessness in the face of atrocities. 

Each morning calls forth: 
	support, humanitarian aid, food, medical care.

Each morning:
        directs me toward the depths of humanity—
        that which links us all. 

Each morning, I sit in quiet and remember: 
         go within, anchor in, seek the calm still point, 
         believe in the sacred seed—within each living thing. 

Each morning, I awaken to wonder:
        what will be next? 

This morning: 
        I watch the yellow finch, 
        sip my tea, 
        sit in my sacred space. 

This morning, as the unthinkable looms: 
         I remember, remember, and remember—
         the source, the beauty, and the bounty of this, 
         our one amazing world.

(reworked poem from March 2022)

“Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.” 

Mahatma Gandhi

“There is peace even in the storm” 

Vincent Van Gogh, The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh

“When I’m in turmoil, when I can’t think, when I’m exhausted and afraid and feeling very, very alone, I go for walks.”

Jim Butcher, Storm Front

For Ongoing Resource List: Reading for Heart and Mind

Click

To learn more about my upcoming book, visit my book page at: http://janisdehler.com/river-spirit-books/

A Bonus Day in River Spirit Studios

El Camino Series V: Into The Calm

A big thank you goes to the collector who decided to choose this painting as the one she wants for her home.

The inspiration for Into the Calm arose from my experience of hiking El Camino de Santiago in northern Spain in 2017. The sense of calm in this painting followed the experience of feeling as if I was crawling on my knees through shale, up high elevation, in cold and foggy weather. After shedding tears and processing many emotions that arose, a feeling of inner peace filled me.

“Peace comes from within.  Do not seek it without.” 

Siddhártha Gautama