Welcome to Everything Speaks if You Listen with Jen CobbleWorks where we befriend our humanity and the Sacred through story, soul questions, and every day life.

In this week's episode, we name our painful shared context right now: war, climate catastrophe, and ongoing pandemic while we also naming our personal pains and struggles (I articulate a few of my own as example). We acknowledge the despair that comes with all of these, how it feels like we might be at a breaking point. We consider that a breaking point is also called a threshold, and then notice the other definition of a threshold: a place of change, of travel, of reunion and departure, of new life.

Holding both of these at once, the notion of being at our limit and being at a place of growth, we look at how limits within us (what we're stubborn about, what we won't let go of, etc) can be softened into portals. We can soothe and massage our limits, making them softer and dilating them so that we can open up and receive something different.

One way we can soften within to make room for life beyond despair is to turn to things that provide us structure and also freedom of imagination and hope. The two things that always come to mind for me are questions and poetry. Both have the certain structure we long to lean on while also giving us the permission to tap into what is mysterious and infinite and ineffable.

In the midst of breaking points globally and personally, I share my own Wild God invitations that won't be silenced right now. There is something sacred that is clawing at my door and it is demanding some sort of responsive action in me. I want to resist it and say that there are bigger things afoot, but it will not stop howling at me.

The poem I have been turning to in this season of uncertainty, avoidance, and seeking is Sometimes A Wild God by Tom Hirons. I read it for you and hopefully, inspire you to read it over and over again for yourself. It creates space within me, space for what is awful in my life right now and space for what is nonetheless stirring with life in my life right now. I hope it works in your soul in a similar way. As promised, here is the link to learn more about Tom Hirons and his poetry and work in the universe:

Tom Hirons

And here are the links I also mentioned from my own work, ways to connect to a ritual of inner listening and reflection as well as the current Halloween mini course. Enjoy :)

The newsletter ...with info and resources on inner listening

The Halloween mini course

I'm Jen Cobble Willhoite, a contemplative storyteller, spiritual tool designer, and life-long soul seeker. My path is formed and framed by questions more than answers. I'm more comfortable wondering and wandering about things spiritual than I am in ideology, religion, or dogma.

My soul language and connection with Spirit is primarily grounded in Celtic Spirituality, science, nature, seasonal cycles, myth, folklore, and stories of all kinds. I do have roots in progressive Christianity that I sometimes speak from. My tap root, though, is ordinary life. I believe enlightenment is rhythmic, unfolding, and found in our everyday experiences and selves. I also offer tools and courses on my modern interpretation of the examen: a daily ritual of looking back, looking within, and looking ahead to cultivate a rapport with your inner wisdom and the Sacred as you understand it.

Every week, I share an episode from my own spiritual explorations, offering invitations for you to explore these themes on your own. Thanks for journeying with me!