At the Threshold to new beginnings
Unfolding a new chapter holding together sorrows and joy, and also a gift for you!
Dear one,
I am always a bit scared of the winter season and thus trying to prolong Fall as much as possible. But then, when the first snow flurries tumble to the ground I find myself overcome by joy. The crisp air, the quiet dance of white flurries, the soft blanket of fresh white as it illuminates the night seems to open a door of my heart I keep forgetting over the rest of the year: Simple, childlike joy.
And so, like a greeting from beyond, the first snow came to remind me to remind you of the simple joy of living. Pure, naked, and vulnerable.
In the midst of the terror of this aching world, let us not give up on breathing and living and humming, dear friend. I have gotten beautiful personal notes from many on my last post on hoping against despair. Thank you, thank you and keep writing! And if you have not seen it over here on substack do leave a heart or a comment.
I am grateful for each of you who started following Cloister Notes since I moved our newsletter over to substack from www.cloisterseminars.org, where I have been writing the last years, offering retreats and seminars, and also our 12 Days of Christmas Contemplations, our Passion Consolations, the Hildegard Seminar and some more.
I have done this with fear and trembling since new beginnings are always scary. And I have not brought our readers over yet. Thus I am particularly grateful for the first who just found us here on these new grounds.
With Cloister Notes I hope to create a sanctuary in a busy world, a retreat space for all who need some consolation, and a gathering space for body, soul and spirit.
Soon and very soon. A gift for you
Reclaiming joy amidst an aching world has also become the inspiration for our 12 Days of Christmas Contemplations 2023 now coming in its 7th season!
As a token of gratitude to our new readers here at our new substack home I decided to give away free access to this unique Online Journey consisting of daily brief reflections, along with a poem, a blessing, a photo meditation, or other little surprises written and send out to you on each of the Christmas days (did you know there are 12 of them?). From my heart to yours.
How to receive these daily reflections?
If you have subscribes this December you are already on it!
All I ask in return is to stay tuned and patient as I figure things out here on this new venue and to help spread the word and bring some one along so we can grow in a community of fellow pilgrims come Christmas.
People who have ventured with me and us know that we are not very Christmas-y people. Instead we always arrive late and longing for something beyond the annual Christmas parades. Will we make space for the one who wants to dwell in us?
For now I send you love and gratitude, Almut
Almut Furchert, PhD is the founder of CloisterSeminars, author, seeker, writer, and retreat leader — and mother to a toddler :-)
Three more things:
Please find below my last essay which is a beautiful photo meditation offering three (very simple) paths against despair in a cruel world.
“Longing for wholeness” is what describes the motivation behind Cloister Notes best. Thus the second is our welcome draft for all who want to know more about me and us and The Cloister.
I just figured how to import our blog over from our website and though it looks nice it is as all new places not inhabited yet. So go ahead and have a look and leave a sign of your presence if you can :-)