Praying With Our Everything
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I love the phrase “praying with our feet.” It often comes to mind for me in protests at the Texas Capitol, when I wait in line to vote, and perhaps most especially every Friday, when I lead my Zumba class, where we pray with our arms, our hips, our everything. Read more →
Prayer
What does prayer look/feel/sound like to you?
ROBERT
CLF Member, incarcerated in MA
Little things, big things, anything; people pray for them. From the mundane, like to perhaps hit the lottery, to the serious, like for someone’s life. (Though perhaps, for some, winning the lottery isn’t mundane at all, but a serious need.) Read more →
7 Centers 1
VYLET
CLF member, incarcerated in FL
Quiet as kept, be slow to speak
The tongue of death is death indeed
Let temperance and virtue be thy speech
Consider silence and still thy feet
Be thou fearless, feel not dismay
For thou art spirit to what is pain
Deep meditation shall make things clear
The weapons of war that thou should fear
Speak no lies, be not the fool
Boomerangs of deception bareth dark rile
If a word be uttered, let freedom reign
Sever the yoke and break every chain
If I be bound, may they be free
If I face danger, let them have peace
If I must die, let them live
Return I shall and with them sing
Divine decrees establish the link
Of things unseen, oh what of faith
This body clad of clay and dust
But I am greater, the creator’s touch
Infused in soil, the morning star
A living soul, the lawful heart
Ponder the path thy foot is upon
Consider the workings thy hands have wrought
Be thou calm in every endeavor
And radiant as the sun
Forever-ever, forever and ever
I and my father are one
Phoenix Rising
DALE
CLF members, incarcerated in TX
PHOTO BY DENIS DEGIOANNI ON UNSPLASH
Looking at the night sky,
Staring at the galaxy,
Watching the Milky Way swirl. Read more →
October Walk
GARY
CLF member, incarcerated in NC
Farlow, Gary 2020-10-16 Artwork – October Walk.
Endings
RICHARD
CLF member, incarcerated in NY
Written in response to “End” by Charlie, May 2020
All things end.
It’s people who refuse
to accept it.
We hold on with a death grip to avoid the inevitable.
Nature knows that to live all must also die,
to make room.
So is it really the “end”?
The sun still shines,
The rain still falls,
Grass and flowers and trees still grow.
And we all do what we can
in the time we’ve been given To do the best we can
To make our being here worthwhile
Before our “end.”
Calling on G.R.A.C.E.
Note: a version of this article also appears in the Fall 2021 Worthy Now Newsletter
I am often asked by folks who don’t have a belief structure how they can “connect” or reflect on their own growth. Read more →
Upcoming Quest Themes
Do you have any thoughts related to these topics? All CLF members, both incarcerated and living in the free world, are welcome to submit entries for future issues of Quest. Write to us!
Due Date: November 1, 2021
Quest Monthly Theme: December 2021 – Mystery
Response Question: What role does wonder and mystery play in your life?
Due Date: December 1, 2021
Quest Monthly Theme: January 2022 – Invitation
Response Question: When have you felt invited and welcomed as your full self?
Due Date: January 1, 2022
Quest Monthly Theme: February 2022 – Joy
Response Question: How do you practice and cultivate joy, especially when times are hard?
Due Date: February 1, 2022
Quest Monthly Theme: March 2022 – Interdependence
Response Question: What does it mean to live interdependently?
Due Date: March 1, 2022
Quest Monthly Theme: April 2022 – Memory
Response Question: How do you honor memory in your life?
Due Date: April 1, 2022
Quest Monthly Theme: May 2022 – Love
Response Question: What does love look/feel/sound like to you?
Due Date: May 1, 2022
Quest Monthly Theme: June 2022 – Integrity
Response Question: What does integrity mean to you?
Quest October 2021
October 2021
Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. —Mahatma Gandhi
Articles
Praying With Our Everything
I love the phrase “praying with our feet.” It often comes to mind for me in protests at the Texas Capitol, when I wait in line to vote, and perhaps most especially every Friday, when I lead my Zumba class, where we pray with our arms, our hips, our everything. Read more »
Prayer
Little things, big things, anything; people pray for them. From the mundane, like to perhaps hit the lottery, to the serious, like for someone’s life. Read more »
Phoenix Rising
Looking at the night sky, Staring at the galaxy, Watching the Milky Way swirl… Read more »
Calling on G.R.A.C.E.
I am often asked by folks who don’t have a belief structure how they can “connect” or reflect on their own growth. Read more »
Upcoming Quest Themes
Do you have any thoughts related to these topics? All CLF members, both incarcerated and living in the free world, are welcome to submit entries for future issues of Quest. Write to us! Read more »
More than Words
A lot of times, prayer can seem like something that is done with words and thoughts rather than action. For people who like to use their hands or bodies, it can sometimes be hard to connect to the idea of prayer, and this is doubly true when we are praying with or as children. But around the world, in many cultures and faith, there are prayers that are made with our bodies, with movement or by creating something with our hands. Read more →