à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Healing
Silent Retreat: A Sedentary Camino
“The longest journey you will make in your life is from your head to your heart” – Sioux legend In December, friends offered to host a four day, mostly silent meditation retreat at their mountain home. For a modest fee, they’d provide lunch, snacks and facilitation; we could bring breakfast and dinner if we chose … Continue reading
A Tribute and a Request
In March, I wrote about the passing of Robyn Richey Piz, a fellow writer and co-founder of Salon Denver. She and her friend Christy Bailey invited me and a dozen others to this monthly gathering of writers to share works in progress and inspire each other. Some ‘salonistas’ who read that post had lovely things … Continue reading
Goodbye, Gluttony! Dispatch from a Contemplative Thanksgiving
Despite my excitement at attending a contemplative, potluck Thanksgiving, anxiety hijacked my high spirits on Thursday as I loaded two pans of roasted vegetables and my folding meditation bench into my Subaru. In addition to garden variety worries about whether I’d enjoy the other people, I feared that the intention for a mindful gathering could … Continue reading
And This Little Piggy Said “Weeee” All the Way Home
Not since my mother recited the “Little Piggy” rhyme and tickled my (then small) feet have I focused this much attention on my left pinky toe. At the moment, it’s not saying “weeee”. And, according to a senior Rolfing practitioner I consulted, it’s not saying much at all. Rolfing, unlike much of Western medicine, considers … Continue reading
Dear Sugar: I’ve Filed for Divorce
Dear Sugar (C12H22O11), We’ve had a good run, not quite half a century together, longer than many marriages. I thought that by reaching for you when I felt blissful and blue, I proved my devotion to you. It never crossed my mind that you were a parasite who never reciprocated. Your complex molecule has romped, … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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