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The Way of the River

Shifting Stones of Fat and Love

Shifting Stones of Fat and Love

August 27, 2017 by Catharine Clarenbach Leave a Comment

This is a story of a young woman in her twenties, knowing she was powerful, glorious, radiant, sick and suicidal. She was fat, the fattest among her ceremonial colleagues. But she was powerful, physically and otherwise, and she knew it. And this is a story of a femme woman in her forties, no longer physically […]

stories Tagged: fat, Four Quarters, love, ritual, Wicca

We Need Change, not Shame

August 16, 2017 by Catharine Clarenbach Leave a Comment

The following is a collection of thoughts that are in response to an email sent out by Mark Silver, the founder of the Heart of Business, and one of my teachers. The headline was, “The Healthy Role of Shame in Business (and in Life).” If you go to the Heart of Business website, you can […]

divination Tagged: discernment, feelings, human rights, justice, love, politics, racism, shame

The Blessings of Limits

The Blessings of Limits

February 19, 2017 by Catharine Clarenbach Leave a Comment

Limits. Speed limits. Weight limits. Human limits. I was talking with a dear friend about the concept of limiting beliefs yesterday. For her, the concept of self-care is not about limits; what I call limits are just needs. For her, considering or dwelling on limits is dangerous, as she believes it can keep one from […]

practice Tagged: fat, human rights, justice, love

A Taste of My Monday Love Letter

A Taste of My Monday Love Letter

November 18, 2016 by Catharine Clarenbach 1 Comment

A taste of Reflections this week because it goes with my other posts. And because it’s really where I was, and where my sense of love began to get me through my grief. I also hope it’s helpful for you. And maybe, if you like it, you’ll sign up for Reflections, my weekly meditation on […]

discernment Tagged: love, Reflections

Guilty Pleasures, Love, and Ritual

Guilty Pleasures, Love, and Ritual

October 6, 2016 by Catharine Clarenbach Leave a Comment

So I was talking with my wife about guilty pleasures—I’ve been reading 19th-century period romance novels—and she immediately responded, “I don’t feel guilty about my pleasures.” This is a woman who loves all kinds of books:  Memoir, natural history nonfiction, novels from various eras. She also loves movies, many, though not all, of them of […]

ritual Tagged: love, pleasure, ritual, worship

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