The Women of Spirit Reflection Book is part of the Matrika Press Reflection & Blessing Book series and the Women of Spirit series. It is designed to be used as a self-led retreat that you guide yourself on. It can be used to mark a milestone such as a significant birthday or important season of your life. It can help you process a loss or transition. It can be the place you affirm what is next for you as you cross a threshold and visualize your greatest intention for your life.
Reflection & Blessing Booksare created by “Twinkle” Marie Porter-Manning and are a source of intentional inspiration to be used to record personal messages to the owner of the Blessing Book. These mementos and keepsakes can be used in rituals, celebrations and communions as well as for self-reflection and documentation of one’s innermost thoughts, feelings and beliefs. At the heart of Reflection & Blessing Books is the desire to share sentiments, messages and stories that we can draw upon as sources of comfort and a reminder that we are loved. This Reflection Book was created for self-exploration and contemplation.
This week Rev. “Twinkle” Marie Manning led services at the historic Rockwood Community log cabin Church. She is grateful for the many collaborative interfaith opportunities she is part of through her network of colleagues from many faith traditions. This week she preached about finding a place to live from compassion in Ordinary Times.
Over the next few weeks TV for Your Soul and Empowering Women TV will be sharing content from the one-on-one interviews of “The Goddess Show” as well as the “Goddess Summit.” Both projects recorded in Lexington, Massachusetts in 2011. Yes – this autumn it will be 10 years since the original footage was first recorded! Sadly & frustratingly, there were technical issues with the raw footage and at one point we believed it to be unusable. Recently I revisited the footage on an old back-up drive and decided to take a chance to weave together any remnants I could to preserve the content and conversations captured. The shoots were multi-camera (4 & 5 cameras as we envisioned dynamic edits) and some cameras went hot leaving red signatures on the screen, other cameras had audio issues. There were lighting issues and the impromptu backdrops were not keen on the eyes either so we hoped to be able to use various angles to minimize distractions. With so many issues, the project while reviewed over the years by several editors, was finally set aside.
Until this summer.
I felt compelled to try again.
I knew going in it was a leap of faith. I reconciled in my heart and mind that even if I could not use all video and audio, that just maybe there would be even a single camera and audio stream intact, I could use that if for no other reason than to honor the women who participated by making some remnant of their contributions to the lengthy history of sacred feminine conversations for the world to access. And that is the best reason in the world to take on such a daunting task!
I was relieved to discover much of the footage from 2 of the cameras were intact, so I ran with what we had access to. While the original vision has been set aside, I feel confident that what has emerged from the embers is something to be treasured!
We will be scheduling a more formal Launch/Debut this fall of each program.
“The Goddess Show” is a television talk show series of in-studio and on-location interviews – 9 in total – with some of the most dynamic female spiritual leaders in our modern era.
The “2011 Goddess Summit” film documents a circle-style gathering of women, centered on discussions of the sacred feminine spirituality and aspects of Goddess traditions, archetypes and embodiments.
Other than swimwear and beach towels, I believe it’s been more than 20 years since I’ve hung clothes out to dry on a line. This will be our regular routine this summer as we live off grid(ish) while building our home. #LivingLifeAsAPrayer#MooseheadLakeRetreats#LakeLife#FoldAsYouGo#Blessed
We are preparing to say farewell to our Lancey Street location and move full-time to our Moosehead Lake homestead. This Pittsfield home has held us through triumphs and grief and has been host to all manner of retreats and events. We will miss it, and our amazing neighbors and friends (whom we hope will come visit!). Yet, we are very much looking forward to scaling-down our indoor square-footage with the promise of scaling-up our outdoor acreage! We will be building Twinkle’s Place at Moosehead Lake Retreats (including cute wooden tents scattered throughout the property for guests) as well as carving out spaces for The Church of Kineo outdoor sanctuary for worship services in the woods, as well as landscaping the path for easy access down to the lakeside – a perfect location for Twinkle to officiate small weddings and elopements. Twinkle will also have an office/library/art studio built on site for her to write, create art, relax and host interviews for TV for Your Soul. And, we will have a pavilion for indoor gatherings in addition to our log cabin. We are looking forward to so much time in Nature and this next phase of life. Will post news about upcoming events and collaborations.
As we pack up our house on Lancey Street in preparation for our move to Moosehead Lake, I am finding all kinds of things in boxes as we sift and sort. I came across this Mother’s Day card from my Riley a couple weeks ago. Joy and Grief immediately began to battle it out. JOY whispering compassionately that there was such tenderness in Riley’s heart and that I need to remember his sweetness. GRIEF flauntingly reminding me that I will never again receive a Mother’s Day card from Ry, or a card of any kind, let alone a hug or see his smile beyond those which reside in memory and in pictures. GRIEF – the coward – rarely travels alone, often brings REMORSE as his preferred companion. The message in this card particularly poignant, and foreshadowing as much of his life was.
Everything is still very raw. I keep telling myself it hasn’t even been two years. I hope that someday when I find treasures like this, that my mind gently embraces the gift. There was such tenderness in his heart. I miss him every day.
Twinkle’s writings have been included in publications and services around the world. For the first time bound in a poetry book all their own, her selected writings, some mystic in nature, others raw with physical-world portrayals of the landscapes we live in, created with passion, emotion, reflection and thoughtfulness.
Book Launch Event on March 16th, 2021 hosted by Shaw Public Library.
