Weddings, Funerals, Ceremonies, Stories, Mindfulness, Practices

01 Feb 2022 | Healing

The New Moon

Sowing Seeds For as long as I can remember, I have sown seeds in my vegetable garden in the first week of the new moon. I used to buy the moon planting charts yet, the truth is, I didn’t take too much notice of the elaborate astrological computations as to…

29 Jan 2022 | Healing

Welcome Home

In the Hands of Grace Five weeks ago, I was sitting on the steps, in the small circular grassed amphitheatre at the front of the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney. I had just seen my Gynaecological Oncologist, Associate Professor Rhonda Farrell, I called my partner to let him know that I…

22 Jan 2022 | Uncategorised

Honouring Thich Nhat Hanh – An Inspiring Teacher

Thich Nhat Hanh, the renowned Vietnamese Buddhist monk died yesterday, aged 95. I smiled with gratitude and felt a warmth in my heart for this beloved teacher. I sat and watched my breath. I am aware that I am breathing in. I am aware that I am breathing out. Thay’s…

22 Jan 2022 | Healing

The Results are In

‘Hello Wendy!’ The joyful sound of Rhonda’s voice made me smile. ‘It was a Granlosa cell tumour confined to the ovary.’ My surgeon continued the message, ‘Great news, the rest of the lab tests came back negative. You won’t need any more treatment, just follow up tests and regular checkups….

21 Jan 2022 | Healing

A Flat Line in a Vast Space

Flat Line The dictionary* describes a flat line as: To show a horizontal line on the monitor of an electrocardiogram or an electroencephalogram, indicating no electrical activity. Informal To die. To be in an unchanging condition Flat lining best describes the strangeness in me last night and upon my first waking. As someone who, on most mornings, gets out of bed with a sense of anticipation and welcoming in…

20 Jan 2022 | Healing

Resting Under the Power of Trees

Day Six. Found a park bench to rest under some trees. The grey sky, cool wind, spitting rain and new growth remind me of the Snowy Mountains yet I find myself here in Sydney. Resting as if in the wilderness. Surgery demands it of me. Rest can be an elusive…

19 Jan 2022 | Healing

Music for the Soul

The body is doing well. I still ache however today I stopped the pain meds and there is ease. I am in a quiet place and feel blessed to have the resources to rest. There are four nice scars, healing on the points where the surgeon entered to do truly…

18 Jan 2022 | Healing

Flowers in a Box

I heard the delivery man call out from the gate. Is your name Wendy? He handed me a beautiful floral oblong box, not too dissimilar to a narrow, small hand decorated cardboard coffin. I laughed and cried when I opened it up to reveal a vase full of budding sunflowers and…

17 Jan 2022 | Mindfulness

Getting My Bearings, Finding East

The sun set in the west over Botany Bay once again last night and, without fail, this morning the sun rose on its own accord over the Pacific Ocean. There can’t be too many patients who wander around the corridors, compass in hand, in the early hours looking for an…

16 Jan 2022 | Uncategorised

The Dark Night

The third day blues. Inevitable. A doctor friend called it the day of reckoning. A restless night with bad dreams, fear, pain, questioning with periods of drifting off to sleep and light dozing so as not to completely wake me up, rather keep me that ‘dark night’ space. I sit…

15 Jan 2022 | Elderhood

Celebrating this Precious Life

Yesterday, as I lay outside the surgical theatre, I could hear the music inside, muffled voices and the preparation of things being moved about. I had requested to not have the pre-op sedation so I was lying on the bed fully conscious. I found my mind wandering as I looked…

13 Jan 2022 | Ceremonies

Palanca – A Form of Prayer, Encouragement and Support

Yesterday one of my colleagues who I got to meet in person very recently, sent me an email, ‘Good evening Wendy and my blessings for this New Year. With your upcoming surgery on 14 January I will Palanca for you all day.’ Marg is a woman of devotion and this…

13 Jan 2022 | Mindfulness

On the Path

A normal blood test result of Inhibin B is under 10. Today my surgeon gave me news that my count is 9740 which is consistent with my lesion having a 95% chance of being a Granalosa cell tumour, a rare form of ovarian cancer. After yesterdays post, I feel into…

12 Jan 2022 | Mindfulness

Trusting the Unknown

The plane hurtled down the runway increasing speed as I watched the lush green mountains of Gumbaynggirr country rise up behind Coffs Harbour Airport. The plane wheels lift up off the ground and we are airborne. What strangeness is it that, without any hesitation, I put myself forward and pay…

06 Jan 2022 | Ceremonies

Memorial Service for Robert Gonzales

Remembering Robert Gonzales as playful inspiration, embodied compassion, still presence and one of the great teachers in my life. Robert initiated my understanding that compassionate Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and the living quality of presence was not only possible, it could also foster and enhance peace and connection within a community….

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