Anne E. Ulvestad
Anne E. Ulvestad has been an Arts/Graphics Director for the past twenty years. She has her B.S. in Nursing from Hunter College/Bellevue School of Nursing, New York, and has received her M.A. in Earth Literacy from St. Mary of the Woods, Indiana. At present Anne is working on her PhD. in Wisdom Studies from Wisdom University, California to pull this eclectic education together. In her free time she facilitates universal, family-based rituals, and teaches a series of presentations entitled “Our Place in the Universe.” These offerings are designed to create an awareness of our environmental responsibility centered on a new culture of heart. Anne has a book of photo/poems, “Breath of the Spirit,” journaling her spiritual evolution, and another entitled "Our Place in the Universe: 10 Essays of the Earth". Anne can be reached by email at anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com.
Anne E. Ulvestad has been an Arts/Graphics Director for the past twenty years. She has her B.S. in Nursing from Hunter College/Bellevue School of Nursing, New York, and has received her M.A. in Earth Literacy from St. Mary of the Woods, Indiana. At present Anne is working on her PhD. in Wisdom Studies from Wisdom University, California to pull this eclectic education together. In her free time she facilitates universal, family-based rituals, and teaches a series of presentations entitled “Our Place in the Universe.” These offerings are designed to create an awareness of our environmental responsibility centered on a new culture of heart. Anne has a book of photo/poems, “Breath of the Spirit,” journaling her spiritual evolution, and another entitled "Our Place in the Universe: 10 Essays of the Earth". Anne can be reached by email at anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com.
Showing 51 - 100 of 131 stories.
The depth and beauty of the heart
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Apr 19 2007 01:26AM
To embrace nature is to embrace the spirit of God, and accept our own God-given temperament -- one that rejoices in unity, delights in diversity and, no matter how large or small our contribution, flows into the world sustaining life, love and joy.
Truth through dialogue
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Apr 13 2007 02:31AM
Truth can be perceived most deeply when we are practicing it in relationship.
You can't be perfect ... or can you?
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Apr 5 2007 02:36AM
I told Mom that I believed perfection was not another word for absolute, but was a state of maturity. This maturity allows us to belong to the Beloved - to be unique in all the world, and yet to share a connection.
Love: relational, situational, evolutionary
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Mar 30 2007 02:15AM
How do I expand my perception of love? Love has been a source of chaos ever since that figurative Fall of Man.
The searching soul
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Mar 22 2007 01:09AM
I believe in the Big Picture. Some call it the Web of Life, some the Grand Design. It's something I've been searching for and finding pieces of since I was young.
Hope happens (building a Big Bang)
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Mar 15 2007 12:56AM
Hope is a space in my heart I make for others to grow within, or an emptiness that I allow inside my being that recognizes the emergence of something bigger than me.
The creativity of chaos
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Mar 1 2007 02:17AM
Chaos is not the absence of order, but the canvas of creativity in life's evolutionary flow.
In search of the golden eggs
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Feb 22 2007 02:27AM
You are responsible for your own greatness, but one star in a sky of many stars makes an amazing spectacle of light.
Tracking the unfolding drama of life
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Feb 15 2007 01:33AM
This life-giving celebration etched in the snow defines the interconnection of predator and prey, of life and death, of gratitude and offering. It is a lot like this earth literacy master's program, I thought.
Connecting hearts with play
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Feb 8 2007 01:31AM
I never realized until now how important the games we played together as children were in developing a heart connection to each other.
Education of the soul
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Feb 1 2007 02:20AM
A sharing of self, and an uncovering of self, is the most basic form of knowledge. Can we take the chance to teach based on the fundamental adage 'Know thyself'?
The sacredness of self
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Jan 25 2007 12:34AM
It is the rootedness of our thoughts and hearts that provides the vehicle to absorb another's love. And this rootedness comes from our own belief in our ability to be loved.
Beyond the door of truth
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Jan 18 2007 02:41AM
The problem is not that we don't have truth in our lives; it's being able to walk through the door, applying the truth, and face the vast expanse beyond. It is that emptiness that becomes the proving ground for our growth and development.
The shape of God
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Jan 11 2007 12:20AM
It is the emptiness of open arms filled that creates a hug. It is the freedom from fear that creates courageous possibilities.
Nurturing the unfolding of the next generation
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Dec 21 2006 12:28AM
Our actions are becoming more nurturing and unifying. This in turn will lead to changes in our homes, which are rooted in 'place,' and a change in our worldview, which is rooted in a 'participatory world,' as we watch the 'unfolding' of the next generatio
Gifts from the universe
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Dec 14 2006 12:53AM
During this time of gift giving I will always remember those challenging times, for without them I wouldn't have been able to see clearly the gifts that were given to me by the Heart of the Universe.
Our stories reflect our attitudes
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Dec 7 2006 02:33AM
We have the potential to use our stories to control and dominate creation and each other, or to rediscover a language that tells a story of the heart.
Waste, but not want
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Nov 30 2006 01:20AM
So often we have given a negative connotation to waste, forgetting that it is manure that encourages things to grow.
Like saying 'thank you' to water
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Nov 23 2006 02:39AM
How can we believe in the gifts within ourselves that the universe has given us, that are unique in all the cosmos, without that one point of reference for each person -- that I, myself, am loved for ME?
The hero's journey
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Nov 16 2006 01:43AM
Becoming the hero won't change the system; it will allow us the freedom to work within the system without being controlled by it.
Shenandoah Valley magic
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Nov 9 2006 01:07AM
In one story it took hundreds of millions of years to shape this valley. In another, the morning stars came together looking for the loveliest place to meet.
Earth's spiritual life
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Nov 2 2006 01:54AM
Now we're living in an age where our community can include those from the other side of the world. Can we, as individuals, rise to the occasion?
Sitting, staring into the Earth
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Oct 26 2006 12:37AM
"We will not serve what we do not love. And we cannot love what we do not know." (Loyal Rue)
Staying connected to Earth
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Oct 19 2006 12:47AM
In your relationship with creation, choose to act so that the act of choosing remains possible.
We are the 'awareness' of creation
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Oct 12 2006 12:45AM
Humanity has the ability to reflect on the lessons Earth's own pollution and extinction problems have taught.
I cannot criticize the rain
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Oct 5 2006 01:44AM
The rain grows ideas in my head the way it grows weeds in my garden! This night, darkness and death are only other words for light and life as the rain washes all together, and I see more clearly for the sharing.
We are the 'glue' of God's creation
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Sep 28 2006 01:23AM
Our spiritual body reflects a creative "awareness" that can "see" the interconnections of all things through love - and that can even forge new bonds, building new things. In essence, we hold the rest of creation together.
Become a sparkle of light in a difficult world
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Sep 21 2006 12:38AM
Our bodies long for food and water. Our spirits long for truth, beauty, and balance. Difficult vibrations can expose an immaturity in ourselves, that we can correct. In this way hardships help us resolve the unbalance in ourselves, and in our relationship
The colors and sounds of Earth alive!
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Sep 14 2006 01:19AM
One of my favorite sounds can only be heard when it has rained. Since we are on a hill the water whispers through the grass on its way down the slope. It's not a rush or a tinkle; it's not a gurgle or a flow. It is just a whisper of water gently sweeping
Journaling: a way to evolve
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Sep 7 2006 02:03AM
What journaling did was give me an outlet to share with others in a way that I had never believed possible before. Coupling the journal with learning about evolution made it clear to me how the patterns of nature are reflected in my own life's evolution a
Longing for you
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Aug 31 2006 12:18AM
What are your deepest longings and desires? And how do you keep these longings - surrounded by the pain and turmoil of misunderstandings, accusations and temptations - alive in the presence of the moment?
Have the patience to love and be loved
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Aug 24 2006 01:18AM
When my sisters came to me for advice, I found myself saying quite often that I've found patience to be the virtue most valued in my life's adventures. Patience, something not advertised much in this fast-paced, fast food, fast and furious culture of ours
Pay attention to the results
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Aug 10 2006 12:37AM
They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Now we're ready for the next step. The road to heaven is paved with good results.
By what can you claim to be God's child?
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Aug 3 2006 01:33AM
This fence must have been there for at least 50 years, when there were no trees, only pastureland. Now the trees have grown thick and one had been growing next to the fence for several decades. The tree had embraced that barbed wire. Now the wire runs rig
Cedars of Lebanon
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Jul 25 2006 01:45AM
Consider the creation, the environment, as a partner in something even closer than marriage. More like a part of your own body. Lebanon's famous trees symbolize what we, in our arrogance, have been doing to ruin our renewable and sustainable partners in l
Chaotic transitions punctuated by grace
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Jul 13 2006 01:22AM
Embracing suffering allows a new choice to emerge - one that is revealed in a moment of grace.
Happiness isn't always about being happy
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Jul 6 2006 02:07AM
The "conscious evolution" of our belief in salvation should not be designed by the fear of who we are not, but by the awakening to the reality of who we are.
Sing your own song
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Jun 30 2006 01:33AM
But let it be one harmony in the symphony of wholeness that creates the music of the spheres.
A sense of place
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Jun 22 2006 01:36AM
Through our stories we claim or choose our roots and our inheritance. When we take responsibility to share our stories with family and others, they become a gift that imagines the common to become sacred.
The discipline of awareness
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Jun 15 2006 01:28AM
Especially here in the United States, the majority of us have little connection to our neighbors, and practically none with the environment.
Ditching the 'poor me' thing
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Jun 8 2006 12:59AM
No doubt you're hurting, but can you transform your own suffering into compassion for others? It's harder than it sounds, but when we see sadness and difficulty, one can move from their personal perspective of it to the larger point of view.
The songs of new life
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Jun 1 2006 01:53AM
Starlings built a nest on the ledge outside my window. Their babies sing as I go about my own work, supporting my dreams with their sweet encouragement.
We're all eating from the same bowl
Column: Our Place in the Universe
May 25 2006 02:45AM
Whenever I went to visit a Gambian family, they always went out and spent their last money on a Coke for me, often at the cost of a week's pay.
And suddenly I was a schoolteacher... in Gambia
Column: Our Place in the Universe
May 17 2006 02:01AM
I went home and cried. Here I was giving God the responsibility to get me a job, and when He handed one to me on a silver platter, I didn't even notice.
Fresh-off-the-boat missionary in Africa
Column: Our Place in the Universe
May 11 2006 02:37AM
The good part was that I was so excited to be in The Gambia that my plight - the sun was setting, I had limited resources and no contacts - was lost on me. The bad part was that as soon as we docked, my situation would become obvious.
If you see a fork in the road, take it
Column: Our Place in the Universe
May 4 2006 02:30AM
Yogi Berra's famous advice applies to any generic opportunity. A closed door is not the same as a brick wall, and doors were made to be opened.
It is you that I love
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Apr 27 2006 12:44AM
"When I can see within you a beauty that is beyond this world ... When I can live and love, in this capacity, with this heart, every person ... Then, and only then, have I loved."
The unfolding cosmic spring
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Apr 20 2006 01:52AM
The cosmic energy that created new elements, atoms and molecules, expanding and bursting forth into suns and galaxies, is behind every act of love. This love that creates new universes must be what the resurrection is.
Beyond the gift of nature
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Apr 12 2006 02:22AM
We can find our gifts reflected in nature, bringing us peace and the power to move forward. The next step is to find those very gifts reflected in each other, bringing the world peace.
Pain, beauty (and a miracle) in Kenya
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Apr 6 2006 01:50AM
I could not be responsible for this man's death. "If you are going to stone him," I said angrily, "you will have to stone me as well."
Showing 51 - 100 of 131 stories.