Big Stone House

11/15/2024

If you are missing the Big Stone House, join Angie and Peter for this online event: two hours of great teachings and practices to feed the mind, heart, and soul…and along the way conjure up things like joy, hope, and connection. Click the link on the homepage for more info or to register.

08/24/2024

September is about a week away, y’all. For many of you, that means it won’t be long before kids are back in school, trees are speckled red and orange, and folks are swaddled in sweaters. At our house, college football will soon be on the TV on Saturday mornings, too, and pies will once again be found on the countertop, the smell of cinnamon in the air.

Also at our house: the air conditioner will still be running, the kids in the neighborhood will be on their second month of school, and the only orange on the trees will be the fruity kind.

You see, Peter and I closed the Big Stone House chapter of life and moved to the desert southwest a few months ago. Before closing the doors on the moving truck, we had a couple hundred people over for pie, hugs, and stories. What a day it was. What a life it’s been.

And now? A new chapter. Starting in September, you’ll find me on Substack writing on, pointing out and giving attention to things like grace and grief and Good-with-a-capital-G. This space will probably feel familiar to those of you who have been a part of The Big Stone House—this work isn’t new, after all. I’ve been talking about *The Bigger Picture (and our place in it) for decades now. It’s just a new setting, that’s all.

I’m grateful for all of the life and stories we’ve shared so far. I look forward to seeing what this next chapter brings. Hope to see you there.

*the name of the Substack column, BTW, is The Bigger Picture. It’s the same title as my old column in The Humm…why mess with a good title? ❤️.

03/02/2024

There's a Sitting on Sundays session starting March 3 (which, BTW, is tomorrow!). This session of Sits wasn't originally on the Big Stone House schedule; however, after a glorious Winter session a few people wanted to carry on for a few more weeks to walk through what's left of Lent together.

Side note: the teachings and traditions of Lent (as practiced at Big Stone House) are good-for-the-soul and good-for-the-world no matter your religious/spiritual background.

That's all to say: we begin tomorrow. And you are invited to join in.

One hour. Once a week (Sundays, March 3, 7, 14 and 21).

Online.

Read more about what this practice is, why it matters, and how you can register: www.bigstonehouse.ca

02/11/2024

‘B’ is the basis for the current session of Sitting on Sundays. So far we’ve practiced breathing a little deeper, shared our befuddlement about things like belonging and belief, and have become a community of sorts where blessing isn’t just a nice idea but something we practice so that we might bring a bit more of that kind of thing into the world on any given day. It’s a beautiful thing, these Sits. Todays ‘b’ word is “begin”—or, more likely, “begin again.” We are revisiting the basic tenet of pretty much every spiritual tradition: what it is to be love and loved. Hint: it’s more than the gush and mush of Valentines Day. Wherever you are in the world, however you “be” today, here’s hoping (and a blessing) that you are reminded in some kind of way just how much you are loved…and may you pay that love forward, y’all. It matters. ❤️.

02/07/2024

Blue. 💙.

02/03/2024

❤️

01/24/2024

A new session of Sitting on Sundays started last Sunday. For six weeks, a group of fine folks from all over will be getting together on the screen (yes, it’s a virtual experience) to pause for a bit and pay attention to things like belonging, becoming, beauty, the blahs, blessing…it’s all about the B this session. Or, rather, it’s all about “B-ing” human—what that means, why it matters, and how we can tend to it wherever we are, whatever we are doing. It’s good stuff y’all. It’s not too late to join in, either—there are five weeks left in this series and still a few spots available. Read more on the website. And if it sounds like something your soul could use? We’ll see you across the screen this Sunday.

01/23/2024

01/18/2024

It sounds so dry: “An Intro to the Enneagram.” Giving classes a title is challenging—at least it is for us. We have a tendency to be catchy (as in “Sitting on Sunday”) or a bit bland, which might be the case here. This one is full of practical information, for sure. But it’s far from bland or boring. You’ll laugh. You’ll sigh. And your heart might just grow two sizes—that’s not uncommon, really. An Intro to the Enneagram is happening this Saturday. Online. 10a to Noon (Eastern). There’s still a couple of spots available, so if a little light would be good for your soul, join us. More info on the website.

01/11/2024

It's a new year. It's a new five years, too. Here's the latest from Big Stone House.

A few months back I mentioned to y’all that Big Stone House was turning five. Peter and I got the keys to this big, storied stone house five years ago last August…so that was technically our five year anniversary, I suppose. It wasn’t until January 26, 2019, though, that we held our first clas...

01/08/2024

Five years ago this month: the paint was fresh, the carpet and chairs new, the shelves empty, the people (including us) excited for our first class at Big Stone House—an Introduction to the Enneagram.

To mark this milestone moment, we are offering this class again…but online this time! For two hours you’ll learn (or remember) a bit of the what, why and how of the Enneagram in ways that’ll make you smile and sigh and see yourself (and the people around you) with fresh eyes. It’s good stuff, y’all.

10a to Noon on Saturday, January 20. Questions? Find more info on the website or drop a note.

01/04/2024

“Infrared satellite imagery, optical telescopes, and the Hubbell space telescope bring vastness within our visual sphere. Electron microscopes let us wander the remote universe of our own cells. But at the middle scale, that of the unaided eye, our senses seem to be strangely dulled. With sophisticated technology, we strive to see what is beyond us, but are often blind to the myriad sparkling facets that lie so close at hand. We thing we’re seeing when we’ve only scratched the surface. Our acuity at this middle scale seems diminished, not by any failing of the eyes, but by the willingness of the mind. Has the power of our devices led us to distrust our unaided eyes? Or have we become dismissive of what takes no technology but only time and patience to perceive? Attentiveness alone can rival the most powerful magnifying lens.” (Robin Wall Kimmerer in ‘Gathering Moss’).