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Spirit Matters: ‘Wonder Roam,’ a whimsically soulful spiritual practice · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Spirit Matters. Wonder Rome a whimsically soulful spiritual practice written
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  Speaker 1: by Jerlyn Zavada Novak and Spirit Matters. This article is
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  Speaker 1: being read by an automated voice brought to you by Everlett.
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  Speaker 1: This week, I realize wonderlust with an O is the
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  Speaker 1: driving force in my life. Whereas the more familiar wanderlust
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  Speaker 1: describes a hunger for travel and new experiences, those with
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  Speaker 1: wonderlust crave a sense of awe and wonder at the
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  Speaker 1: discovery of new things. Wonderlust can be practiced anywhere, even
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  Speaker 1: in our own backyards. By nurturing my wonder lust, I
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  Speaker 1: hold a mirror to my soul and allow my soul
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  Speaker 1: to reveal the mysterious and varied landscapes within. Wonderlust takes
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  Speaker 1: me into my inner and outer worlds with a posture
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  Speaker 1: of gentle receptivity and teaches me to notice what sparks
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  Speaker 1: my curiosity and interest. It allows me to travel into
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  Speaker 1: these worlds without an agenda or timeline, and let what
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  Speaker 1: I find speak to me about who I am or
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  Speaker 1: what I need at this moment in time. The practice
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  Speaker 1: of wonder lust softens rigidity and helps me remain open
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  Speaker 1: to changes of plans. The most basic way I appease
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  Speaker 1: my wonder lust is to go for a drive without
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  Speaker 1: a destination and allow my intuition to guide me where
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  Speaker 1: to go. It is a simple enchanting way to observe
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  Speaker 1: the four seasons as the landscapes change. This practice not
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  Speaker 1: only introduces me to sites before unseen, but it also
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  Speaker 1: has a way of soothing my inner child in ways
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  Speaker 1: beyond words. These drives often bring clarity to whatever is
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  Speaker 1: going on in my life. When I lived in Bloomington Normal,
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  Speaker 1: I practiced what I now call wonder rome at the
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  Speaker 1: mall and the bookstore. One of my favorite places to
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  Speaker 1: practice wonder rome was at Burgner's Department store. I went
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  Speaker 1: there on slow evenings and allowed myself to wander without
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  Speaker 1: looking for anything in particular. The housewares and bedding departments
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  Speaker 1: were particularly rich places for me to discover patterns and
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  Speaker 1: items that attracted me, and of course, the Christmas tree
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  Speaker 1: displays during the holidays offered a feast for my senses.
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  Speaker 1: At Barnes and Noble, I roamed the stacks, not looking
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  Speaker 1: for any particular book, but waiting for the book I
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  Speaker 1: needed to pick me. One of the most memorable times
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  Speaker 1: this happened. I walked slowly looking at the titles on
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  Speaker 1: the spines of books, when one with a soothing blue cover,
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  Speaker 1: called The Wonders of Solitude by Dale Silwok, seemed to
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  Speaker 1: jump off the shelf into my hands. At that moment
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  Speaker 1: in my life, this book was a exactly what I needed,
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  Speaker 1: and for quite a while I took it with me
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  Speaker 1: wherever I went. Salwok's collection of quotes about the healing
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  Speaker 1: properties of silence and solitude not only nourished my soul
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  Speaker 1: but gave me the courage to claim these practices as
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  Speaker 1: a countercultural necessity in a world that cringes at the
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  Speaker 1: thought of thirty seconds of uninterrupted quiet. Wonder Rome is
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  Speaker 1: more than just a spiritual practice. It describes my creative
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  Speaker 1: tendency to whimsical and playful elements, as well as an
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  Speaker 1: awareness of the beauty and oneness of creation. Much of
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  Speaker 1: what I make or design incorporates this sense of wonder, whimsy,
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  Speaker 1: and gentle beauty into it. In a world starving for
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  Speaker 1: authentic incarnational experiences, wonder Rome is perennial spiritual medicine. I
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  Speaker 1: have found that I cannot live without a sense of
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  Speaker 1: wonder lust. When I do I feel myself shriveling inside
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  Speaker 1: and I no longer recognize myself. It is foundational for
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  Speaker 1: my well being. Spirit Matters is a weekly column by
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  Speaker 1: Jeralins of Aado Novak that examines experiences common to the
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  Speaker 1: human spirit. Contact her at Jzblue three three at yahoo
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  Speaker 1: dot com.