Sophia's Portico

08/02/2025

8/6 & 8/20 🪘Drum Circle🪘

08/02/2025

8/7 & 8/21
🪷Zen Discussion Group 🪷

08/01/2025

The word "Lammas" comes from the Old English phrase hlāfmæsse, which translates to "loaf mass.”

The eve of July 31st through August 7th in the northern hemisphere ushers in the time of Lughnasadh, a first-harvest festival rooted in ancient Gaelic culture.

Pronounced as LOO-nuh-suh, this festival of first fruits, was noted in early Irish literature, yet is likely based on harvest ceremonies far older than written word. “Lughnasadh” means “Assembly of Lugh,” and is also the Irish name for the month of August.

In Britain, after the coming of Christianity, the first loaf of bread made from the first cutting of grain was taken to church to be blessed and this harvest holi-day was known as “Lammas” or “Loaf-mas,” the mass for the loaves.

Similar harvest celebrations have been kept in cultures all over the world, a unifying realization.

Lughnasadh is still observed in Ireland, Scotland, on the Isle of Man, and among those interested in earth-based spirituality and cyclical living.

Central to this first fruits festival, are the triple faced god/king, Lugh, who, in a spiritual sense, embodies the life cycle of the grain, from planting to harvest — and his foster-mother, the goddess/queen/earth mother, Tailtiu (pronounced as TAL-choo), who, through her work to clear and plant the land, kept her people from hunger.

This is a time to pause amidst life’s labors, to be mindful of the earth’s great bounty, to tend and harvest with care, and to savor with gratitude and rejoicing.

~ Rebekah Myers
copyright © by Rebekah Myers, 7/31/2022
Sacred Sisters Full Moon Circle

Art: Andrea Redmond
Cailleach Moon Cottage

Note: The word "Lammas" comes from the Old English phrase hlāfmæsse, which translates to "loaf mass.”

‼️FEED the STARVING in GAZA‼️

07/28/2025

"The simple act of moving through natural spaces restores balance to our nervous system, slows the racing of our thoughts, and awakens a sense of calm we often forget exists within us."

Walking in nature has a profound therapeutic effect on both our minds and our bodies. With each step along a forest path or beside a flowing stream, the weight of our worries begins to lift. The simple act of moving through natural spaces restores balance to our nervous system, slows the racing of our thoughts, and awakens a sense of calm we often forget exists within us.

The rhythm of our footsteps syncs with the heartbeat of the earth, grounding us in the present moment. Our lungs fill with pure air, our eyes drink in the gentle greens and blues, and our bodies, tense from the demands of daily life, begin to soften.

In nature, we do not simply walk, we are quietly healed, renewed, and reminded that we are part of something larger, something endlessly nurturing and alive.

~ ' Walking: A Path to Inner Peace' by The Garden Of Pensiveness

✍️ Mary Anne Byrne

~ Image Unknown via Pinterest

07/27/2025

8/2 🧘🏽‍♀️Meditation Group🧘🏽‍♀️

07/19/2025

"Be unpolished, be vibrant,
be gloriously you."

Embrace your wild, weird, extraordinary self.
You were never meant to blend in,
to walk quietly through life just to make others comfortable.
You are not here to dim your light,
tame your spirit,
or conform to a mold that was never made for you.

You were born to stand out.
To shake things up.
To carry the kind of magic that only you possess.

Your quirks are not flaws,
they are fingerprints of your originality.
Your dreams, no matter how big or strange,
are whispers from your soul calling you home.

So laugh loudly.
Dance awkwardly.
Love fiercely.
Cry when you need to.

Be unpolished, be vibrant,
be gloriously you.

The world doesn’t need more perfection,
it needs more passion, more realness,
more people brave enough to be fully themselves.

Let them call you too much.
Too emotional.
Too different.
Let them misunderstand you.

Because you weren’t made for their comfort,
you were made for impact.

You are a wildfire, not a candle.
A revolution, not a replica.

Let your presence be a poem,
your journey an anthem,
your life a masterpiece of unapologetic truth.

Stay wild. Stay weird. Stay wonderfully, untouchably, you.

~ 'Unapologetically You' by Spirit of a Hippie

✍️ Mary Anne Byrne

~ Art Unknown via Pinterest

07/17/2025

SESSION #2: 7/27 1-4pm
🌳WHISPERS FROM THE EARTH- An Experience in Forest Bathing🌳

🌿 Sunday, July 27 @ 1–4 PM
Sophia’s Portico
2330 Beacon Street Ste 109
Ft Wayne, IN 46805

You are invited even if you could not make it to the first session.

Cost per session $20 Cash-Check-PayPal

PRE-REGISTER -
EMAIL: kuanyin011@frontier.com
OR
CALL: 260-482-7402

🌳Forest Therapy is about relationships and in the first session participants were invited to slow down and notice the sights, sounds and feelings of being in nature on a beautiful breezy day in summer.

But what if you need a way to calm your mind and body and can’t get out in the forest.

In the second Whispers from the Earth session, I will invite you to find nature within your home and in your body. Come join me for a journey into Nature that you have not experienced before.

👩🏽‍🎨Ann Beeching’s life includes being an Artist of Sacred Animals, an Interior Designer and professor at Purdue University Fort Wayne, a study of the spirit world, including the spiritual beliefs and art of ancient and modern Maya of Central America.

Last year, she completed a 6-month training course as a Forest Therapy Guide and is certified with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.

🌳The Forest is the Therapist
The guide opens the door.🚪

🌟NEW PROGRAM for JULY!🌟
🌳WHISPERS FROM THE EARTH- An Experience in Forest Bathing🌳

🌿 Sunday, July 13 | 1–4 PM - Lakeside Park – Meet under the big Sycamore by the lake.

🌿 Sunday, July 27 | 1–4 PM - at Sophia’s Portico

Cost per session $20 Cash-Check-PayPal

PRE-REGISTER -
EMAIL: kuanyin011@frontier.com
OR
CALL: 260-482-7402

📜A Note from Ann:
In 2024 I gave myself a gift of a 6-month intensive course in Shinrin Yoku, the Japanese practice of Forest Bathing, a gentle exploration of opening the senses to the experience of Being Nature. I had always loved walking in the forest, but this opened a door into letting go of the separation of being a steward of nature - to being a Being of the Earth nurtured and supported within her realm. The forest began to whisper to my spirit and senses in ways I could not have imagined, opening a calm and healing presence that is changing my world view and supporting my quality of life.

👩🏽‍🎨Ann Beeching’s life includes being an Artist of Sacred Animals, an Interior Designer and professor at Purdue University Fort Wayne, a study of the spirit world, including the spiritual beliefs and art of ancient and modern Maya of Central America.

Last year, she completed a 6-month training course as a Forest Therapy Guide and is certified with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.

🌳The Forest is the Therapist
The guide opens the door.🚪

07/14/2025

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Lammas Ritual (The First Harvest)

When: Friday, August 1, 2025 at 7pm

Where: Beacon Heights Church Of The Brethren
2810 Beacon Street
Fort Wayne, IN 46805

Bring A Fruit Of The First Harvest to decorate the Altar!!

Also, In Gratitude for the Abundant Harvest, and with a sharing spirit, we will be collecting NON PERISHABLE items to donate to Beacon Heights FOOD BANK. Please bring a canned or boxed food item, if you wish you donate 🙏🏽

07/11/2025

♑🌕"This Full Moon is urging us to achieve goals that have been created but not completed" 🌕♑

We are welcoming a Capricorn Full Moon. Capricorn persuades us to consider our sense of duty and responsibilities along public and personal lines. We need to access any changes that may be needed for our personal and work-related lives. This Full Moon is urging us to achieve goals that have been created but not completed. Grandmother Moon’s influence isn’t just for humans. She affects tides, animal behavior and even plant growth