David-An Act of Defiance
I love traveling. I would travel anywhere. This particular trip developed from a conversation I was having with some colleagues of mine. I was working in a lab at NYU, and there was a Friday happy hour that I would go to every week. For whatever reason, I wound up hanging out with all the […]
Charlie-Walking the Camino with Shalom
My name is Charlie Hammerslough. I’ve been coming to Shalom Mountain since June 9, 2011. In the winter of 2019, I walked the last seventy miles of the Camino de Santiago. I went alone. I had no question to answer, and when I began, I couldn’t name a purpose. Looking By late 2019, I was […]
Barb-All of You is Welcome Here
What’s Cooking? What’s cooking? That’s how the mat trips always began. What’s cooking? When I think about my Shalom story, I have to start with Robert Close. Robert was my minister, and we had this amazing Sunday school class that he was often leading like it was a Shalom retreat. There were a whole bunch […]
Kori-Coming Home to Love. Again and Again
Coming to Shalom I first came to Shalom when I was twenty-two years old. My uncle Doug had gone first, and when he came home, he called me. He was so excited. He kept talking about this place and these people, and he said they reminded him of me. I remember thinking he sounded almost […]
Patsy Wheatley — 90
A Gullible Story My name is Patsy Wheatley, and this is what I like to call a gullible story—one of those stories where people believe something that, when you really stop and think about it, doesn’t quite make sense. But at the time, everyone just goes along with it. My husband and I were traveling […]
Debbie Myers: A Story About Respect
Introduction My name is Debbie Myers. I’m also an evangelist. My title is Evangelist Virtuous Debbie Myers. I am a member of the Atlah Worldwide Ministries Church. We’re located in Manhattan. I said I would talk about respect because sometimes people want respect, but they don’t give it. Growing Up and Early Lessons I’m 68 […]
Carol-Trust the Unfolding
The Beginning I first came to Shalom in 1977. My therapist suggested a retreat at Kirkridge led by protégés of Jerry and Elizabeth, and something in me responded immediately. At the time, my life was unraveling. My husband and I were in the painful process of divorcing. Looking back, “painful” hardly seems like a strong […]
The Rest of the Story
The Rest of the Story When I was growing up, my parents loved listening to The Paul Harvey Show on the radio. One of his most popular segments was called And Now You Know… Each story would begin with a familiar event, person, or commonly accepted belief. Then Harvey would reveal little-known details, unexpected twists, […]
The Smallwood Armadillo
Armadillo Medicine Recently, armadillo medicine was introduced to me when I pulled the card from an oracle deck that I use for guidance. An armadillo wears its armor on its back. Its protection is not something it carries; it is part of its body. Its boundaries of safety are woven into its very being. This […]
What the Painting Awakened
The Painting I first encountered The Meeting on the Turret Stairs while scrolling through Facebook. Something about it stopped me. I couldn’t have told you why at first. I only knew I felt something. Longing. I felt it in my body and in my soul. The painting spoke to me. It drew me in. I […]