Inner Listening
There is no one thing that differentiates an individual being from the surrounding world. It took a lifetime for me to learn how to include a wide range of perceptions from attuning to stones to listening to small children with my physical, mental and spiritual lives.
The first step toward awareness beyond myself came early in childhood as I explored the stunning Alberta landscape where I was born. My parents taught me to pay attention to the natural beauty of the surrounding world by calling my attention to its beauty. In my memoir, Notes on Hunger, I’ve named this practice “The Call to Beauty.” Building on the example my parents set, on my own, I gradually realized that attuning consciously to beauty in nature could open a portal to continual growth in the everyday world as well as something beyond.
It was a slow process, becoming comfortable in the present while never leaving the mystical behind, but a sense of being part of the All provided me with extraordinary resilience. An ever-expanding resource that flows from this open well of inner listening is available here.
Notes On Hunger
A Memoir by Darlene L. Witte
Who will read this memoir?
All those broken by circumstances beyond their control; who struggle to heal from emotional loss; those who know hunger; those who know the lingering effects of deprivation; people of displaced populations; those of Scottish and Irish descent; readers who value writers such as: Hildegard von Bingen, Marion Zimmer Bradley (The Mists of Avalon); Diana Gabaldon (Outlander series); Mary Stewart (The Crystal Cave series); E. B. White (The Once and Future King) and so many others who have explored the mysteries of Celtic spirituality. All who know and love Findhorn and those who seek what’s there without knowing that’s where they want to be, or somewhere very like it in temper and substance. Those who love and want deeper connections to nature through spirit will find my words bring comfort and insight. The concept of co-creation with nature is grounded in practical information on why and how to work with herbs.
Natural Healing
My Journey into Natural Healing when I was a child growing up in Alberta I spent most of my time alone. In the absence of a mother or wise grandmother, I read books to keep myself company and to increase my knowledge base. Many of these books were classics of which were British in origin. As I read I found many flowers and herbs mentioned there that didn’t grow where I lived. I stored the names of these flowers and herbs in my memory and let them sit there in my heart as I began to dream of someday having beautiful gardens. I prayed a child’s prayers with tears many times. The manifestation of those intentions did not begin to come into the concrete world until I moved to Vermont years later, in 1993. In Vermont, when I visited garden shops I saw familiar words sometimes, and I took the plants home with me to see what would happen. I truly believe that because my desire for a garden was so deep and stayed alive inside me so long my dreams and prayers were quite potent. As the garden came to life in real time the experience was magical and healing to my mind, body and spirit. All the while I waited for the time when I could find and pull these plants into my life, I prayed with hope for the future.
Poetry and Prose by Darlene L. Witte
Publications
Educational Publications
A number of publications I wrote during my tenure as a Professor at Johnson State University are available here. They have to do with intentional pedagogy, are focused on the working classroom, and were written to help teachers support students’ language and literacy learning.
Books, Magazines etc.
Published books, magazines etc. where my writing appears are available here. These are meant for the general public.
WEB
Writings that appear on the web (including videos), poetry that engages the sacred.