Cheryl Marlene 
Fear comes into our lives in many ways through body, mind, heart, and soul. It can be a sudden motion catching you off guard or something that festers and grows. Release doesn’t come through denial. You can’t ignore to banish its presence in your life. Instead, the journey of release is to look at what …
I am Cheryl Marlene! Sometimes the simple shifts in life bring the most profound change. This was the case for me with my name. During divorce, it was the huge task of shifting all my published books into a new name which held me back from a name change. But as time wore on, I …
Life can be so chaotic, pulling in multiple directions at once, pushing to find many places to stand and experience. Between the push and the pull is the point to bring awareness. Instead of blindly reacting to push or to pull, find the place of balance in your heart. In this moment is the opportunity …
There are moments when the feeling of being alone reaches down into the tail end of my spine with a soreness of too much exertion. I take a long, slow, deep breath to calm my BEing. But before I can respond the sensation hits my heart and single tears trace paths down my cheeks.
Defiance at the Crossroads describes the roadblock I met in wanting to climb a mountain. One word: Construction. After four months of training, hiking, sweating, hurting and learning towards one goal, the journey up Mt. Defiance came to an abrupt halt. Delayed construction at the trail head reversed the Oregon Department of Transportation’s decision to …
She pauses in the stillness of spiritual space between the energetic flow of in and out. Finding that same peace in physical space
Excerpt: My Edges, I am finding, are useful in defining boundaries, for clarity and depth. I am learning to open to the experience of life at the edge.
Brick Wall is a bit of rant about the lunacy of dating — if I’m honest. I try to be honest with myself and sometimes I gotta say it out loud to make it real.
Soulmates are more than romantic connection — there are two different types: transformational and transmutational.
Abandonment is the energetic response to feeling emotionally and/or physically left. The paradox is that abandonment usually comes because honest energy flow never truly showed up in the relationship and the absence of honesty was never challenged. The feeling of being abandoned is more a result of a string of actions rather than one primary …
Open Door: every now and then my muse pushes me poetically — much as what happened when I penned this piece.
Often when we think of asking for divine assistance, we focus on what we want to ask FOR. In doing so, we can close down our ability to open, allow and receive. To get beyond FOR, the challenge is to turn attention to the larger context of ASK. When seeking divine assistance, Ask to …
Hiking is Heaven! The beginning, somewhat at odds with the rest of the day, is a concrete parking structure, third floor on the left. We all assemble with excited anticipation. A few known to each other but mostly all strangers, newly assembled with the goal of enjoying a hike. For me, I have joined other …
Let go came the guidance. Though standing in the middle of yoga, the words felt more like admonishment. Plus, how? I am in the middle of a posture, trying desperately to hold the form, straining muscle, holding in my tummy. What exactly do I let go while remaining in this form?
When I learned to read at 6 years old, my proud grandparents celebrated my newly acquired skill by giving me my very own red leather Bible. A Christmas gift offered with a reverence and a respect that I had already learned from both of them. They were so delighted with me and their offering brought me into a circle of knowledge and spiritual connection that they had both known their entire lives. I treasured this gift, willingly shared from the depths of their hearts.
When men are pigs, what choice do women have? There are many choices including oinking back. For me, I know that often my choice has been to let go of myself so that I can keep some semblance of a man/pig in my life and doing so without acknowledging or confronting the lousy choice I just made for me.
God to My Goddess is one of a series of poems that I have written about sacred relationship. There is a give and take which is important within authentic connection between lovers. We anticipate our best at the same time we consider our worth and our ability to show up as the partner we hope is desired and enjoyed.
Your Bags Came Packed is a poem I wrote when I thought about what would happen when someone showed up at my door with bags filled with possibilities.
The holding still while staying open is incredibly difficult. I wake to feel kisses on the back of my neck and the warm breath of Him. But this is a Him that has not yet physically appeared in my life.
Cross human nature with Mother Nature and the depth of life experience is intensified. When I touch the earth, her deep soul reaches into my body filling my cells, illuminating my being. When I breathe the forest or feel the ocean’s mist, connection is established which reflects to me my entire experience of stepping out …