April 2026 - Indoor Gathering
04/12/2026
April Message: Restoring Sacred Vision | Seeing the World Through Fresh Eyes
✧ Listen to the gathering recording here.
GATHERING MESSAGE
✧ We gathered at Atria Hall to explore one of the most quietly radical practices available to us: the practice of truly seeing. Not glancing. Not labeling. Not filing the world away under "already known," but actually looking, the way a child looks at something they have never encountered before.
We opened in stillness, grounding ourselves in a guided meditation that moved through sound, touch, and finally the inner landscape of the mind's eye. We were invited to set down - gently, without force - the weight of certainty. Not our wisdom, not our love, not our history. Just the tiredness of always having an answer. The habit of moving through the world as an expert.
We then centered ourselves in Mark Nepo's April 8th teaching from The Book of Awakening, titled "Center of the Eye." Nepo invites us to contemplate the pupil - the center of the eye - which is empty. It has no color, no content of its own. And that emptiness is precisely what allows it to receive light. That is what allows it to see. We asked ourselves: what would it mean to approach the world - a person, a moment, an ordinary cup of coffee - with a center that is clear rather than cluttered?
We might ask ourselves: what is the equivalent of that emptiness in our inner life? Nepo calls it the ‘intangible presence at the center of our soul…and says that our real ‘work is to allow this presence to in-form us.’
We drew on the wisdom of four traditions, each of them pointing to the same universal teaching:
From Christian mysticism, the workbook of A Course in Miracles offers one of the most direct invitations of all: "Above all else I want to see things differently." We reflected on how our days are filled with labeling and categorizing, sorting everything into boxes of meaning, and how exhausting that labor truly is. The lesson invites us to lay that job down, even briefly, and open ourselves to what lies behind the form.
From Zen Buddhism, Shunryu Suzuki reminds us: "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." We explored how emptiness is not a flaw but a condition of receptivity, and how the practice of Shikantaza ("just this") asks us to meet each moment without agenda.
From Sufism, Rumi asks: "Do you know why your mirror reflects nothing? Because the rust has not been scoured from its face." Sufi teachers speak of the heart as a mirror that can reflect everything, including the divine, but that becomes coated in rust through habit and the weight of what we think we already know. The practice is not replacement. It is polishing.
From Kabbalah, we learned that there are holy sparks of the divine hidden inside the shells of ordinary things, and the Kabbalistic truth that the Creator is renewing the act of creation at every single moment. To look at a tree with fresh eyes is not to see a static object. It is to witness a living event.
We then practiced Restoring Sacred Vision together, moving through a three-round gaze practice with an item from the natural world. In Round 1, we looked with as we usually do, naming and knowing. In Round 2, we passed through three inner gateways of the heart: I release the narration. I have never seen this before. This holds a whole world. In Round 3, we let the gaze go soft, and we let the object come to us.
We left the circle with the reminder that sacred vision is not a gift only some people have. It is accessible to all of us, and it can be restored with intention and a little practice.
"May you walk into your days not as an expert on the world, but as a guest in a gallery of miracles."
SPIRITUAL PRACTICES
✧ Opening Meditation (experience again in the recording here)
We opened with a layered grounding meditation designed to thin the membrane between ordinary and sacred attention. Moving through breath, sound, and touch, we were invited to feel the warmth and weight of our own hands, and to ask: what would it mean to feel this as if for the first time? We descended through a moment of setting down the weight of certainty, before being introduced to the "eye of the heart" - the inner faculty that perceives what the judging mind has already decided it knows. We concluded with a mind's eye practice: bringing an ordinary object to inner vision and resting on it the way a child looks at something they cannot yet name.
✧ The 3 Gates of Restoring Sacred Vision (experience again in the recording here - start at min 34:22)
Following the teaching, we entered a gazing practice with an item from the natural world. The practice moved through three rounds: normal looking, beginner's eyes, and finally pure receiving, guided by three gateway phrases drawn from the wisdom traditions explored in the teaching:
I release the narration. (The Buddhist gate — Silence)
I have never seen this before. (The Sufi gate — Wonder)
This holds a whole world. (The Kabbalistic gate — Interconnection)
SPIRITUAL INVITATION FOR APRIL
✧ The 3 GATES OF Restoring Sacred Vision: gaze upon something new for a few minutes a day using this practice. Notice what you’ve stopped seeing. Notice once again what has always been there.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
✧ We began with the observation that most of our lives are spent looking at things through our mental filters rather than truly seeing them.
The Reflection: What in your daily life have you stopped seeing, a person, a place, a living thing, because you have decided you already know what it is?
The Invitation: Choose one person to approach with fresh eyes this week, and journal about what unfolds.
We explored the teaching that our knowledge of a thing - its name, its function, its history - can act as a barrier to experiencing its living essence.
The Reflection: What label or category have you placed on a current situation that might be closing you off from experiencing it freshly?
Four traditions arrived at the same teaching: empty your cup, polish the mirror, look through the shell for the spark, and above all else, be willing to see things differently.
The Reflection: Which of the four traditions most surprised or moved you? What does that tell you about where your own inner work is calling you?
Sacred vision is a living practice. It requires the courage to be uncertain and the humility to be corrected by what is.
The Reflection: What is one thing you would like to see "above all else" differently, and what is one small step you can take this week toward that new seeing?
PERENNIAL WISDOM SOURCES
✧ INTERSPIRITUAL
"The Book of Awakening" by Mark Nepo | April 8th entry: "Center of the Eye."
Order from a local Rock County bookstore here.
✧ ZEN BUDDHISM
"Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Shunryu Suzuki
Order from a local Rock County bookstore here.
✧ SUFISM
Quote from Rumi
✧ KABBALAH
Teachings from Lurianic Kabbalah tradition (Rabbi Isaac Luria, 16th century)
✧ CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM
"A Course in Miracles Workbook" — Lesson 28: "Above all else I want to see things differently."
NEXT GATHERING:
APRIL NATURE GATHERING - April Message: Restoring Sacred Vision: Seeing the World Through Fresh Eyes
Sunday, April 26th, 10am-Noon
Location: Rock River Heritage Park
Map link: 5801 N River Rd, Janesville, WI 53545
What to know/how to prepare:
Wear shoes for walking and layered clothing for the weather
Suggested Donation: $10
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SUMMER SOLSTICE & 1-YEAR ANNIVERSARY GATHERING
Saturday, June 20th: 5-9 PM
REGISTER HERE
Heart-Led Works Announcements: We are partnering with Ice Age Trail Alliance in Quarter 2 to help them clean up Rock County Trails.
First Volunteer Event: May 2nd from 9 am - Noon at Palmer Park in Janesville. Sign up here.
StoryStewards Committee: A new team is forming to help share the story of Ancient Hearts beyond the gathering space. Roles include photography/video, editing, social media design, and posting. Send an email to contact@ancienthearts.org if you are interested in volunteering.
Our Community Support Request form is LIVE on the website, under the Giving Back tab here. This is a gentle way to let the Ancient Hearts community know that you’re navigating a difficult time or could use some extra support right now.
Founding Members: If this is the community you’ve been seeking and you want to help sustain us, we invite you to consider becoming a Founding Member in 2026. We hope to welcome 30 Founding Members into ourFounding Circlethis year. Learn more and reach out to contact@ancienthearts.org with any questions you have.
MONTHLY COMMUNITY EVENT: One Heart: Sacred Listening Circles
Date/Time: Thurs., 4/23, 5:30 - 7:00 pm
Location: Atria Hall | 14 W Fulton St., Edgerton
Register here: https://givebutter.com/1heart
Each of us has a unique story to tell, and a deep longing for that story to be seen and heard. Yet, too often, we keep our truths to ourselves, missing the chance to share our most authentic selves.
One Heart: Sacred Listening Circles were created to bring these stories into the light. A form of group spiritual companionship, these monthly circles are a space to practice “walking each other home,” as Ram Dass once shared. Join us for an opportunity for deep connection and soulful companionship on your spiritual path.
🪶 Facilitator: Jen Carew, Certified Spiritual Director | Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher | Listening Circle Facilitator
🪶 Frequency: One Heart Circles will be offered once a month, and you may attend every month or attend when you can.
🪶 Open Seats: Minimum registration is 6 people. Maximum registration is 18 people.
🪶 Location: Atria Hall | 14 S. Fulton Street, Edgerton. Map link.
Registration*: Pre-registration is required and closes at 9 am on the day of the event. Please donate between $5 - 20 (pay what you can) to register and reserve your spot. 100% of your donation goes to sustaining Ancient Hearts Collective. *Donations are non-refundable. Thanks to Karla at Atria Hall, 100% of your donation will support Ancient Hearts Collective.
