Cardinal Speaks

Songs and Musings

Cardinal Speaks is passionate about spirituality, permaculture, art, natural health, and true wellbeing for the earth and all of its inhabitants. A violence and trauma survivor, Cardinal Speaks shines light into some of the dark places to reflect what lives in the corners of human experience.

  • Neatly Labeled Boxes

    I’m packing your thingsI’m packing your things in neatly labeled boxesAll these things That have cluttered a lifeThe life of an extraFork in a drawerConsumingClosets crammed with all the hats you wearShining boldlyImportantlyTakingAll the spaceLeaving me a sliver Of timeOf airSliver of lightShining through a closed window shadeI’m packing your things in neatly labeled boxesAssholePictures…

  • Unwelcome Guests

    It was a day that had been filled with strange events. While at work, I received an alarming message on my cell phone from an old email account that I had long ago closed. The notification was from someone who wished me harm. I asked a colleague if he could check and somehow see my…

  • The Year of the Snake

    Snakes get a bad rap. I think it is because they are misunderstood, but they have a lot of wisdom to share. A number of years ago, I went to the Snake Year Teachings at a Buddhist monastery in northern India. The teachings, experiences and people I met there were transformative. The yogi Nagarjuna entrusted…

  • Mitakuye Oyasin

    The Anishinaabe and Ojibwee people have been kind to me. They have invited me into spaces where I was able to glimpse what is bigger than my small existence. While attending my first sweat lodge, I learned the words “mitakuye oyasin,” spoken at the end of each of our prayers. I was told that it…

  • Go Into the Beauty

    Shortly after I moved to a beautiful place to start a new life after tragedy, my spiritual teacher, Drupon, died. I hadn’t seen him since before the pandemic, and when I heard the news of his death, it felt like the ground beneath me was removed. He had been my teacher for over 20 years.…

  • Loss and Transformation

    I am terrified of loss. It seems odd to me since I have experienced a lot of loss in my life, and because it is part of the human experience. I have heard that when trees die, there is sadness in the forest, but the sadness is magnified when the dead tree’s trunk is removed.…

  • Feral

    I am not for everyoneBut maybe I am for youBecause you are hereAnd I am hereLetting you see meI am wild!I cannot promise that I will beQuietCompliantOr convenientI will not be what you want me to beBut I will share with you perspectives that you may not have seen beforeI will tell you about the…

  • Plastic World

    I was recently informed by a naturopath that I have a build-up of plastics and plasticizers in my body. While he is an amazing practitioner and has a process to help with detoxing, it has me astonished about how a body and mind made for a natural world can be so constantly bombarded by all…

  • Labradorite

    My spiritual teacher once told me that there are cultures that revere peacocks, because peacocks can eat poison without experiencing harm. Instead, they transform it into their beautiful feathers. There are times when I’ve wished that I could be a peacock. In a recent phase of my life, the world was not safe for me.…

  • My Father’s Obituary

    My father died at the end of October in 2024. He was homeless and penniless at the time of his death, and he was living with his drug addicted ex-wife at the home of one of her friends. He did not accept help from his friends or family but insisted on his own way, choosing…