Sophia in Action

We planned a journey to Turkey ten years ago, just after leaving my career to found The Sophia Institute.  But, 911 intervened and with all we’ve been doing to advance TSI, we’ve just made the pilgrimage. It was extraordinary!

Turkey-- the land where Constantine built the Hagia Sophia in the 3^rd century, where Artemis, the Great Mother, was reverenced at Ephesus and her temple there larger than the Parthenon, where Mary sought refuge and made home for herself just after the death of Christ, where the mystic desert dwellers made underground cities, churches, and homes in the caves in beautiful

We are living in a profound moment in human history, when more and more women are awakening to their full potential, committed to co-creating a much more conscious world, to live and lead with heart and wisdom.

It’s a time of great evolutionary shift, what Joanna Macy calls, the Great Turning, a time when the reconciliation with the Feminine is necessary to bring about the transformation the world needs, to call forth a heart-centered wisdom, innate in all of us, an emergent consciousness, centered on wholeness and oneness.

In the ancient Greek, Sophia means Divine Wisdom and is personified in

"I have never considered myself a creative person.  Strategic, yes. Intelligent, yes.  But creative?  No way.  So I knew Terry's class was going to be a stretch.  I also felt nervous about joining a class with real artists.  Through Terry’s gentle guidance, expectations for producing something "good" were eliminated up front.  We created without conscious intent, using drawing and collage -- and then examined what emerged.  It was fun; surprising, an insightful.  I plan to make this practice a part of my life; for me, it opened doors to my psyche and allowed me to tap into my creative flow."

Larry Monteith, professional photographer, is the quiet friendly presence at the back of the room at almost every Sophia Institute event, ensconced behind microphones and video equipment. Larry is a most devoted volunteer. “To me this is like tithing,” he explains. “I’d love to be one of those people who hand out $100,000 checks, but I can’t, so I do things that need to be done. Sophia brings a wonderful variety of teachers who touch on the major issues of our time – war, environment, hunger, and the need for changing the human heart.