Hummingbird Cycle Group 6 Notes

Notes and Resources
Group #6 of Seeds of Connection - Hummingbird Cycle
May 26, 2026

After every group session during a Seeds of Connection group cycle, I send out an email with notes and resources that were used or shared.  Last night, we had a fabulous group, with a goldmine of resources.  I thought I would collect them here to share with both the group members of this Hummingbird Cycle, and also with others who might be curious about what goes on in Seeds of Connection.

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Art journaling using a card as a prompt

In every group session, we draw a card from one of my oracle or tarot decks and use it as a launching point for discussion and then as a prompt for art journaling.  The deck I used yesterday is a favorite - it's called Coastal Curiosities Oracle deck, created by Lennox Rees.  We drew this card - Hidden.  One question I found particularly interesting - which side of the gate am I on?  Am I on the outside, wanting to be let in?  Or on the inside, keeping something out?

You can find the  Coastal Curiosities deck here.
You can read an interview with Lennox Rees here.
​You can find Lennox Rees on Instagram here.

Poem:  Litany by Billy Collins

You are the bread and the knife,
          The crystal goblet and the wine...
                -Jacques Crickillon


You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker,
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.

However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.

It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general's head,
but you are not even close
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.

And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.

It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.

I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.
​
I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman's tea cup.
But don't worry, I'm not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and--somehow--the wine.

---

Listen to Billy Collins read this poem here. 
​Video begins with some explanation, poem starts at about 1:55.

Poem:  radical gratitude spell​ by adrienne maree brown

​a spell to cast upon meeting a stranger, comrade or friend working for social and/or environmental justice and liberation:

you are a miracle walking
i greet you with wonder
in a world which seeks to own
your joy and your imagination
you have chosen to be free,
every day, as a practice.
i can never know
the struggles you went through to get here,
but i know you have swum upstream
and at times it has been lonely

i want you to know
i honor the choices you made in solitude
and i honor the work you have done to belong
i honor your commitment to that which is larger than yourself
and your journey
to love the particular container of life
that is you
​
you are enough
your work is enough
you are needed
your work is sacred
you are here
and i am grateful​

---

Find adrienne maree brown on Instagram here.
​Check out her books here.

A few other misc resources:

• bell hooks' framework for love from "all about love"
• Insight Timer - mindfulness and meditation app
• Rainbow Kitten Surprise - one of my fave bands to listen to lately
• Seeds of Connection playlist on Spotify