Your Attention is the New Prayer
[tl;dr] Enroll today in the Online Advent Calender - Mary, Mother of Light
⫸ 4 weeks of short daily teachings in a digital Advent calendar format
⫸ In-depth exploratio of 26 modern and ancient icons of Mary
⫸ Modern poems, writings, and literary depictions of Mother Mary
⫸ A 30-minute call with Rev. Cindy to explore your Advent experience
⫸ 3 one-hour teachings by Rev. Cindy, Mary Olivar of The Awoken Child and Hanna Williams of GracePilled
⫸ Journal prompts to explore your inner relationship with Mary
⫸ Everything recorded online for self-pacing
$129 for lifetime access
In case you haven’t heard, we’re in a crisis of stolen attention.
This is like, old news, but it’s having big effects right now. Or rather, the culmination of stolen attention came to pretty gruesome fulfillment on January 20th this year.
There are a lot of reasons we have the president we have. One of the big ones is the cresting wave of people whose attention has been devoted to rage-bait rhetoric spoon fed through social media.
I’m not just talking conservatives. My own liberal-to-the-moon-and-back attention has been stolen almost daily for the past 5 years, if not more.
One minute I’m in my yard marvelling at a magpie squabbling with a blue jay while sparrows hang updside down on sunflowers while green mountain bees buzz by.
Next thing I know 4 hours are gone and I’m anxiously hunched over a phone inflamed about what some politician said at a rally in another country. Magpie and sparrow acrobat long gone.
The ancient masters say attention is everything.
The tech overlords know this is true and we’re all well aware that everything on our screens is actually designed to be chemically addictive to our attention. Like, for real.
But as my peers in recovery say, “Stay in the solution.” I could spend hours and probably every newsletter I would ever write going down the rabbit hole of the attention deficit economy.
But today I would much rather just heal my attention.
At the end of this long and horrible year full of very scary things that I want to give all my attention to, I’m going to actually do the opposite.
Advent is near and I’m going to turn all of my focus to that holy tradition that has captivated the world’s attention for millenia. Here are 10 things I love about Advent, Mother Mary, and the prayerful time before her famous son appeared.
1. Advent candles are a screen detox. Advent is all about lighting sweet little candles in rebellion to the infinite scroll. The glow of fire has been holding our attention at least 800,000 years longer than ping notifications.
2. Mary teaches us how to pause. When the angel appeared, Mary didn’t react. She didn’t even respond. She pondered. She breathed. She listened to the voice of Spirit within. Advent invites us into holy stillness in a world that demands constant volatile reaction.
3. The dark is luminous and clarifying. Us diurnal creatures love to be busy in the light and avoid the dark. But Advent teaches us to rest in the deepening night and let the mystery work. Even Mary didn’t rush the timing but waited for the star to appear.
4. Advent is a practice of sacred single-tasking. You light one candle. You say one prayer. You take one deep breath. You don’t multitask enlightenment. Advent retrains our nervous system to enjoy simplicity — a radical act in a world addicted to distraction.
5. There’s chocolate involved! While lent is about giving up the sweet stuff, Advent feels like the sweetest treat. Mother Mary teaches us that devotion can be delicious — that holiness and sweetness aren’t opposites.
6. The Advent scripture shows us the power of focus. The Infancy Gospel of James which we’ll be using shows Mary as a master of presence. She weaves the Temple veil thread by thread from a place of command and presence.
7. It’s a love affair with slowness. Advent whispers, “You can’t binge-watch enlightenment.” Advent arrives one prayer, one teaching, one breath at a time — the same way Mary carried the Christ Light within her.
8. The human brain loves ritual. It calms the mind and awakens intuition. Mary’s whole life and consciousness was ritual embodied. she shows us how to turn ordinary moments into portals of grace.
9. It’s devotion that doesn’t demand belief. The sacred heart of Advent is older than any religion. It gives us archetypal medicine for anyone longing to remember how to listen, receive, and create from love.
10. Attention is the new prayer. In this global cacophany, the purest devotion is presence itself. Advent teaches us to reclaim our stolen attention, light a flame, and say yes to Spirit dwelling within. Mary is our guide - sovereign, powerful, and fully awake to the miracle of now.
NOVEMBER MONTHLY SPECIAL: FOOD ISSUES
Holiday season is coming up which for many of us means holiday meals, starting with all the Halloween candy. Our relationship with food can be so complex, especially when you mix in childhood family stories (December’s Monthly Special!).
Book the Monthly Special to clear up any troubling stories about food, eating, or dieting and get reconnected to your body’s natural wisdom around nourishment.
$50 for 30 minutes, no limit on uses
ADVENT 2025 - MARY, MOTHER OF LIGHT
Digital Advent Calendar
WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?
⫸ Ministers, healers, and teachers who want to integrate Mary’s mysticism into their own work
⫸ Interfaith seekers who honor Jesus and Mary as archetypes of awakening
⫸ Those with a personal connection to Mother Mary wishing to explore her practices of spiritual mastery
⫸ Artists, poets, and all creatives who want to conect with Mary’s divine image (lots of art included!)
⫸ Students of apocryphal texts curious about the hidden gospels and early Christian mysticism
⫸ Anyone seeking a contemplative and heart-centered way through the Advent season
⫸ Spiritual practitioners interested in manifesting, divine feminine embodiment, and sacred consciousness
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