Well, Linda Tiessen Wiebe, if we're being formal. I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on January 10, 1961, which makes me a full-fledged Capricorn. I make my home in Watershed community in the west end of the city.

During the day I work as a quiet, unassuming computer analyst at Manitoba Telephone System.
After hours, my wild-n-crazy side takes over.

Well, maybe not so wild. But definitely an intensity for doing and learning. I spend my time administrating Watershed, gardening, reading or perusing the web.

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I love organizing people and tasks in ways that benefit them individually, so one of my favorite projects is organizing courses at Watershed. I enjoy setting up an environment that's conducive to reflection and teaching. One of my favorite tasks is phoning students to get feedback and to see what connections they're making to the courses. This is a great way to share journeys and become conscious of how unifying spirituality is.

Another expression of this is working to get this website up. I also enjoy exploring consciousness through letter-writing. Managing the money of Watershed is an opportunity to learn about the principle of exchange. This is very challenging, because money has such power over our attitudes. Through my work with Watershed I've started to understand administration as a spirituality of work, of creating with meaning. Things like fundraising or planning can be opportunities to learn how spirit and matter come together, like this Celtic tree icon shows:

This has got me started into Creation Spirituality. I've started to bring this understanding to my work at MTS in the hope that work done with joy and service is what organizations need to be truly successful. Some good books in this area are:
, What Color is Your Parachute by Richard N. Bolles, Servant Leadership by Robert K. Greenleaf and Zen and the Art of Making a Living by Laurence G. Boldt.

Gardening is a good counterpoint to administration. I built a grow-light stand last year and in the winter my room smells of young seedlings starting to sprout. Its very invigorating to watch them grow, first indoors, and then in the garden. Begonias are my favorite, next to Cleome and Sunflowers. I made a new front bed last year and am experimenting with flowers that grow in partial shade. There is nothing quite so relaxing as to walk by the flower beds and just look at them (any garderners out there will understand). I've read many books but am finding that your own experience through trial-and-error is the only way to go.

Take a walk through my garden:

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I like reading a broad range, like fantasy (Stephen Donaldson, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant), new science (Rupert Sheldrake, A New Science of Life: The Hypothesis of Morphic Resonance and Pinocchio [I'm not kidding]).

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Lately I've been taking a tutorial on 14th century English Mystics. It's been an opportunity to explore critical thinking as well as compassion. The first mystic I've studied is Richard Rolle. His emphasis on ecstatic emotional union is at odds with his scorn for human experience. While in some ways he is too extreme for my liking, I'm finding the process of discovering the human Rolle through observing his writing very enjoyable. He had incredible experiences with music; some critics say he might have been a musical manque. While shunning the beauty of this world, he was most evocative and tender when writing about his beloved music.

I live with my husband Cal,
and our two cats, KoKo and Alex.

Besides all the above, I also spend time walking, cross-country skiing and cycling.