Step into the Luminarium
a space where we examine the light and color of human life
I am a filter for how I see the world, the phenomena I encounter changing me. Truly, I can only speak from this lived experience.
There are things that only the mind can understand and things that only the heart can understand, and the intersection of the two fascinates me.
This is where I write from—that place where thinking and feeling meet, where we try to make sense of what it means to be human.
Raymond Carver once wrote: “And did you get what you wanted from this life, even so? I did. And what did you want? To call myself beloved, to feel myself beloved on the earth.”
I think this longing lives in all of us, this quest for understanding and belonging. How do we feel ourselves beloved on the earth—by God, by ourselves, by each other? How do we find meaning in loss and in the mundane? What makes us worthy of love and happiness, and what is it that defines love and happiness for each one of us?
What You’ll Find Here:
Mondays — A poem or piece of art with reflection. A moment of ordinary magic to start your week.
Wednesdays — Personal essays, lyrical explorations, or spoken-word voice notes. This is where I think out loud about the ideas I can’t stop exploring.
Fridays (Paid) — Deep essays with journaling prompts OR guided audio meditations. For those ready to go beneath the surface and do the inner work alongside me.
Free subscribers receive Monday art/poetry + Wednesday essays
Paid subscribers ($7/month) get everything above PLUS Friday’s deep work — essays that explore the complexity, prompts that help you process your own experience, and meditations that help you hold it all with tenderness. (And when you become a paid or founding subscriber you’ll receive a little extra gift to download).
Now if you’re new here, let me introduce myself: I’m Raine — a poet, artist, and guide for people exploring the questions that don’t have easy answers. I raise my children near the rocky mountains and collect stories and ordinary magic to get us through challenging days.
The unknowable surrounds us, and the ordinary embraces us.
I’m fascinated by the interplay of both, and by the everyday phenomena that shape our sense of self. I’ve lived through my own share of wild change, and through it all I’ve found ways to re-shape myself, to find my center, to transform my identity in deliberate and intentional ways.
My work lives here to help you write your own story, to illuminate your own joy, to alchemize your own transformation so that you can find yourself beloved on the earth.
I am so deeply appreciative of everyone who is here, opening these little missives every time I send them out. What a gift to be able to explore the light and color of our lives alongside all of you.
If you’d like to support this work beyond or in place of a subscription, you can purchase my artwork or leave a tip here.
