Chrysalis Reader is a contemporary journal of spiritual discovery.
 
The Chrysalis Reader audience includes people from numerous faiths and backgrounds. Many of them work in psychology, education, religion, the arts, sciences, or one of the helping professions. The style of writing may be humorous, serious, or some combination of these approaches. Essays, poetry, and fiction that are not evangelical in tone but that are unique in addressing the Chrysalis Reader theme are more likely to be accepted. Our readers are interested in expanding, enriching, or challenging their intellects, hearts, and philosophies, and many also just want to enjoy a good read. For these reasons the editors attempt to publish a mix of writings. Articles and poetry must be related to the theme; however, you may have your own approach to the theme not written in our description.
 
http://www.swedenborg.com/page.asp?page_name=ChrysalisWriterGuidelines  
 
Themes: Patterns/Individuality
Submissions Due: November 30, 2011
Publication Date: January 2013
 
Washing dishes at the kitchen window, I watch the first snowfall of the season. Each snowflake, a crystal formed by the laws of physics, looks similar, yet each, like us, is unique--one of a kind. Patterns are omnipresent. Since time immemorial, people have sorted things out to make order. However, the comfort of rituals and routines limits admission to unique experience. In fact, over the long haul, science points out that species become extinct without mutating in unpredictable ways.
 
What patterns revolve around our own ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds? Perspectives that differ from our own are a challenge. As I continue to watch the falling flakes, I wonder if the unending cycles and beauty of nature, and our response to it, reflect an everlasting divine pattern.
 
We are looking for stories, poetry, and essays that express how we live and change with and without patterns.