Tag Archives: SPIRITUAL GROWTH
“…you must embrace joy as a moral obligation.” ~Andre Gide How do we avoid getting caught up in the pain and negativity in the world and in our own lives? I remember a quote I heard decades ago by Wayne Dyer that went something like this: You can never be unhappy enough to make someone else happy; you can never be sick enough to heal someone; you can never be poor enough to help someone become rich. This seems obvious…..
Even though we are formed from stardust and carry within us the intelligence that created the stars, we are still required to navigate our unpredictable, ever-changing lives here on Earth. Living here in Hawaii I have plenty of opportunity to watch surfers riding the giant waves, and though it may be over-used, surfing seems like a good metaphor for us humans living our lives. It requires being balanced and centered, and continually adjusting to the movement of the wave. It…..
The life we took for granted is no more; the next step hasn’t revealed itself. As we navigate this transitional phase, what inner transformation is brewing? What shape will our lives take when we emerge from hibernation? As spiritual teacher, Stuart Mooney said in a recent talk, “Humanity has taken a time-out and we have the opportunity to push the reset button to be more in tune with natural law.” Aligning with natural law means living in the present. During…..
Everyone’s experience with the pandemic is unique, but for some of us, one of the gifts of the current global retreat is the experience of slowing down, an opportunity to become present, to discover who we are. We lose so much in all our doing—mostly we lose ourselves. One of my therapy clients, expressing her feelings about how her life has changed so dramatically since the pandemic, made this comment: “My life has become unfamiliar to me.” Our outer lives…..
The dawn of each new year reminds us of our freedom to release the baggage of the past, to make new choices, and to embrace in a new way whatever comes. It’s a time to set our intentions for what we want our lives to look like, and to work toward creating the best life we can envision. At the same, it’s wise to acknowledge that, ultimately, we are not in control. One thing we know for sure is…..
The temples we visited in India are infused with centuries of ritual—prayers, mantras, and fire ceremonies–performed by holy people. The power generated through continuous repetition of the rituals was palpable as we entered these sacred spaces. But we don’t have to go anywhere to access the benefit of ritual in our daily lives. Creating a personal altar is one way. Although our home altars have not been blessed by centuries of ceremonies, we can infuse them, on a daily basis,…..
Once during a weekly staff meeting at hospice, we were asked what we must let go of when facing death. Mary, one of the other therapists answered, “Well, for starters, we have to drop our idea of who we are.” I don’t know what the other therapists thought of what she said, but her answer resonated with me. I had been attending courses at an ashram in India on my vacations from work, and this was exactly what we were…..
My cousin Lynda died a few years ago after a short illness. We had been close throughout our childhoods and her early and unexpected death was a shock. I was working at hospice at the time, an experience that invited me to reflect on the impermanence of life and the importance of living here and now. And Lynda’s death was a profound wake-up call. It was one thing to work with clients at hospice, but when death hit close to…..
The sun-drenched pool at Carnelian Woods Condos looked inviting. Tahoe’s thin mountain air was warm, and the water felt like silk. Stu (my partner and a spiritual mentor) and I had already hiked down to Emerald Bay and back up in the scorching sun, eaten Indian lunch buffet at Nicky’s, bicycled along the Truckee River, and had hot fudge sundaes, twice. Drying off in the sun after a dip in the pool, I reflected on our lives over the past…..
Marina and Nick (not their real names) came to my support group at hospice every week for several months after their three-month-old baby died of a severe birth defect. Although Nick was philosophical about the loss, he was able to feel and express his grief each week during the sessions, which he said was helpful in coming to an acceptance. Marina’s process was different. She seemed perpetually angry— “It shouldn’t have happened. We did everything right.” She compared herself to…..
