Tag Archives: SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Do you have people in your life who are catalysts for your growth? There is a story about this I heard years ago that has stuck with me. It was told by the Buddhist teacher, Pema Chodron, about a Buddhist monk from Bengal who was traveling to Tibet. As I remember it, he insisted on bringing his Bengali tea boy with him. People wondered why, since there were plenty of tea boys in Tibet. He told them his tea boy…..
The path to truth, happiness, fulfillment, is not straightforward. Like a children’s scavenger hunt, the final treasure may be located right where we started, but the clues along the way lead us on a circuitous journey that ends where we began. When I worked at hospice, I sometimes brought the parents from my infant loss group to a labyrinth located in a beautiful natural setting in the foothills above town. Its circular path was created with stones, and the large…..
Several years ago, Stu and I lived in a small town that was home to a number of people who thought of themselves as quite spiritual and otherworldly. Overhearing conversations around town was interesting. Once at a restaurant, we heard two young men sitting at the bar talking. “Where are you from?” one asked casually. Reply (in a mysterious tone): “I’m not from anywhere. I’ve always been here.” Questioner: “No, but really, where did you come from?” Reply: “I come…..
“There is only one you, it is truer than true. No one on earth is more youer than you.” –Dr. Seuss When Katharine (not her real name) came to my office for counseling, she presented me with a list of things she wanted to change about herself. She was a screenwriter and was experiencing writer’s block. She felt insecure about her abilities as a writer, and her insecurities spilled over into other areas of her life. She was unhappy with…..
Things don’t always go according to plan in small and big ways in our lives. We are constantly derailed, whether it’s the barista making the wrong drink at Starbucks or our retirement plans going awry through illness or death. Our ability to be present with ‘what is’ is the only predictable thing in our unpredictable, constantly changing lives. One of my clients at hospice brought this reality into clear focus for me. Jerry’s daughter Jeannie (not their real names), brought…..
The summer heat in Arizona was at its peak as extended family gathered together to celebrate Grandma Perry’s hundredth birthday. True to form, she fully enjoyed being the center of attention in her bright red dress with an over-sized, white lace collar. She had been quite sickly early in her life and had almost died in her thirties, but she had gone on to live a full and healthy, not to mention long, life. It seemed to all of us…..
Here in Hawaii, many people are living off the grid. They have opted to jump off the treadmill of their lives on the mainland and live the ultimate simple existence. For some I have met, they woke up to the fact they had been driving themselves into the ground just to support their upscale lifestyle, selling their souls to a stressful and unfulfilling career. When they asked themselves if it was worth it, they found the answer was no. We…..
I come from a family of reserved people. “Don’t make waves, don’t cause any conflict, stay in the background”—these were the messages I internalized growing up. On top of that, our family genetics probably reinforced this way of being. When I was in first grade, the teacher chose me to be the Christmas Angel in the school Christmas play. I was shocked to be chosen. I was certain Mrs. Anderson would pick Anne Webster for the part. Anne sat behind…..
In my book, Simply Sacred, I wrote about a client I called John, a man in his thirties who came to see me at hospice when his wife was dying of a brain tumor. They had tried every treatment to no avail, and she was at the end of her young life. During our first session, he told me he was at peace with the situation. Of course, he was devastated for himself and for his wife, but he had…..
Once, while working at Hospice, I was assigned a client (I’ll call her Judy) who had been in the hospital for several days, having outlived the doctors’ expectations that she would die within a day or two. They were considering sending her to a long-term facility. Each day, after seeing my other hospice clients at my office, I would head over to the hospital to sit with Judy. She could barely speak at this point so we usually just sat…..
