Tag: Spirituality

Experiencing Ourselves, Experiencing the Holy

Honoring the spiritual tradition of not claiming to know who God is, spiritual teacher Mirabai Starr encourages us to know and honor our lives and experiences more fully: 

In many mystical traditions, across the spectrum of the world’s religions, we find a paradoxical teaching that says the most reliable means for knowing God is by unknowing. Christian mysticism uses the Latin term, via negativa. We are encouraged to actively dismiss any words or concepts to define the vast mystery of the divine, resting in what we cannot say about God, rather than what we think we can say…

Continue reading “Experiencing Ourselves, Experiencing the Holy” →
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Spirituality and Stilettos

Jackie-portraitOne of my favorite bloggers, Jackie Dumaine, has a beautiful post on her blog on the topic of spirituality:

“Being “Spiritual” does not mean giving up who you are.  In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

It’s about embracing who you are.

Being “Spiritual” does not mean giving up wine night with the girls or refraining from buying a new pair of stilettos (or two).  It means embracing varying levels of friendships and the little pleasures that life has to offer, without being attached to them for your happiness. Continue reading “Spirituality and Stilettos” →

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How people treat you…

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“How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” Wayne Dyer

via Today’s Quotes: You get treated how you TEACH people to treat you!.

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Still Processing after 24 hours of a Horrible Event

Chris JarrellMy pastor Chris Jarrell wrote this yesterday:

Yesterday, a horrible act of evil occurred.  Myself along with many Americans are saddened, heartbroken and feeling helpless.   Many of us are angry, many of us are shaking our heads in disgust or simply questioning…Why?  How?

With any events that involve the murder of innocent children, my righteous anger wells up?

I try to stay in these places personally, because things like this breaks my heart deeply.  I also believe these break the heart of God.  When his creation, the very ones that He created have fallen so deeply in this sin sick world and because of their sin act out on others.

Sin separates us ALL from God’s perfect will.  Sin destroys and kills!  When we as a society excuse sin as this will only effect me…that is a myth and lie.  Sin harms others.  We see that the issues the person who committed this horrendous act has do with mental, nevertheless, that is not excuse, when we need to leave a life of self-control and I believe every heart and every life can be redeem for a greater purpose.

I will be honest with you I wrestle with the tension why things like this happen.  But here what I do know – “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” Psalm 34:18.  I also know that can deal with our pain and be confronted with our questions and doubts.  I also know that the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, not empathizes with us but he truly understands what it is like to live in our sin sick world.

As I began praying yesterday about this tragedy, the Holy Spirit prompted me to go to Psalm 61

1 O God, listen to my cry!

Hear my prayer!

2 From the ends of the earth,

I cry to you for help

when my heart is overwhelmed.

Lead me to the towering rock of safety,

3 for you are my safe refuge,

a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.

4 Let me live forever in your sanctuary,

safe beneath the shelter of your wings!

Another passage, I started praying through for those who are weak and feel like they have no strength to cope at this time is Isaiah 40:29 – “He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.”

I know these passages can’t erase the loss, the pain, and the events of yesterday.  I do know God can give us the strength that we all need.  Even in the most hopeless of times and circumstances, He can restore hope.

via Inside the Heart, Mind and Soul of Chris Jarrell: Still Processing after 24 hours of a Horrible Event.

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The grief process

Melody Beattie writes:

To let ourselves wholly grieve our losses is how we surrender to the process of life and recovery. Some experts, like Patrick Carnes, call the Twelve Steps “a program for dealing with our losses, a program for dealing with our grief.”

How do we grieve?

Awkwardly. Imperfectly. Usually with a great deal of resistance. Often with anger and attempts to negotiate. Ultimately, by surrendering to the pain.

The grief process, says Elisabeth Kubler Ross, is a five stage process: denial, anger, bargaining, sadness, and, finally, acceptance. That’s how we grieve; that’s how we accept; that’s how we forgive; that’s how we respond to the many changes life throws our way.

Although this five-step process looks tidy on paper, it is not tidy in life. We do not move through it in a compartmentalized manner. We usually flounder through, kicking and screaming, with much back and forth movement – until we reach that peaceful state called acceptance.

When we talk about “unfinished business” from our past, we are usually referring to losses about which we have not completed grieving. We’re talking about being stuck somewhere in the grief process. Usually, for adult children and codependents, the place where we become stuck is denial.. Passing through denial is the first and most dangerous stage of grieving, but it is also the first step toward acceptance.

We can learn to understand the grief process and how it applies to recovery. Even good changes in recovery can bring loss and, consequently, grief. We can learn to help others and ourselves by understanding and becoming familiar with this process. We can learn to fully grieve our losses, feel our pain, accept, and forgive, so we can feel joy and love.

Today, God, help me open myself to the process of grieving my losses. Help me allow myself to flow through the grief process, accepting all the stages so I might achieve peace and acceptance in my life. Help me learn to be gentle with others and myself while we go through this very human process of healing.” via Just For Today Meditations – Maintaining A Life.

Whatever your losses, they will hang in there until you work the grieving process. Long ago a priest friend of mine told me that all loss is a death of sorts so applying Ross’ stages is appropriate for just about anything…

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Worth…

This is as close as I get to creating a work of ‘art’. For me it communicates that in the midst of the blackness of my soul is a faint glimmer of hope; I am worth more than this current situation I have accepted as reality. It keeps me from ending my life. For now…

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Align Yourself with People Who Support You

“I align myself with people who support my growth. If you meet someone whose soul is not aligned with yours, send them love and move along.” Dr. Wayne Dyer via Today’s Quotes: Align Yourself with Ppl Who Support You!

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