Monthly Archives: June 2021
The Importance of Experience
Spiritual Direction The Importance of Experience Sunday, June 20, 2021 No matter the religion or denomination in which we are raised, our spirituality still comes through the first filter of our own life experience. We must begin to be honest about this instead of pretending that any of us are formed exclusively by the Scriptures… Continue Reading The Importance of Experience
Shadow Work: Weekly Summary
Shadow Work Saturday, June 19, 2021 Juneteenth Week Twenty-Four Summary and Practice Sunday, June 13—Friday, June 18, 2021 Sunday The movement to second-half-of-life wisdom has much to do with necessary shadow work and the emergence of healthy self-critical thinking, which alone allows you to see beyond your own shadow and disguise and to find who… Continue Reading Shadow Work: Weekly Summary
A Necessary Negativity
Shadow Work A Necessary Negativity Friday, June 18, 2021 True spirituality, that which invites us to ever deeper levels of transformation and love, does not insist on “staying positive” all the time, but on “staying true” to the journey. Drawing on the wisdom of both the Sufi mystical tradition in which she was raised as… Continue Reading A Necessary Negativity
Learning in the Shadows
Shadow Work Learning in the Shadows Thursday, June 17, 2021 Usually sometime around midlife, we come to a point where we’ve seen enough of our own tricks and we come to feel that my shadow self is who I am. We face ourselves in our raw, unvarnished, and uncivilized state. This is the shadowland where… Continue Reading Learning in the Shadows
The Shadow in Christianity
Shadow Work The Shadow in Christianity Wednesday, June 16, 2021 We can patiently accept not being good. What we cannot bear is not being considered good, not appearing good.—St. Francis of Assisi If you are willing to bear serenely the trial of being displeasing to yourself, you will be for Jesus a pleasant place of… Continue Reading The Shadow in Christianity
Living the Shadow
Shadow Work Living the Shadow Tuesday, June 15, 2021 All God appears to want from us is honesty and humility. There is no other way to read Jesus’ stories of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32) or the tax collector and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9–14). In each story, the one who did wrong ends up being… Continue Reading Living the Shadow
Embracing Shadow and Light
Shadow Work Embracing Shadow and Light Monday, June 14, 2021 We all identify with our persona/mask so strongly when we are young that we become masters of denial and learn to eliminate or hide anything that doesn’t support it. Neither our persona nor our shadow is evil in itself; they just allow us to do… Continue Reading Embracing Shadow and Light
Unveiling the Shadow
Shadow Work Unveiling the Shadow Sunday, June 13, 2021 This week’s meditations focus on unveiling the shadow self, an essential concept in my work that comes from Swiss psychotherapist Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961). It always needs initial clarification and definition. Let’s begin with the personal shadow. During the first half of our lives (and for… Continue Reading Unveiling the Shadow
The Holiness of Human Sexuality
The Holiness of Human Sexuality Saturday, June 12, 2021 Week Twenty-Three Summary and Practice Sunday, June 6—Friday, June 11, 2021 Sunday When two loving individuals, two bearers of God’s image, are unified in an erotic embrace, there is space for something holy. What was separate has come together. Two spirits, two bodies, two stories are… Continue Reading The Holiness of Human Sexuality
The Goal Is Union
The Holiness of Human Sexuality The Goal Is Union Friday, June 11, 2021 The goal of our sexual longing is universal love, which is to say union with God, ourselves, and What Is. We came from union and all of our longing is a movement back toward union. The experiences of sexuality can help us glimpse… Continue Reading The Goal Is Union