Labyrinths: A Tool for the Journey Towards Wholeness

I wrote in a previous post about how my love affair with labyrinths began. This initial encounter with the seminary's labyrinth was only the beginning of my labyrinth journey. Labyrinths are an ancient form of prayer and meditation. They are "single path or unicursal tool for personal, psychological and spiritual transformation"(Labyrinth Society website). For many labyrinths represent the journey towards transformation. For Christians (as well as others) the first half of the journey is a journey inwards, away from the distractions of the world and towards God. The center of the labyrinth represents God's indwelling or presence with you. The second half of the journey is a journey outwards back into the world, hopefully with a renewed spirit and energy. 

As my labyrinth journey continues I am struck by the uniqueness of each labyrinth walk. Each time I walk a labyrinth my journey is different. Sometimes the twists and turns of the labyrinth are a bold reminder of the twists and turns my life has taken or is taking. Some walks are very emotional and cleansing. Some walks are very ordinary and seem like nothing really scared has taken place. During some walks I can literally feel God's presence around and within me guiding each careful step. One thing I know for certain is that each time I walk a labyrinth I am transformed in some way leading  towards greater wholeness and authenticity.

I love to talk about labyrinths; my journey, their varied uses, and offer suggestions for walking them. This is a passion of mine and I'd love to share more information and stories with you! 

Tell me you labyrinth stories! What questions do you have for me about labyrinths? How might you incorporate labyrinth walking into your life?

For some great information about labyrinths surf on over to the Labyrinth Society website.

Healing Not Controlling

This past Friday I posted the following quote as part of Friday Photographs. "Healing doesn't mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives." I love what this quote implies about healing and it's effect on our lives. When we are hurt emotionally or spiritually it controls our lives. The wound is all we can think about. We talk about it, we think about it, we dream about it and we worry about it.

This was the case when I broke my foot 8 years ago. My broken foot "controlled" everything thing I did and thought about. There were certain things I couldn't do because I was on crutches. I was always thinking about my next move and if my "wound" would effect it. How was I going to open the door with grocery bags in my hand? How was I going to get up and not put weight on my foot. However, as my foot began to heal I thought less and less about how it affected my everyday life. I  could walk around and not worry about falling or stepping funny. My foot is fully healed yet there are days I am aware this wound existed but it doesn't control my life.

Just as with the feeling of my foot, as emotional and spiritual wounds begin to heal we see a transformation. We begin to notice that we are not talking, thinking, dreaming, or worrying about the wound. The wounds no longer paralyze us from taking action. When a wound has transformed from living with it to telling about it healing has begun. It becomes part of our lived story rather than our life. 

Telling the story of our woundedness is proof that the damage existed. I believe sharing our stories of woundedness it a way that we can help others in their journey toward wholeness. Our stories remind others that they are not alone and that they can also heal from their wounds. My hope is that I can use my stories of woundedness, shame and fear as one tool to hold space for healing and wholeness. 

I want YOU to experience this quote as I have. I want to help YOU do so. What are some ways that you find healing from your wounds? What tools or support would you like to have to assist you in your emotional and/or spiritual healing? 

Praying in Color and Embracing Change

In the past year I have been challenged to embrace change with vulnerability, courage, and self acceptance. This has not been any easy task. In fact some days I would rather just stick my head in a hole and not resurface until it's all over. However, I know this is really not the best or most effective way to live one's life even if life has thrown you a huge curve ball. So instead I have been searching for ways to "rise strong" (Rising Strong is the title of Brene Brown's newest book) and show up every moment of every day. A few of the ways I have been doing this is through regular yoga practice, reaching out to friends and professionals for support and healing, and more recently reintroducing regular prayer practices into my daily routine.

For the past week I have been digging into to my creative heart and my need to work with my hands and "trying out" a prayer practice called Praying in Color. Praying in Color uses the concepts of doodling and coloring as tools for a more "active, meditative, playful prayer practice" (Praying in Color pg. 5). You can pray for others, for you self, or even pray through scripture.

As you can see my prayer focus has been self centered (in a positive way). My need to embrace change within myself and my situation has dictated my praying in color practice thus far. It has allowed me to take time to listen for God, ask questions of God and myself, and seek answers about who I am and where I am on the this journey we call life.

This practice is constantly changing (as you can tell from the two photographs). No two prayers are alike.

Praying in Color allows my brain to focus and wander simultaneously. It also gives me a safe time and outlet to lean in to and really feel my emotions. For example today while I was doodling "embrace fear" not only did I notice the fear bubbling up from within but I was able to doodle and color the emotion as I was feeling it. I authentically felt it but it didn't have the power to paralyze me. I believe  this is what the God means in the verse "Do not be afraid."

This is an ever evolving prayer practice and I am excited to see where it will take me next.

Does this practice intrigue you? Would you like to learn more about it? If so, click on the link above or click right here.  Or contact me and we can chat about it-I'd love to help you begin!

Diversity: It's the Individuals That Matter

I have been working at Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church for a little over a month now. I love it! I love the people! I was told by Pastor David Stewart and the search committee that DAPC was a very diverse congregation and that the were diverse in many ways-racially, ethnically, educationally, and socioeconomically. I admit that when they told me this I thought to myself can a Presbyterian Church (USA) church really be that diverse? The statistics say that the PCUSA is predominantly caucasian, middle class, and highly educated. It is also true that all of the other congregations I have worked with or grew up in fit this image of the PCUSA. So, yes, I was skeptical that what they were telling me could really be true.

However, as I have come to know this congregation I am proud to say that it IS true! Each Sunday I come to work and worship I look around at the individuals sitting in the pews and smile. Yes, I smile because of the diversity I can see and that I can not see but know. Yet, I smile mostly because all of these people have stories to tell and stories to share with me and with one another (and I am looking forward to hearing their stories!). Diversity in a community of faith means nothing if the stories and lives of each individual member is not heard, honored, and respected. When this happens real community happens, transformation happens, and God smiles!

I smile because in many ways this congregation embodies what church is and can be. DAPC is a reflection of the culture of America and of St. Paul, MN. It is committed to caring for those who are with in the community of faith as well as those who live in the community where it is located.

Working with this diverse community is an exciting challenge for me. While I love the diversity, it is this same diversity that is forcing me to challenge my some of the stereotypes I did not realize I had about people. It is challenging me to think outside the box about Christian Education. It is challenging me to think about the fact that what I thought the future of Christian Education might look like may be realized in this setting much more quickly than I maybe I am ready for. In short it is challenging me to rethink what my ministry is in this particular community of faith called Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church!

Friday Photographs-The road less traveled

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear,

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I marked the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference. 

Robert Frost

Pondering "When the Violin"

For months I have been wanting to pair a photograph of a violin and Hafiz’s poem “When the Violin”. I was finally able to do this this past Friday. I have been pondering this paring for a long time and wanted to reflect and write on it. This poem spoke to me the first time I read it. It stabbed me in the heart. It took my breath away. I remember thinking to my self this is what I need to do and this is who I want to become.

I long to “stop worrying about the future” and “become such a drunk laughing nuisance”!  These phrases struck a chord with me. Being overcome with laughter is such a beautiful image of a way to live ones life. Laughter invokes great joy and a letting go of the worries of the world. Laughter lets us become our authentic selves because we have to let our guard down and take off the mask we show the world. Laughter is also about being fully present in the moment. When we in the midst of a truly hardy laugh we are not thinking about what we must do tomorrow, how we are going to pay the credit card bill, or wonder what others think of us. We are just laughing and enjoying being fully present in the moment.

The final stanza of the poem pierced my heart. To “forgive every wound caused by others” and for my “heart to start singing” is a huge step to authentic and wholehearted living. It struck me that Hafiz did not say forgive the people who caused the wounds but instead forgive the wounds caused by others. Forgiveness is about transforming our own wounds into hope and courage. This journey of transformation may include forgiving the person or people that caused the wound. However, ultimately is the wound that needs healing and transformation so that we can live a life of hope and courage.

When we can name and forgive our wounds they no longer define us. Instead we are set free to be our authentic selves and our whole being can start singing our part in God’s great song...or we can “become such a drunk laughing nuisance” that God joins in our singing and laughter! This is how I strive to live my life!

Mind, Body & Spirit

The mind, body, spirit connection both baffles and intrigues me.  Being a psychology major the workings of the mind have always fascinated me.  Being brought up in the church the idea of the Holy Spirit has also intrigued me.  Being an athlete the workings of the body also interests me.  However, it is only in the past year or so have I begun to explore the many dimensions of the mind, body, spirt connection.

For years our culture (including much of Christianity) has pitted the mind, body, and spirit against one another. We were told that our bodies and minds were the enemies-the reason for sin. We were told that the only good was The Spirit. We have been told that we are at our core sinful. Now I don’t dispute that we are all sinful, in fact I know we are all sinful. However, I have come to believe that God see us as the spiritually perfect beings we truly are. 

What I have begun to realize is that the mind, body, spirit connection is essential to being human. We can not have one without the others. When one is suffering the others are affected. In other words the whole of who we are (mind, body & sprit) is always in need of God’s transformational and healing love. I was first introduced to this concept of attending to the mind, body, and spirit by my Spiritual Director, Anita Cummings. In our work together we always spend time attending to the mind, spirit and body. Actually, we attend to them concurrently. For Anita, ‘body work’ (attending to the flow of energy in our body in a variety of ways) is an essential aspect of spiritual healing and transformation. 

In the beginning I was skeptical of ‘body work’ as a form of spiritual direction and transformation. I wondered how ‘body work’ could affect spiritual transformation. It just seemed so foreign and it wasn’t part of my Presbyterian theos that said that the Spirit and the body were at odds. As we began attending to my body through this ‘body work‘ I became aware of how this ‘work’ affected my mind and spirit. I began to sense and feel the connection between my body and my mind and spirit. When I attend to my body I am also attending to my mind and my spirit.

There are so many dimensions of the mind, body, spirit connection that I continue to explore-intellectually, physically, and spiritually. What connections do you see? What dimensions and/or connections would you like to explore? What questions do you have about the connection between mind, body and spirit?

For me, the connection between mind, body, and spirit is one of God’s surprising wonders!

  

Transformational Forgiveness

I have discovered that true forgiveness very difficult yet amazingly transformational.  Forgiveness means letting go of the fact that the past could have been different. When you feel someone has betrayed or hurt you one naturally feels anger and or resentment for that person.  In my experience I need to let myself truly feel these feelings and not sweep them under the rug.  I found that prior to forgiveness every time I would see a person or hear about them I would have a physical reaction and think unkindly about them.  I is difficult to be around them without these reactions.  After some time passes these feelings of anger or resentment eats away at you.  You expend a lot of unnecessary energy being angry.

Forgiveness does not mean forgetting the past.  It does not make the what the person did somehow right.  It may still be wrong.  It means letting go of the anger and resentment.  In my experience it means that when I see that person I no longer have a negative physical reaction and my thoughts are more loving.  You may even be able to have positive interactions with that person.  The energy that you previously expended in anger can now be expended in more positive ways.  

Forgiveness is a shift in thinking and feeling.  It is a shift in how you see the other person-you can begin to see them as God does.  It is a shift in ones feelings-from anger to peace.  True forgiveness is transformational!