Share A – Assess what happened. Ask yourself, Why am I upset? Pinpoint the precise cause so you understand what’s making you feel this way…. State the facts as objectively as possible so you’re articulating the catalyzing event(s). N – Nix extreme words…. Extreme words produce extreme emotions. “All or nothing” words escalate anger. G – Give a specific example. The more precise you are, the more productive you’ll be. Instead of “You never think of anyone but yourself,” identify the particular action you perceive was inappropriate. “You took the...

Share 1. Consider: What’s your story? Story is a synonym for label. Do you call yourself shy? Introverted? Has someone else given you a label you’ve bought into? 2. Determine whether your story is serving you or sabotaging you. How has that label affected you? Do you have a self-empowering label that has emboldened you to go for what you want? Or do you have a self-defeating label that has held you back from applying for certain jobs, trying new things, meeting certain people? Is it possible the story you’ve been telling yourself has nothing to...

Share Flower Meditation is often quite relaxing, although it can also be very energizing, depending on the flower. If you feel energized during your practice, pay attention to the difference between that energy and the buzzy energy of your smartphone or a cup of coffee. There are ways to gain energy that are replenishing and ways that are depleting. Understanding this distinction is really important in our rest work as it gives us invaluable information on ways that we can access energy that is clean and doesn’t tax our system in the process. P...

Share For many people, work comes easily, habitually, routinely, and increasingly without much pause. This book is for those who have lost or never have had a life that’s regulated by more than work: by regenerative rest. The author’s background in teaching breathwork and somatic spiritual practices comes in handy. Her book is full of thirty-five different “rest practices” sprinkled throughout pages that also include accounts of recent scientific research on human habits and needs, and more contemplative reflections designed to create pauses of...

Share “I am often asked, Is it appropriate to pray for the Ramblers to win? Of course it is! I believe God gives all of us talents, and it’s up to us to use them as best we can. It’s the same thing if we ask God to heal someone we love who is sick. We don’t know if God will grant our wish, but I still think it’s good to pray. You should do everything within the rules and standards of fair play to try to win the game, and if you don’t win, you have to be a good sport about it. That is all God asks of us. “Does God really care who wins a basketba...

Share If you’ve watched the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in the last decade you have perhaps encountered Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a religious order of Roman Catholic women, and chaplain of the Loyola University Chicago men’s basketball team. Sister Jean was a fixture on television for a month in 2018, when the Loyola Ramblers went on a Cinderella run to the Final Four. As of this moment she is still with us, at the age of 104. A passionate, faith-filled, determined, and hope...

“I have hymns you haven’t heard.”— Rilke “I want to fight until I don’t feel sad anymore,” cries the young Polish character in the WWII Masterpiece series, World on Fire. The boy had just lost both his mother and his homeland in 1939. It made me wonder, is that why we fight? Do we really think it will abolish our sadness? Fighting might abolish many things, but not our sadness. What if we could, instead, fully inhabit our sadness in bearable ways? Would it help to give us a wider view of the situation — less narrow, rigid, and vengeful — flowin...

AdobeStock/Wayhome Studio One way I like to think of inner voice is as the language or talk inside of our minds that we use to tell the story of what’s happening to ourselves. This story can function a bit like virtual reality goggles, where when we put them on, sometimes it’s hard to actually see the full scope of what’s happening. It’s a version of reality that might not be the whole story. But if we can start to see around the edges of those goggles, our perspective on what’s happening expands and becomes more clear. We experience a bit more...

Share With sensitive honesty, The Honey Jar helps children ages eight to twelve understand the devastation of the Armenian genocide and how love can survive even when everything familiar crumbles. Dedicated "to refugees everywhere," this middle-grade novel begins with astonishing lines that underscore the terrible effects of war on children: "I gave my sister away.She was two.I was not yet nine." When Turkish soldiers close in on their town, the young narrator, Bedros, has to flee with this three younger sisters, his grandmother, and his uncle'...

Share This multifaith, interreligious book of spiritual practice is designed help you find your joy, connect more intimately with your body, and “lean into wonder” through imagination, breathing, vision, and exercises for your body-soul. The author was trained as a Christian theologian, counselor, and pastor, but the book is truly interreligious. Garcia tells a personal story of leaving behind restrictive Christian teachings and practices in order to find what is deeper, more life-affirming, and real. When it comes time to recommend inspiring s...

Share “I am God’s Wonder, fully made.” “Through the erotic, I find how far God’s pleasure can take me.” “I am the endlessly knowable Mystery.” “When I breathe, the earth breathes with me.” “I open myself to Love’s presence now.”

Share 1. Contribute at least one action-oriented suggestion at every meeting… Instead of simply sharing what you think or feel, contribute specific steps on how to move a project forward or tangible ways to turn an idea into reality and achieve a company objective by a deadline. 2. Find solutions, not fault. Get to be known as someone who can be trusted to shift the conversation from reasons to results. When it comes to developing a brand reputation, it’s hard to beat being known as someone who’s a problem solver, not a problem reporter. 3. Gra...

Share 1. Say no and yes. Turn down this particular request and suggest an alternative that’s more on your terms. Say, “I appreciate your offer and won’t be able to serve as chair. I will be glad to advise the new chair about the best practices so they can learn from my previous leadership experience.” 2. Say no and meet their needs through other means. Let them know that although you can’t say yes to the specific request, you do have ideas on how they can get their needs met. You can say, “I’m not available to lead that committee; however, I’d ...

Share 1. Determine if the needs being met are out of balance….Picture the scales of justice in your mind’s eye. The two plates, balanced, one on each side, are usually held by Lady Justice (or Justitia, the Roman goddess). They symbolize giving, fair, objective consideration of all evidence, without showing bias one way or the other…. Imagine the other person has one plate. You have one plate. If the other person is talking, talking, talking (or doing all the deciding), and you’re not having a chance to comment or contribute, that scale of need...

Share T – is it True?H – is it helpful?I – is it Inspiring?N – is it Necessary?K – is it Kind?-- Poster in Many School Classrooms (Originator Unknown) Hopefully, next time we’re tempted to unload on someone, even if everyone else is, we choose to T.H.I.N.K. before we speak (as suggested above) and ask ourselves these questions: Could I have done any better?Is there context I’m not taking into account?Would I say this to this person’s face or to someone who cares about them? (Is this a form of “anonymous” bullying, and I’m doing it because there...

Share "For dayswe shuffleon unpaved roads.We swat at buzzing flies.Our food and wateris gone by the second day. "One night we camp in an orchard.Stars.My companions.Listen.Comfort.Guide.They remind me of other eveningswhen the sound of Papa's flute,joined with drumming and song,invited men to dance arm in arm,leaping with their strong legs. "I fall asleep,hoping Papa willremember his flute."

When you win the morning, you win the day. But there are days when my body isn’t quite ready to wake up when I am. And if I want to meditate in the morning, and my body’s not awake, my practice won’t be as invigorating as it could be—Which is why I start every morning with mindful movement. It promotes healing, increases energy, enhances awareness, and sets you up to thrive. With that in mind, I developed a simple 5-minute mindful movement practice that you can do as soon as you wake up to focus your mind and energize your body before you sit t...

Share Howard (James Cosmo) is a widowed sailor who lives by himself on the coast of Ireland. He has had a robust life of travel and adventure but his days now are constricted by loneliness and the debilitations of old age. His daughter Grace (Catherine Walker) is a natural-born caregiver who checks in regularly on her oftentimes gruff father. The tension between them and the rest of their family is evident at his birthday party. Still, Grace has assumed responsibility for making sure he is doing okay, even when that causes strain in her own mar...

Share "Christ has no body but yours,No hands, no feet on earth but yours,Yours are the eyes with which he looksCompassion on this world,Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world." These inspirational words by Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) convey the high spiritual intent of her life of service as a mystic, a poet, an administrator, a religious reformer, the foundress of 17 convents, the author of four books, and a deeply devotional Christian. This sixteenth century Carmelite was onl...

Share On October 14, 2018, Pope Francis officiated at a ceremony declaring that Oscar Romer, the fourth Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador, is a saint. During his beatification ceremony in 2015, the Pope said, "His ministry was distinguished by his particular attention to the most poor and marginalized." Today is a time to remember and celebrate his life and witness. Romero was born on August 15, 1917. He began pursuing a life of ministry at age 13 and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1942. Although he started out as a conservative p...