Susan Corso, DD
Spiritual Alignment, Head of Energy and Spirituality Department
Susan’s expertise in spiritual guidance complements the physical and emotional healing aspects that her fellow practitioners offer to patients in order for them to achieve whole health. An ordained minister with a doctorate in divinity, Susan calls herself an omnifaith minister – one who works with a myriad of people, no matter their spiritual beliefs. As a healer, Susan views her service as offering a reflection of the aspects of people of which they may not be conscious. Through her spiritual guidance, she is able to look past the presenting problem and discover a person’s root question. In uncovering these questions and patterns, Susan helps people hear themselves, and then make the detailed changes necessary to achieve spiritual health and their highest good.
As an already accomplished public speaker, published author, and writer with a wonderful presence on the blogosphere, Susan is truly a lifelong student. She identifies peace as her mission in life, and refers to herself as an “inner peace activist.” Through both her professional and personal life, she believes in making peace wherever she is, and encouraging others to do the same. In her life and in her work, Susan works towards this personal peace, with the intent that harmony in the world will happen when enough people make a commitment to their own inner peace. While peace and stillness are incredibly important to Susan, she is also passionate about the theatre. Having received her BA in Theatre and Art from Smith College, Susan has an extensive background in the arts. Much like her own transformational work as a spiritual guide, Susan believes that the theatre also has the power to change people’s lives. Susan is the author of The Mex Books, a fiction ebook series about an intuitive investigator.
Recent blog posts by Susan:
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013
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Seed: Taking Refuge II
For fifteen years, I have published a weekly spiritual e-newsletter called Seeds. The idea is to sow seeds of spiritual thought in the reader. Here are some of the best—along with new commentary applying each Seed to the creation of exorbitant well-being. Buddhists take the Three Refuges. They say, “I take refuge in the Buddha. [...]
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Wednesday, May 1, 2013
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Seed: Taking Refuge I
For fifteen years, I have published a weekly spiritual e-newsletter called Seeds. The idea is to sow seeds of spiritual thought in the reader. Here are some of the best—along with new commentary applying each Seed to the creation of exorbitant well-being. One of the major tenets of Buddhist practice is called “taking refuge.” Thich [...]
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Wednesday, April 17, 2013
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Seed: Tests
For fifteen years, I have published a weekly spiritual e-newsletter called Seeds. The idea is to sow seeds of spiritual thought in the reader. Here are some of the best—along with new commentary applying each Seed to the creation of exorbitant well-being. Ever heard anyone say, “God is testing me,” when trials and tribulations show [...]
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Wednesday, April 3, 2013
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Seed: Sovereignty
For fifteen years, I have published a weekly spiritual e-newsletter called Seeds. The idea is to sow seeds of spiritual thought in the reader. Here are some of the best—along with new commentary applying each Seed to the creation of exorbitant well-being. Is there anyone in your office or in your life who can put [...]
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Wednesday, March 20, 2013
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Seed: Sound
For fifteen years, I have published a weekly spiritual e-newsletter called Seeds. The idea is to sow seeds of spiritual thought in the reader. Here are some of the best—along with new commentary applying each Seed to the creation of exorbitant well-being. Some of you will know already that I am an irrepressible wordsmith. Look [...]
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Wednesday, March 6, 2013
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Seed: Rehearsal
For fifteen years, I have published a weekly spiritual e-newsletter called Seeds. The idea is to sow seeds of spiritual thought in the reader. Here are some of the best—along with new commentary applying each Seed to the creation of exorbitant well-being. Someone called me this week looking for some intuitive coaching, if you will. [...]
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Friday, February 22, 2013
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Respond
Over the next few posts, I’ll be blogging on what Library Journal called my “folk etymology” with words. I’m in the process of working on my book based on the same premise. It’s called How To Live in a Body. To your radiant health! Respond respondere = to promise in return As I’m sure you [...]
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Wednesday, February 6, 2013
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Seed: React
Over the next few posts, I’ll be blogging based on what Library Journal called my “folk etymology” with words. I’m in the process of working on my book based on the same premise. It’s called How To Live in a Body. To your radiant health! React re- = again + -agein = to lead [...]
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Wednesday, January 23, 2013
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Holy Encounter II
Seed: The Holy Encounter II For fifteen years, I have published a weekly spiritual e-newsletter called Seeds. The idea is to sow seeds of spiritual thought in the reader. Here are some of the best—along with new commentary applying each Seed to the creation of exorbitant well-being. You will remember the Holy Encounter of looking [...]
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Wednesday, January 9, 2013
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Seed: Holy Encounter I
I went for a walk to the doctor‘s office this morning and decided to make it an opportunity for spiritual practice. You‘ll find, if you’re open to it, that anything can be spiritual practice.
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Sunday, December 30, 2012
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Seed: The Holy Encounter II
The world of Zen calls this ―beginner’s mind. Think of how simple things in your life might be if you…
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Wednesday, November 28, 2012
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Seed: Irreconcilable Similarities
So, what then are irreconcilable similarities? Try this on for size…
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Saturday, November 17, 2012
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Seed: Your Temple Self
Where do you bring your temple self? I challenge us all to come out of the temple, or should I say, sanctuary/closet!
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Thursday, October 25, 2012
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Seed: V.O.G.
For fourteen years, I have published a weekly spiritual e-newsletter called Seeds. The idea is to sow seeds of spiritual thought in the reader. Here are some of the best—along with new commentary applying each Seed to the creation of exorbitant well-being. I happen to know some of the technicians who were involved in the [...]
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Thursday, October 4, 2012
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Seed: Tests
We test ourselves, Beloved. And what a relief to know that!
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Thursday, October 4, 2012
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Seed: Remote
You are in control of what goes on in your own brain—at least the conscious part of it. Choose the thoughts that help you feel …
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Friday, September 7, 2012
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Seed: Proprioception
That‘s a fancy word, isn‘t it? Scientifically, it means the ability to receive and interpret messages from our own bodies. Literally, it means…
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Thursday, August 16, 2012
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Seed: Fine
So the next time someone asks you how you are, before you answer Fine, stop and think. As we go adventuring into our everyday lives, how fine are you?
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Wednesday, August 8, 2012
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Seed: Reverse Planning
For fourteen years, I have published a weekly spiritual e-newsletter called Seeds. The idea is to sow seeds of spiritual thought in the reader. Here are some of the best—along with new commentary applying each Seed to the creation of exorbitant well-being. Are you too busy? Scheduled within an inch of your life? Often late? [...]
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Wednesday, August 1, 2012
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Seed: Giving Thanks
The practice of gratitude is fundamental to living a spiritual life. Even if you’ve got a diagnosis you don’t like, try just being grateful …
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Thursday, July 19, 2012
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Seed: Sovereignty
Remember that you are sovereign. A fancy word for whole unto yourself…
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Saturday, July 14, 2012
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Seed: Home Sanctuary
Humans respond behaviorally to triggers, mostly unconscious ones. How about we put a conscious trigger in place?
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Tuesday, July 3, 2012
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Seed: Sound
What’s the sound of home to you?
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012
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The Magic of Words: Remember
Over the next few months, I’ll be on a blogging odyssey based on what Library Journal called my “folk etymology” with words. I’m in the process of working on my book based on the same premise. It’s call How To Live in a Body. To your radiant health! Remember re- = again + -memoris = [...]
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012
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The Magic of Words: Forget
Over the next few months, I’ll be on a blogging odyssey based on what Library Journal called my “folk etymology” with words. I’m in the process of working on my book based on the same premise. It’s call How To Live in a Body. To your radiant health! Forget forgietan = to miss or lose [...]
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Friday, March 16, 2012
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The Magic of Words: Illness
Over the next few months, I’ll be on a blogging odyssey based on what Library Journal called my “folk etymology” with words. I’m in the process of working on my book based on the same premise. It’s call How To Live in a Body. To your radiant health! Illness ille = ill Somehow humanity has [...]
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Saturday, March 3, 2012
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The Magic of Words: Health
Over the next few months, I’ll be on a blogging odyssey based on what Library Journal called my “folk etymology” with words. I’m in the process of working on my book based on the same premise. It’s call How To Live in a Body. To your radiant health! Health heilide = hale, whole Ralph Waldo [...]
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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The Magic of Words: Pain
Over the next few months, I’ll be on a blogging odyssey based on what Library Journal called my “folk etymology” with words. I’m in the process of working on my book based on the same premise. It’s call How To Live in a Body. To your radiant health! Pain pain sounds like pane None of [...]
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Friday, February 10, 2012
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The Magic of Words: Potential
Over the next few months, I’ll be on a blogging odyssey based on what Library Journal called my “folk etymology” with words. I’m in the process of working on my book based on the same premise. It’s call How To Live in a Body. To your radiant health! Potential potis- = able + -esse = [...]
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Wednesday, February 1, 2012
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Further Chakra Resources
May I recommend a few random chakra resources for your leisurely further perusal? Wheels of Light by Rosalyn L. Bruyere Chakras: Energy Centers of Transformation by Harish Johari Wheels of Life by Anodea Judith The Chakra Bible by Patricia Mercier A Goddess in my Shoes by Rickie Moore The Creation of Health by Caroline Myss [...]
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Wednesday, February 1, 2012
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The Magic of Words: Pleasure
Over the next few months, I’ll be on a blogging odyssey based on what Library Journal called my “folk etymology” with words. I’m in the process of working on my book based on the same premise. It’s call How To Live in a Body. To your radiant health! Pleasure placere = to please There are [...]
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Saturday, January 7, 2012
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Chakras & Kabbalah
The Kabbalah, spelled myriad ways, is the sacred text of mystical Judaism. The visual above is called The Tree of Life. The spheres, called sefirots, are also centers of energy. There are three divisions of the ten sefirots. The first, from the top, is conjunctive in nature and consists of Binah, Chokhmah, and Keter. The [...]
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Thursday, December 15, 2011
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Inter-Chakra Massage
One of the things about chakras that I think of as sorely neglected is the spaces and connections between them. If the first chakra is fire engine red, and the second chakra is pumpkin orange, shouldn’t the space between them on ascending be—red-orange? Or, upon descending—orange-red? It makes sense to me. In my nearly 30 [...]
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Friday, November 25, 2011
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Chakra Jerunds
A gerund is the proper name for an –ing word, in other words, a verb, an action, a becoming. Here are the ones I use for the chakras. Note that this is a great exercise for tuning up the chakras. It reminds them of their purpose here, whilst bringing up everything in you that goes [...]
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Friday, November 25, 2011
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Depth Chakra Work
This is a similar process to the preceding one in that you travel through the chakra system, but instead of seeking information from the chakras, you put information into the chakras one at a time. First you must decide what message you wish to embed in your chakras. I suggest that it be identical for [...]
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Friday, November 4, 2011
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Chakra Vision Quest
This can be a hugely informative exercise as it approaches the chakras as centers of energetic and healing information. Choose an issue of some importance to you—one that, once you work through it, will change everything in your life. Arrange a sacred quiet time for yourself. Do what you need to do to be comfortable, [...]
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Friday, November 4, 2011
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Seventh Chakra: God & Abundance
The seventh chakra is located at the crown of the head in humans. Its color is flaming violet. The Crown Chakra is the human opening to the Divine, feeling connected, and part of the whole. This is the center of integration of spirituality and physicality. An underactive Crown Chakra can show as self-denial, shame or [...]
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Friday, November 4, 2011
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Eighth Chakra: The Impersonal Heart
The eighth chakra is located eight inches in front of the thymus gland at the center of the sternum in humans. Its color is rosy pink. The impersonal heart is a chakra discovered by the Kabbalistic rabbis in Spain in the 1870s. It sits in the human aura, and is the ultimate in psychic protection. This [...]
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011
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Sixth Chakra: Mind & Wisdom
The sixth chakra is located in the Third Eye in humans. Its color is blue-purple, or indigo. The Brow Chakra is indicated by an open mind and a sense of knowing. This is the seat of intuition in the human being. An underactive Brow Chakra can show as fear, worry, self-doubt, envy, rigidity, superstition, or [...]
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Friday, October 7, 2011
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Fifth Chakra: Choice & Self-Expression
The fifth chakra is located in the throat in humans. Its color is robin’s egg blue. The Throat Chakra is the center of choice: the one gift given humanity by our Creator. Free will (also free won’t!). This is where we are centered, well- spoken, and find the ability to go with the flow. An [...]
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Friday, September 9, 2011
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Fourth Chakra: The Personal Heart
The fourth chakra is located by the heart in humans. Its color is emerald green. The Heart Chakra is focused on love, and its main action: trust. Gratitude springs from the personal heart. An underactive Heart Chakra can show as martyrdom, possessiveness, a cold, distant demeanor, or a feeling of being unloved. Sometimes it presents [...]
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Tuesday, August 9, 2011
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Definition of Wellness
Taking up where Swami Satchitananda left off with illness, we come to wellness. The word wellness is a variation on wholeness. Here’s another excerpt from God’s Dictionary – Whole hál = healthy “I had a client complain to me the other day, ‘I just want to be whole.’ The implication in that statement struck me [...]
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Monday, August 8, 2011
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Third Chakra: Will & Joy … Ego
The third chakra is located in the solar plexus in humans. Its color is sunshine yellow. The Solar Plexus chakra is about self-identity and the use of personal will and its concomitant emotion–joy. It guides how we present ourselves to the world, mental life and linear thinking. An underactive Solar Plexus chakra can show as [...]
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Tuesday, August 2, 2011
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Second Chakra: Passion & Creativity
The second chakra is located just below the belly button in humans; also known as the Dan Tien. Its color is pumpkin orange. The second, or Sacral Chakra addresses our passion, our creativity, our sexuality and our play. We use this chakra to balance energy exchanges. Money issues are encased in this energy center as [...]
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Tuesday, August 2, 2011
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First Chakra: Tribal Survival & Life Energy
The first chakra, also known as the Root Chakra, is located at the perineum in humans. Its color is fire engine red. The Root Chakra encompasses our survival needs: food, clothing, shelter, warmth or cooling, as well as our need for community, relationships, and legacy. It is also where our very life energy is generated; [...]
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Wednesday, July 13, 2011
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Further Resources – Spiritual Health
May I recommend a few random mystical medical resources for your leisurely further perusal? You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay Occult Anatomy and the Bible by Corinne Heline Messages from the Body by Michael Lincoln Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss The Body is the Barometer of the Soul by Annette Noontil [...]
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Wednesday, July 13, 2011
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Omnifaith Chakra Practices
As you know, I believe that spiritual practice is a living, breathing energy all on its own. It is dynamic, magnetic, and constantly changing as we change. The student of spiritual living is always on the lookout for new spiritual practices. Working with the chakra system is a path of lifelong learning. A Hindu way [...]
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Friday, June 3, 2011
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Illness
Oh yes, we all get to face this challenge at some point in our lives. It doesn’t have to be a dramatic illness, or a drastic one. It doesn’t have to be chronic or forever. It can be as simple as an allergy to green grass, or strawberries, but our bodies give us messages that [...]
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011
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Body Wisdom
One of the most amazing things about our bodies is that they always, without exception, tell the truth. In fact, the human body not only doesn’t lie, but it can’t lie. So the real question here is: do you connect to the reality of your body wisdom or do you treat your body like a [...]
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Tuesday, April 19, 2011
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A Body of Gratitude
One of the most powerful body practices I’ve ever encountered is a body inventory of gratitude. Do you have two ears? Be glad. Two eyes? Be grateful. Ten toes? Get thankful. Really, gratitude makes any body healthier, or, at any rate, happier, and thereby, healthier. Start anywhere you want—and especially when you’re feeling blue—and begin [...]
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Monday, April 4, 2011
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Body Messages and Meanings
“All right, Dr. Corso, I’ve got a message from the previous practice.” I hear you asking. “So now what do I do?” Now comes the stickiest part of body messaging: interpretation. Or, more importantly, correct interpretation. When we’re reading our own bodies or those of the people we love, we can get attached to outcomes, [...]
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Wednesday, March 30, 2011
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The Mystical Body
The mystics of old had myriad theories about what animated human, fleshly incarnation. There are those who talk about vapours, others about auras, others about the etheric. I could go on and on. I actually think the most important thing to know without a doubt is that Something animates the human body. [...]
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Thursday, February 3, 2011
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Creating Sacred Space
I know this sounds like a “woo-woo” option when dealing with health issues, but hear me out before you reject it entirely. Even though the bowl in the picture above is beautiful, what’s important about it, and what makes it valuable isn’t the edge of the bowl—it’s the space inside. Isabella Mears, who translated Lao [...]
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Monday, January 10, 2011
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Patients
Oh yes, the age-old transformation of a person or persons into a patient or patients. It’s amazing to me how disempowering it can be to become a patient rather than a person. Once one is a patient, there is an implicit problem—no matter what—even if you’re healthy. The Oxford English Dictionary explains it thus: patient, [...]
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Friday, December 10, 2010
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A Diagnosis is Not a Prognosis
Diagnosis is a particular medical gift. There is even an entire popular television series based on it called House. I don’t know who spoke the wise sentence that … A Diagnosis is Not a Prognosis … but I’ve found myriad occasions to use it with great success. Both words share as their second half the [...]
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Monday, November 29, 2010
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Witnessing
Sometimes, the biggest blessing one can be in a complex medical situation is to volunteer to go to doctor appointments with the one whose process it is. First, it takes the pressure of responsibility for transportation off the shoulders of the person in the crisis. Driving and parking or navigating public transit in places that [...]
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Monday, November 22, 2010
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Every Little Cell Song
A student of mine taught me this little song. I find I sing it when I am afraid about my health, which is more often than I’d like to admit. It goes to the tune of the old song, Mammy’s Little Baby. The lyric goes: Every little cell in my body is healthy, Every little cell [...]
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Monday, October 18, 2010
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Spiritual Body Practices
As you know, I believe that spiritual practice is a living, breathing energy all its own. It is dynamic, magnetic, constantly changing as we change. The student of spiritual living is always on the lookout for new spiritual practices. I truly believe that all humans can and need to take a spiritual approach to living [...]
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Monday, October 4, 2010
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Further Peace Resources
May I recommend a few random peace resources for your leisurely further perusal? · Peace Pilgrim: An Extraordinary Life by Ann Rush available through www.PeacePilgrim.com · Steps Toward Inner Peace by Peace Pilgrim · Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh · The Peace Book: 108 Simple Ways to Create a More Peaceful World [...]
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Sunday, September 26, 2010
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Peace in the World’s Religions
Baha’i: War is death while PEACE is life. Buddhism: There is no happiness greater than PEACE. Christianity: Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS for they shall be called the children of God. Confucianism: Seek to be in harmony with all your neighbors … live in PEACE with your brethren. Hinduism: Without meditation, where is PEACE? Without PEACE, [...]
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Thursday, September 16, 2010
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May Peace Prevail on Earth
This is the prayer that you can see on Peace Poles all over the world. A peace pole is a six-sided pole usually bearing the prayer above in six different languages. Created by Masahisa Goi in 1955 after he saw the devastation of his native Japan, the prayer was given to him in meditation. May [...]
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Saturday, September 11, 2010
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I Could See Peace
This is the peace lesson that set me off on my mission of inner peace, although it was many years after I started to work for peace that I realized that my work was inner peace, not world peace. I’m about to tell you a somewhat drastic story, so put your seatbelt on. I was [...]
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Wednesday, September 1, 2010
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Peace Like A River
I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul. I’ve got love like an ocean … I’ve got joy like a fountain … I first heard this song in a Unity Church, and although I’ve been all over the Internet, I cannot [...]
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Wednesday, September 1, 2010
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Let Peace Begin with Me
This is part of a lyric from a song written by Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller in 1955. It’s called “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” and it’s often sung to close the services in New Thought churches. The story goes that Jackson had been suicidal after the failure of a marriage and she [...]
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Monday, August 23, 2010
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Dona Nobis Pacem
Dona Nobis Pacem I so love this Gregorian chant that I named my press for it. Dona Nobis Pacem (DOH nah NO beece PA chem) is a phrase from the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) section of the Roman Catholic mass. It was set as a separate, final movement in Bach’s Mass in B Minor. The actual words [...]
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Monday, August 23, 2010
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Peace Offering
Peace Offering Peace offerings are outlined in the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Leviticus, Chapter 3, as part of the Jewish Law. Interestingly, biblical commentators make one universal distinction about peace offerings: they must be given freely. A peace offering was a spontaneous gift to the Temple Priests because of gratitude. Something good came to the [...]
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Sunday, August 22, 2010
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And On Earth Peace
This practice is based on a quote from the Christian Scripture in the Christmas story from the Book of Luke 4:12. The quote reads … And on Earth peace; goodwill toward all … Know what this means? It is definitely a wish for peace for the entire earth, but it’s also a prescription for how [...]
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Thursday, August 12, 2010
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Further Healthy Relationship Resources
May I recommend a few random relationship resources for your leisurely further perusal? The Hard Questions: 100 Questions to Ask Before You Say “I Do” by Susan Piver Making Peace with your Parents by Harold Bloomfield, M. D. Kabbalah: A Love Story by Rabbi Lawrence Kushner The Outlander Books by Diana Gabaldon Getting the Love [...]
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Thursday, August 12, 2010
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An Instrument of Peace
This is the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. There are many popular versions of it, but this is the most common. I use it when I can’t see peace in a given situation, or when I’m not sure of what my role in a situation might be. “Lord, make me an instrument of Thy [...]
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Thursday, August 12, 2010
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Peace Begins with a Smile
Mother Teresa of Calcutta won the Nobel Peace Prize for 1979 because of her tireless work among the poorest of the poor in India. She is famous for the words above; I’ve seen sweatshirts and plaques bearing these timeless words. Peace begins with a smile. I use them here to remind us that we like [...]
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Saturday, August 7, 2010
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Peace Walk
This peace exercise is based on the work of Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk who held the consciousness for peace during the Vietnam War. One of his best books on peace is Peace is Every Step. Much of the mindfulness practice he recommends to his students includes doing everything with conscious intention, including [...]
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Wednesday, July 7, 2010
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Peace, Be Still
These words come from the mouth of the Great Nazarene, Jesus. He uses them to change the weather, making him an exemplary weather witch! (Forgive me, I couldn’t resist!) Seriously, Jesus has been preaching all day, and is tired. He and his disciples decide to take their boat across the Sea of Galilee to rest [...]
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Thursday, July 1, 2010
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Gratitude
One of the things that’s hard to keep in focus when we are frustrated with our partners is what we are grateful for in that sacred being who is ticking us off at that moment. Gratitude, dear one, is a discipline. I mean it. Gratitude takes discipline. Keeping our eyes on what we are grateful [...]
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Thursday, July 1, 2010
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Inner … Peace …
These are the words to which I fall asleep every single night. These are the words that I believe address the true desire of every sacred being on the planet, and all beings are sacred beings here. These words help me return to the nature of Being. Being itself, the very Divine Spark that animates [...]
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Thursday, June 10, 2010
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Choose Harmony
Most of us don’t even know that we have a choice about harmony or disharmony in our relationships. We can actually choose harmony. I have been in both kinds of relationships: ones that ran on a relatively even keel, and ones that were full of drama and trauma. I definitely prefer harmony in relating. What [...]
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Monday, June 7, 2010
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Be Playful
This technique is about making a space for your Inner Children in an adult relationship. I know a lot of folks who seem to think that their inner children are now adults, but in working with clients for over 28 years, I’ve never found one adult without an inner child. The real issue is how [...]
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Sunday, May 23, 2010
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Touch
Touch is a magic balm for most people. Are you one of the lucky ones who knows that about yourself? I love a story told by Sue Monk Kidd about her preacher husband. She was going through a particularly sticky patch in her spiritual growth and he came home from work one night and found [...]
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Sunday, May 23, 2010
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Heal One Another
Love consists in looking together in the same direction. Antoine de Saint-Exupery Human touch is healing especially when the intent to heal is present. So often in relationship, one person expresses their dismay at a situation, say, at work, and the other tries to offer a fix. Most of the time, fixing isn’t what’s required. [...]
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Sunday, May 16, 2010
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Steam Valves
Everybody needs time alone. In fact, I think most everyone needs much more time alone than we allow ourselves, which is how we get into tussles with one another in the first place. Planning time alone is the first line of defense against silly squabbles that are simply the result of too much input. Another [...]
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Thursday, May 6, 2010
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Use Windex
If the doors of perception were cleansed, Everything would be seen as it is, infinite.William Blake Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that “reality is one hundred percent perception.” It’s true. We each have our own unique eye that views our world. Part of the art of relationship is sharing that singular worldview with others. How do [...]
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Thursday, April 29, 2010
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Know Thyself
These two words are a famous Greek aphorism accredited to many different philosophers. All are agreed that they appeared over the entrance of the great Oracle at Delphi. Oscar Wilde once quipped that “to fall in love with oneself is the beginning of a lifelong love affair.” On some level, this sounds selfish, but it’s [...]
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Sunday, April 25, 2010
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There Is Always Enough Time
Here’s a part of the email I received asking for this article …. The theme is being and staying active. Maybe something on keeping our brains/spirituality active, that, like our bodies, requires thoughtful maintenance? So, of course, I said an instant yes, basically because of a client who I just saw at Visions. He, like [...]
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Sunday, April 25, 2010
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$aver$ & $pender$
This is the seminal disagreement in most relationships and it can take some skillful maneuvering to navigate a serious divide on how to handle money. Let’s face it. Most of us are either savers or spenders and not both. A difference in financial styles can cause huge disagreements if we don’t take the time to [...]
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Thursday, April 15, 2010
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Learn How to Fight
Consider your own fighting style seriously. I mean it. What do you do when you’re mad? Sad? Feel bad? Are glad? We all have “default” behaviors. How do yours fit with those of your Beloved? It matters. Contrasting fighting styles make for much more painful fights. Let’s look at the two most contrasting fighting styles. [...]
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Thursday, April 8, 2010
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Talk About Everything
There is an expression in common parlance that some things “go without saying.” Au contraire, my friend. Over the years I’ve discovered that anything that I think should go without saying NEEDS to be said. In fact, I think everything needs to be said. The wildest thing about human beings is that we think other [...]
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Monday, April 5, 2010
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Pray Together
To live a life in relationship means to be in spiritual engagement whether we are consciously engaged spiritually or not. Two people who are drawn to one another are drawn for a variety of reasons. The most usual one is that their spirits and their souls form a pattern that we recognize as love. This [...]
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Monday, April 5, 2010
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Do a Pre-Nup
One of the hardest things I’ve ever done is negotiate a pre-nuptial agreement. It was also extraordinarily rewarding. The reason is because it meant we had to get conscious about a lot of unconscious matters. Like, our ideas about money and how we would handle it in our relationship. Ideas about death and who wanted [...]
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Wednesday, March 17, 2010
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Eternal Forgiveness Practice
One of my favorite passages in the Christian Scripture is when Simon Peter, stretching his imagination to the limit, asks Jesus, “How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?” This dialogue appears in the Gospel of St. Matthew 18:20-21. The Great Rabbi is reputed to have answered, “Unto [...]
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Wednesday, March 17, 2010
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Healthy Relationship
Relationship. We can’t live with it, and we can’t live without it. It’s an art, not a science, predicated on the notion that we know what love is. Do we? Really? I’ll go so far as to say that everyone has a definition of love, but I’m not sure any of us has the definition [...]
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Thursday, March 4, 2010
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Repeat Forgiveness
Forgiveness is a lifetime task, endless, constantly ebbing and flowing. Why? Because the human brain has constructed the ego as a way to function in our complex civilization. Ego is the inner judge that creates the need for ongoing forgiveness. My partner and I have discovered that we need forgiveness with one another almost daily! [...]
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Thursday, March 4, 2010
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Forgetting
I know, I know, the old expression goes, “Forgive and forget.” But, you know what? The greater truth is that when one truly forgives, there is no need to add the second step. In fact, I think the forgetting part is a burden. Think on this. When there is genuine forgiveness, there is no need [...]
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Thursday, March 4, 2010
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Feeling Forgiven
I like what Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Bishop Desmond Tutu, says about forgiveness: Without forgiveness, there is no future. The future is always about possibility, is it not? Without forgiveness, possibility becomes severely restricted. Who wants a future like that? Feeling forgiven is a remarkable experience. Most often my response to being forgiven is a [...]
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Saturday, February 13, 2010
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When You Can’t Forgive
Sometimes, there are circumstances that you simply feel you cannot forgive, that it is just not within your capacity to give good for supposed evil. With the understanding that this is still a function of your own judgment, there is a way to proceed toward forgiveness. The most powerful story I ever heard about this [...]
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010
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And Deeper Forgiveness …
And now we reach the bottom line of all “negative” emotions: longing. Because we are designed in the image and likeness of our creator, we are creators ourselves. Longing is all about desire. Desire foreshadows all creative processes. The question to ask yourself to complete this Act of Forgiveness is: What do I really want? [...]
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Thursday, January 28, 2010
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The Layer of Forgiveness Under That
The emotional hierarchy continues. Stay in that safe place with any sadness you are unable to resolve. Consider those circumstances again. Again, make sure you are safe with the feelings. Now lift the sadness and peek underneath it. Usually what’s under sadness is plain old fear. Ask yourself what you are afraid of. Let the [...]
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Wednesday, January 20, 2010
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The Next of Forgiveness Layer
In the many, many years I have worked with forgiveness, I have discovered that the process tends to work best in layers. This means we have to get into emotional process which is as individual as … well, each individual. Despite that, I am going to generalize here and say that usually the issues which [...]
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Saturday, January 16, 2010
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The Act of Forgiveness Itself
Once you have your lists complete, and you’ll know inside when they are, then it is time to do your Act of Forgiveness. I like to call this Your Forgiving Birthday. You need to gather some materials to accomplish this. Here’s the list: Cookie trays Aluminum foil Boxes of birthday candles (as many as are [...]
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Friday, January 8, 2010
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List to be Forgiven By
Now we get to do the same process in reverse. We are looking at those from whom we feel that we need forgiveness. If you have 125 names on the first list, there are usually the same number on the Forgiven By list. The universe is always a balanced equation. Again, I caution you to [...]
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009
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List to Forgive
The first order of business is the making of a list of those whom you need to forgive. From personal experience, I can tell you that this list will surprise you. Begin with the broad strokes, the things which you have had trouble forgiving over a long period of time. Deaths, betrayals, secrets. Then when [...]
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009
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Find the Forgiver in You
Who is the Forgiver in you? Who is the Self that forgives? How can you find that Self? I call the spirit in all beings the Divine Spark. It’s that whole, perfect, unadulterated, animated Self of you. Really, it’s the part of you that never has to forgive because it can’t be offended. It already [...]
