In this first week of Advent, Sunday’s Gospel describes Jesus telling his disciples to pay attention to the signs all around them in order to be ready for the return of Christ. If we look at this reading, not with…

At any point in life we might find ourselves on a path of sacrificial love — the kind that, metaphorically speaking, requires one to stand in the crossfire of a bully to protect the vulnerable.  Staying present amidst a deeply…

I don’t like being hurt or feeling lost.  I don’t like the agony of knowing that my path is leading to something painful.  I don’t like the burden of dying to self so that some hoped-for greater good can live…

On a regular basis we human beings find ourselves at decision points of all sizes.  We wonder which way to go and if the stakes our high we might agonize over selecting a path forward.  Recently I heard a teaching…

There is a counselor I know who pays great attention to how the body holds experiences.  In conversation with her, I gained an entry-level understanding into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.  The sympathetic nervous system is basically the fight…

If we want someone’s soul to show up, if we want genuine, mature relationships, we need to provide safe space.  Oxford Languages defines safe space as “a place or environment in which a person or category of people can feel…

Too often we slap a label on an individual that may capture a moment in time but fails to consider the bigger picture. 

You might witness a woman in a given situation and see a stress response activated in her…

Several years ago someone I cared about deeply betrayed my trust in a major way. When I tried to address the matter directly with this person, I was initially met with a version of “you made me do it.”  Instead…

During my grade school years I realized I was a songwriter.  Melodies and lyrics came to me with ease and enjoyment.  I scribbled them down on any paper available and tucked them away for a future time when my confidence…

I’m one of those people who keeps a running list of tasks to get done. Usually this is a good practice for me. The upside is that it allows me to dump my thoughts in one place for easy reference…