Consider these thought-provoking questions about grief: Is grief a mental illness? Do drugs help or hinder the healing of grief? What brings comfort to the grief caused by loss and pain? Anna Bowness-Park, of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, answers these questions in a tender, heart-warming article in which she shares how she found freedom from intense (or
The discomfort produced by guilt is not limited to mental agony; it brings physical torment as well. And since guilt starts in our heads, that’s where its cure needs to begin. As Keith Wommack of Corpus Christi, Texas writes in a Houston Chronicle article last week, “in order to heal a body affected by guilt,
“Over 80% of Americans directly feel God’s love according to a survey conducted by the organization funded by the John Templeton Foundation”. This was reported by Steven Salt last month in an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Cleveland.com) entitled, “Love delivers healthy makeover”. With some recent incidents in the news that just call out
What if we ranked nations by their “gross national happiness” instead of their gross national product? That’s how the country of Bhutan has measured itself since the early 1970’s. If you live in Michigan, as I do, where we still have snow on the ground, snow in the air at times, and it’s just plain
Two recent articles in the news tell touching stories that highlight the curative nature of love. (1) Mum’s love and faith heals Liam Knight February 17, The Sunday Telegraph in Sydney, Austrailia by Clementine Cuneo Excerpts: Liam’s remarkable recovery is testament to a mother’s love and determination to get her child better – and nothing
“Let’s see if I can help him with a jolt of energy, a thought of love and perhaps a prayer.” writes Phil Mikan in the New Britain Herald in Connecticut last Sunday. This is what he thought when he came across a wounded butterfly. It’s interesting to me that he had been researching “the energy
Could YOU walk on a wire across Niagara Falls? Nik Wallenda made it look pretty easy. He was so calm and looked to be always in control. In interviews with Wallenda on TV I heard two elements of a spiritual practice that helped him achieve this remarkable feat: praying and monitoring thought.
Royal Gorge in Colorado, the deepest in the U.S. (courtesy of flickr user David Watson)
The closest I’ve come to this feat was probably when I walked across a wooden footbridge over the Royal Gorge in Colorado years ago. The bridge is suspended with large steel cables and it is wide enough for a car to drive over. So, this clearly was not in the same league as Wallenda’s amazing feat at Niagara Falls. But it was my own tightrope experience because I had long been afraid of heights.
That weekend, I had been praying and feeling close to God. I overcame my fear of heights, and with slow, deliberate footsteps walked across to the other side.
He shared a video of one of his house calls to a poor woman in another country who was very ill and in much pain. Using his humor, despite a language barrier, he had her sitting up, smiling, laughing, and singing. It was apparent that she experienced some relief from her suffering. This was part
Another holiday season is upon us. It’s supposed to be a joyous and festive time. But unfortunately for many, this season may come with feelings of loneliness or depression. There is, however, a spiritual solution for this.
A recent study¹ by the University of Michigan Health System published in Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing found that a nondenominational spiritual retreat could increase hope and reduce depression.
This got me to thinking of how beneficial it would be to have a “mini” spiritual retreat of sorts each day – a time to be calm and to think – to think of something good in our lives, to feel love for family and friends, to look beyond ourselves, focus on the connections we do have and to kindly consider others – a time to be quiet and to listen for inspiration.