Staying afloat in turbulent times
Note: Throughout history humans have divided ourselves along religious lines. We tend to quickly pigeonhole one another based on our theology. While I believe theological differences are real and important, spiritual resilience work is closer to a wellness program than to a Sunday School class. I invite you to translate these pages into your own spiritual framework, taking what’s useful and leaving the rest to God’s mercy.
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sWe live in turbulent times. There’s lots to be afraid of, lots to be angry about. Yet excessive anger and fear only make things worse.
Jesus knew that. In times as painful and uncertain as our own he reminded us to love God with everything we’ve got and our neighbors as ourselves. He reassured us we are not alone, which is perhaps our greatest fear. Jesus told us to be spiritually resilient: to keep a positive spirit and a sense of purpose and meaning even when the sky turns dark. But how do we get there? How can we close the gap between where we are and where God calls us to be? How can we open ourselves to grace with as much skill as we can muster? White-knuckling it only gets us part of the way. The Spiritual Resilience Project is designed to help. We combine scientific research on the human brain with our tradition's core wisdom about the world and our place in it. We adapt traditional spiritual practices so they are understandable and manageable in today’s quickly changing world. I am in the process of creating a few online courses that will be shared soon. In the meantime I will be posting to the blog with small chunks of information. |
Photo credits: Top, ©iStockphoto, AHarti; Bottom, Perriscope, Flickr