The essays in this unit explore the joy and mystery of our lives, as we
begin to see ourselves as rays of healing light in the world.
Section 7: Aging and Downsizing as a Spiritual Quest
| Sample excerpt from Downsizing as a Spiritual Quest: Cleaning out a Home and Moving |
| There are certain wonderful turning points in our lives that we have in common with many people; graduations, first jobs, marriages, birth of children, home ownership, travel. We also have sad things in common with other people; illness, loss of relationships, deaths, divorce, job loss. What is more important than having these experiences is how we have these experiences. They help to create and develop who we are as people. The way in which we navigate each experience may even affect how we experience the next turning point. |
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Section 8: Thin Places: Where the veil between this side and the other side is permeable and we get a glimpse of the mystery.
| Sample excerpt from Broken Places as Thin Places |
Robert lost his job after working at the same company for twenty years. Gayle had her third miscarriage in three years. Karl suffered his second crippling depression and had to take time from work to recover. Azania’s husband announced to her after eighteen years of marriage that he had found someone he loved more and was leaving her. What do these people have in common, besides excruciating pain?
I believe they all have a sacred opportunity to embrace their experiences as thin places-- places of a closer-than-usual connection with the Holy--and to develop deeper spiritual lives as a result. I do not state this glibly. I have been there in my own life and as a witness to others’ lives. |
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Section 9: More Wisdom of the Inner Life
| Sample excerpt from The Too-Good Person Codependency: A Highly Rewarded Addiction |
Codependency and work are the two most prized addictions in our culture. We reward them—in fact we cultivate them—and as a result it is difficult to embrace the process of healing from them. Add an overlay of religious teaching on them and they become saintly addictions. What a mess.
One pragmatic definition of codependency is “being more attuned to another person than you are to yourself.” In Codependent No More,Melody Beattie defines the codependent as “One who has let another person’s behavior affect him/her and who is obsessed with controlling that person’s behavior.” That may sound saintly, but it leads to self-negation, ill health, resentment, inappropriate dependency and many other problems. |
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