Faith & Living

In the Spirit

jbloustein — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:47:36 -0600

Every Lent my teenage daughters give something up—or at least consider it.

It’s the usual things. Chocolate. Pop. A favorite TV show. Once Lulu gave up meat. Last year, Charlotte renounced caffeine, a sacrifice she found especially challenging since it meant going without her beloved Earl Grey tea with milk and sugar.

Still, she told me, it was easier than the other act of self-denial she’d been contemplating: “no technology”—that is, 40 days without Facebook or texting.

The Knowing Heart

jbloustein — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:56:15 -0500

What is love?

If, like me, you grew up in the America of the 1970s, you knew it was a lot of things all at once. Practically every song on the Top 40 station I listened to had the word “love” in it somewhere, and in each song it was described in a slightly different way.

For Diana Ross, love was like an itching in her heart that she couldn’t scratch. According to a group called the Ohio Players, love was a roller coaster. “Love hurts,” one song lamented, while another went a step further by announcing: “Love stinks.”

Picture This...

admin — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 11:47:00 -0500

Close your eyes. Picture yourself lying on the soft, powdery sand of a secluded beach. Feel the warmth of the sun caressing you. Hear waves gently, rhythmically lapping near your toes. Breathe deeply, smelling the sharp sea air and the cocoa butter in your suntan lotion. A light breeze whispers...

Wait a minute! What is this? Some New Age hocus pocus?

Be Still

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:05:00 -0500

Think of energy and you may think of sound, motion and get-up-and-go. But there is another kind of energy we need just as much—the energy of silence.

Actually, in today's chaotic, busy world, we might need it even more than we need action. When was the last time you tuned out the noise of television, cell phones, radios, MP3 players, and the chatter of your own thoughts? When was the last time you listened to the just sound of your breathing and felt the stillness of your soul?

Reach Your Peak

admin — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 11:38:00 -0600

Positive psychology is a big buzzword these days. Look at how many books at Borders and Barnes & Noble have "happiness" in the title.

Studies on topics such as resilience, well-being and gratitude have made their way from academic journals to mainstream magazines. More than 200 colleges and universities in the U.S. offer courses in the field.

This up-swell of interest represents a dramatic shift in psychology. For decades, the emphasis in both theory and practice had been on dysfunction, mental illness and repairing emotional damage.

My Weekend at St. Meinrad's

mcherkezian — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:57:54 -0600

Happy Birthday!” said my friend Lurlene, handing me a neatly wrapped present.

“Thanks,” I said. I could tell it was a book. A new devotional or an inspiring novel, maybe? I held it up to my ear and shook it. Lurlene giggled. It was my fiftieth birthday and Lurlene knew I’d been feeling restless lately.

The Joy of Meditation

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 09:14:00 -0500

There's plenty of proof that diet and exercise transform your body and make you feel happier. Can you train your brain to do the same? University of Wisconsin researchers have discovered it's a possibility. The diet is compassion; the exercise, meditation.

Song for a Storm

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:36:26 -0600

My husband and I were paddling across vast, wind-swept Lake Argentina in the desolate Patagonia region near the base of the lofty Andes mountain range. It was December 13, 1988, and we were nearing the completion of an unusual dream—to paddle our canoes from a far northern tip of North America to the southernmost point in South America, following 21,000 miles of rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Music Man

admin — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 11:33:00 -0600

Singer-songwriter John Shoemaker didn't always know how far his gift for music would take him. In fact, it wasn't until his early 20s that John even realized he had a gift for singing.

"I had no musical background at all," he says. "People actually asked me not to sing. I wrote a song once in high school and sang it for my girlfriend. She said, 'Please don't ever do that again.'"

Instant Energy

admin — Mon, 01 May 2006 13:44:00 -0500

"Do you have 10 minutes?" I bet you get asked that a lot—by friends, neighbors, coworkers, bosses, even strangers. And if you're like most people, you say, "Sure, what can I do for you?"

Give away 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there, and pretty soon you've got nothing left. No wonder the Families and Work Institute reports that 54 percent of employees in this country have felt overwhelmed at some point in the past month by how much they had to do.