Tag: self knowledge
What we share
One way to help alleviate the pain caused by others is to think about them without rancor; to see them in the light of what is shared. We all have a past that has some pain and sorrow connected to it. This does have an affect on how we relate and respond to others, but… Read More ›
The Golden Rule
The Golden Rule is a call to deep inner probing. Without self knowledge, without the inner journey, our sensitivity towards others is severely curtailed. All that is possible is to react on the level of the instinctual, allowing anxiety and fear to fuel anger that is either directed outward or driven deep within. If compassion… Read More ›
Get Up
There are times when the hardest thing to accomplish is to simply get up,or to keep going. To give up is easy, to move forward in faith more difficult. We are on a journey, so wrong turns will be taken, there will be failures and detours, yet, as it is learned, grace draws us back over and… Read More ›
Reading St. Bernard
This is a continuation of an interview with Fr. Michael Casey, OSCO January, 2010. Br Chris: Do you think that Saint Bernard is over emphasized amongst the other Cistercian Fathers? It seems that he has the pride of place in Cistercian monasteries, over and above our other Cistercian Fathers. Fr Michael Casey: Well, as I… Read More ›
I don’t blame the past
. . . We simply don’t know the inner pain that others carry, or the shame, or anger, until a relationship is formed and trust built up enough, so that some kind of openness and sharing with others can be experienced. I guess that is perhaps one of the great gifts of the 12 step… Read More ›
What the soul seeks
(stream of consciousness) A soul in pain seeks diversion. Or if tired, perhaps to find some rest, but where? Root-less-ness, a feeling of not belonging, can be a source of deep inner alienation, leading to isolation. Form; that which has boundaries, is not what the soul needs, at least on the level of inner thirst… Read More ›
Prejudices and bigotry (part 2)
(return to part 1) I remember one day, I saw a women and her small son stranded near a traffic light on Hwy 212, near were I live. She was from a different race and I was hesitant to stop because of how I look. I have a very long beard and hair and some… Read More ›
Discernment
There is more than one way to look at the whole process of discernment and each person who is seeking to make some kind of choice about a course of action will deal with it differently. No matter how it is done, or who one talks to, in the end it is up to the… Read More ›
Ashes (Ash Wednesday)
To think of ash, is to enter into the reality of endings, absurdity and temporality; bringing to mind that everything in life that we often work and strive for, is in reality a dead end, a waste of time and even if truth be told, if actually thought about, not worth the effort. I think… Read More ›
Never too late
There are different types of beauty that are often noticed by individuals but perhaps ignored by the overall culture. There is the vibrant beauty of youth, which is of course noticed by our culture and idolized to the point of actually causing harm. Young men and women with an inner glow and vibrancy that perhaps… Read More ›