Inside the Minds of Valerie and Mike (and Anna)
Day 4 I increased my time to 15 minutes today. I started out fairly strong—keeping focus on my breathing and keeping the extraneous thoughts vying for my attention at bay. But that only lasted a few minutes. Valerie didn't realize I was doing my new daily practice and asked me a direct question. That tripped... Continue Reading →
Day 3 Today brought a new challenge — external conversation. Paul came home for the evening. Although I moved myself to a "remote" part of the house, hearing he and Valerie talk was unavoidable. The challenge was to note the conversation while not mentally inserting myself into it. It probably goes without saying that the... Continue Reading →
Day 2 Today, I worked 14.5 hours, got home at 11:15, had dinner, spent a bit of time chatting with Valerie, and then sat down to do my daily meditation. I was exhausted going into it. I was a little nervous that I might fall asleep. But that was not the case. Rather than falling... Continue Reading →
Day 1 Over the last few months, I have read "The Man on the Mountainside" by Susan Trott, "10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works," by Dan Harris, and now "The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions," by... Continue Reading →
The bright yellow caught my eye and changed my plans. I decided I could use a distraction. Someone had left a yellow gerbera daisy in a small vase at the center of the labyrinth. So I stopped and decided to walk the labyrinth, something I haven’t done in a while. But I wasn’t 2 steps onto... Continue Reading →
I recently read a sermon in which the author stated that they “prefer to look at the church as a symphony or a tapestry”. While I can appreciate the idea of being a piece of a bigger artwork, I can’t embrace that the analogy of the church as a tapestry or a symphony, and I’ll... Continue Reading →
My mind is spinning with thoughts as questions from a Facebook post asking about a Gospel reading collided with a book I’m reading about how habits form, become entrenched, and change. In Mark 8:27-37, Jesus is asking his disciples who do people say that he, Jesus, is and then asks his disciples who do they... Continue Reading →
It’s taken me a while to start putting my thoughts and feelings into words. I do remember looking through old Gathering photos 2 years ago as I was pulling some for a gift I was putting together for our Youth and Family Ministry Director who was stepping down. As her husband was emailing me more photos... Continue Reading →
I had heard that the Gathering was big. I knew 30,000 was the typical attendance. I had heard of the energy that emanated from it, especially from the Mass Gatherings. I saw the Facebook posts suggesting getting ear plugs. And let’s not forget that this was Houston at the end of June…so, it was going... Continue Reading →
Maybe your initial reaction is "how cute, a page full of hearts." But it's not. Look at it again. I started with the big question mark in the middle. I had just listened to a podcast that had proposed some questions to consider in order to answer an original question. It set my mind and... Continue Reading →
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