77 results for tag: Change Behavior


Do We Have To Make Meditation Entertaining?

I have to admit, when I first saw the headline, David Romanelli sets out to make meditation entertaining, I cringed. I really did. The last few years has challenged me, observing many of our Sacred and Venerable rituals and practices become watered-down and made cute or sexy by Mother Culture. My immediate thought was simple, "Oh no, not meditation, please do not do this to meditation." This phenomenon has manifested with Reiki, Hatha Yoga, Qi Gong, Acupuncture and many other traditional healing practices. Isn't it enough that almost every image of meditation has a very thin, white female with perfect hair and skin with no pores? Please not meditation....

Should Spiritual Teachers Be Paid?

Whether Spiritual Teachers should accept payment is an issue that's been a point of inner conflict for me for many years. I have shifted from a firm "No", I then adapting the principle that "I need to get paid and my work is incredibly worthwhile". Most recently, I have shifted to somewhere in the middle, accepting I am very valuable as a resource to the community at large and the work is important. With that said, there is some work I will not accept payment. Of course, anyone who has done any real spiritual work, knows that there is always some form of payment that the student "pays". Payment may be in the form of servitude, Karma or a sense of responsibility to others. The payment may not be directed to the Teacher, but a karmic exchange must take place....

Meditation Retreat at Portsmouth Abbey

Last week I participated in a solo, two-day meditation retreat at Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, just north of Newport.  I was grateful for the opportunity to pray, meditate, sit and chant with the monks at Portsmouth Abbey.

Meditation Retreat at Portsmouth Abbey - The Chapel

Meditation Retreat at Portsmouth Abbey - Providence Life Coaching & Spiritual Training - portsmouth abbey chapel outside

If you have never visited a Benedictine Monastery before, they wake early in the morning, typically around 5:00a.m., beginning the day with the first of seven "Offices", or times of communal prayer through chanting. As a guest, you are welcome to join them for as much or as little of their daily routine as you feel moved. I did not choose to take part in the early morning prayer-time, instead I stayed in my room for silent prayer and meditation. I went there for silence and meditation....

Life Lessons Learned from Akeelah and The Bee

Life Lessons Learned from Akeelah and The Bee - Providence Holistic Counseling Services

  On Saturday Night we watched Akeelah and The Bee on Netflix. It was a fun and stimulating family movie that reached a wide audience with its various messages and life lessons. I love movies like this; they are entertaining for adults and kids but go deeper than your typical Disney-type movie. They are about something besides how to be cute and having everything in life magically fall into place whether you have put in the time and effort or not, like most Disney movies. This film was effective in engaging two eleven year olds, two fifty-two year olds and a sixty-one year old, not bad....

Waka Poetry Part II

More Waka Poetry. Each is its own poem, not necessarily related to the others. "Waka translates simply to "Japanese poem," but for most of us with a passing acquaintance with Japanese poetry, we’re more likely to think of haiku as the true poetry of Japan. While it is true haiku was the predominant form of Japanese culture, and certainly most recognized by non-Japanese, waka inspired it. It was an art form, first begun in the 8th century CE, which continued in popularity through the modern era. ...

Listening as An Art and Skill for Improving Relationships

There was a time when I used to be the guy who talked more than he listened, that may be still true, but the difference is that I listen today. I do not just hear your words when you speak; I actually listen to you. The difference may seem subtle on the surface; my experience demonstrates that the results are fairly profound. People enjoy being acknowledged and recognized, who doesn’t want the person they are communicating with to understand what they are saying? ...

Is Life A Series of Important Events or Processes?

I was reflecting the other morning on how we tend to think of life as a series of important events that mold and shape our world. As I sat with this thought for a while, it occurred to me events are rarely events, they tend to be a process that has culminated with a defining experience; the “event” was just a larger experience in a longer, more defined process.

 What Is An Important Event?

Let’s begin this exploration looking at major life events like weddings, birth, death, divorce, graduation, retirement and birthdays, and see if we can discover where the process began and if it really was an actual event....