As we all know, Steve Jobs resigned on Wednesday as chief executive officer from Apple. Today I received an email from Learn Out Loud with a link to a commencement speech Steve, who never graduated from college, delivered at Stamford University. It’s wise. It’s short. It’s honest. It’s wonderful.
Archive for August, 2011
Steve Jobs, Sounds True, and Three Inspiring Stories
Posted in Uncategorized on August 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Rachel Naomi Ramen, Carl Rogers, and Honoring Those we Serve
Posted in healing, healing recovery, marriage counseling, psychotherapy, tagged Carl Rogers, counseling, healing, psychotherapy, Rachel Naomi Remen, therapy on August 24, 2011| 4 Comments »
In “Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that Heal,” Rachel Naomi Remen wrote of a workshop she attended that was facilitated by the late Carl Rogers, creator of Client Centered Therapy.” Rogers shared the following with Remen’s group:
“Before every session I take a moment to remember my humanity. There is no experience that this man has that I cannot share with him, no fear that I cannot understand, no suffering that I cannot care about, because I too am human. No matter how deep his wound, he does not need to be ashamed in front of me. I too am vulnerable. And because of this, I am enough. Whatever his story, he no longer needs to be alone with it. This is what will allow his healing to begin.”
Of all the wisdom that has been shared with me over my many years of training and experience as a therapist, Rogers words reflect the true essence of healing.
A Question to Ask When Your Life Hurts
Posted in crisis, depression, healing, resiliance, transformation, tagged crisis, depression, growth, healing, living well, tough times, transformation on August 18, 2011| 2 Comments »
When we encounter times in our lives that disorient us, frighten us, or wound us, we generally view them as unwelcome interruptions or unfortunate detours that have been inflicted by some outside force, or are the result of our own misguided actions. Seldom do we recognize that the discomfort that we’re experiencing may in fact be originating from a very deep and wise place inside of ourselves that is calling to us. Calling for us to stop and to listen, to explore the meaning and purpose of our lives, and to assess whether our actions and choices reflect what is best for us and in us. A voice that calls us to answer the question, “is the path that I am on now one that will constrict or enlarge me, hollow me out or deepen me, distract me or teach me, harm me or heal me?”
Matthew Fox and Our Collective Dark Night
Posted in Uncategorized on August 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I listened to Matthew Fox on a Sounds True podcast this evening. Fox shared,
“I really think our species is in a great dark night of the soul at this time, because we’re all unsure about what the future holds, with so many decisions ahead of us and so many institutions not working, from government to politics to economics, and many of our religions are in bad shape, education… It is one of these times when there has to be this breakthrough. This creativity has to come out of the emptying. People in AA learn this, too, that the “bottoming out” that happens there is a profound shift in their entire way of being in the world.”
What will emerge from our collective dark night? What will we save, create, celebrate, grieve, reclaim, and love, as we move through the darkness and into the light?
The Hidden Letter
Posted in awe and wonder, good life, healing, Uncategorized, tagged beautiful places, depression, holy places, lake houses, living well, maine retreats, poetry, seizing the day on August 1, 2011| 1 Comment »
It has been an incredibly beautiful week here as we begin to make preparations to move the retreat and training division of SagePlace to the lake house in central Maine. During this process we discovered a 5 page goodbye letter written to the house and hidden away in a secret hiding place for twenty-seven years. The lettter was written by a man and his children who had lived here then and while sad to leave, were also grateful for the healing which took place and wrote with tremendous honesty and beauty about their experiences. The letter concluded with a riddle written by a young child (who would now be a middle aged adult) to whomever might discover the letter in the future. If we solved the riddle correctly, it appeared to imply that there was a treasure that lived in the heart of Wayne – the house itself. We tucked the letter safely back in its hiding place and have decided that over the years we will add our own letters to these very dear people who remain unknown (but very much appreciated) to us in the hopes that far off into the future they will all be uncovered again and will touch the hearts of future residents of the house as our hearts were touched.
Following is an untitled poem that speaks to me of all of the holy places available to each and every one of us…
I do not have to go
To Sacred Places
In far-off lands.
The ground I stand on
Is holy.
Here, in this little garden
I tend
My pilgrimage ends.
The wild honeybees
The hummingbird moths
The flickering fireflies at dusk
Are a microcosm
Of the Universe.
Each seed that grows
Each spade of soil
Is full of miracles.
And I toil and sweat
And watch and wonder
And am full of love.
Living in place
In this place.
For truth and beauty
Dwell here.
By poet and activist, Mary de La Valette
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