What Really Matters: Everyday Spirituality – Details, episodes & analysis

I'm back briefly after a long hiatus! In this episode I describe some health issues that began shortly after the previous episode and how I set out to manage them. I have been listening to my heart as a messenger for my soul and have been making some big changes in my life. You'll hear an update of what's going on right now and what to expect in the near future. I love sharing my own journey of spiritual growth and healing on this podcast so I will probably continue to provide updates from time to time.

In this concluding episode of the series on my grief travel through Italy I share some insights I gathered on a subsequent trip that introduced me to a doctor who became a saint. This episode includes:

• The life of Dr. Giuseppe Moscati who was later canonized as a saint
• Embracing the fact that death comes for everything and only love lasts
• Why I'm saying goodbye to this podcast for awhile

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Part 2 of this grief travel story takes place in Rome and at the Vatican. Be sure to listen to Part 1 if you haven't already! This episode includes:

• Learning about chiaroscuro
• The loving embrace of the Divine Feminine
• Losing my identity

In this episode I consider the 3rd question of those that people most frequently Google about life: How do I forgive? This is an important that signals the timing is right for some healing and growth to occur if you feel motivated to forgive. Here are some things you should know as you start to work on forgiveness:

• Have a mindset that you are willing to move on from the past and no longer want to carry a load of resentment and pain from the past.
• Acknowledge that harm has been done to you and you didn't deserve or cause it, but it did happen.
• Take one step back from the bundle of pain you have just acknowledge and recognize the weight of it that you have been carrying.
• Look deeper to see if there are other emotions hidden within the pain (anger, shame, rejection, betrayal, guilt, fear).
• Allow yourself to sit with that pain until you feel ready and strong enough to begin the work of releasing it.
• Use the 4-View Forgiveness Process (you'll need a journal).
• You can also use Ho'oponopono.

"Forgiveness is letting go of the belief that things should have been different." - Caroline Myss

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In this episode I'll discuss my current project to declutter my house and how it's forcing me to deal with the balance between holding on to things and letting go. This turns out to be an important issue spiritually. This episode includes:

• The ego is primarily interested in holding onto things (especially power and control).
• Spiritual growth involves training the ego to let go.
• But sometimes holding on is what is needed and the timing matters a great deal.
• How I've found the balance between holding on and letting go in my long-term marriage.
• Why we need to rise above the duality of holding on vs letting go to master doing both at the same time.

Check out my episode on Swedish Death Cleaning on End-of-Life University Podcast.

Get my latest book The Journey from Ego to Soul

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Today I'm reflecting on another of the most common questions about life that people ask Google: How do I find love? While most people are probably searching for romantic love and wondering what is the best dating app to use, I'm talking about the much bigger picture of Divine, universal, creative love and some of the work I'm doing in my life to increase my ability to give and receive love (which is what we came here to do!) This episode includes:

• We already carry love within us (in fact we are made of it!)
• The lower self (or ego) perceives that we are separate from everything else in the universe and can't recognize our connectedness.
• To find "the barriers within that we have built against love" we have to learn to calm our chaotic emotions.
• Next we learn to open our hearts and become vulnerable and authentic.
• Then we begin to recognize our own true nature.
• And we work on healing our old wounds and pain.
• Finally we become capable of healing others because we can truly carry and share the divine love that resides within us.

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." - Rumi

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In this episode I'll briefly share some ideas for non-material gifts you can "give" yourself to help make the holiday more meaningful and less hectic and exhausting. This is part of my own journey to get better at self-care so I'm sharing it with you as I try to learn how to do it myself. There won't be an episode next week because I'm taking the week off to enjoy the holidays (self-care!!) so I'll see you next time in 2022! This episode includes 6 gifts you should try to give yourself this year and that includes starting a journal, if you don't already have that practice. Until next year I wish you and your beloveds a meaningful and joyous celebration. May you find the strength and love and courage to move into the new year and face whatever challenges and blessings await us there!

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In this episode I talk about another pressing question we all deal with about life: how do we find happiness? I'm definitely not an expert on happiness but I have spent much of my life wishing I could be a happier person. So I'll share some poems and Rumi quotes with you and some stories of my own quest for happiness. Here are some of the things I've learned:

• Don't compare yourself to others.
• Trust happiness to come when you are ready.
• Happiness is an inside job so do your inner work.
• Savor each moment of joy that you experience and learn to be present.
• Recognize happiness in all the possibilities of life.
• Remember that everything has a life of its own.

“Ever since happiness heard your name it has been running through the streets trying to find you.” - Rumi

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In this episode I talk about the perennial question of life: Why do bad things happen (to ALL people - not just good people.) It's important that we talk about this because we need to develop a mindset that helps us when unwanted things do happen in our lives. This episode includes:

• The Parable of the Chinese Farmer and how some things that appear to be "bad" can actually turn out to be "good" in the end (and vice versa.)
• Why we should learn not to label events in our lives as bad or good and think of them instead as unwanted challenges or difficulties.
• The 1st and 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics and how they can help us look at these events in our lives.
• A process for experiencing the pain of things falling apart in life.
• Why it may take years before you can see that an unwanted event has contained or led to anything positive.
• The importance of tending to your physical well-being, mindset, emotions and spiritual awareness so that you can be a bit more prepared the next time something falls apart in your life.

"We spend our lives fighting against entropy to create order, beauty, growth and meaning, hoping it will last forever. But, like everything material in the Universe, it too will one day fall apart."

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In this quick episode I share what I'm learning right now and how I'm planning ahead to have a healthy and low-stress holiday season this year (wish me luck!) But to do that I have to work on setting better boundaries and honoring my own needs, which is what I'm working on. I hope you have a healthy and happy holiday season too! Remember to plan ahead, set clear priorities, communicate your needs and focus on the things that you enjoy most!

Watch my 1-hour presentation on Self-Care for the Holidays! https://youtu.be/qXaI7Lr9w1o