How to Let Go of Anxiety (Allowing God to Shine Through You)

 How to Let Go of Anxiety (Allowing God to Shine Through You)

On a scale of one to ten, how much anxiety do you have, with one being no anxiety and ten being overwhelmed and incapacitated?

Many of us face anxiety that comes from trying to control things we have no control over. Do you worry about all the possible things that can go wrong and feel helpless to stop them?

Social media, television, and radio constantly remind us of the world's misfortunes, leaving us to wonder if we could be next.

Healing from anxiety takes time and spiritual work. The more you can connect with the holy within you, the more God can shine through you. Are you ready to let go of anxiety?

Read More

Nine Ways to Recover from Burnout (Through the Lens of the Enneagram)

 Nine Ways to Recover from Burnout (Through the Lens of the Enneagram)

Are you feeling down, lacking energy, unmotivated, depressed and have feelings of hopelessness?  Maybe you are burnt out. 

Burnout gradually catches up with you when you fail to notice what is happening inside you. 

Maybe you are in a relationship where you feel like you are walking on eggshells.  Maybe you are in a job that under-uses your skills. Maybe you feel stuck in life and don’t know what to do.

Learning to face your reality while hard can be the critical step to move you towards healing. Learning the Enneagram can help you find your way to healing.

The Enneagram is a powerful spiritual tool to help you notice what is happening in your internal world. Through discerning your Enneagram type, you will discover what happens to you when you get stuck in the limitation of your ego.

Here are nine ways to begin your healing journey through the lens of the Enneagram.  We will begin with the wisdom of the body center. 

Read More

Recovering from Spiritual Burnout: what it is and how to handle It

Recovering from Spiritual Burnout: what it is and how to handle It

You are a spiritual being, whether or not you consider yourself religious. Spirituality is all about connecting with a unifying loving force more significant than you.

Anytime you are out of balance with Spirit, you will not make the best decisions.

Spiritual burnout is when you start to feel depressed and hopeless and have the feeling that God has abandoned you. You begin to wonder if life is worth living. You walk around with a sense of heaviness. You find it more and more difficult to do anything.

Spiritual burnout builds up over time. If you are not aware of your gradual decline, you will start to get used to it, and the longer you stay in it, the harder it will be to get out of it.

The only way out of it is to learn to be more self-aware. The Spirit sends wisdom through the sensations of your body, the emotions of your heart and a quiet mind. Your work is to become more familiar with your three centers of intelligence.

Paying attention to your centers will help you find liberation.

Read More

Ten Steps to Beating Burnout: A Guide to a Better Life

Ten Steps to Beating Burnout: A Guide to a Better Life

We live in a chaotic world. It is hard to separate our work and business life because of smartphones, computers and social media. Beating burnout is a lifelong process.

People expect to hear back immediately when they text or email you. Organizations pressure their employees to produce and expect them to work overtime at home.

Churches put more pressure on their leaders to keep their doors open. As congregations decline, more expectations are put on their ministers.

How pressured do you feel to work on your days off and your holidays?  Do you fear losing your job if you don’t put in the extra hours?

More people realize that it is not a badge of honour to overwork.

Read More

Calling, Caring, and Connecting: Burnout in Christian Ministry

Calling, Caring, and Connecting:  Burnout in Christian Ministry

 Remember when you felt the strong call to go into Christian Ministry?  Testing your call through your denomination and theological school was a long process. Can you remember the day you were ordained or commissioned? 

Seeing the increasing pressure church leadership faces in mainline denominations today is concerning. With the shift in cultural values, where the church is no longer the focal point of communities and congregations are dwindling, it seems ministers are too often the target of blame. This trend is worrying and deserves our attention. You are now at a higher risk of burnout in Christian ministry.

First, you need to remember that you are not God.  You cannot fix your congregation. If your community wants to grow, it needs to work with you. It needs to be open to new ways of being church.  It would be best if you got beyond “We have not done it this way before.”

Establishing and maintaining healthy habits and lifestyle is essential to perform your tasks effectively. Here are eight ways to keep you healthy:

Read More

Five Ways to Cultivate a Healthy Masculinity and Femininity

Five Ways to Cultivate a Healthy Masculinity and Femininity

We live in a complex world, yet we want to divide people into two genders. We expect men to be masculine and women to be feminine. 

With modern psychology, we have learned that we have both within us. It is a like a continuum with masculinity and femininity at either end of the spectrum. Most of us land in the middle of the continuum. We all need a healthy masculinity and femininity.

Until recently, children have been raised to behave in specific ways depending on their gender identity. Girls were brought up to be caring, maternal, gentle and obedient to parents, particularly men.

Boys were considered tough, assertive, violent, and controlling. Boys grew up with the belief that they were superior to girls. You still hear the excuse for male violence with the saying, “Boys will be boys.” We still see signs of this in our society with a high rate of violence against girls and women.

Women and men are both hurt by this sexist divide. We are forced into being people we are not. When women are not permitted to be strong, assertive and outspoken, they often take out their anger on other women. 

Read More

9 Ways to Detox Your Soul through your Body, Heart and Mind

9 Ways to Detox Your Soul through your Body, Heart and Mind

 You are a complex being. Your life will flow when you pay attention to your soul. To do this work requires patience, determination and commitment.   Doing a soul detox is difficult, but the results are life-changing.

The Enneagram is a great tool to help you do this work. It is like a spiritual map to show you how and the type of work you need to do. The Enneagram is not enough in itself. You must find practices that will help you connect with your soul through your body, heart and mind.

Read More