Dr. Howell’s Reflections
Everyday, Dr. Howell writes a reflection, inquiry prompt, and a prayer.
To receive Dr. Howell’s reflections everyday in your inbox, please sign up for our mailing list using the form at the bottom of the page, and begin your journey into who God has made you to be.
Make peace with your ego and discover your true path today. The path to wholeness starts now!
Unforgettable Things I Have Heard
November 28, 2023
When I was about twelve years old, I heard a very unusual guest speaker at our little Methodist church in Mobile, Alabama. I’d never before heard a woman speak from the pulpit. I do not recall her name, but this lady was quite a preacher, even though ordination for women would be years away.
Unforgettable Things I Have Heard
November 27, 2023
While backpacking across Europe in 1971 with four close friends, we visited the Nazi concentration camp, Dachau. The camp operated until April 1945 and is now a historical site and sacred pilgrimage for thousands each year. All of our parents lived through WWII, so our day at Dachau was profound. It was in the nearby town of Dachau that I heard something I will never forget.
Unforgettable Things I Have Heard
November 26, 2023
I had the pleasure of meeting my future sister-in-law’s parents at an engagement party for my brother Trevor and his fiancé, Karen. I recall asking Karen’s mother what it was like for her daughter to leave home and begin married life. With soulful eyes, Mrs. Fowler replied, "How would you feel?"
Unforgettable Things I Have Heard
November 25, 2023
In junior high, physical education class was a dread. We younger guys were mixed in with high school upper-classmen including seniors. Frequently, things got rough, if not out of hand, during sports and in the locker room.
Unforgettable Things I Have Heard
November 24, 2023
Many years ago, a person moved to town and made a big splash. She was a new professional who immediately established relationships with high-powered people. After only a few months in the community, she and her husband had created their own domain.
Unforgettable Things I Have Heard
November 23, 2023
I once heard the well-known preacher, Robert H. Schuyler, say "Possibility-thinking is the long sought-after fountain of youth.”
Unforgettable Things I Have Heard
November 22, 2023
I have been shocked, saddened, flabbergasted, shamed, delighted, touched, mesmerized, angered and enlightened by many things I've heard. We seem to remember things that affect our centers of intelligence and make deep impressions on our soul.
Love at First Sight
November 21, 2023
Sometimes, when we see an object for the first time, it captivates us. Though the thing is not a person, place or experience, when we first see it and it attracts us, this is a type of love at first sight. If the love comes from our soul instead of our ego, then that object represents a quality deep within us.
Love at First Sight
November 20, 2023
When you do something for the first time and fall in love with it, chances are it is an aspect of your soul. Yes, the activity you engaged in resonated in your depths and made you more expansive, full and happy.
Love at First Sight
November 19, 2023
We sometimes fall in love with places at first sight. We come upon the site; it feels beautiful and we want to stay. We may feel awe, excitement or enchantment. We may feel like we’ve been there before, even though we haven’t. We love its terrain, atmosphere, culture, architecture, nature and scenery. We love the people and may even feel like we have come home.
Love at First Sight
November 18, 2023
We are attracted to many different people, activities and situations. Some are fleeting or short-lived, some remain all our lives. Our deepest attractions remind us of our profound connection to our soul and to the Divine. Therefore, they are priceless.
Love at First Sight
November 17, 2023
Sometimes, we are attracted to or even fall in love with people, situations and things that are not as they seem. In these instances, our ego is drawn to the appearance of a person, situation or thing. Remember, the ego’s perceptions are colored by its story, desires and fears.
Love at First Sight
November 16, 2023
Have you ever been in love with something right off the bat? I was invited to a cardio class at the YMCA called Zumba about fifteen years ago. The music got right into my body and moved me seemingly without exertion. The workout was painless because the fantastic music filled my every cell and transported me to places worldwide. It was love at first move.
Love at First Sight
November 15, 2023
I was twenty-four, and my friends Tommy and Suzan Armstrong had arranged a blind date with one of Suzan's good friends. It was to be a double date with Tommy and Suzan on a Sunday afternoon. My blind date was a college senior at the time, and we met her at her parents' home.
Abundance
November 14, 2023
Many people’s Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations are abundant with food, family, friends, merry-making and gifts. For many families, there is also an abundance of love. Why? Because when we are with the people we love, our hearts overflow with fullness, affirmation and happiness.
Abundance
November 13, 2023
Instead of instructing us to achieve financial prosperity, Rabbi Jesus tells us how to fill ourselves with the life force. When we receive overflowing love, energy, contentment, enthusiasm and peacefulness, we receive the life force. Of course, we are conduits of this force in our ego state, but once we’re aware of the life force Jesus asked us to seek, to knock for and to thirst for, we have a more abundant life force than the ego alone could ever create.
Abundance
November 12, 2023
Abundance is generally associated with financial prosperity. For example, a family always has more than enough, or a person receives a windfall just when she loses her job. Then there’s the person who always lands on his feet after a financial setback. Abundance seems to flow to them.
