Dr. Howell’s Reflections
Everyday, Dr. Howell writes a reflection, inquiry prompt, and a prayer.
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Judging Books by Their Covers
February 4, 2024
Another source of information when judging a 'book' is direct experience. Direct experience is our personal encounter and involvement with a person, idea, circumstance, or thing. The knowledge received from direct experience is not the knowledge we receive from a third party's experience.
Judging Books by Their Covers
February 3, 2024
If you can't judge a book by its cover, what do you judge it by? This question prompts us to inspect how we judge people, things, ideas, and circumstances. Some of us go only by external appearances, which is a mistake because appearances can be very deceptive.
Judging Books by Their Covers
February 2, 2024
We all make various hunches about people and circumstances. Our hunches frequently turn into judgments, and judgments turn into actions.
Rocks
February 1, 2024
Many years ago, a lovely lady, dear soul, and patient appeared for her regular therapy session with me. A very bright person, Elizabeth, I will call her, was in the throes of leaving a loveless marriage and seeking her true self. Her children were grown with their own lives, and her husband didn’t care about her.
Rocks
January 31, 2024
If you have ever been to Sedona, Arizona, you have probably experienced the energy of the massive red rock formations. And if you have been to any ancient Native American sacred site, you may have felt energy in certain spots. If you have ever been to Stonehenge, the Acropolis, or the Egyptian Pyramids, you will likely have experienced the energy there.
Rocks
January 29, 2024
We may want to go somewhere, but stepping stones may do the trick if water, marsh, or other obstacles prevent us from getting there. Walking on stepping stones, we are higher than the water and other obstacles; therefore, we do not risk getting wet, falling, or getting bogged down. Then we reach our destination.
Rocks
January 28, 2024
Everywhere we go, there are rocks, and in most places, small rocks are free for the taking. Rocks and stones make great souvenirs. I have been collecting them since childhood. So, in my office, there are a lot of small rocks on desktops and bookshelves, each reminding me of where I found it.
The Phenomenal
January 25, 2024
There are only four sources of our suffering — other people, ourselves, God, and circumstances. Other people can be our primary cause of suffering when they don’t do what we want them to do. We suffer when we make mistakes, harming ourselves and others. God causes our suffering when we blame God for whatever may go wrong. Finally, adverse circumstances cause suffering.
The Phenomenal
January 24, 2024
Something phenomenal must have occurred for Jesus to be considered the son of God. Maybe it was his miracles that made people believe in him. However, one thing is sure: people were so profoundly affected by and believed in what he did and said that many were willing to die for their beliefs. Christ’s ministry so transformed the eyewitness believers that his ministry continues today.
The Phenomenal
January 23, 2024
Heartfulness meditation begins by sitting in a comfortable position and then relaxing the body. Relaxation is vital because tensions indicate a disturbance on some level that can distract us during meditation. So, loosening the tightness in our body overrides potential distractions. Once relaxed, the body is a vehicle in which we enter a new state of consciousness.
The Phenomenal
January 22, 2024
It is phenomenal that we can live rich and exciting lives. Of course, we all have troubles; these are part and parcel of life. However, none of us are doomed to live dull, boring, unsatisfying, or monotonous existences. When we live "the spiritual life," as Henri Nouwen calls it, we are on an exciting journey, but what makes it so?
The Phenomenal
January 21, 2024
My English grandparents had died by the time I had kids of my own. Several of my aunts and uncles had also passed away. So, the English family I knew as a child was fading away. But in my thirties, Lark and I went to England with some dear friends. Beforehand, I phoned my English cousin David, with whom I had shared beautiful times when we were kids. We hadn't seen each other since I was fifteen years old.
The Phenomenal
January 20, 2024
On our journey into wholeness, we encounter the phenomenal every time we enter a higher stage of consciousness. Everything appears in a different light when we exit one stage to live in the next level. We have all experienced leaving and entering new stages at different maturity levels or when we encounter life-altering shock points.
The Phenomenal
January 19, 2024
In the spiritual life, we continually encounter the phenomenal, those profoundly extraordinary, and uniquely outstanding people, events, and stories that shape our souls. The remarkable is sometimes the starting point for our spiritual journey; we unexpectedly encounter someone who guides and strengthens us like no one else, or we suddenly come upon and experience that which opens up a whole new world and transforms us.
Learning
January 18, 2024
Ego Type Eights' way to learn spiritually is to be weak. A person covered in armor and poised for fighting doesn't typically rely on spiritual development as a first-line approach. For them, weakness is a liability. However, when an Eight faces their weakness, they become conscious of their inborn compassion and humility. Fortunately, defeat and weakness are the only things that help the Eight to see themselves in a true light: they are just like everyone else — they have strengths and weaknesses.