Dr. Howell’s Reflections
Everyday, Dr. Howell writes a reflection, inquiry prompt, and a prayer.
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Your Life Story Part 5
Oct. 29, 2024
Until I lost her when she was ninety-two, I regularly sat with my grandmother and asked questions about her life. She was born in 1892, so she had a wonderful perspective on life. She was raised in a farm family in Linn Crossing, Alabama. Bernice graduated from what is now the University of Montevallo. Her mother was a homemaker, and her father was a farmer and a county judge. She told me many things I would never have known about farm life during that part of history, like running down chickens, ringing their necks, and plucking them for Sunday dinner. She spoke of playing in the cornfields and learning from her mama how to cook her wonderful biscuits, cakes, and pies… yum.
Your Life Story Part 4
Oct. 27, 2024
Most siblings share genetics, parents, family, and the same essential environment. But brothers and sisters can give entirely different accounts of their growing-up years.
Your Life Story Part 3
Oct. 27, 2024
A Zen koan says, “What did your face look like before your parents were born?” That simple line is a lot to digest. It conveys the counter-intuitive thought that an original face preceded our current one. With that approach, believing that we existed before our physical birth is necessary. Such a thought supports the idea that we are, first and foremost, an invisible soul with its spiritual image.
Your Life Story Part 2
Oct. 26, 2024
We are never too old or young to look at our life's story. All of us have a story, even babies. Our stories do not have to be glamorous or intriguing — ground-breaking, fascinating, or beautiful. After all, they are not lived to please an audience or receive a book review. The most important people who derive meaning from our lives are ourselves.
Your Life Story Part 1
Oct. 25, 2024
If you read the story of your life, would it be like a screenplay? Or would it be a running commentary? Perhaps it would be like a fairy tale or an epic. Maybe it would be a narrative or a loosely connected string of experiences. Does it have a plot, central meaning, or repeated themes? Do you ever think about your life's unfolding story? If so, do you reflect on its unique meaning, its way of portraying the world, and the lessons you learn along the way?
Optimism of Spirit
Oct. 14, 2024
What is the most difficult thing you face now? Where and when are you going to receive the answers to this challenge? Sometimes, the answers come much later than we expect. Until they appear, we may feel ignored by God, or as if we are wandering alone in a spiritual desert. What will sustain you while you wait for your answers and arrive at your decision or solution?
Talking to the Dead
April 10, 2024
A young woman, I will call Carley, waited for the right fellow to come along, and he did. But before he asked her parents for her hand in marriage, her mother suddenly died. Bereft, she could not accept the engagement ring from her fiancé Russ (I will call him). Though she had her father's blessing, she did not have the blessing of her Mother.
Talking to the Dead
April 9, 2024
Have you ever talked to your ancestors? Just think of it. You would not be here right now but for them. We talk about our lineage, but we do not know the people who came before our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. We trace our family tree and go back as far as 1500 or so; we may see their names on censuses, deeds, or birth certificates, but we do not know them personally. Even still, they lived, laughed, and loved just as we do today.
Talking to the Dead
April 8, 2024
Raymond Moody Jr., MD, and Ph.D. is the author of the seminal book on near-death experiences, Life After Life. Initially published in 1975, it is a groundbreaking study of one hundred people who, after being pronounced “clinically dead”, were revived, and told, in their own words, what they experienced beyond death.
Talking to the Dead
April 7, 2024
Yesterday's reflection was about a personal experience with my father. The reflection focused on how my heart has changed towards my dad as I matured and became conscious. When my ego dominated me, I was very judgmental of him and, of course, myself. But in the state of soul, which I call soulality (as opposed to personality), my harsh judgments of Dad disappeared.
Talking to the Dead
April 6, 2024
I held grudges against my father. We were as different as night and day and often clashed, even into my adulthood. Dad was a hard-working, shoulder-to-the-wheel, nose-to-the-grindstone kind of man. He was no-nonsense and very thrifty and expected much from my brother Trevor and me.
Talking to the Dead
April 5, 2024
Most of us have lost a father, mother, sister, or brother. Maybe it is a child, aunt, uncle, cousin, or grandparent. Perhaps it is a friend. We don’t like to think of these dear souls as dead. We avoid the word “dead” when talking about these dear ones. Death is too harsh of a word to describe someone so meaningful to us. Death is so final. Death is so sad. Death is the opposite of the life they brought to us!
When the Time is Right
April 4, 2024
When I was younger, I was often bored or impatient with things. I had things to do and places to go. I was not fond of things blocking my mobility or slowing me down. I was not particularly eager to waste time with things that didn’t pertain to my goals. The ego state is usually a driven state. It has many needs and desires, most of which are meant to build more “me” and more of our story. So, the ego doesn’t have time to waste.
When the Time is Right
April 3, 2024
We reflected yesterday on how the now reveals information and feelings by awakening sensibilities to our immediate, outer environment. But the now also speaks to our inner experience. By being in the present moment, the now taps our unconscious and penetrates the collective unconscious.
When the Time is Right
April 2, 2024
We can never understand enough about the never-ending unfoldment of reality. It has endless revelations perceived in our outer as well as inner experience. In our outer experience of the now, we perceive the physical environment differently and more intensely.
When the Time is Right
April 1, 2024
Carpe diem is a phrase from the Roman poet Horace’s work Odes (23 BC). Its literal meaning in Latin is “Pluck the day,” though it’s usually translated as “Seize the day.” Another way to say it is, “Now is the time, because tomorrow, the ‘plucking’ may not be so good.”
When the Time is Right
March 31, 2024
When living in the now, time stands still, and our senses are more acute. There are fewer mental distractions because we are not confined to our minds and the story of our ego. Instead, in the now, our minds are not planning for the next few minutes or hours; we focus on what is happening right this second. This gives us the space to be aware. The state of being aware in the now is called mindfulness. But this condition is more than MINDfulness; it is HEARTfulness and BODYfulness. Without all three of these “nesses,” we are not fully present.
When the Time is Right
March 30, 2024
In 1889, Charles and Myrtle Filmore began a new spiritual movement in the United States that has since spread worldwide. This movement is called Unity, and its headquarters are in Unity Village, Missouri. Unity is dedicated to healing and growing our souls by promoting unity among us and with God. It is similar to the Holy Idea of 'Union with God,’ yet on the individual and collective levels.