Category: Service

They call me Tavi

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One of my favorite fantasy series is “The Codex Alera” by Jim Butcher. The main character, Tavi, faces numerous challenges as he discovers his identity. One reason I like this series is that when Tavi encounters a situation that scares him sh**less, he proceeds anyway because he knows it’s for the good of all.  As he prepares to face another challenge, his partner tells Tavi, “Fear is the enemy. Respect it. But do not let it conquer you before the fight has begun” (Butcher, 2008, p. 334).

I resonated with this advice, and wrote about my own approach to it in my last blog, “Who is driving the bus?” Over the last few weeks, while traveling, further insights arose. The first is about shifting my direction. The second is about my call to serve.

In interacting with my Mindset Makeover group, one of my team used the word shift to describe the changes she is making. The word jumped out at me powerfully. For many years, I’ve worked to change some aspect of myself to increase my self-esteem. On hearing the term shift, I realized that I experienced that word as a gentle direction adjustment rather than an about face, which is how I have viewed change. Shift reflected that I was already on the right path and mostly aligned. So, it felt easier to implement.

During my recent travels, I found myself repeatedly applying this metaphor. For example, when I heard about many flight cancellations and anticipated having difficult conversations with family, I was able to shift my attention from the fear that arose to my intuition and let go. Time and again, as small or large fears surfaced, I applied this approach. It felt so right, even if there were times that the outcomes associated with my fears weren’t as perfect as I hoped.

The second realization was about service. Through the Mindset workshop, I realized that in my studies over the last year, I erroneously thought I had to learn more before really being of service. Embracing the shift metaphor enabled me to see and respond to opportunities to serve in the most simple ways.

Connecting and serving

One of the most profound opportunities was with my niece, Maureen. Maureen has Down syndrome, at a level that is considered profound. As a result, she has limited ways to communicate. For the last 25+ years that I’ve traveled to visit my husband’s family, including Maureen and her parents, while I have shown her love, given her hugs, and so on, I must admit that felt a little stiff. I was fearful of doing the wrong thing with her.  Both the shift metaphor and the reminder that the simplest way to serve is to love, enabled me to relax and trust my intuition. So, for this visit, I played with Maureen, held her hand, helped her move around her home, and just sat with her so her parents could attend to other things. It was delightful. Maureen was all smiles. It was such a treasured experience.

As you travel your own road to wholeness and service, perhaps the shift metaphor would be useful to you, and enable you to open up to opportunities that you might not have considered before.

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Butcher, J. (2008). Princeps’ Fury. London: Penguin Books, Ltd.

Living your calling at work (4/03/21)

JoeLeave a comment

(a Voice of Justice and a Listening Ear)

In various spiritual workshops, I’ve heard people ask how they can bring their calling or purpose to their job. I’ve struggled with that myself. As I’ve written, I believe that everyone is traveling their own unique path and as such I would never try to convert someone to my beliefs. That’s despite that fact that if you work in a non-religious setting, like the corporate world, there are laws against such.

Yet, since a good portion of your week is spent at your job, you want to bring your whole self to work. How do you do so? It’s simple. Live your calling at its most basic level by being a person of integrity, honesty, responsibility, and empathy.

I know that may not feel like it’s enough and it can be frustrating not to be able to freely and visibly live that calling 24/7. Ideally, we all want a job that reflects our calling and provides a livelihood. But it’s not always easy to find that and most of us don’t have the luxury of quitting our job until that new calling-based job appears.

Over the last many years in the corporate world though, I have seen and experienced times when providing the basics are desperately needed. How many of us have not seen examples of situations where profit is placed before people and where employees are sometimes treated as a liability. During those times, I have felt especially impelled to raise flags, and bring honesty, fairness, equality, and justice to all my interactions. Equally important for me, as a healer, is to provide a listening ear to coworkers who want to share their struggles, hopes, and fears. Simply, asking how they are doing, and truly listening, not offering advice, lets them know that they are seen.

Attuning to your experiences (3/20/21)

Joe2 Comments

I woke up at 4 am last night (the time people sometimes get spiritual messages) hearing a clear message that as I share my understandings, I must always start with sharing how my experiences led to them. What I share is not the result of an intellectual exercise but from tuning into my intuition and feelings about each experience. When I wrote about choosing your incarnation, I focused more on my ideas. So, I wanted to write a bit about the role of experience.

All of my beliefs and understandings are grounded in my experiences. For each, I identify what feelings come up, and what it reveals about me and my place in the world. I also consider if there is something to learn from it, especially in terms of future decisions. While my mind certainly plays a part in understanding my reactions, it is in service to the experience.

Let me give you an example. Some years back, I attended a 10-day therapeutic retreat to help heal some lingering traumas and let go of limiting beliefs. This was after I left the priesthood, still feeling my calling to serve, but unsure about how to live it out. During a session break, after telling the director about this, she took my hands in hers, looked me in the eyes, and said, Joe, you are a spiritual healer. My body, mind, and spirit instantly responded. I felt energized and relieved. I knew, at the deepest level, that that was my calling. That one experience led me to where I am today and creating my website.

Our experiences are the source of what we believe and how we live. As such, I’d invite you to take some time to attune to yours. Reflect on them, and how they shape you and form your beliefs. Then, assess whether they confirm your current direction, call you to make different choices, or even challenge you to try something new. Doing so can lead you to interesting places.