For many of us, the initial opening to our own spiritual potential paradoxically arises in the midst to grief, loss, trauma, or illness- trials that prompt us to turn inward in search of deeper wisdom and understanding.

On the surface, our lives may be sane, and we may feel we have nothing ot complain about, but internally we find ourselves moving through deep, and often very dark, periods of an inner process for which we have no road map and no way to make sense of what we are experiencing. It is often during these periods that even self-proclaimed agnostics or those who have had no prior interest in spirituality find themselves exploring spiritual subjects and practices.

For Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the Buddha, leaving his castle for the first time and encountering old age, sickness, and death had such a powerful impact that he renounced his family, wealth, and life as a prince in order to search for what was true beyond the confines of space and time. “We will die how we live,” a friend of mine who worked in hospice once commented. It is wise to cultivate spiritual discernment sooner rather than later.

~Mariana Caplan

it’s comforting to know we are far from perfect….lean in…..

inquiry for today~   use your idiosyncratic dramas to understand, to become, to listen…

when we get worse first

Developmental crises are periods of psychological stress that accompany turning points in our lives. They may be marked by considerable psychological turmoil. These crises occur because psychological growth rarely proceeds smoothly. Rather, growth is usually marked by periods of confusion and questioning or, in some cases, disorganization and despair.

~Roger Walsh