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8/5/2024 Honoring Spiritual Caregivers “ The Spiritual Caregivers serve their communities sometimes at the expense of their own self care. “ I have had the honor this summer of working with a group of dedicated and faithful Chaplains and Spiritual Care givers, and they are some of the people on the front line in this world. Working with those very ill, dying, young, old, and the sometimes dysfunctional family dynamics on a daily basis is a very tall order. Maintaining a non-anxious presence, staying calm as the floodgates of people’s lives open in drama and trauma can be an excruciating and draining work.
I stand in awe that these generous and steadfast servant-hearted people stay open and respectful of almost all the spiritual facets and ideas they encounter, holding their own ideas in abeyance in order to leave room for those they serve. This is a selfless act in a world that pushes the balance between individual rights and community rights towards “every person for themselves”. Their quiet humility fosters curiosity and assent to Einstein’s notion of a “Benevolent Universe”, and their mission is to facilitate discovery and care processes as they support individuals. Aristotle spoke of each of us having rights and responsibilities as individuals, and as members of society. The ethics rub emerges when those two realities come into conflict with one another, and an individual or community must decide in a complex context. The Spiritual Caregivers serve their communities sometimes at the expense of their own self care. I am cheering Chaplains on as they continuously serve, and hopefully are seeking their own support and resources to stand fast in the face of so much transition and trauma. They are constantly doing the hard work of balancing spiritual concepts with practical actions to best serve those in their care. In order to be able to manage all this, these caregivers need several kinds of support;
It could be said that Chaplains, Clergy and Spiritual Care givers function as a sort of holistic healers, combining spiritual guidance with therapeutic techniques. They need a broad skill set and robust support system to effectively carry out this mission of nurturing souls and facilitating personal growth and healing, and I invite them to explore the unique and powerful approach of Gestalt Soul Care. 6/20/2024 Somatic Awareness
 Today I needed more Hope...the thing with feathers (Emily Dickinson!). I started thinking about hope; how is it different from faith? Then i thought of the 3 emotional/spiritual realities that will “remain”...and in a moment of Faith Imagination, I allowed myself to imagine a literal picture of these realities. I saw Faith as a sort of ground to stand on, and Hope as a kind of bubble or energy field around me that could vary, and finally-- Love as the texture and quality in the air that I breathe.
Faith and hope seem to be more in and about this world...Love spans this life and then whatever is beyond. They are all realities; bio-chemical states in our bodies, and we can see the effects of them in each other, as they manifest themselves in us and others. All of us. And when they are absent, we can see the effects and affects of those conditions also...we humans have so many ways to recognize and understand each other that go beyond speech, sight, hearing and touch. We are born with “mirror neurons”, which help us connect with each other, and there is a phenomena called entrainment, which is a physics phenomenon involving connection, and the whole inner and intuitive process of sensing and hunches. These are not special senses just for some -- we all have them, and some of us are just more practiced and attuned to their presence. May you have a full awareness and experience of these 3 final realities and Rest in Love! 1/10/2024 New Beginnings I’ve heard it said “you can start your day over anytime you want” and that probably goes for years, as well! In fact, since years are made of days, and days are made of moments—how will you purpose to fully inhabit this moment? I’m talking about being present in this moment, your moment…what is your choice for how you want to live in it, and what is the meaning in what you are doing? Victor Frankl who lived in a concentration camp wrote that despite his imprisonment, they could not control his mindset—I think that is true for all of us if we make that decision. Frankl took advantage of the space between stimulus and response; and you can too!  This moment in time is the only one we have, the only one we can take action in, the only one in which we can turn our face to something bigger than ourselves to ask for help if we need it. If these are questions that resonate for you —and if you would like some support in exploring them, let me know at: [email protected] -for a complimentary session to explore those questions! Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with New Beginnings!
Alexandra MacCracken, Gestalt Soul Care Mentor |
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