48 results for tag: Spiritual Growth

Blindness – A Spiritual Teaching in Seeing

As the weather in South Korea starts to turn, so do the leaves. I have looked forward to this more this year than in the past. I wanted to see what autumn looks like in South Korea. It has arrived. Red, burnt orange, orange, yellow, ochre, green, and light green fill the streets of Cheonan. Today, being a sometimes-sunny, sometimes-cloudy day, I wanted to get out on Tang San Mountain with my camera and hiking shoes to enjoy the day. I did not leave my room till about 3:30, which was fine. It is getting dark around 6:00 these days, so I would have plenty of time to explore and take pictures of the trees and whatever else caught my fancy. I got some great shots of the top of the white cement apartment buildings, foreshadowing all the mountains in the background that surround the city of Cheonan. I had not seen this view before; it was the first time I made it to this trail. This trail was more vigorous and inclined, with better-unobstructed views of the city....

Why You Don’t Need To Be Right All The Time

The need to be right can, at times, feel like a drug. Our culture often reinforces this need to be right all the time through the media, politics, and our education system. But what if you found out the reasons why you don't need to be right all the time? Is knowing the potential consequences of needing to be right all the time enough to create space for letting the rest of the 7 billion people who you share the planet with also be right sometimes?...

Potential Negative Side Effects of Meditation

Is there a dark side to meditation? Can people experience the negative side effects of meditation? Why is the spiritual community so fearful of the media exposing situations of armful or negative experiences with meditation or Yoga?  Or What Research Says about Reiki? I, for one, am not fearful or startled by these experiences or stories. I have known many people who have experienced harmful or negative side effects of Meditation, Yoga, Reiki, Tai Qi, Qi Gong, and most other healing modalities. Why is this a shock? Not all people, bodies, minds and spiritual imprints are the same, why should our experiences be the same? The same would be true for Prayer; who has not had a negative experience praying sometime in their life? Can you honestly say there is anything that you have experienced something powerfully in your life that has been completely free of any negative experiences - sleeping, eating, making love, walking, laughing, relationships, singing, dancing, painting, kissing, medicine, religion, school, hugging, psychotherapy, counseling, etc.?...

Spiritual Retreat at Portsmouth Abbey

This past week I had the opportunity for a two-day spiritual retreat at Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. If you have never been there, Portsmouth Abbey is on a beautiful campus next to the ocean sharing its property with Portsmouth Abbey School....

Overcoming Fear is Not as Easy as a Bumper Sticker Slogan

I bumped into this article today by accident: Overcoming Fear is Not as Easy as a Bumper Sticker Slogan. I am very grateful for this and the many accidents I make that guide me to where I need to be, not always where I want to be. Overcoming fear can be paralyzing to some people in certain circumstances. Fear is the four-letter word that begins with "F," which can feel like a much dirtier word than its profane counterpart F**K. I remember hearing something annoying, cute, and comforting many years ago: FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. ...

First Degree Reiki Training in Providence – April 12-13

I am very excited to be offering another First Degree Reiki Training in Providence. This training will take place from April 12-13 from 12:00-5:00. No experience is necessary; only willingness and commitment are required. Please contact me directly for more details, including location; either leave a comment or send me an email at [email protected]. The fee for this two-day Reiki Training in Providence is $125. If you cannot afford the fee, please contact me privately. More about Reiki and Reiki Training   Michael Swerdloff Providence Life Coaching and Reiki Counseling

Do We Have To Make Meditation Entertaining?

I have to admit that when I first saw the headline, David Romanelli set out to make meditation entertaining, and I cringed. I really did. The last few years have challenged me, observing many of our Sacred and Venerable rituals and practices become watered-down and made cute or sexy by Mother Culture. My immediate thought was simple, "Oh no, not meditation; please do not do this to meditation." This phenomenon has manifested in Reiki, Hatha Yoga, Qi Gong, Acupuncture, and many other traditional healing practices. Isn't it enough that almost every image of meditation has a very thin, white female with perfect hair and skin with no pores? Please, not meditation too!...