continued from my examiner column, www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/spirituality-and-your-sacred-storyHave you ever written your spiritual autobiography; how and why you came to believe what you believe and what’s important to you? Think about what your first inkling of the presence of God was? What were your earliest teachings like? Has anything changed in your spiritual/religious life since then and how? What was your conception of the sacred at high and low points in your life? When did you feel most connected/supported and how/where are you now? You might wish to comment . . .
One of the masters’ level courses at seminary required us to make genealogies. We studied family systems and family systems therapy. This was a fascinating exercise. You could see instances where famous siblings became estranged, or certain individuals remained single, and those patterns repeated themselves in the professional well-known examples we evaluated- like Emily Dickinson to the Kennedy's. There were physiological issues which repeated –like alcoholism, mental illness, out of wedlock births, or child-less couples. Death patterns emerged- such as suicides.
One of the masters’ level courses at seminary required us to make genealogies. We studied family systems and family systems therapy. This was a fascinating exercise. You could see instances where famous siblings became estranged, or certain individuals remained single, and those patterns repeated themselves in the professional well-known examples we evaluated- like Emily Dickinson to the Kennedy's. There were physiological issues which repeated –like alcoholism, mental illness, out of wedlock births, or child-less couples. Death patterns emerged- such as suicides.
Talents such as music, writing, speaking etc. showed up. Some say it’s the family karma, others would attribute specific traits to genetics. Do check out the Bert Hellinger's website link in my examiner column. Buddhist monk and prolific author Thich Nhat Hahn tells of pausing before the photos of ancestor monks and honoring them. I love that. Our upstairs foyer was what I called 'gallery of the ancestors' -full of photos. During our recent move, photos & albums filled 13 smaller boxes.
What physical traits do you bear? Whom do you look like? I look very much like my paternal grandmother’s one OstFriesen sister in profile who was also child-less, married to a kind, intelligent pastor, and held many similar interests. Then, I look keenly at my maternal Irish grandmother's oil portrait coming out of my office, and we share the gaze and smile. The intuitive gift links us.
What physical traits do you bear? Whom do you look like? I look very much like my paternal grandmother’s one OstFriesen sister in profile who was also child-less, married to a kind, intelligent pastor, and held many similar interests. Then, I look keenly at my maternal Irish grandmother's oil portrait coming out of my office, and we share the gaze and smile. The intuitive gift links us.
One branch of my family tree goes back to nearly Viking days. With 1-27th International Day of Commemoration of the Memory of Victims of the Holocaust, I recall our family had to prove they were not Jewish; yet the Nazi SS troops burned down the top of our windmill which was used by Allied forces as a landmark to a hidden landing strip across the channel.
My grandmother’s great grandfather several ‘great grandfathers’ back, had placed boulders along the edge of the property to deter the Vikings from landing there near the North Sea, she related. An ancient Celtic stone church was built on an island in the North Sea, visible on a clear day and walkable when the tides were out. (It is thought half my tree was likely Celtic in origin.) During a fierce storm in the late 1700’s, the entire island sank. Sailors going over the site reported hearing church bells. She was the keeper and teller of the family legends. Sunday dinners were a major experience listening to her fascinating tales and treasuring her wisdom. Do you have family legends? Is there a matriarch or patriarch in your family who collects and tells them? What a treasure. Take time to jot down your own notes of each ancestor as a clue to who you are now. What were they like? You?
Worthington area psycho-therapist, Jan Arthur, stresses the importance of resilience for the now of our lives; not tomorrow or next month, but in the right now. Sometimes its the only way we get through. It’s because we know change happens, good and bad, and resilience helps us cope in a healthy response to what is going on. How is your storyline shaping up lately? What do you do to maintain resilience? What are your goals looking like and how do you write the next chapter of your script?
Worthington area psycho-therapist, Jan Arthur, stresses the importance of resilience for the now of our lives; not tomorrow or next month, but in the right now. Sometimes its the only way we get through. It’s because we know change happens, good and bad, and resilience helps us cope in a healthy response to what is going on. How is your storyline shaping up lately? What do you do to maintain resilience? What are your goals looking like and how do you write the next chapter of your script?
[Photo by Sylius from 1908, Wikimedia Commons Free Usage. Family of Volodymyr Barvinok, Ukrainian scientist, writer, participant of Ukrainian independent government 1918-19. Left to right: Volodymyr Barvinok, Evhenija Barvinok (his wife), parents of Evhenia, Natalka and Stepan Volovik and , Volodymyrs son Boris, Volodymyrs grandmother, Volodymyrs parents Anna and Ivan Barvinok]
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