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Hi Friends,

Below you'll find some spiritual growth ideas for the New Year. Please feel free to share and send any of your own spiritual growth ideas back to me.

“Top Ten Spiritual Growth Ideas for 2022”

 

1)      Poets and visionaries, Christian and non-Christian, have seen the world and natural things as sacramental. Tennyson spoke of the flower in the crannied wall as microcosm of God and humanity. Teilhard de Chardin, in his book ‘Hymn of the Universe’ speaks of ‘the whole earth my altar’.” -Kenneth Leech 
 
2)      Gratitude is powerful soul medicine. Meister Eckhart once said “if the only prayer you ever say is thank-you, it will be enough.” 

 
3)      Know thyself (Greek. gnōthi seauton); these words are inscribed at the oracle of Delphi. We could also say “love thyself” as a beginning point towards reconciliation with ourselves and others.  

 
4)      In this New Year, let’s ask God to grant us the courage to grow in trusting Him/Her, to seek new life in the ‘underbrush’ of our lives. To accept and embrace the ‘what ifs” and ‘as ifs.’ 

  
5)      We’re now in the season of Epiphany, which means “to reveal.” How might God be revealing God’s self to us in the presence of others in our lives? 

 
6)      The Kwak’wala phrase “eek nala” means “this is a good day”. An elder once shared with me, that every day is a good day, because life is precious, and everyday no matter how difficult is a gift. 

  
7)      Trinitarian faith places relationship at the centre. Speaking of the Trinity, Julian of Norwich proclaimed, “the Trinity is our Maker and Keeper. The Trinity is our everlasting love , our joy and our bliss.” 

 
     During the pandemic we’ve been experiencing a major scarcity of hugs. Kathleen Keating reminds us that “hugging is ecologically sound, does not upset the environment, is energy- efficient, saves heat; is portable and requires no special equipment!”  

 
9)     Music is the language of the soul. 

 
10)   Small acts of kindness can change the world. They can cause an upswell of love. Influencing society and policy makers for the better.  

These reflections are meant to stimulate healthy questioning and contemplation. They do not necessarily reflect my own beliefs.
 
Sources: Julian of Norwich, Kenneth Leech, Meister Eckhart, Thomas Moore, Ingrid Collins, catechisms, world religions, popular sayings etc, simplified, reworked, and paraphrased. Only word-for-word quotes will have the source

Picture (mine) from the Courtenay Estuary “Trumpeter Swans”