Improving Lives through Heart-Centered Experiences of the Sacred

Barbara’s Columns

Sky diving above the mountains, when we let go, we feel free — Clinging to Control and Freedom from Fear
Our Instinct to Survive and Our Need to Control At last week’s recovery church meeting we discussed a […]

October 17, 2020 in Recovery Skills tagged Fear / Freedom / Illusion of Control / letting go by Barbara Stevens

The prophet Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem by Rembrandt — Lament and Creating Justice
A Year for Lamentation What a year this has been. In January, the Hong Kong protests were news. […]

October 10, 2020 in Political Events and Recovery tagged Death / Grief / Justice / Lament by Barbara Stevens

An offering made as a sacrifice to the gods - of plants not of people — Sacrifice, Scapegoating, and Love
Restoring Harmony through Human Sacrifice With the start of the harvest, and before the rains began to fall, […]

October 3, 2020 in Scripture Study tagged Odin / Sacrifice / Scapegoating by Barbara Stevens

A man looks at a burning newspaper - representing the destruction of democracy, the tools of autocracy, the burning of truth — Truth and Our America
The Question of Truth Does such a thing as truth exist? If so, how do we define it? […]

September 26, 2020 in Political Events and Recovery tagged Autocracy / Beloved Community / Democracy / Love / Truth by Barbara Stevens

Standing in a field, arms outstretched, opening to prayer and a relationship with the divine — Prayer Is Not Nothing
Nothing Left But Prayer This week at the recovery church meeting, we will talk about prayer. The timing […]

September 19, 2020 in Political Events and Recovery tagged change / Meditation / Prayer / Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Barbara Stevens

The galaxy alit with blues and purples - the magnificence of cretion — Is There a Sentient God?
When the World Is Burning As I write this, forest fires in California, Oregon, and Washington are destroying […]

September 12, 2020 in Spiritual and Emotional Themes tagged Belief / Faith / God / relationships / Sentience by Barbara Stevens

Offering charity to someone on the street — Faith, Hope, and Charity
The Greatest of These First Corinthians 13 contains Paul’s famous treatise on agape, which in most modern translations […]

September 5, 2020 in Scripture Study tagged Agape / Charity / Love by Barbara Stevens

A cross on a gravestone, covered with moss - suffering transforms to love and beauty — From Suffering to Love
Seeking Relief from Suffering “Why shouldn’t people suffer?” one of our members asked during a sharing circle. “Maybe […]

August 29, 2020 in Spiritual and Emotional Themes tagged Healing / Love / Pain / Suffering / Transformtion by Barbara Stevens

Children expressing joy playing with a ball, free will allowing them to enjoy themselves — Free Will in a Quantum Universe
Seeking to Know Why As a hospital chaplain, I see a lot of suffering. Illness, financial insecurity, disability, […]

August 22, 2020 in Spiritual and Emotional Themes tagged Accountability / Free Will / Freedom / Love by Barbara Stevens

Footsteps in the deserts of Africa to be blown away in the wind - letting go — Removing Blocks to Love
We Are Love At the Universalist Recovery Church meetings, we talk a lot about love. Not long ago, […]

August 15, 2020 in Spiritual and Emotional Themes tagged Blocks to Love / letting go / Love / Mysticism / Surrender by Barbara Stevens

A Man looking at himself in a puddle - observing ourselves, listening to ourselves — Listening to Ourselves
Starting Where We Are At the Universalist Recovery Church, we’ve been exploring different aspects of listening. For instance, […]

August 8, 2020 in Recovery Skills tagged Healing / Listening / Meditation by Barbara Stevens

Mona Lisa wearing a pandemic mask and holding cleaning supplies, our attempts to survive in chaos, to choose life — A Time for Everything
All is Vanity “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Eccl […]

August 1, 2020 in Scripture Study tagged choose life / Ecclesiastes 3 / God / Meaning and Purpose / Pandemic by Barbara Stevens