Tag Archives: spirituality

The Desert: Going Out is Really Going In

Posted on February 21, 2020 by richp45198

  The Desert: Going Out is Really Going In “The wilderness is not just a desert through which we wander for forty years. It is a way of being” (Lawrence Kushner)     When I first took up running, the desert … Continue reading →

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On St. Dismas

Posted on April 4, 2012 by richp45198

We Catholics are big on saints. We are named after saints. We create artwork about saints. For me, saints are extraordinary people whose journeys inspire. From St. Thomas the Doubter to St. Damien among the Lepers, saints have helped me … Continue reading →

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On Spirituality at the Movies

Posted on November 6, 2011 by richp45198

My spiritual journey has long been enriched by works of art. The poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins. The paintings of Edward Hopper. The plays of Eugene O’Neill. These artists and others have helped along the way. But I am a … Continue reading →

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On Jesus the Troublemaker

Posted on October 31, 2011 by richp45198

Being a confirmed Doubter, I don’t know whether Jesus was/is God or not. What I do know is that Jesus said many things that people then and now have chosen to ignore. Love your enemy? I don’t think so! I’d … Continue reading →

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On Silence

Posted on October 21, 2011 by richp45198

Some years ago, I attended a retreat. I had requested a room alone, thinking that the silence would be perfect — an opportunity to reflect, meditate, and so on. So when I got to my room, I eagerly closed the … Continue reading →

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On Baseball

Posted on October 10, 2011 by richp45198

For me, baseball is a spiritual matter. It encompasses most of the themes I’ve discussed so far. I first came to baseball as a spiritual matter back in 1984. I had been sober for a little over a year. While … Continue reading →

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On Suffering

Posted on October 4, 2011 by richp45198

My two sisters Linda and Patricia died of spina bifida, a disease that nowadays is treatable. My family being a stoic Irish Catholic one, I did not learn of their existence until I was 5 and found their names in the … Continue reading →

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On Religion

Posted on July 24, 2011 by richp45198

  If the spiritual journey does not depend upon formal religion, then what if any value does it serve if you belong to a religion? Clearly religion has been invoked in many ways to do evil. Whether torturing those who question … Continue reading →

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The Need for a Bridge

Posted on July 20, 2011 by richp45198

I’ve always viewed my clients as teachers. And so it was an early client who pointed me toward the need for a bridge between spirituality and psychology. In those days, we therapists were usually told to refer someone with a … Continue reading →

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On spirituality

Posted on July 19, 2011 by richp45198

For much of my adult life, I have looked for a bridge between psychology and spirituality. Jesuit teachers had encouraged me to think and so, when I began study at Indiana University (a “secular” school!), I began a journey that … Continue reading →

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