Seldom heard are the stories of autistic adults. And rarely reported are the challenges of those who seek companionship. It's believed that autism blocks the ability to intercommunicate and express feelings in a normal way. These difficulties often relegate those diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to solitude, even though they express a deep wish to love another. We may think of our own efforts to build relationships as pertaining to the heart, but for solutions Continue Reading
Environmental cleanup found in harmonious attitudes
From pictures of cows grazing amidst smouldering forests in the Amazon, to surfers cresting a wave of garbage off the shore of Indonesia, the environmental degradation and impurities evidenced on the earth are compounding. A recent World Health Organization news release says that dramatic changes are needed to protect the health and longevity of mankind. As the inhabitants of this globe, we are all being called to action, and a pure environment must be our priority. At odds with purifying the Continue Reading
Resolutions Rebooted
It’s that time of year when somewhere around 92% of us who made New Year’s resolutions, have lost the momentum of our efforts to change and are commiserating with St. Paul, “My own behaviour baffles me. For I find myself not doing what I really want to do but doing what I really loathe.” (Romans 7:18,19 - Phillips) Despite the promise of better days ahead, the urgent effort for reform is dropped and we return to the old ways, in many cases with feelings of remorse, failure and guilt. Continue Reading
Comfort, not loneliness, this season
For many, the holidays can bring on a sense of loneliness and isolation. But this need not be so. Many advisors today encourage looking at each moment of each day to find reasons to be grateful. Often, though, it takes a stronger anchor than positive thinking to break through loneliness. An approach that recognizes a divine Love and power always with us can actually heal loneliness and make our holidays rich and joyful. In the Bible’s book of Romans, the apostle Paul defines our Continue Reading
Are green spaces healing spaces?
I relish the day when my friend calls and says “we need to go for a walk.” Her call is “code” for “let’s go hiking, so we can get spiritually above all this stuff that’s going on right now.” Even though we climb low hills and rarely log more than six miles, our conversation climbs up out of our everyday challenges and we encourage each other to look at things from a higher, more spiritual, perspective. Currently there are numerous studies expounding the health benefits of spending more Continue Reading
Retiring into our spiritual purpose, ending Alzheimer’s
Summer brings with it reunions, and this year I was amazed to learn that one of our aunts now shares her home with three additional generations! She has great grandchildren living under her roof. And as the statistics and studies for this blog started to accumulate on my desk, I realized that her life actually evidences some of the trends I had been flagging as hopeful--the ones that say dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s, is on its way out. Dutch researchers, for example, have found that the Continue Reading