Nicole and Ann delve into an exciting 8 part bite-sized series on emotionally healthy spirituality. To round off the series, Ann shares some key resources to get us started on the journey of emotionally healthy spirituality. 

Check out the resources listed below:

1. Emotionally Healthy Discipleship by Pete Scazzero - https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/ 

2. Boundaries For Your Soul by Dr Allison Cook - https://www.dralisoncook.com/boundaries-for-your-soul-book/

3. Try Softer by Aundi Kolber - https://aundikolber.com/guidedjourney/

4. Becoming Me podcast by Ann Yeong - https://www.becomingmepodcast.com/

5. The Place We Find Ourselves by Adam Young - https://adamyoungcounseling.com/podcast/

Nicole and Ann delve into an exciting 8 part bite-sized series on emotionally healthy spirituality. Ann introduces us to various practices we can try, including contemplative practice, which allows us to slow down and to be more intentional with our words and actions. The ability to slow down allows us to process our emotions more effectively and to be more aware of their impact on how we react to situations. 

Nicole and Ann delve into an exciting 8 part bite-sized series on emotionally healthy spirituality. We consider how we can put emotionally healthy spirituality into practice and what it can look like, from being gentle with ourselves to setting boundaries with those we love. 

Nicole and Ann delve into an exciting 8 part bite-sized series on emotionally healthy spirituality. We examine our own patterns of behaviour and are reminded of the importance both of "serving" as well as giving time to nurturing strong and healthy relationships with those we serve with. As Ann notes, the human is "not a means to an end" but "made for love" and we are reminded to consider the humanity of each other, in our zealousness to spearhead yet another new project. We are called to be stewards both for ourselves and others. 

Nicole and Ann delve into an exciting 8 part bite-sized series on emotionally healthy spirituality. We take a closer look at "spiritual bypassing", a way of hiding behind spirituality or spiritual practices. We realise how prevalent it is and the harmful effect it has on ourselves and others, when we are prevented from acknowledging what we truly feel. We begin to honour our emotions when we confront their complexity and intensity and prioritise our emotional health, not as a "good to have" but as an essential complement to our spirituality. 

Nicole and Ann delve into an exciting 8 part bite-sized series on emotionally healthy spirituality. We come to realise that God is not afraid of our emotions, even those we consider "bad" and is in fact actively inviting us to explore these areas of woundedness such that we can come away with greater awareness and emotional maturity. 

Nicole and Ann delve into an exciting 8 part bite-sized series on emotionally healthy spirituality. We examine the differences between healthy and unhealthy spirituality and how we are often wired to suppress "negative" emotions like anger, envy and lust instead of allowing ourselves the freedom to fully process and experience them. They point towards a deeper sense of disorder that may flag out areas in our lives that we need to pay closer attention to. 

Nicole and Ann delve into an exciting 8 part bite-sized series on emotionally healthy spirituality. We delve into what emotionally spirituality means and why it's so important. We learn how our emotional health forms an important part of the whole person and how spirituality and emotional health inform one another. Perhaps this is the first step we can take towards greater integration and wholeness! 

Nicole and Laura come face to face with the passage of time as they delve into the poetry of RS Thomas and Wendell Berry. Both poets use nature as a vehicle to examine the passage of time, with Thomas grappling with the difficulties of waiting in this present season while Berry highlights the inherent seasonality of life and the promise it brings. Thomas reminds us that instead of stepping backward from struggle, we can choose to turn aside to seek God in prayer and in the quiet. Pulling ourselves out of the relentless linear forward moving narrative can be difficult, but we are reminded to step aside and to abide with Him, where we are right now. Berry delves into the rejuvenation that is inherent in death, just as how seasons change, from spring to summer to autumn and then to winter. We are filled with hope as we are reminded that "its hardship is its possibility", that with struggle and "death" to self, there is the promise of renewal and the "wisdom to survive". 

Check out the full texts of the poem discussed in this episode at this link and use it in your own contemplative practice!

Aside by RS Thomas

https://ramblingatthebridgehead.wordpress.com/2017/09/19/aside-by-r-s-thomas/

A Vision by Wendell Berry 

https://www.journeywithjesus.net/poemsandprayers/1742-a-vision

Nicole and Laura delve into Dylan Thomas' breakthrough poem, "Light breaks where no sun shines" which sheds light on the difficulties we face and the sheer impossibility of hope. Drawing on various images of light and darkness, Thomas' poem invites us into deeper contemplation of what having hope means and how it sometimes feels audacious to harbour hope, especially in difficult times. We lean into the uncertainty that marks much of our lived experience and into the sustaining and animating force that is hope. To hope is also an act of faith, of placing our trust in the unseen and knowing that indeed "light breaks where no sun shines."

Check out the full texts of the poem discussed in this episode at this link and use it in your own contemplative practice!

Light breaks where no sun shines by Dylan Thomas

https://poets.org/poem/light-breaks-where-no-sun-shines