Living Grace

In the Christian tradition, today is the second Sunday of Advent. The word Advent literally means “to come into being.” Christians celebrate the coming into being of Jesus the Christ on planet earth, that is, the ripening of Christ Consciousness within the human...

Monday: How does spirituality work to improve mental health? As a starter, spirituality is not a flight into denial, and God is not an aspirin that takes away all manner of suffering.  Tuesday: The egoic mind erects barriers in an attempt to keep us...

In reflecting on the spirituality of mental health, it is necessary to address the issue of self-esteem. In our culture we are obsessed with self esteem, bordering on a form of idolatry. As a starter, psychological studies show that self-esteem or a lack of...

Good psychology is good spirituality, and good spirituality is good psychology. Both stress the importance of truth, especially in the context of self-knowledge. The shared wisdom on this point underscores an obvious reality: to a certain extent, we all lie to...

It is our natural state to be open, honest, and truthful. However, to the extent that our loved ones did not love us through the wounds of trauma, betrayal, or abandonment, we develop psychological defenses to protect us from being destroyed by our pain. The problem...

Our sense of alienation from ourselves, the human family, and God is a mental health issue that has profound spiritual implications. The more alienation we experience, the more anxious, overwhelmed, and depressed we tend to feel. Yet the truth is that the crippling...