Tag: therapy

The boon of a “spiritual autobiography”

The challenge is to grow, right? For leaders and creators this can be a genuine existential issue.

That’s because once you “get stuck” your work suffers. When that happens, you suffer.

Plus, the double whammy. Lots of us bolt when we hit the first BIG obstacle on our journey of personal growth….pain. (obviously because it hurts, duh, right?)

Can you be brave enough to look inside your heart/mind and see things you don’t want to, or feel long-buried pain? Can I?

That’s the challenge that this next exercise can dredge up.

You may not think you have the time for it. But, since your baggage goes with you, like it or not, there comes a time to choose life and growth. Now is that time. I’m doing this right along with you.

The pain of being stuck and stymied will at some point outweigh the pains inherent in growth. (Pay now or pay more later.) But, with that growth is new-found relief and a greater understanding of one’s self. A bona fide Victory. And it also means you have more to give in your work and in your relationships. You will have a greater ability to triumph in adversity and accept love more fully. And you will even become less reactionary to perceived or actual threats (This is also commonly referred to as maturity, but who’s counting, right?) This is all a boon, my friends. Just you wait and see!

An angry person is a hurt person and unhealed person. Take a look around, if that doesn’t describe you, it describes someone nearby.
(I try to remember this information when I read so much rubbish on the interwebs….or when I find myself far too frustrated–that is to say, in need of healing and growth.)

So, come with me in the next few days, and weeks, and let’s do this together.

Oh, please, do the 90 second exercise in the previous post, and set it aside, if you haven’t done it yet. If you have, this is the time to pull it out and slowly read over your answers for a bit. Mull them, note your insights. Then, onward!

Start thinking about creating this very useful tool you will fashion: Your Spiritual Autobiography.

Guidelines for Writing Your Spiritual Autobiography
Your story is your own; no one else can tell it. Below are some more ideas/exercises to help you consider your spiritual life, and how you may wish to write about it. It’s not a story of your life, or a timeline of people, places, and events, but rather a crafted personal account of what and who have made you who you are now.

To start creating your “Spiritual Map”….Identify and list the places in which important things have happened to you.

Spiritual Encounters with Others

Who are the three or four people who have had the greatest impact on your life? Why?

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Experiences which Shaped You

What are two or three important experiences in your life? Why are they important to you? As you look back, do you see traces of God’s presence with you at those times?
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Impactful Communities
Which communities, religious or not, have had a lasting influence on your development?

Significant Choices

Think of the important decisions in your life. Discuss what they meant to you, how they were made, and the results.

Highlights and Low Points
List a few of the happiest and saddest experiences of your life.

Happiest
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Saddest
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A Master Story

Each of us has a “master story,” a theme that summarizes our life endeavor so far. See if you can recognize your master story. What might be a theme for your life thus far? If your life were a book, what might the title be? How about the title of the chapters you have lived so far, and are living right now?

Don’t worry about what this means for the future, just yet. Stay with your thoughts about your life up until now.

Did anything surface that surprised you?

Is there anything you need to grieve about?

In a week or two, we’ll revisit this. Thanks for taking this on! I’m lucky to have you along for this wild ride.

90 Seconds to a genuine inner gaze

Two things that don’t really go together are SPEED and Introspection.

But in 90 seconds, I think you can get off the blocks and make that crucial first step to the kind of growth that can only happen by linking up with the transcendent through your unique humanity. An inner gaze has to start somewhere. If not, we get stuck.

Be warned, once you look inward it can be painful. This is one reason why it happens too infrequently. The point though is to get started. Sometime during the holiday weekend I’ll post something of a followup. Creating a useful tool for yourself…the spiritual autobiography (which is something I too will be doing for my Masters class work. I hope you’ll join me).

For now, follow these simple steps: 

  • 1. Get paper and a pen
  • 2. Jot down the first things that come to you mind as you read the list below. (Don’t linger on this list. Be speedy.)
  • 3. Put away your paper for 1-3 days.
  • 4. Revisit your notes in 1-3 days when you have 20 minutes or more. (I’ll remind you, here at the blog.)

Consider these questions:

  1. Look at your failed or troubled relationships and list similarities, and note what makes you angry about them, or things you fear.

  2. Examine past patterns and recurring themes in your thoughts and behavior. Note any patterns that you see.

  3. Uncover the commonalities in your interpersonal difficulties. Do the same troubles with others come back again and again? Note them.

  4. Label areas of stagnation in your life, (i.e. work, relationships, poor habits, etc.).

  5. Consult with trusted friends and objective sources to ferret out problem areas. Okay, this takes some time, so for now jot down a few names.

  6. Include a list of your good qualities/strengths, and places or ways you find encouragement. [This should be easy, because it’s the feel good part. Briefly, look for all the good you can and mark it down.]

(So, what did you think about these questions? Was it hard to do?)

photo credit

Actor Turned Creative Director of Willow Creek Church: Blaine Hogan

You might remember Blaine Hogan as the character he played Seth “Cherry” Hoffner in the television series Prison Break (Scroll to the bottom for a quick lesson on what happens to “Cherry”…but brace your self, it’s raw stuff. PG-10.)

Now Blaine’s the Creative director of the ginormous Willow Creek Community Church in the Chicago area…multiple campuses–one church is how they put it. This Christmas, when plenty of people skipped out on morning church to do Christmasy things, 80,000 turned up at Willow Creek. Yes. 4 zeros are in that number. There’s some amazing stuff coming from Blaine’s creative team, and you should check it out.

Below is the first of a short series of videos with Blaine talking about his new film which he directed, his recent book, creativity, Christian artists, his new project on the ministry of Storytelling in the Inventive Age, and plenty more. For writers, artists, performers, musicians, and any other people who appreciate creating, you’ll love what Blaine shares.

(Please note that some content listed will not be released publicly, here or on youtube. If you’d like to get this bonus video material, please use the contact form on the right sidebar to gain access, or what is referred to as “FREE Savvy”.)

prison break demo from blaine hogan on Vimeo