Are you looking forward to spring/fall? Depending on where you are on the earth, you’re beginning spring or fall. Now is the time to renew, expand, and explore.
I’ve listed the workshops, retreats and experiences I’m offering in the next several months below. I’m not limited to these events, though. I’ll see spiritual direction clients, attend local high school baseball games, and do my work as a spiritual care assistant at a mental health facility and prepare for a pilgrimage to Italy in May!
I recently completed Advanced Facilitator Training with Veriditas https://www.veriditas.org/ and also joined VIA. I would love to talk to you about facilitating a labyrinth experience for your organization, group of artists, stressed employes, congregation or retreat facility! Let’s talk about scheduling something in Summer or Fall!
EVENTS
I have several spots available for the SoulCollage® Experience March 19, 2023, 1P to 5P EDT Cost is $45. You’ll receive all the supplies and images needed to create SoulCollage® cards. Unfamiliar with SoulCollage®? No worries! I’ll share some tips and suggestions. All you need to bring is your journal, something to write with, a snack and an open mind and heart. Register here: https://listening-heart.com/events/
Introduction to SoulCollage®, Virtual workshop, Sunday, April 23, 2023 Noon to 6p EDT Spaces available. Cost for this 6 hour workshop is $90 Register soon in order to receive all the handouts and Zoom link. https://listening-heart.com/events/
Point of Arrival: Labryrinth and SoulCollage® Experience: World Labyrinth Day – Saturday, May 6, 2023, 9:30A – 4P EST, Register here https://listening-heart.com/events/
What I’m reading (or read) . . .
The Light of Assisi: The Story of Saint Clare, Margaret Carney, OSF, Franciscan Media
The Hours of the Universe Reflections on God, Science, and the Human Journey, Ilia Delio, OSF, Orbis Books
The Holy Longing: The Hidden Power of Spiritual Yearning Gonnie Sweig, PhD, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam
The Art of Holding Space: A practice of love, liberation and leadership Heather, Plett, Page Two Books
Fragments of Your Ancient Name: 365 Glimpses of the Divine for Daily Mediation, Joyce Rupp, Sorin Books. Using this book as part of a yearlong pilgrimage with Debra Gai Lewis of SoulLight https://soullightcollage.weebly.com/ Debra hails from Lillian Rock, NSW, Austrailia. I made Debra’s acquaintance through SoulCollage® on World of SoulCollage https://soulcollage.com/soulcollage/world-of-soulcollage/ in 2020.
Walking a labyrinth is meditation, a prayer, a way to destress, or a pilgrimage of the soul. Thich Nhat Hanh says we should walk as if our feet are kissing the earth. I invited high school students to do that last week when walking the labyrinth.
I had the honor of holding space for several classes at Badin High School, a Catholic high school in Hamilton, Ohio. As a graduate of Badin, my facilitating a labyrinth experience was way of giving back to a community which has helped me to find my way. I’m passionate about the labyrinth. I know the life-giving and life-affirming value of it. I know it as a tool for prayer, for managing stress, for encountering the Holy. Holding an experience for Badin was a dream realized. I am grateful to Mr. C for his openness to collaborating with me in providing this experience for his students. We are a Ramily – a family of Ram graduates, supporters and followers. We are One.
I began each class by letting them know I was there because of my mom for two reasons. The first was her love for Badin Baseball and my continued interest in supporting the players. Because I attend the games fairly regularly, I met and got to know the psychology and French teacher, Mr. C. We quickly discovered we had a shared interest in the value of the labyrinth as a way to calm and manage stress, meditate and a way to pray. When he learned that I had a Chartres style canvas labyrinth, he was all in!
The second reason, I told the students, was also because of my mom. I shared my first experience with walking a labyrinth about two months after my mother had died. By paying attention to my breathing and slowing down, I began to move from shock into traveling the road of grief. Grief is a part of our journey. I soon learned the value of the labyrinth as way to lean into difficult emotions, a way to get clarity and inspiration and a way to celebrate joy.
Prior to leaving the classroom and walking to the activities center, I shared how students might approach the experience of walking. Release, Receive, Return and Remember. Release and let go of worries and plans and walk toward the center. Once there, receive Grace, Light, Love or whatever is needed. Return by the same path and bring with you what you received. And then Remember. I encouraged them to journal about it or talk about it. I suggested that in the coming days they can always remember what they felt and noticed.
Mr. C and I made sure we had lap labyrinths available for those students with mobility issues. A few students opted to not engage at all in the process. Most entered with curiosity, respect, and even reverence. Most sensed the sacredness of the space.
We placed battery powered votive candles in the lunations, a candle in the center, and played soothing music to create a calm and peaceful environment.
I almost do not have the words to explain how receptive and gracious these young men and women were to this new experience. I was awed by young athletes holding hands in prayer in the center. I felt joy observing some students walk with a spirit of play and a spring in their steps. Each group held a different energy. Some bowed at the beginning of their walk. Some made the sign of the cross. All seemed to find the experience meaningful and helpful.
I am grateful to Mr. C and rest of the faculty, staff and administration for their openness to this experience. I have heard positive feedback from everyone. Folks, the honor was all mine.
Ram Dass, the American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author, said “we are all just walking each other home”. Thank you, Mr. C and Badin students, for walking with me.
Thank you Mr. C and Badin students!
Blessings ~ Christy
(Photos courtesy of Stephen T. Badin High School. I do not own the copyright to these photos.)
I pray you received Grace, Light, and Love in abundance this month however you celebrated.
In Gratitude Thanks to all who attended an in-person or online workshop I offered in 2022. The grace I receive from facilitating experiences for others is beyond words. I look forward to offering other opportunities for YOU to experience soul tending practices like SoulCollage®, labyrinth, HealthRhythms®, day retreats and MORE!
I am grateful for the grace and blessings I received from the directees I companion through spiritual direction. Whether we met monthly or during a retreat, please know your authenticity and sharing is gift to me.
I am honored and humbled to walk beside those I’ve met at the Lindner Center of Hope. Their efforts to be whole in body, mind, and spirit inspires me.
Last but not least, THANK YOU for supporting the Sally Wesselman Angel in the Dugout Endowment. Badin baseball players need your continued support. No donation is too small! https://badinhs.org/memorialdonation.html
Looking ahead to 2023
Holy Fire® Reiki Energy work
In November, 2022, I became a Holy Fire® Reiki Master. In cooperation with Serenity Herbal Farm and Wellness Center near Eaton, Ohio, I will provide Holy Fire® Reiki energy sessions for relaxation and wellness, beginning Monday, January 9, 2023. Please visit my page https://listening-heart.com/reiki/for more information about Reiki
Due to the nature of Reiki, appointments will be scheduled for one hour beginning at the following times: 10 AM, 12:30 PM, 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM Mondays only. The exchange for one session is $70. Cash preferred. Prepay for a package of three (3) sessions for the discounted price of $175.
Appointments are first come first scheduled. Please call or email me to schedule.
SoulCollage® Events
Creating Sacred Space – Tending to Your Soul card making, Wednesday, January 4, 2023, 6:00P – 9:00P EST via Zoom. Suggested donation $12 to the Sally Wesselman Angel in the Dugout Endowment Fund Register at http://www.listening-heart.com/events
Spiritual Direction and Companioning – Please contact me about regular spiritual direction/companioning. I prefer to companion you in the peaceful surroundings of my country office (or we can meet via Zoom). Contact me to schedule a FREE 30-minute informational session.
The other inspiration came from my friend Nancy who, at 49 and about to turn 50 later this year, created a “50/50” list – 50 things she wanted to do before her 50th birthday. Her list included travel, taking an electrical class, driving construction equipment, and visiting “kitcsch” roadside attractions similar to the largest frying pan or largest ball of twine!
Both of these “lists” are about living life with intentionality. Sometimes it means planning an event or activity. Sometimes it means being totally spontaneous. In any event, as I see it, these kinds of lists are more the proverbial “bucket list” of things to do before dying. My “When I’m 64 Living Life List” is about living life with intentionality, as if you have less than a year to remain on this plane of existence. It means living life with joy and abandonment. I’ll admit the title is a bit cumbersome. It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as “bucket list”. Yet both Nicholas and Nancy seemed to understand the importance of going for the gusto and grabbing life.
Henry David Thoreau
“I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life”
My list continues to evolve. Some things on it require international travel and a larger bank account than what I have. Some things are planned. Some are spontaneous. For example, I’ve always wondered how the coin machines work in the grocery store. I see folks bringing in their buckets of change and dumping them in instead of rolling coins. I decided to take a bucket of pennies in and for the cost of 4 rolls ($2.00) I received a voucher close to $30 I redeemed for cash at the customer service desk. It was just something I always wanted to try.
Other things on the list are reminders to be grateful, to forgive, to write a thank-you note, to acknowledge someone’s best efforts and to spend more quality time among trees.
So far, I’ve taken a mosaic workshop and made a lovely votive candle holder, visited Lake Erie (the photo above was taken on the beach at Port Clinton) and Put-in-Bay. I also tried to make pottery on a pottery wheel but let me tell you, using a pottery wheel is harder than it looks. Sadly, Patrick Swayze was not there to provide assistance!
I haven’t decided whether to publish the list or not because it is changing and evolving. I am paying more attention and being more mindful about what gives me life and letting go of what no longer feeds my soul. My hope is to live more intentionally.
I’ll keep you posted from time to time, or you can follow me at Listening Heart on Facebook.
How will you live with intentionality? What would you do differently if you knew you only had less than a year to live on this planet? How do you want to be in the world?
South Bass Island, Captain Alfred Parker Park, Lake Erie, Ohio (c) Christy Wesselman
I visited South Bass Island in Lake Erie, Ohio this weekend as one of the items on my “When I’m 64 Living Life List”. While some create a “bucket list”, I was inspired by a friend who had created a 50 before 50 list – 50 things she wanted to do or experience before her 50th birthday. It includes everything from running construction equipment, taking a basic electrician’s class, to seeing oddball tourist sites in her state.
I “locked in” on this idea and created a list of 64 events or experiences I would like to have before I turn 64. My friend could feasibly complete her 50/50 list by doing one a week. For me, it’s a little more challenging!
This weekend I crossed off number 3 and number 4 on the When I’m 64 Living Life List. Number 4 was to see and visit Lake Erie. I’ve lived in Ohio most of my life and never saw Lake Erie. And I’ve heard about Put-in-Bay. I took the jet express ferry boat from Port Clinton to Put in Bay, rented a golf cart and toured the island. It was a beautiful sunny and warm fall day. I enjoyed the slow pace of puttering around the island and experiencing all it had to offer.
Apparently, there is a fence in Captain Alfred Parker Park on South Bass Island https://www.putinbay.org/attractions/alfred-parker-park/ where the chain link fence is filled with “locks of love”. While I was visiting last weekend, I snapped this photo.
I was intrigued by these impromptu expressions. The image of thousands of locks of all kinds on a chain link fence which was apparently erected to keep folks safe from dropping into Lake Erie, made me pause. I love images. I love snapping photographs and collaging with others’ images in SoulCollage®.
I invite you to use this photo for your reflection, to write a poem or essay or journal with and about it. Maybe you feel invited to create a collage/SoulCollage® with it. Questions which come to my mind include: “Where are locked in? Where are you locked out? What binds you? Who or what holds the keys or combinations to those locks? What are you bound to? How do you feel when you are “locked in” or “in the zone”?”
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Experience SoulCollage® IN PERSON (workshop)
Would you like to find out what SoulCollage® is and experience it? You still have time to sign up for this workshop. It will be held on Sunday, November 13, 2022, 1:00p to 4:30p https://listening-heart.com/events/ Walk the labyrinth for inspiration and create collaged cards. It’s fun and insightful. All materials are supplied. Bring a friend and have fun while discovering more about yourself.
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New Service – HealthRhythms® Facilitation
I recently trained as a HealthRhythms® facilitator. https://remo.com/experience/post/healthrhythms/ HealthRhythms® is a protocol developed by Dr. Barry Bittman, a neurologist and international speaker based on his conviction that Recreational Music-making is an effective therapeutic strategy in medical settings. Dr. Bittman led a team of researchers who studied the biological effects of the HealthRhythms® drumming protocol and found that group drumming increased the activity of natural killer cell activity, reduced bodily stress, improved mood, and increased job satisfaction and reduced burnout rates.
HealthRHYTHMS® is a “fun, evidence based whole person strategy which promotes socialization and ensures a healthy non-strenuous workout” and fosters personal expression. It can be used in group counseling, support groups, rehab centers, schools, hospitals, facilities focused on the aging, offices and businesses seeking to reduce stress and build team cohesion. https://remo.com/experience/post/healthrhythms/
Please contact me to discuss scheduling HealthRhythms® for your group, school or business.
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New Service – End of Life Companion Services
I am adding a new service in addition to spiritual companioning, SoulCollage®, labyrinth and HealthRhythms®. I feel a call to companion folks in their autumn and winter years – those who are facing terminal illness and death.
Some who engage in that kind of work call themselves end-of-life doulas. A doula is a Greek word, which long ago referred to a woman of service. In the 1980s, the word doula became used again to refer to a person who guided a woman through the birthing process. While the end-of-life doula approach is based on that birth doula model, the work I feel called to offer is non-medical because dying is not a medical event – it is a human event. Dying is a journey through the unknown.
Some individuals who do this work identify as a death doula, death midwife, death coach, end-of-life coach. I have not grafted on to a term yet however, I am committed to providing compassionate companionship and guidance to a person who is transitioning to death and to assisting their loved ones through the dying process.
Our modern western culture has created a deep fear of death. There is an embedded bias in our health care systems which prevents us from accepting the naturalness of dying and more importantly, how to support and companion people going through it. Today, most families live far apart, and generations no longer share homes where family members care for the sick and dying. The way accompanying the dying was handled during the pandemic was deeply distressing to me. Often loved ones were without family in their final hours whether they were dying from the virus or not.
I believe it is time to care for the dying – and those close to them – with an open and listening heart providing presence and compassion. I believe it’s time to re-member and return to the kind of soul tending our ancestors embraced. I believe it is time to return to allowing the process of dying to open us up to the inner healing, beauty and sacredness that can be experienced between people surround a dying person.
My presence can be initiated immediately after a terminal diagnosis, later on when a person is declining, at the point where the person’s body is beginning its final breakdown and keeping vigil or watch is needed, or even after a death to help loved ones start grieving. My desire is to provide emotional, spiritual, and physical support to everyone involved.
My commitment is to provide a deep listening heart to fears, hopes, concerns of the dying person, and to listen to life stories of the person who is dying. I am committed to providing referrals to community resources. I am committed to holding sacred space for the entire dying experience that honors and respects the person. I am committed to deeply listening to the life stories of who the person is and has been in their life and to helping them live with purpose – and hope – up to the final breath.
Please call me for more information.
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Let me know how I can support your spiritual growth and healing through individual spiritual companioning or Reiki or support your group, business, retreat center or educational service through SoulCollage®, labyrinth, or HealthRhythms® facilitation.
