Colleen Sharka at Spiritual Directors International 2013

Do you long for healing waters of compassion in hospitals, clinics, and health centers? Are you looking for new ways to collaborate with heath care providers and those who tend the soul? If so, then the Spirituality and Health Care Institute at Spiritual Directors International 2013 is your opportunity to explore the confluence of clinical and spiritual care. All are welcome to join the event, entitled "Compassionate Person-Centered Care: Strengthening Interdisciplinary Collaboration."

Our very own Colleen Sharka will be a panelist at the event. Stay tuned to our blog for her reflections on the event and importance of bringing spiritually grounded compassion into health care practice. Mark your calendars for Thursday, April 11, 2013 from 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza St. Paul - Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota. Various continuing education credits are available for practitioners. Click here for more information.

Where's the Spirit? Breaking barriers

Every Wednesday, we share links to articles, videos, and other content from across the wonderful world wide web that move and/or challenge us in our exploration of spirituality and society. We encourage you to share reflections and commentary on what we share here and out in your own communities. Enjoy!

EMBRACING VULNERABILITY
On Daring Greatly
by Oprah and Brené Brown
OWN Super Soul Sunday

We have used Brené Brown’s TED Talks in our workshops to introduce and explore themes of vulnerability and courage. She’s now on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday discussing her spiritual journey with these themes and others. Regardless of how you feel about Brené Brown (or Oprah) specifically, we want to ask you two central spiritual questions: What is your orientation to vulnerability—yours and that of others? Where is the intersection between Spirit and vulnerability in your story?

OPENING UP TO FAILURE
The Spirituality of Failure
by Trey Hall
Chicago Phoenix

How do you engage others in your work? How do you tell your story? What is the role of failure in your story? Could you open up to failure in a quest to discover wholeness? Rev. Trey Hall of Urban Village Church in Chicago writes here about a practice that can help us all open up more deeply to ourselves and to others by accepting failure.

What do we mean by…Alignment?

This post is part of the Still Harbor blog series “What Do We Mean By…” Through our postings we hope you learn a little more about who we are and what we are about – and that we can enter into deeper conversation with you.

a·lign·ment: (noun) the act of adjusting parts in relation to each other.

It may sound strange for us to use such a technical word to describe a spiritual reality, especially when most people think about car tires when they hear the word alignment. But for us at Still Harbor, alignment describes an important function for our wellbeing. Just as alignment and calibration of our cars helps us drive well and more efficiently, spiritual alignment is about coming into better balance and harmony.

Being spiritually aligned means being attuned to your truest and deepest self and acting in our day-to-day lives in line with what is within us. Alignment speaks to a consistency and integration between our inner awareness and how we act in the world. Basically, alignment is when our actions match our values.

*ant.photosAgain and again at Still Harbor, we encounter people and organizations that seek to clarify their driving values and begin to act more consciously from those values. They want to uncover their capacity for building relationships that restore harmony. Our work with them focuses on practices and approaches that can help their natural systems work more efficiently, kind of like getting better gas mileage!

What helps you come into alignment?

How does feeling in or out of alignment affect your actions?

Where's the Spirit? Making the link

This is our first post in a new weekly blog series. Every Wednesday, we will share a handful of links to articles, videos, and other content from across the wonderful world wide web that move and/or challenge us in our exploration of spirituality and society. We encourage you to share reflections and commentary on what we share here and out in your own communities. Enjoy!

PURSUING MEANING
There’s more to life than being happy.
by Emily Esfahani Smith
The Atlantic

Where do you stand in relationship to the pursuit of happiness? How do pursuing happiness and seeking meaning differ? This article explores the writings of Frankl and the question of life’s purpose. Do you know the “why” of your existence?

DEVELOPING A PRACTICE
The Blend: Entrepreneurship & Contemplative Traditions
by Evan Steiner
cinemagicalmedia.com

How can contemplative practice guide you in all areas of your life? Watch Evan Steiner, Manager of Special Projects at Hub Bay Area, present how contemplative traditions have opened him up to new ideas and innovations at work.

CHOOSING A LIFESTYLE
Living with less. A lot less.
by Graham Hill
The New York Times

Do you have too much "stuff"? What do you really need to live? Most, if not all, contemplative paths promote "less is more" consumer choices. What does this mean for you? Read about how entrepreneur, Graham Hill, decided to scale back his footprint.

SOCAP: SOUL on March 9th in Boston

What if your job, your finances, your investments, and your community were all aligned with what you value?

Episcopal City Mission and SOCAP Conferences have teamed up to put together a one-day event where faith-filled speakers and panels will address just that question. SOCAP:Soul is a one-day event which will be held at the MIT Stata Center in Cambridge on Saturday, March 9.

Social entrepreneurs and investors, faith leaders and activists, cultural creatives and thought leaders are all seeking to align what they care about with their jobs, and with the way they spend and invest their money. Be inspired by speakers who have made these decisions. Explore models and find others along the same path.

Our own Ed Cardoza will be speaking on a panel entitled, Significance: Finding Meaning in Our Work.

Tickets are $95 dollars and include access to the event’s online networking community, a full day of content, meals and an evening party. Space is limited. Register Now.

Join the event on Saturday, March 9th, 2013, at Stata Center.