Our souls are intricately connected.
Bozos on the Bus
The Essence: We human beings are all bozos on the bus.
Building Trust
The Essence: Trust doesn’t “just happen”; it is the result of conviction combined with effort over time.
Correction Comes in Threes
The Essence: When we find ourselves off course, we can count on three potential sources of correction – our own intuitive sense, relational hints, and cues from the broader environment; but we need to learn to read (and heed) the signs.
Do Tell
The Essence: We all have secrets, but some are so secret they are hidden from even ourselves.
Emergency!
The Essence: Flashing lights and screaming sirens are all very exciting, but the person who makes the real difference is the one who gasses the ambulance and checks the tires the night before.
Forgiveness or Forbearance?
The Essence:When forgiveness seems impossible, forbearance may be enough.
Guilt – CRAFTing A Response
The Essence: Guilt is like touching a hot stove; the unpleasant sensation lets you know something is very wrong.
Liminality
The Essence: Liminality is a transition state outside and beyond our sense of the ordinary. It is like a doorway which stands between two distinct locales but has no real territory of its own.
Love Costs
The Essence: Love always exacts a price – but not always in coin.
Maybe Not
The Essence: Spiritually mature persons understand that different folks see the world differently. How it seems to me is very often not how it seems to you.
More Than Morals
The Essence: The spiritual life means more than adherence to a moral code. In addition, we need the nurture of symbols and symbolic language to grow our spirits.
Projection
The Essence: The earliest and most primitive psychological defense mechanism is projection.
The Bridge of Is
The Essence: The journey from “You betrayed me” to “I felt betrayed by you” is a long difficult trip across The Bridge of Is.
The F— and P—Words (Frequency and Propinquity)
The Essence: We assume a degree of familiarity with one another based on the regularity and closeness of our contact.
There’s Always a Payoff
The Essence: Folks do things because they perceive a resulting benefit. That benefit is called a payoff, and there is always a payoff.
Whose Side Are You On?
The Essence: The groups or factions we choose to support tell a great deal about not only our allegiances but also about our spiritual health.