by Nicole Havelka | Dec 23, 2019 | Advent & Christmas, Community, Creativity, Faith Formation, Mindfulness, Self Care, Yoga & Church
Last year, my family attended a Christmas Eve Catholic mass, as we usually do. Though I grew up as a Roman Catholic, I left that church for the United Church of Christ many years ago. Over the years, I have learned to appreciate the richness of the Catholic tradition,...
by Nicole Havelka | Dec 17, 2019 | Advent & Christmas, Community, Faith Formation, Mindfulness, Self Care, Yoga & Church
Each Christmas season, I make a ritual of watching the Frank Capra Christmas Classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Though I know there is a strong cult following for the movie starring James Stewart and Donna Reed, there is an equally large group of those who furrow their...
by Nicole Havelka | Dec 9, 2019 | Advent & Christmas, Community, Creativity, Healing, Mindfulness, Self Care, Yoga & Church
I remember one time many years ago I was talking to my mother on my cell phone while driving somewhere through Iowa. (Don’t worry. Hands free.) The conversation resulted, as it often did, in conflict. I was skating along the edge of my last nerve with her — a sadly...
by Nicole Havelka | Dec 5, 2019 | Advent & Christmas, Community, Creativity, Healing, Mindfulness, Self Care, Yoga & Church
I wonder if part of my annoyance with Christmas lights going up earlier and earlier in the season is because they obscure the darkness we actually need to rest and grow. Glaring lights that we put in our porches, trees and balconies may bring temporary holiday cheer,...
by Nicole Havelka | Oct 8, 2019 | Change Leadership, Community, Self Care, Yoga & Church
I started doing yoga asana (movement) 15 years ago largely to avoid silence. Whenever I attempted to settle into the quiet of meditation or prayer, my mind assaulted me with memories of past negative experiences just dying to surface, with pervasive thoughts of the...
by Nicole Havelka | Oct 2, 2019 | Change Leadership, Creativity, Faith Formation, Healing, Self Care, Yoga & Church
Last week I attended a free meditation class hosted by a local church. The leader, a very experienced mediation teacher, reflected that he often hears people push back about meditation — saying that it, and other mindfulness and self-care practices, were selfish. The...
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