Dr. Howell’s Reflections
Everyday, Dr. Howell writes a reflection, inquiry prompt, and a prayer.
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The Work - Part 7
March 31, 2025
Many spiritual practices increase our level of serenity. But perhaps the most effective spiritual practice is meditation. In meditation, we are grounded, still, and open to our higher mind. Simply quieting our mental activity and external stimulation reshapes our neuropathways and emotional response patterns. In settling our minds, we move past the chatter, and extraneous thoughts pass. The condition we achieve in meditation can remain with us after our meditation formally ends. If we notice that condition and work to keep it, we move through the world with tranquility. Negative emotions cannot readily take over in serenity and tranquility, negative emotions cannot ready take over.
The Work - Part 6
March 30, 2025
Saying what we think sometimes hurts others’ feelings and causes problems. This happens especially if our emotional center is running rampant. It is hard spiritual work to control emotions enough to consider what we say before we say it.
The Work - Part 5
March 29, 2025
Sometimes, the answer doesn’t come. Sometimes, the insights, ritual, or guidance don’t bring a resolution. Nothing works; however spiritual it may be. This situation calls us to do something that most of us resist doing at all costs. It’s the hardest spiritual work of all: surrender.
The Work - Part 4
March 28, 2025
Many of the circumstances and relationships on our journey of spiritual growth require hard work. For example, someone wants to take something from us or control us. Maybe they want to take advantage of the relationship or diminish us. Possibly they will not give us what we need or deserve. Maybe their intentions are good as far as they are concerned, but they are blind to the repercussions of their actions. Such scenarios happen all the time in marriages, families, businesses, organizations, political parties, cities, states and countries.
The Work - Part 3
March 27, 2025
Spiritual work is not confined to the academic study of spiritual ideas and their application. If that were true, then people who can’t read or study would be limited in their spiritual growth. We know from experience that spiritual growth happens in all lifestyles, regardless of culture, educational status, or the ability to study. Often, I think of the enslaved people in our country and the spiritual strength and wisdom that many of them must have achieved to exist in the most horrendous circumstances imaginable. They had no formal education, but they learned and grew spiritually.
The Work - Part 2
March 26, 2025
We have to swallow our pride to do the work. Our unchecked ego doesn’t want us to admit we were wrong or entertain other ways of being. But spiritual work calls for just that. It calls for us to let go of our unchecked ego and open our eyes to the higher things. Many spiritual searchers I know tell me that their spiritual journey began when their ego failed them. That’s when they swallowed their pride and started to do the work of study and practice.
The Work - Part 1
March 25, 2025
In graduate school, I read the book Siddhartha (1922) by Herman Hesse and discussed it with a fellow student. He was in a group who studied its teachings and other teachers such as George Gurdjieff. I will never forget my friend's words in explaining his group and what they studied. He said, “The group doesn’t just study the works of teachers; they do the work.” The words “the work” stood out to me. I had never really associated study with “work.”