Dr. Howell’s Reflections
Everyday, Dr. Howell writes a reflection, inquiry prompt, and a prayer.
To receive Dr. Howell’s reflections everyday in your inbox, please sign up for our mailing list using the form at the bottom of the page, and begin your journey into who God has made you to be.
Make peace with your ego and discover your true path today. The path to wholeness starts now!
Self-Understanding Part 2
September 23, 2025
When remorse and guilt threaten to get the best of us, we can move through that rough spot more healthily if we are compassionate toward ourselves. Knowing our soul enables us to forgive ourselves, have mercy on ourselves, and care for our wounds.
Self-Understanding Part 1
September 22, 2025
We are complex creatures, so to understand ourselves in depth may be daunting. Not only are we continually changing, but we also have multiple aspects and layers within ourselves. Many of us know our outer self, yet do not explore our depths. But amazingly, in our depths are wondrous aspects we hardly know and therefore never enjoy or express.
Gratefulness Part 6
September 22, 2025
We are complex creatures, so to understand ourselves in depth may be daunting. Not only are we continually changing, but we also have multiple aspects and layers within ourselves. Many of us know our outer self, yet do not explore our depths. But amazingly, in our depths are wondrous aspects we hardly know and therefore never enjoy or express.
Gratefulness Part 5
September 20, 2025
In Christianity, the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed and Eastern Orthodox churches all use a variation of the phrase "it is right to give him thanks and praise" during the opening dialogue of the Eucharistic prayer. This dialogue between the priest and the congregation, is known as the Sursum Corda, an ancient part of the Christian liturgy.
Gratefulness Part 4
September 19, 2025
The gardenia bushes beside our back porch didn’t bloom in June, as always. I believe we trimmed them too much and too late. One of the large gardenia bushes comes from my home place in Mobile, where I grew up. I recall smelling the gardenia blossoms from that very bush as a little boy. Gardenias have a one-of-a-kind fragrance. It’s sweet, deep, mildly exotic yet earthy, creamy, and with a subtle layer of spice as you continue taking it in. In its own way, it is intoxicating. The scent becomes stronger in the evening.
Gratefulness Part 3
September 18, 2025
In Cherokee, the word for expressing gratitude is Otsaliheliga (pronounced oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah), which means "we are grateful." The concept of thankfulness is deeply woven into Cherokee culture, particularly in ceremonies that honor the Earth and the Creator. All Native American tribes include gratefulness in their ceremonies and daily rituals. Not only native Americans but indigenous cultures around the world, from the aborigines in Australia, to tribes in Africa to the indigenous people in South America, all honor the quality of gratefulness, especially gratefulness to nature.
Gratefulness Part 2
September 17, 2025
Have you ever given a gift, but your gift was never acknowledged? Though you did not give it to be thanked, without the acknowledgment from the person who received the gift, the circle of giving is incomplete. Completing the circle of giving includes gratefulness. I believe this may be why in most religious traditions, thanksgiving to God is an important dynamic. It completes the cycle of giving. It is acknowledgment of receipt of a blessing.
Gratefulness Part 1
September 16, 2025
Like most of us, I tend to think of many things as “givens,” such as our body, family, and all people. Then, of course, there are the trees, skies, mountains, oceans, learning, and emotion, all of which have been there from the beginning. All this was here when I arrived, so why express gratefulness for it? The givens of our life can be compared to our table at a restaurant. We never question if there will be a table in the establishment, and we don’t express thanks for it; it is already there when we arrive, and it is part and parcel of being in a restaurant.
Who Do You Think You Are? Part 7
September 15, 2025
No one sees us exactly as we see ourselves. But as we live increasingly from our true nature, there is less of a gap between who we think we are, how others see us, and who we truly are.
Who Do You Think You Are? Part 6
September 14, 2025
Who do you think you are? It sounds like a simple question, yet it may be the most important one we ever consider. Some souls wander through life without ever truly knowing who they really are. They recognize they have a body, emotions, and a mind. Many even know that they have a soul. But few are consciously connected to many of their deeper qualities, so they cannot describe them.
Who Do You Think You Are? Part 5
September 13, 2025
Who do you think you are? It sounds like a simple question, yet it may be the most important one we ever consider. Some souls wander through life without ever truly knowing who they really are. They recognize they have a body, emotions, and a mind. Many even know that they have a soul. But few are consciously connected to many of their deeper qualities, so they cannot describe them.
Who Do You Think You Are? Part 4
September 12, 2025
I just listened to a great spiritual master leading a teaching to a global audience. This teacher is Daaji, the Global Guide for the Heartfulness movement based in Hyderabad, India. Today’s teaching was on meditation and human emotion. Daaji understands that regardless of how spiritually progressed we are, and how much meditation we have done over a lifetime, we are still human beings with human emotions. A common complaint of spiritual seekers is the following: “I have been working on myself for years and still let things upset me; I must not have developed as much as I think.” Daaji speaks to this common complaint:
Who Do You Think You Are? Part 3
September 11, 2025
I have noticed that most people feel they are good people. The research bears this out. Human beings think they are above average in being correct, honest, and reasonable (Alicke, 2005). However, research also shows that people feel less than others. Since the advent of social media, we can more readily measure how people stack up when they compare themselves to others. The results are that a large preponderance of people do not feel they compare well to others (Kayala, 2023).
Who Do You Think You Are? Part 2
September 10, 2025
Many of us define ourselves as our family defined us. Others of us find our identity for themselves. Many who are on the road to self-realization discover that we are infinite beings whose depth and potential are unlimited, so to nail down who we are is next to impossible. Our souls are infinite because as an aspect of God, they spring from the endless source of all being.
Who Do You Think You Are? Part 1
September 9, 2025
As a child, there were times when, like most kids, I was “too big for my britches.” Mama quickly corrected me by saying, “Just who do you think you are?” Her scolding usually brought me down to size. But the question, “Who do you think you are?” is not necessarily for scolding. It is an essential question that we face on the conscious or subconscious levels of our being. The question can be a sincere inquiry from another person about who we are. Or on a more profound level, we can ask ourselves by way of self-inquiry.
Application of Spiritual Wisdom Part 7
September 8, 2025
When we do not know what to do or where to turn, our spiritual practice is more essential than ever, because it helps us focus on listening for what we need. But there is another kind of listening, beyond the use of our two ears, called listening with our “third ear.”
Application of Spiritual Wisdom Part 6
September 7, 2025
When something upsets us, the first step toward spiritual wisdom is to step back from its emotional grip. Life inevitably brings circumstances that overwhelm us. Emotions rise like a tidal storm, tossing around our faith and flooding our minds with the problem. Emotions become the context for our mood, our body, and our spirit. In such moments, it can feel impossible to turn toward our spiritual practice, for the storm within us is too strong.
Application of Spiritual Wisdom Part 5
September 6, 2025
Many spiritual practices bring us closer to the Divine and to spiritual wisdom. One of my favorites is meditation. Some others are walking the labyrinth, consulting holy scripture, Lectio Divina, yoga, pilgrimage, dance, writing, music, practicing presence, mindfulness, embodiment, and various forms of prayer. However, none will be optimal unless we bring several things to the practice.