Jan/Feb 2020 Family Caregivers’ Grapevine NSCR Caregiver Support Program renew strength, gain knowledge Start Where You Are When we start something new, it can feel daunting and overwhelming ~ making it difficult to know where to begin. The same can be said for the beginning of a new year. No matter what we believe or how we might celebrate, there seems to be a collective energy focused around fresh beginnings. Among many other aspirations I have for this coming year, I have recently decided to take my spiritual practice to a higher level. So, what does this mean? Will I have to spend more time in meditation and prayer? Is it about ritual or new practices? What is it I am looking for? I am interested in strengthening my sense of connection to the Divine. I intend to feel a stronger sense of being guided ~ a more fine-tuned ability to receive the messages from my intuition. A clear channel to creativity and inspiration is something I wish to see established and nurtured in my life. To cultivate stronger faith is on the top of my list. So, is it about stopping everything else in my life so that I can sit in stillness alone or can I find ways to tap into divine energy within my life as I live it? Can I learn to slow down inside while I continue to actively engage in my experience? How can I do this without making my spiritual practice separate from the rest of my life? This really appeals to me. I have been a master at turning everything into a task. Adding one more item to the to-do list. And I have been regimented. Boy! Everything had its time and place. Meditate at 6. Walk at 6:30. Journal at 8. Nothing about that feels enlightened. I am tired of the boot-camp approach to life. I am longing for balance. I desire integration. I am looking for flexible structure. In order to explore what it will mean for me to bring my spiritual practice to a higher level, I thought I would follow my own guidance and consult some of the Cardinal Truths associated with the Conscious Service Approach. You are a Spiritual Master ~ Learn to Be Now at first glance, it might seem like I’m advocating more time in silence and stillness ~ more time doing nothing. And that activity is valid. Research has shown us the benefits of meditative practice ~ being quiet ~ the gifts of simply stopping. I’m talking about learning to be ~ even when you are in motion. Active engagement and connection to stillness within do not have to be exclusive states. We can learn to be in the moment without moving to
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Transcript
Jan/Feb 2020
Family Caregivers’ Grapevine NSCR Caregiver Support Program
renew strength, gain knowledge
Start Where You Are
When we start something new, it can feel daunting
and overwhelming ~ making it difficult to know
where to begin. The same can be said for the
beginning of a new year. No matter what we believe
or how we might celebrate, there seems to be a
collective energy focused around fresh beginnings.
Among many other aspirations I have for this coming
year, I have recently decided to take my spiritual
practice to a higher level. So, what does this mean?
Will I have to spend more time in meditation and
prayer? Is it about ritual or new practices? What is it I
am looking for?
I am interested in strengthening my sense of
connection to the Divine. I intend to feel a stronger
sense of being guided ~ a more fine-tuned ability to
receive the messages from my intuition. A clear
channel to creativity and inspiration is something I
wish to see established and nurtured in my life. To
cultivate stronger faith is on the top of my list.
So, is it about stopping everything else in my life so
that I can sit in stillness alone or can I find ways to
tap into divine energy within my life as I live it? Can
I learn to slow down inside while I continue to
actively engage in my experience? How can I do this
without making my spiritual practice separate from
the rest of my life?
This really appeals to me. I have been a master at
turning everything into a task. Adding one more item
to the to-do list. And I have been regimented. Boy!
Everything had its time and place.
Meditate at 6.
Walk at 6:30.
Journal at 8.
Nothing about that feels enlightened. I am tired of the
boot-camp approach to life. I am longing for balance.
I desire integration. I am looking for flexible
structure.
In order to explore what it will mean for me to bring
my spiritual practice to a higher level, I thought I
would follow my own guidance and consult some of
the Cardinal Truths associated with the Conscious
Service Approach.
You are a Spiritual Master ~ Learn to Be
Now at first glance, it might seem like I’m advocating
more time in silence and stillness ~ more time doing
nothing. And that activity is valid. Research has
shown us the benefits of meditative practice ~ being
quiet ~ the gifts of simply stopping.
I’m talking about learning to be ~ even when you are
in motion. Active engagement and connection to
stillness within do not have to be exclusive states. We
can learn to be in the moment without moving to
Jan/Feb 2020 Page 2
to change it.
Be present. Even in the midst of chaos, allow yourself
to be within the experience.
Be engaged. Even as you connect with one another,
stay present to yourself. Observe who you are within
the interaction. Watch your thoughts, your emotions,
your feelings, and your perceptions.
Be yourself. Show up. Bring who you are in any
given moment to your experience. To simply exist
with your internal landscape means that you are not
rushed to share it with anyone else. You simply
witness what is happening.
When you are confused or facing a big decision, settle
into the uncertainty. Be with your uneasiness. Show
up for yourself.
Spiritual Responsibility
Let me ask you something.
Are your beliefs life giving and supportive? Can you
identify any destructive beliefs?
Perhaps, these beliefs have served a purpose in the
past, however, may no longer be useful. For example,
the belief that one must work very hard to succeed
could be instrumental in developing discipline in life.
However, many years later, this same belief may also
be supporting work-addicted behavior. It is no longer
serving a healthy purpose. This demonstrates the
benefits of ongoing self-inquiry into your belief
system.
What beliefs are most powerful for you at this time?
What do you believe about yourself?
What beliefs can you identify that drive your purpose
in Service and Caregiving?
What values guide your life and your Caregiving/
Service? How have your values changed over the
course of your life? If you could choose one value
right now to bring more fully into your life, what
would that be? That’s a tough question.
Consider how your actions reflect your deepest
beliefs and values. How do you behave in accordance
with what you believe and what values you ascribe
to? Where does your behavior fall short? This inquiry
can illuminate the areas of your life that you are
motivated to bring into alignment.
If you are struggling with an inefficient ~ potentially
destructive ~ belief pattern, you can begin to
challenge it.
Let’s say you have always valued hard work. You
believe that in order to be successful, you must go
above and beyond in your level of productivity. This
has served you well over the years allowing you to
achieve many goals and create a sense of achievement
in your life. However, recently, you are noticing that
you no longer have the same drive to work at the
level you had before. Does this mean that you can
kiss success goodbye?
Is it possible that people can achieve immense
success without working themselves into the ground?
Are you willing to shake up that belief system? Is it
possible that your values have shifted and you now
see a space in your life for more fun and relaxation?
Maybe, your very definition of success has changed
and means something else to you entirely.
Our values and beliefs reside in the spiritual realm of
responsibility which means that we can respond to
any outdated systems by choosing to change the
game. You can tell worn out beliefs and values that
they no longer apply in your life anymore. You can
put them on notice that things are about to change.
You have decided to govern your life ~ your actions ~
your contributions through Service and Caregiving ~
through a brand new set of principles.
How can your life become an expression of your
spirituality?
By Elizabeth Bishop
The Family Caregivers’ Grapevine Page 3
Network Group
Jan 7 & Feb 4, 7-9PM
Jan 15th & Feb 12th, 10:30AM-12:30PM
Rm 203 Community Room at Capilano Mall,
N. Van
Join other caregivers to share experiences, discover new resources, and learn tools to help you on your caregiving journey.
Persian Network Group
Jan 20th & Feb 24th, 4-6pm
Rm 203 Community Room in Capilano Mall
Workshops
January 14, 2020
1—2:30 pm
Care Planning Workshop with Stephanie
Chan
February 10, 2020
1—3
Dementia and the Montessori Approach
With Anne Kelly
Both workshops are held at the Community
Room in Capilano Mall
Please RSVP for all events to Elizabeth Bishop at [email protected] or
604.982.3320
January 2020 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
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5 6 7 Network
Group 7—9
pm
8 9 10 11
12 13 14 Care Plan-
ning Work-
shop 1—2:30
15 Network
Group 10:30—
12:30
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Jan/Feb 2020 Page 4
For registration and information on all sessions, contact Elizabeth by email at