Sacred Quest

Workshop and Retreat Topics

(All are supported with slides)

 

 

v    Grief

Ø     Loss in Life and Suffering

§        A look at the wide range of losses we all face in life

§        Some Wisdom-Thoughts on Suffering

Ø     Ways to Avoid Unnecessary Suffering in My Life

§        Some thoughts on being less susceptible to suffering caused by others

Ø     The Art of Grief Healing

§        How do I help myself along the Grief Journey?

Ø     Twelve Steps of Healing

§        A twelve-step approach to self-healing

Ø     Seven Choices Along the Grief Journey

§        The ways in which we must be pro-active in our own healing

Ø    Getting Through Grief with Gratitude (NEW)

§       Grief and Gratitude; Only one will prevail

Ø     Men in Grief

§        Some unique Grief obstacles for males and some females in our culture

Ø     Guilt and Anger

§        Dealing with some common, often difficult, Grief emotions

Ø     Dark Emotions

§        Ways to use dark emotions positively

Ø     Inner Peace

§        Signs that I’m achieving some

Ø     Forgiveness; A Key to Grief Healing

§        Often a major stumbling block, supported by our false illusions

Ø     Book of Job

§        Wonderful expressions of Grief

Ø     Loss in Life and Faith

§        Spiritual Crisis

Ø     Poetry

§        Its role in my life and my growth

 

v    Caregiving

Ø     Key Skills for Effective Caregiving

§        The Role of the Caregiver

Ø     The Art of Loving Listening

§        An examination of a key Caregiver skill; Some useful Listening tools

Ø     Grief Support Groups; They Work

§        Ideas for effective Support Group Sessions

Ø      Compassioning: A Key to Effective Caregiving (New)

§        Effective Help with Compassion

Ø     Rituals

§        How rituals may help the bereaved

Ø     The Crying Need to Formalize a Ministry to the Bereaved

§        Why and how every church needs to minister to their grieving

Ø     Befriending Death

§        The need to befriend my won death to help others actively dying

Ø     Business Lessons I had to Unlearn

§        Axioms of commerce I needed to unlearn for Caregiving

Ø     Ways to Avoid Unnecessary Suffering

§        Ways to avoid suffering as a Caregiver

Ø     Servant Leadership

§        Are Service and Leadership compatible?

Ø     Forgiveness: A Key to Grief Healing

§        A tough nut for caregivers

Ø     The Call to Lay Ministry

§        Our Gifts are meant for Others

Ø     Prayer of St. Francis; A guide for Caregivers

§        All we need to know for effective Caregiving

Ø     Book of Job

§        Great and Terrible Caregiving

Ø     Caring for the Elderly

§        Some key things we forget because they’re old

 

v    Love and Relationships

Ø     Soul Friends

§        The role of loving listening between Soul Friends

Ø     Sharing Wisdom

§        Effective Mentoring ideas

Ø     Love or Fear

§        Which drives me?

Ø     Dialogue or Conversation

§        Thoughts on effective Communication

Ø     Family Systems that Promote Growth

§        What makes for a Healthy Nurturing Family environment?

Ø     God and Growth in Relationships

§        Reaching the fullness of our humanity in Relationships

Ø     True Self

§        How do I find me?

Ø     Forgiveness

§        Vital to Relationship

Ø     Love is the Answer, Whatever the Question

§        God is Love (I Jn 4, 7-16)

Ø     Love is

§        A definition

Ø     Open Mind/Open Heart

§        A prayer of Letting Go

 

v    Spiritual Growth

Ø     Spirituality, What is it?

§        Some definitions of the Sages

Ø     Creation Spirituality

§        Creation: The Original Blessing

Ø     Contemplation

§        It’s role in our active lives

Ø     Spiritual Well-being

§        How do I nurture my Spirituality

Ø     Spiritual Healing

§        How do I heal Spiritual wounds?

Ø     Approach to Spirituality in the World

§        Are they compatible?

Ø     We can Learn

§        What we need; An Eight Point Program

Ø     Stepping Stones on the Sacred Quest

§        Using all of life’s experiences

Ø     Moments of Spiritual Growth and Healing

§        Every one and opportunity for Growth

Ø     Seek the Sacred

§        Finding my way

Ø     Socrates on Spirituality

§        Some useful ancient Wisdom

Ø     Spiritual Path

§        Life’s Journey

Ø     Spiritual Growth and Enlightenment

§        How do I grow? How do I respond to the Holy Spirit?

Ø     Obstacles to Spiritual Growth

§        Turning stumbling blocks to stepping stones

Ø     Longing and Loss in Life

§        The role of longing and loss on life’s journey

Ø     Our Precious Present

§        The Gift of Life and Spiritual Growth in the Now

Ø     Business Lessons I had to Unlearn

§        Axioms of Business I needed to unlearn for my Spiritual Growth

Ø     Rules for being Human

§        Suggestions for reaching a fullness of our humanity

Ø     Some Thoughts on Sacrifice

§        Sometimes, we use sacrifice to control others

Ø     Life Consents

§        The consents we must make to Grow in Life

Ø     Indigenous American Wisdom

§        Wisdom of the American Indians

Ø     Happiness

§        Thoughts on this illusive goal

Ø     Male Spirituality

§        Different than female?

Ø     Forgiveness

§        Lack of it stifles Spiritual Growth

Ø     Mother Theresa’s Simple Path

§        Where does it begin? End?

Ø     Mysteries of the Rosary: A daily Life Guide

§        Not just historical events

Ø     Bread of Life

§        It is us

Ø     Jesus and Zen

§        Enlightenment

Ø     Cracking Open the Beatitudes

§        Unreasonable challenges?  Irrelevant rewards

Ø     Moving My Light out from under the bushel (NEW)

§        Overcoming my sense of unworthiness

Ø     Everything Belongs (NEW)

§       Spirituality unites; religions tend to divide

 

v    Church

Ø     Early American Catholicism

§        The growth of our country and our religion

Ø     What is this thing we call Church

§        What is Church—really?

Ø     Denial

§        The role of denial in our lack of Spiritual Growth

Ø     Effective Dissent

§        Dissent is essential for growth, if effective

Ø     An Earth-shattering Mission Statement

§        Living it grows the Church

Ø     Ordination; What's it REALLY all about (NEW)

§        A look at the history and mis-interpretations of Ordination

Ø    I Love My Church, BUT OH MY GOD! (New)

§        What We Tolerate, We Cannot Change