A few days ago, I journaled about the area aligned with my eyes on the side of my head, referred to as your temple. And being a good follower of the obvious, the origin of the word struck me. What better name could you have for this area?

Nancy and I both talk about today bringing your feelings to your heart to experience them and I understand that that is difficult for many. So when I think of Christ preaching in “the Temple” I am envisioning those words landing between my ears. In this inner chapel of my mind where ego and self square off against being conscious and being “woke”, I believe. By that i mean, that all my authenticity, my words and actions are examples of how I show up in the world.

The issue is to not remain stuck in a warrior mentality.

How then does this relate to the mythopoetic notion of warrior culture. In men’s work, one starting place for engagement is to invoke the warrior “self” as a quest to find meaning. I like idea that this invitation ignites a calling to go deeper. The issue is to not remain stuck in a warrior mentality. Calling the Warrior self into “consciousness” is a first step in a process that engages other important aspects of a man including the artist, inventor, lover and the “king”.

Therefore, if you become stuck in one place, you can become the cannon fodder casualty of your inner war. When you look at the results of war and what it brings and that’s not the place I ever want to be. So when I became stuck in my grief, I had to go deeper because I didn’t have all the puzzle pieces of myself fitting neatly together. I had anger, shame, guilt backing me into a corner. Yes, I had to fight or better engage with those feelings as a first step. I then became a student of my grief and now I find myself in a place of mentorship. To take up the task of speaking of my grief, I accomplish my mission of serving those stuck in their grief. I do this by elevating the conversation, removing the stigma of talking about uncomfortable things.

“Only by normalizing the difficult conversation… move through the emotions that grief brings.”

When your heart is broken from a devastating loss you seek relief from pain and sadness. If you walk around with the idea that you can’t express your feelings, then you can’t find that relief. It is only by normalizing the difficult conversation, that grief becomes less scary and painful. You can release the pressure of holding everything inside if you make that choice.  Your choice is to respond not react to the discomfort.

That is why we call you and invite you to hear our conversation, participate as you are called to and become part of the community to move through the emotions that grief brings. We want you to be successful in meeting your grief in a safe environment and become comfortable in Being with Grief.