Frederic C. Craigie, PhD
Welcome! You can scroll down to see the long-running welcome text below, with a brief introduction to the website and explanation of the “Goodness of Heart” theme.
FEBRUARY 2021
Welcome to February. The groundhog didn’t see his shadow here in Maine on an overcast day, but certainly did in our winter home (in normal years) in Tucson… if, indeed there are groundhogs in southern Arizona. I guess that means that winter will be what it will be.
I was interviewed for a podcast earlier this week about spirituality and health care. This has been, as you probably know, a long-time focus of my professional life. One of the intriguing questions was, “Can an atheist provide spiritual care?”
My answer was, “Absolutely.” I suggested that, at its core, spiritual care has to do with understanding, honoring and encouraging that which is sacred in somebody else’s life. We come to people in a spirit of what I call “curiosity with an open heart,” looking to understand “Who is this person?” “What do they deeply care about?” “What does it mean to this person to live a good life?” None of this has to do with whatever world view we may hold as caregivers. I may not be familiar with the nuances of your spiritual tradition, but I can ask, and that’s small potatoes anyway compared with the over-arching commitment to meet you where you are.
In our everyday lives, we don’t much have frankly spiritual conversations with other people, but might this be a good template for our relationships with anybody with whom we have not-completely-trivial interactions? You come to them with curiosity and an open heart. You meet them on their own terms. You try to understand and honor who they are, more than who you want them to be.
Ah, you can hear me keeping up the theme of chipping away at polarization and moving toward civil discourse that you have heard from me in the last few months!
Vaccine rollouts are slow and inconsistent, but moving at least haltingly forward. May you remain safe and vigilant, particularly with the anticipated effects of SuperSpreader Sunday. Remember that masking and social distancing, grounded as they are in science, are ultimately expressions of kindness.
New with the website this month, the second of several forthcoming pieces on the history and experience of the labyrinth as a vehicle of spiritual comfort, discernment and growth. See
More > Resources > The labyrinth
And, as always, see the short quotation/reflection updated weekly on the Weekly Reflections tab.
Take care for yourself, and take care for your neighbor.
Fred
I was interviewed for a podcast earlier this week about spirituality and health care. This has been, as you probably know, a long-time focus of my professional life. One of the intriguing questions was, “Can an atheist provide spiritual care?”
My answer was, “Absolutely.” I suggested that, at its core, spiritual care has to do with understanding, honoring and encouraging that which is sacred in somebody else’s life. We come to people in a spirit of what I call “curiosity with an open heart,” looking to understand “Who is this person?” “What do they deeply care about?” “What does it mean to this person to live a good life?” None of this has to do with whatever world view we may hold as caregivers. I may not be familiar with the nuances of your spiritual tradition, but I can ask, and that’s small potatoes anyway compared with the over-arching commitment to meet you where you are.
In our everyday lives, we don’t much have frankly spiritual conversations with other people, but might this be a good template for our relationships with anybody with whom we have not-completely-trivial interactions? You come to them with curiosity and an open heart. You meet them on their own terms. You try to understand and honor who they are, more than who you want them to be.
Ah, you can hear me keeping up the theme of chipping away at polarization and moving toward civil discourse that you have heard from me in the last few months!
Vaccine rollouts are slow and inconsistent, but moving at least haltingly forward. May you remain safe and vigilant, particularly with the anticipated effects of SuperSpreader Sunday. Remember that masking and social distancing, grounded as they are in science, are ultimately expressions of kindness.
New with the website this month, the second of several forthcoming pieces on the history and experience of the labyrinth as a vehicle of spiritual comfort, discernment and growth. See
More > Resources > The labyrinth
And, as always, see the short quotation/reflection updated weekly on the Weekly Reflections tab.
Take care for yourself, and take care for your neighbor.
Fred
WELCOME. Thanks for stopping by. I hope that this site offers you meaningful ideas, helpful resources, cool images and the opportunity to have some dialogue about spirituality and life-well-lived. It's also the portal for information about my books, Positive Spirituality in Health Care and Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful and Peaceful Living.
Why GOODNESS OF HEART?
In our culture and language, the word “heart” usually signifies depth and authenticity. We say, “What I know in my head is fine, but it’s what I know in my heart that really matters,” or “She’s not always consistent in what she does, but she has a good heart.” “Heart,” I think, has to do with the recognition of who we are… who we really are… and what is sacred in how we wish to be living our lives.
“Goodness” of heart signifies mindful awareness of who we really are. If you cherish kindness, or compassion, or understanding… if these qualities are sacred for you… then “goodness of heart” means to hold these qualities in front of you, to remember that this is who you really are, and to allow the energy of these qualities to direct and empower you as you move through your life.
In our culture and language, the word “heart” usually signifies depth and authenticity. We say, “What I know in my head is fine, but it’s what I know in my heart that really matters,” or “She’s not always consistent in what she does, but she has a good heart.” “Heart,” I think, has to do with the recognition of who we are… who we really are… and what is sacred in how we wish to be living our lives.
“Goodness” of heart signifies mindful awareness of who we really are. If you cherish kindness, or compassion, or understanding… if these qualities are sacred for you… then “goodness of heart” means to hold these qualities in front of you, to remember that this is who you really are, and to allow the energy of these qualities to direct and empower you as you move through your life.