Category Archives: Mindfulness

Being Counted

Posted on March 6, 2020 by Esther Hizsa

“I talked to a nurse practitioner about my gastric reflux,” I said to my spiritual director. “I changed my diet, don’t eat after supper and raised the head of our bed. And that’s not all I’ve been doing to care … Continue reading →

Posted in community, compassion, Ignatian Spirituality, Lent, Mindfulness, Mystical, Reflections, Spiritual Direction, Stories, Stories of an Everyday Pilgrim | Tagged Être homme, body, c'est précisément être responsable, Community meal, Esther Hizsa, Five Contemplations, Ignatian Spirituality, Ignatian Sprititual Exercises, Jean-François Millet, Millet, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, St. Stephen the Martyr Anglican Church, The Potato Planters, Thich Nhat Hanh, Vassilis Londos, vegan | 4 Comments

What Is Your Focus?

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Esther Hizsa

Where attention goes, energy flows. Day 23 of Home, a 30-day yoga journey with Adriene. The theme for today is focus. We return to rest after a challenging pose that has stretched us. Adriene asks, “Where in your body is … Continue reading →

Posted in Mindfulness, Reflections | Tagged 30 Day Yoga Jouney, BNSF, Esther Hizsa, John Mueller, margery Williams, Mother Teresa, Radical Compassion, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Tara Brach, The Velveteen Rabbit, Yoga with Adriene | Leave a comment

Turn to Wonder

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Esther Hizsa

Everything belongs: God uses everything. There are no dead ends. There is no wasted energy. Everything is recycled. –Richard Rohr, Everything Belongs Saturday morning of the opening weekend of Living from the Heart in Abbotsford, we gathered for morning prayers … Continue reading →

Posted in community, Mindfulness, Reflections, Stories | Tagged Audrey Hoehn, Brent Unrau, Donelda Seymour, Esther Hizsa, Everything Belongs, Jessie Wilcox Smith, John 3:29, Living from the Heart, Moonbeams, Parker J. Palmer, Richard Rohr, Romans 8:28, SoulStream, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver | 2 Comments

Frogs in My Bowl

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Esther Hizsa

I checked my pockets for the third time, but my new credit card wasn’t there. “I was sure I brought it along,” I said to Fred anxiously. Then I remembered that a bunch of my cards fell out of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Ignatian Spirituality, Mindfulness, Prayer, Reflections, Stories | Tagged Esther Hizsa, Everything Belongs, fail fail again fail better, Father Thomas Keating, frogs in a bowl, Ignatius of Loyola, Jean-Pierre de Caussade, Pema Chodron, Prayer of Examen, Prince Ea, Richard Rohr, Romans 8:28, Seth Godin, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, The Farmer Story, The Sacrament of the Present Moment | 2 Comments

Fail Better

Posted on August 30, 2019 by Esther Hizsa

I ended my eight-day retreat with a keen desire to be more compassionate. But within days, I acted on a judgment and hurt someone. Soon afterward, I read Pema Chödrön’s fail fail again fail better. Chödrön says that when things … Continue reading →

Posted in compassion, Mindfulness, Mystical, Prayer, Reflections | Tagged Esther Hizsa, fail, fail fail again fail better, Heart's Desire, Isaiah 48:6-7, Last Day, Pema Chodron, Rachel Titiriga, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Ted Rheingold, Welcoming Prayer | 1 Comment

Get Real Still

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Esther Hizsa

I’m on retreat right now. So I here’s a post from a few years ago for you. It was easy to pick out our grandson in the line-up of swimmers. The eight-year-old wore a life jacket and was a foot or two shorter than … Continue reading →

Posted in Mindfulness, Reflections, Stories | Tagged Anatomy of Trust, Brene Brown, Esther Hizsa, Feather, Fred Randall pool, Jim Champion, Paula D'Arcy, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver | 3 Comments

Yes

Posted on July 12, 2019 by Esther Hizsa

“I tell people you need to pray as long as it takes to get to YES, a foundational yes–yes to reality, to the moment, to God present in the grass, to God present in you and in me,” Richard Rohr … Continue reading →

Posted in Mindfulness, Mystical, Prayer, Reflections | Tagged Esther Hizsa, Genesis 2:7, HeartMath, Ignatian Sprititual Exercises, Matthias Ripp, Oprah, peace, Richard Rohr, Richard Wagamese, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver | 2 Comments

This Moment, This Conversation, This Life

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Esther Hizsa

Summer has arrived and life is more spacious. Nothing urgent demands my attention. I can finally get to the mundane jobs that I’ve been putting off for a while. However, cleaning cupboards and straightening drawers are not as appealing as … Continue reading →

Posted in Mindfulness, Reflections | Tagged Esther Hizsa, George Hodan, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mindfulness, Myla Kabat-Zinn, Richard Eriksson, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Steven Harris | Leave a comment

Making Peace with My Addictions

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Esther Hizsa

Dan Harris, a co-anchor for Good Morning America, got his studio audience to meditate for sixty seconds. Some amazing love mischief, eh? Many people try meditating but give up because they can’t stop the distractions. Harris explains that we don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Mindfulness, Overeating, Prayer, Reflections, Stories | Tagged 10% Happier, addictions, centering prayer, Cynthia Bourgeault, Dan Harris, Esther Hizsa, Father Thomas Keating, Isaiah 30:15, meditation, Open Mind Open Heart, Overeating, spiritual director, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver | 2 Comments

God Expands My World

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Esther Hizsa

My world’s gotten small. It happened so subtly, I hardly noticed. But now that I’m aware of it, I can see signs of shrinkage–not caring that I don’t care, taking things personally, being angry about something because of its effect … Continue reading →