Category Archives: Spiritual Direction

The Little Girl at the Window

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Esther Hizsa

“I feel so vulnerable,” I said to my spiritual director on the day I clicked publish. “Even though I sense from God and others that my writing is significant, something in me feels the risk of putting it out there … Continue reading →

Posted in compassion, Reflections, Spiritual Direction, Stories, Writing | Tagged Dance, Esther Hizsa, Marja Bergen, Matthew 5:14-16, Ride Your Dreams, Songs that wil hug your heart, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, victortsu | 5 Comments

A Quarter Turn

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Esther Hizsa

I suddenly knew I was looking at it from the wrong angle, and I gave the cloth in my hand a quarter turn. Immediately I saw a beautiful and coherent golden pattern…. In wonder, the pattern had emerged, to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Advent, Mindfulness, Reflections, Spiritual Direction, Stories | Tagged Advent, Esther Hizsa, Helen Luke, James Finley, Jürgen Mangelsdorf, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-49, Matthew 1:18-25, Quarter Turn, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, St. John of the Cross, Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On, The Dark Night of the Soul, Tristan Unrau, Weaving | Leave a comment

Listening to My Fear

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Esther Hizsa

“I got out my old calendars and checked. We used that Groupon. I didn’t lose three hundred dollars, afterall,” I told Fred, and he gave me a hug and a kiss. It was a sunny Friday, and we’d just gotten … Continue reading →

Posted in compassion, Mindfulness, Overeating, Prayer, Reflections, Spiritual Direction, Stories | Tagged Artotem, Esther Hizsa, Father Thomas Keating, focusing, Giving Hands, Insights at the Edge, living in the moment, No Bad Parts, Richard Schwartz, spiritual director, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Tami Simon, Welcoming Prayer, welcoming your feelings | 4 Comments

Offering Kindness

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Esther Hizsa

“When I read your blog I hear how much you’ve changed in the past year,” my friend said. “You’re a lot kinder to yourself.” I smiled and recalled how often I used to hear, “You’re so hard on yourself.” I … Continue reading →

Posted in compassion, Reflections, Spiritual Direction | Tagged 1 Corinthians 13, Bonnie Henry, Brené Brown, Care, Esther Hizsa, FFTs, kindness, Matthew 19:19, pxfuel, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Tanti Ruwani | 2 Comments

The Gift of Self-Awareness

Posted on July 2, 2021 by Esther Hizsa

Lately, my self-awareness has risen to a whole new level. I swear there’s a little fellow deep inside me rummaging through all my crap and sending it up for me to look at. These “gifts” are about as attractive as … Continue reading →

Posted in autism, compassion, Prayer, Reflections, Spiritual Direction | Tagged Art Thompson, Caravaggio, Elizabeth of the Trinity, Esther Hizsa, Every Child Matters, Indian Residential School Survivors, James Finley, Revolutionary Love, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle, Theron Trowbridge, Tsaqwasupp, Turning to the Mystics, Valarie Kaur | 2 Comments

What Brought You Here?

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Esther Hizsa

“What brought you here?” you may ask. How was I able to finally lose weight and take better care of my body? Now that’s a long story, and you’d need to read my books and blog posts to follow my … Continue reading →

Posted in compassion, Lent, Mindfulness, Overeating, Reflections, Resource, Spiritual Direction, Stories, Writing | Tagged alicia.kowalski, Anthony de Mello, arriving, Brad Yates, Brene Brown, Cheryl Richardson, Crispin Semmens, Donna Varnau, Esther Hizsa, Food Revolution Network, Glennon Doyle, Hafiz, Ignatius, Jessica Ortner, Journey's End, Justin Michael Williams, Kristin Neff, Mary Mrozowski, Nick Ortner, One year nearer to heaven, Pema Chodron, perfect peaches, plant-based diet, Radical Compassion, Redeemed & Forgiven, Richard Rohr, Rosie the Riveter, Rumi, Sounds True, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Stephen Pougas, Steve Bell, Tara Brach, Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas keating, Thomas Quine, Valarie Kaur, weight loss, Yoga with Adriene | Leave a comment

What Story Do You Need to Return to?

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Esther Hizsa

“Something in you gets irritated when you think about anyone being a victim,” Donna said in a focusing session hours after I wrote last week’s blog post. “Yes. It’s like a painful ball in my throat.” “You might want to … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood, compassion, Lent, Mystical, Prayer, Reflections, Spiritual Direction | Tagged Cloud of Unknowing, Donna Varnau, Esther Hizsa, focusing, Jaison Cianelli, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, The Hard Lesson, Thomas Hawke, Warm Embrace, William-Adolphe Bouguereau | 2 Comments

Why Welcome Our Feelings?

Posted on January 15, 2021 by Esther Hizsa

“Welcome and entertain all your feelings,” Rumi says in The Guest House. Then he gets specific, “The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.” Why in the world would I want … Continue reading →

Posted in compassion, Prayer, Reflections, Spiritual Direction, Stories | Tagged Brian McLaren, Esther Hizsa, feelings, Hans Thoma, Kinderreigen, Parker Palmer, Revolutionary Love, Richard Rohr, Rumi, Sounds True, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, The Guest House, Valarie Kaur, welcoming feelings, Welcoming Prayer | 3 Comments

Safe

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Esther Hizsa

“You are joy. You’re our hope. You are gen-tle-ness.” Then I heard the Poor Clares sing, “You are safe-ty” and teared up. I noticed the impact the word “safety” had on my body and remembered a similar sensation I’d had … Continue reading →

Posted in Advent, community, Prayer, Reflections, Spiritual Direction, Stories | Tagged Advent Retreat, EFT, Esther Hizsa, focusing, Illuminated, Jan Richardson, Just right she sighed, Matthew 11:28, Poor Clares, spiritual direction, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Coquitlam, spiritual director Vancouver, Steve Corey, Tapping, trauma | 1 Comment

Decomposing

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Esther Hizsa

Where do I need to stay when everything in me wants to flee? As soon as I began asking myself this question, one answer came to me, but I wasn’t brave enough to write about it. Silence. Silence is the … Continue reading →