Defining emotional health and contemplative spirituality

Emotional Health

• naming, recognizing, and managing our own feelings
• identifying with and having active compassion for others
• initiating and maintaining close and meaningful relationships
• breaking free from self-destructive patterns
• being aware of how our past impacts our present
• developing the capacity to express our thoughts and feelings clearly, both verbally and nonverbally
• respecting and loving others without having to change them
• asking for what we need, want, or prefer clearly, directly, and respectfully
• accurately self-assessing our strengths, limits, and weaknesses and freely sharing them with others
• learning the capacity to resolve conflict maturely and negotiate solutions that consider the perspectives of others
• distinguishing and appropriately expressing our sexuality and sensuality
• grieving well

Contemplative Spirituality

• awakening and surrendering to God’s love in any and every situation
• positioning ourselves to hear God and remember his presence in all we do
• communing with God, allowing him to fully indwell the depth of our being
• practicing silence, solitude, and a life of unceasing prayer
• resting attentively in the presence of God
• understanding our earthly life as a journey of transformation toward ever-increasing union with God
• finding the true essence of who we are in God
• loving others out of a life of love for God
• developing a balanced, harmonious rhythm of life that enables us to be aware of the sacred in all of life
• adapting historic practices of spirituality that are applicable today
• allowing our Christian lives to be shaped by the rhythms of the Christian calendar rather than the culture
• living in committed community that passionately loves Jesus above all else