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The Brain of a Teenager

July 26, 2011
Tags: Teenage Brain
Recently in professional training seminars I’ve been exposed to conversations about the brain of teenagers. The most significant finding from longitudinal studies involving MRI’s indicates that a teen’s brain is not fully developed. This finding helps to account for some typical teenage behavior.

In the fully developed brain of an adult,  Read More 
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Grief

June 19, 2011
Tags: Grief, The Compassionate Friends
The thirteenth anniversary of my youngest daughter’s death is in a few days. I still miss
her sparkling personality. She lived to have fun and to help young children. She talked
and laughed a lot. It was not possible to be around Sarah long and not be smiling. She loved Lake Tahoe where  Read More 
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God & Dreams: Book Review

April 16, 2011
Tags: God, Dreams, Willamette, Oregon, revelation
What follows is a book review of God and Dreams: Is There A Connection? It was written by Dennis Cole who is also an Episcopal priest and who happened to be a fraternity brother of mine many years ago when we were in college. I was not aware until recently that he'd  Read More 
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Men & Fear II: Antidotes

February 7, 2011
Tags: men, Fear, Psalm 23, C.G. Jung, C. FitzSimmons Allison, Love, Genesis, Jacob, Esau, Dream
“I will fear no evil for thou art with me”
— Psalm 23:4

In my previous blog I wrote about non-productive ways men typically handle fear. In this edition I want to address constructive methods for addressing fear.

Fear is dissolved by love. As C. FitzSimmons Allison observed: “…fear…does not lead us to safety but  Read More 
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Men & Fear I: Non-Productive Responses

February 7, 2011
Tags: men, Fear, James Hollis, C.G. Jung
James Hollis in his terrific 1994 book, Under Saturn’s Shadow, The Wounding and Healing of Men (Toronto: Inner City Books) writes about eight secrets men carry that shape their lives. I hope each of you will read his book.

What I want to focus on is secret number two: “men’s lives  Read More 
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Martin Luther King Day 2011

January 17, 2011
Tags: Martin Luther King, 1968, Richard Nixon, Vietnam
March 31st, 1968 was a Sunday. I was almost finished with my first year of seminar; was recently engaged to be married; and was getting ready to drive across country from Washington, D. C. to Portland, Oregon for training at Emmanuel Hospital in pastoral education. I was out of my comfort zone and full of anxiety,  Read More 
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How to Live to Be 100 without Dementia

January 9, 2011
Tags: Dementia, Healthy Living
I recently attended a seminar entitled, “Brain Injury: Alzheimer’s, Stroke & Head Trauma.” The seminar was put on by the Institute for Natural Resources (INR). One of the topics that caught my attention was 16 characteristics of centenarians who do not develop dementia. Imagine living to be 100 or older and not being mentally impaired. That  Read More 
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Christmas and Dreams

December 23, 2010
Tags: Christmas, Dreams, Gospel of Matthew, Jesus, God, Jung, M-L. von Franz, nightmare
St. Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus is filled with dreams. This reality is generally ignored by contemporary Christians. Reread the first two chapters of the Gospel of Matthew and you will see that the birth event would have been very different - if at all - without the dreams and Joseph's conviction  Read More 
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Christians and Halloween

November 2, 2010
Tags: Christians, Halloween, All Saints Day, Nicene Creed, St. Luke
I heard two women on the local news just before Halloween say that because they are Christians their families would not be participating. “It is a demon holiday,” they concluded. The implication I was left with was, “We are better than those who partake of such unchristian activities.”
While most sincere and earnest, these  Read More 
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Stories and Dreams

August 6, 2010
Tags: God, Dreams, Rationality, Martin Buber, Cracow, Prague, William II of England, L.A. County General Hospital
I believe dreams come from God. This may sound irrational to many of you; but the belief has deep roots in history, as my book, God and Dreams: Is There A Connection?, demonstrates.

Martin Buber, the 20th century Jewish theologian, retells the following story in one of his books. It is the  Read More 
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