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    Companions on the Journey
    Companions on the Journey
    Companions on the Journey
    Ebook192 pages1 hour

    Companions on the Journey

    By Charles Robert Costello Sr

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    In brazing through the text, the author systematically travels a path he lived and taught throughout his ministry amongst the people of God. Throughout his life he submitted his will to the Father. Letting Go and Letting God is the main thrust of living a God centered life. Each one of us is called to take up our cross (Each person has their individual cross). The call to vocation and our response to it will open our hearts to the Living Water of our Lord.

    In the next few pages the author describes the workings of the human brain. He presents our remarkable resilient brain, as it is involved in our daily and moment to moment decisions. There is an old decision: Not to make a decision is a decision in itself.

    Next, Rational and Irrational Ideas are addressed to give the reader a birds eye view an understanding and appreciation of the self. Then steps are taken to build our sense of self and enable us to recognize those thoughts which keep us from maintaining a pure heart; they can also us under a cloud of depression and fear, if not addressed.

    The author introduces a Holistic Approach to put spirituality into practice. In this section the author uses building blocks to demonstrate for the reader the manifested issues to address in deepening ones spirituality.

    In plotting out the journey, the author begins with the family in the development of spirituality.

    Going deeper, a section is devoted to meditation and the prayer life.

    The manuscript concludes with the section of STORIES, On which the reader can combine the stories of others and self.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateFeb 25, 2013
    ISBN9781481706520
    Companions on the Journey
    Author

    Charles Robert Costello Sr

    The author was ordained in 1979 to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi. Because of a relocation in 1997 to Mountain View, Missouri, he joined Mountain View Fabricating, Inc. as their in-house industrial engineer. In 1980, he was incarnated into the Diocese of Springfield, Cape-Girardeau, Missouri to serve the community of St. John Vianney in Mountain View, Missouri The author wore many hats: Husband, Father, Deacon, Engineer and student for the first twenty years of service to Mountain View Fabricating, Inc. During these years the author served 3 communities as the Director of Religious Education. He preached once per month; Marriage Preparation; Sacramental preparation. As an avid leaner Deacon Costello hit the following stones in his education: • A.S. Mechanical Engineering Technology. State Technical Institute at Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee. • A.E. Adult Technical-Vocational Education. State Technical Institute at Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee. • Ordination –3yr. Formation • Bachelor of Applied Science – Human Services, Bolivar, Missouri • Master of Pastoral Studies, LIMEX, Loyola University New Orleans, Louisiana. • Doctor of Divinity Institute of Holistic Theology, Birmingham, Alabama. • PhD Holistic Ministries Institute of Holistic Theology, Birmingham, AL He has authored 3 books since 2005. “Faithing on The Journey: A Guide To Personal Conversion And Re-conversion”. Paisa Publishing Co. Green Bay, Wisconsin. “Celebrating On The Journey: A Guide To A Catholic/Jewish Seder for 100”. AuthorHouse Publishing Co. Bloomington, Indiana. 2011, and “Intermittent Streams, The Calling Of A Spiritual Guide”.

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      Book preview

      Companions on the Journey - Charles Robert Costello Sr

      Companions on the Journey

      Charles Robert Costello Sr, D.D. Ph.D.

      ah_log.jpg

      AuthorHouse™

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.authorhouse.com

      Phone: 1-800-839-8640

      © 2013 Charles Robert Costello Sr, D.D. Ph.D.. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      Published by AuthorHouse 2/14/2013

      ISBN: 978-1-4817-0653-7 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4817-0652-0 (e)

      Printed in the United States of America

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2013901043

      Cover Design and art work: Sharon Needham

      Book editor: Mary Rowley

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      There comes a time in the evolution of every soul when the chief concern is the survival of the physical body, but growth of the spirit…

      — Neale Donald Walsh

      Contents

      Preface

      Chapter 1 Spiritual Life – Where Am I?

      1.   How thoughts influence my feelings, physical sensations and behavior…

      2.   Refuting Irrational Ideas

      3.   The Process

      Appendix 1 The Ten Basic Irrational Ideas

      Appendix 2 Rules to Promote Rational Thinking

      Appendix 3 Common Self-Statements That Are Unrealistic

      Appendix 4 Putting It All Together

      Appendix 5 Putting It All Together

      Chapter 2 Seven Ways to Put Spirituality into Practice

      A.   A Holistic Approach…

      1.   Learn to Forgive

      2.   Practice gratitude

      3.   Demonstrate appreciation

      4.   Give and receive

      5.   Cultivate compassion

      6.   Honor the sacredness of all life.

      7.   Honor the Lord’s Day

      Chapter 3 Living a Spiritual Life…

      A.   Introduction

      1.   Seeking Wisdom

      2.   Striving for growth

      3.   Drawing closer to God, a higher power or nature

      4.   Tolerance and forgiveness of others

      Chapter 4 Points on the Journey

      A.   Introduction

      1.   Family

      2.   Vocation

      3.   Baptism

      4.   Holistic Approach

      5.   Formation of Consciences

      6.   Spiritual Direction

      Chapter 5 Prayer

      A.   The Shape of the Human Heart?

      B.   Prayer Forms:

      1.   Thanksgiving

      2.   Petition

      3.   Persevering Prayer

      4.   Intercession

      5.   Meditative prayer

      6.   Centering Prayer

      Chapter 6 Meditation – The Journey Of A Spiritual Life

      A.    Introduction

      B.   How to Meditate

      1.   Time

      2.   Surroundings

      3.   Meditation posture

      4.   Benefits

      Chapter 7 Labyrinths…The Journey of a Spiritual Life

      1.   Introduction

      2.   Looking deeper…

      3.   Portable Labyrinth

      4.   Labyrinths today. .

      5.   Receptivity…

      Chapter 8 The Family—Looking with Carl Jung

      A.   Introduction

      1.   The Story

      2.   Parallelisms

      3.   Jung’s Family Secrets

      4.   Similarities

      5.   The Dream (Jung’s Dream)

      6.   Steps to consider:

      7.   Story in Jungian lore

      Chapter 9 The Story

      A.    Introduction…

      Steps to Faithing on the Ju

      B.   Steps to Faithing on the Journey…For Discussion Groups…

      C.   Stories

      #1 Borrowed Equipment

      #2 God’s Children

      #3 Giving To God

      #4 Why Wait?

      #5 Great Privilege

      #6 Appreciations

      #7 Neighbors?

      #8 Enough

      #9 By Your Side

      #10 Repentance

      #11 Hope

      #12 Instruction Manual

      #13 Sacred Silences

      #14 Thorns

      #15 Love

      #16 Hood

      #17 Believing

      #18 Our Part

      #19 Second Chance

      #20 Afraid

      #21 Stained Glass

      #22 Valuable Lesson

      #23 Grandmother God

      #24 Focus!

      Chapter 10 The Kingdom Within: A Short-Story Of Companions On The Journey…

      HEALING

      Catechizing

      Preaching

      The Calling

      Chapter 10 Works Cited

      426382-07.jpg

      Preface

      The human being was created by God in his image and likeness. Sin separated man/woman from the God who created all reality for them because of his boundless love. This relationship was moved to the top rung when our Creator-God gave each one of us a Free-Will,¹ that is to accept or reject his/her ‘vocation.’²

      We are all challenged by this calling of our Lord and Savior – to live accepting the challenges that are daily placed on our plates. Rational and irrational thinking determine the decisions we make and personalities which we turn out to be. In the beginning chapter we will look at how thoughts influence our feelings, physical sensations and behavior.

      We are challenged by the amount of stress we keep in our lives, the literal thousands of decisions we make every 24 hours as our self-talk, is working full time. The human mind is a remarkable place in which all of our decisions are made. Our two brains; sub-conscious and conscious, hold the encrypted messages of our life.

      For many, it is the simple yet sacred act of connecting with greater than oneself – often referred to as you’re Higher Power, The Divine, or The Absolute. For me, it is about Accepting God’s initiation to Vocation.³ Vocation is a process which lasts our entire life. We all are in process!

      Life begins in the mother’s womb. I have been raised in a large Catholic family of (8) children. We were told that at the moment of conception; Jesus, Mary and Joseph were standing at the foot of the nuptial bed Clapping! My dad was told by grandpa to keep mom chained to the bed and pregnant! I get a little tickle up my spine every time this comes to mind.

      My life has been blessed with many saintly people who, over the years, pointed me out of myself to a center of wholeness and spiritual health. I have found that ‘Spirituality’ itself really begins in the womb. The mother and father are the first nurturer’s of the child. It is from the mom and dad that the child learns of God’s love; through the soft touch and worlds; the feeding from mother’s milk; the feelings of the ‘sacred’ and of the holy; as the early months and years pass by. Parents are the child’s primary teachers. Parents share this responsibility with the public and parochial schools of the child’s early education.

      Man is the seeker of God and His divine love. It is a constant story each of us reaching out in God’s mirror image which fills the spiritual being with supernatural grace. The mere fact that one is searching the spiritual dimensions of his/her spiritual growth.

      In the next few pages the topics: Rational and Irrational Ideas, will be addressed. These ideas can build our since of self and enable us to recognize those thoughts which keep us from maintaining a pure heart; they can also keep us under a cloud of depression and fear, if not addressed.

      Next we will look at a holistic approach to seven different ways to put spirituality into practice. The seven building blocks to a deeper union with God are: Learning to forgive; How to practice Gratitude; Demonstrate Appreciation; Give and Receive; Cultivate Compassion; Honor the Sacredness of Life; and, Honoring the Sabbath.

      In plotting out the journey of the spiritual life, we will explore; Seeking Wisdom; Striving for Growth; Drawing Closer to a Higher Power or nature; and, Showing Tolerance and Forgiveness of others.

      An important glimpse will be taken of the six points of the Journey. We begin with the Family; then, our Vocation; Baptism and a Holistic approach to Formation Conscience; thoughts on a Spiritual Guide. This leads us into The Journey of the Spiritual Traveler: The shape of the Human Heart; Prayer Forms: Thanksgiving, Petition, Persevering, Intercession, and Meditation.

      Going deeper, How to meditate; Time to meditate; Surroundings to meditate; Meditation Postures; Benefits; and, Centering Prayer, are covered. Other methods of meditation like the Labyrinths are covered.

      The manuscript concludes with section of stories, and a step by step plan to share your story with other couples could join in on a family evening of Faithing on the Journey. Each story is carefully crafted by Personal Stories (s), followed by some reflection questions. A passage from scripture follows (S), with its questions. Some stories have a Putting it all together… action Items which could be completed before the next meeting. Each session ends with a closing prayer for the group.

      426382-09.jpg

      Chapter 1

      Spiritual Life – Where Am I?

      Self-image is the foundation of our psychological life. Although it is just an image, it nonetheless exerts tremendous influence over our emotions and our behavior. There is hardly a psychologist, psychiatrist, counselor educator, sociologist or philosopher who would deny the importance of self image. Fortunately, because the image of our self is an image, a mental concept, it can be changed. It is not a fixed concrete formation. Our self image has been built up largely through our own self talk. Year after year, layer upon layer, the experiences, the interpretations and evaluations, the meanings, the sentences… they all combine to form a knot of self. Tight. Tense. Defensive. Yet, not without creativity, spontaneity, insight, tremendous potential… Coming to understand and accept it ourselves may be our life work – for each and every one of us.⁴

      A.   Introduction…

      Life is not free of stress—people suffer from stress when they assume that things are being done to them. This is a form of irrational thought. The next number of pages contains more details about the aspects of stress. The information contained on the following pages will assist you in identifying: How to refute irrational ideas. We as humans are broken to some degree: It is part of the human experience. If I wanted to overcome irrational thought: these are the issues I would look at to what stress is doing in my life:

      How thoughts influence my feelings, physical sensations and behavior

      1.   How thoughts influence my feelings, physical sensations and behavior…

      Have you ever heard the expression, Silence is Golden? Silence is a priceless of the human brain. To be silent one has to ‘will’ it. The other type of silence in the brain is when it is in an unconscious state. Your brain has an

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