Nurturing Creativity and the Soul: Learning to Play Again
Written by A. Christopher Hammon, D.Min.
Wednesday, 25 August 2010 08:33
One of the things realized in the midst of recovering from my adventure with illness and the medical community this year is that over the past couple of years I have been letting the sense of playing instead of working slip away from me. It used to be that I never really thought of myself as working. Instead, I went to the office, powered on, logged in, and engaged my imagination hyper drive to see how I could help others with their ministries that day. It was very much a sense of "game on" and seeing the challenges before me as a game in which to be playfully innovative and creative in developing learning environments and opportunities.
Staff Roles and Functions for Spiritual Care: Assessing, Supporting, Practicing
Written by Paul C. Tomlinson, M.Div.
Wednesday, 25 August 2010 00:00
Chaplains and other pastoral care providers have long wished for a broader sensitivity and more positive regard among healthcare professionals for the spiritual dimension of healing processes as well as a recognition by treatment team colleagues of the importance of spirituality and religion in the lives of many patients/consumers.
The Two Diagnoses as Proposed by Dr. Paul Tournier
Written by Wilson Wayne Grant, MD
Tuesday, 24 August 2010 12:57
Most everyone interested in bringing together medicine and pastoral care is familiar with Dr. Paul Tournier and his work. Dr. Tournier, a Swiss physician, emerged onto the world stage after World War II as he shared his professional and spiritual journey through a series of popular books. Trained in traditional medicine, he was committed to the day-to-day care of his patients as a family physician. But early in his medical career he realized that psychological and spiritual issues played a significant role in the physical illnesses and subsequent recovery of his patients. He was intrigued by the tight weaving together of the physical, the spiritual, and the psychological well-being of these patients. He came more and more to practice what he called "Medicine of the Person."
One of the holiest of all our callings is the care of souls. As ministers we are called to provide care for our congregants, both in good times and in challenging times. This we usually understand and value as part of our calling. What we often miss is the need to take care of our own soul in order to have the resources necessary to care for the souls of others. As those who are “divinely called” we do not pay enough attention to the toll that ministry exacts upon us. After 35 years as a pastor I can safely say that ministry is emotionally draining – for we are dealing with crisis after crisis week after week. If we do not take care of our own souls, then we cannot take care of others.
I love you, O LORD my strength, O LORD my stronghold, my crag, and haven.
My God, my rock in whom I put my trust, my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge; you are worthy of praise. (Psalm 18)
The Pemaquid Point rocks in Maine draw me to themselves insistently. What force there must have been to uproot them, smash them against the shore. The Audubon New England Field Guide has a special section on them called Metamorphic Folds. It seems that “great compressional forces, such as those that occur when continents collide” have formed them. “…Minerals in the rocks are recrystallized, or changed into different minerals.…” What a fitting heritage, for this is a place of my own transformation, a healing place, a place of renewal. These rocks remind me that transformation and healing can be slow and fraught with difficulty and sometimes violencethe violence, say, of chemotherapy to the body. These rocks have a powerful presence. Through their own transformation, they have become a haven and refuge, a place of rest. Their strength, their endurance, gives me strength. Their gifts, however, are often precarious. Concentration and balance are required. Tread on them carefully.
Embedded Lies: Reflections on the Gulf Oil Disaster
Written by C. Roy Woodruff, Ph.D.
Thursday, 08 July 2010 09:13
Good and evil have been the story line to much of human history, from the beginning in the Garden, where evil lurked in the most sacred of places in God's creation, to the present day. When I was a boy, neighborhood games often included "cops and robbers" and "cowboys and Indians", or more often, at least as I remember it, "good cowboys against the bad guys." Things were seen more concretely as the good versus the bad, and it was relatively easy to tell which was which, or so we thought. My boyhood idol was Roy Rogers, clearly a good guy who always got the bad guys and made them look stupid and incompetent in the process. He was an uncomplicated hero who never killed the bad guys but always proved that good was smarter than bad and would always win in the end.
A Patient's Perspective on Integrative, Holistic Care
Written by A. Christopher Hammon, D.Min.
Thursday, 08 July 2010 10:12
Integral to the Oates Institute's mission is the advancement of integrative, holistic care for all persons. But what does this really mean? In January I had the opportunity to look at this from the perspective of being a patient; a perspective that was new to me. This adventure provided me with two insights that I had not previously considered.
On the Healing Nature of Love, Intimacy, and Communication: Why Talk Therapy (and Talk) Matters
Written by J. Keith Auerbach, MD
Thursday, 01 July 2010 13:54
Here is the test of wisdom, Wisdom is not finally tested in schools, Wisdom cannot be pass'd from one having it to another not having it Wisdom is of the soul, is not susceptible of proof, is its own proof.
-- Walt Whitman
Several years ago, a newspaper reporter who was writing an article on psychotherapy called and (somewhat skeptically) asked, "What is psychotherapy all about?" My reply was simple and to the point, "It is about removing the blocks of giving and receiving love." The way to begin is for you to clarify that your most important values are honesty and self-honesty. Honesty and self-honesty sound noble but are actually very difficult to achieve. However, it is living these values that evolve you into emotional and spiritual wellness. Usually spirituality is associated with religion. However, I view spirituality as an integral part of intimacy and communication. In fact, this whole paper is an exploration of the relationship of emotionality - that is the experience and expression of your feelings-to spirituality. I believe there is a sequential relationship. Specifically, the honest and intimate speaking of your deepest feelings will open you to spiritual experience. To be spiritually minded is in fact quite practical because it does not require any special time, place, or circumstance. What is spiritual is just a reorganization and reinterpretation of what is already present. It is simply a change of perspective from a more closed, fear bound, narrow one to a more appreciative, expansive, open one. Full sharing of feelings is a process by which consciousness is awakened, attitude is transformed, and the infusion of new spiritual meaning takes place.
The Healing Power of Music: What Components Contribute to the Healing Power?
Written by Alice H. Cash, Ph.D., LCSW
Thursday, 24 June 2010 11:04
Music is such an integral part of our culture and our daily life. No matter our age, race, musical preference or geographic location, there is always some music that speaks to us and heals the mind-body-spirit continuum in some way.
We are looking for authors addressing specific topics for upcoming Special Issues of the Oates Journal. Click here for topics that we are currently working on (and looking for authors for).
One of the things realized in the midst of recovering from my adventure with illness and the medical community this year is that over the past couple of years I have been letting the sense of playing instead of working slip away from me. It used to be that I never really thought of myself as working. Instead, I went to the office, powered on, logged in, and engaged my imagination hyper drive to see how I could help others with their ministries that day. It was very much a sense of "game on" and seeing the challenges before me as a game in which to be playfully innovative and creative in developing learning environments and opportunities.
Chaplains and other pastoral care providers have long wished for a broader sensitivity and more positive regard among healthcare professionals for the spiritual dimension of healing processes as well as a recognition by treatment team colleagues of the importance of spirituality and religion in the lives of many patients/consumers.
Most everyone interested in bringing together medicine and pastoral care is familiar with Dr. Paul Tournier and his work. Dr. Tournier, a Swiss physician, emerged onto the world stage after World War II as he shared his professional and spiritual journey through a series of popular books. Trained in traditional medicine, he was committed to the day-to-day care of his patients as a family physician. But early in his medical career he realized that psychological and spiritual issues played a significant role in the physical illnesses and subsequent recovery of his patients. He was intrigued by the tight weaving together of the physical, the spiritual, and the psychological well-being of these patients. He came more and more to practice what he called "Medicine of the Person."
One of the holiest of all our callings is the care of souls. As ministers we are called to provide care for our congregants, both in good times and in challenging times. This we usually understand and value as part of our calling. What we often miss is the need to take care of our own soul in order to have the resources necessary to care for the souls of others. As those who are “divinely called” we do not pay enough attention to the toll that ministry exacts upon us. After 35 years as a pastor I can safely say that ministry is emotionally draining – for we are dealing with crisis after crisis week after week. If we do not take care of our own souls, then we cannot take care of others.
I love you, O LORD my strength, 
Good and evil have been the story line to much of human history, from the beginning in the Garden, where evil lurked in the most sacred of places in God's creation, to the present day. When I was a boy, neighborhood games often included "cops and robbers" and "cowboys and Indians", or more often, at least as I remember it, "good cowboys against the bad guys." Things were seen more concretely as the good versus the bad, and it was relatively easy to tell which was which, or so we thought. My boyhood idol was Roy Rogers, clearly a good guy who always got the bad guys and made them look stupid and incompetent in the process. He was an uncomplicated hero who never killed the bad guys but always proved that good was smarter than bad and would always win in the end.
Integral to the Oates Institute's mission is the advancement of integrative, holistic care for all persons. But what does this really mean? In January I had the opportunity to look at this from the perspective of being a patient; a perspective that was new to me. This adventure provided me with two insights that I had not previously considered.
Music is such an integral part of our culture and our daily life. No matter our age, race, musical preference or geographic location, there is always some music that speaks to us and heals the mind-body-spirit continuum in some way.
