Full of Days: On Retirement and Deserts I’ve always liked my feet. I thought they were quite pretty, at least as feet go. But a few months ago, after a long hike in the mountainous desert, I took off my shoes and socks and someone else’s feet emerged. Far from pretty, they looked like a…
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About: Jody Reis Johnson
Jody Reis Johnson, M.Div., MSW, is a retired mental health professional who worked in a variety of settings including ministry development, private practice, and with political refugees at the Center for Victims of Torture. She has a special interest in the intersection of spirituality and psychology. A longtime practitioner of Centering Prayer, Jody received her commissioning as a Presenter/Facilitator through National Contemplative Outreach in 2013 and now teaches contemplative theology and practice in a variety of contexts. She and her husband, Bryce, a retired United Methodist minister, live in Mahtomedi. They have three grown sons and five grandchildren.
Recent Posts by Jody Reis Johnson
A Constant Squeeze on the Heart
A Constant Squeeze on the Heart In her 2018 book, The Magnanimous Heart, the Buddhist teacher Narayan Helen Liebenson writes about the transitory nature of life and the spiritual challenge it brings. The conditions of our particular lives- our jobs, homes, relationships, the bodies we inhabit-are always changing, and with change comes loss. We know…
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Quiet Nativity
I wondered how to do it differently this year, How could I move through the holidays with gratitude rather than resentment, with a sense of peace even in the midst of activity? After all, Jesus was born into the very messiness of human life, not into a place where all was neatly prepared and ready. I longed to carry the Christ child in my heart this Advent season, but there was simply no room in the Inn. And so, that first evening, as we all sat in prayer, I asked God for the gift of peace. I prayed that, in the space between gently released thoughts, the veil might be lifted from my eyes and Christ enter in. . . .
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