A Blog by Ann Yeong (2005 – )
Sometimes the more restless the heart is to reach out to others, the more it needs to remain in solitude in order to become still. Without stillness, our reaching out is compelled by neediness and a grasping insecurity instead of fullness and freedom of being. So dare to remain in solitude, my poor restless heart, […]
This morning I felt blessed by this particularly dramatic and picturesque sunrise. Who is like Him indeed? (Now imagine hearing birdsong as you look upon this scene… that’s my morning!)
ON MARRIAGE by Khalil Gibran You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days. Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens […]
Is my heart really open? Or are there barriers in me that I don’t know about?
My dear Catholic/Christian complex trauma survivor, We’re deep into Holy Week now, and perhaps you are feeling triggered and activated by the readings, liturgy, devotions and reflections, and this makes you feel guilty and ashamed. Or perhaps you are staying away from church this week because your reactions to these triggers are too intense and […]
Easter is often a time when churches welcome Catholics who have been away from church home. In fact, you may even have been encouraged to invite someone you know who has been away from church back to mass this Easter. But do you know the deeper reasons WHY you are doing it? Each person has […]
I was never taught that if I were to enter a personal relationship with God, that I would be perpetually stretched to rediscover God again and again, or that my experience of God would keep expanding and breaking every mould I knew that could help me understand who “God” is. But that has been my […]
A little over 15 years ago, I went through an intense spiritual conversion in daily life. It didn’t take place at a retreat, nor was it facilitated by anyone. Over a period of 7 incredibly spiritually intense days that began with a sacrament of reconciliation and an unburdening of unforgiveness (of myself) of over 9 […]
Recently a dear friend shared with me how the mere thought of Lent and our traditional Lenten practices made her whole body contract. An interesting discussion about the intersection of trauma, family of origin wounds, religion, church and ascetic practices ensued which later made me recall my own personal struggles with Lent and how things changed for […]
That is why, even after the good advice and counsel of many, I can still say with Dante, “In the middle of the way of our life I find myself in a dark wood.” This experience is frightful as well as exhilarating because it is the great experience of being alone, alone in the world, […]
“We often try to domesticate God and to make spirituality about happiness or feeling good. We try and tie things up in neat packages. The spiritual journey is about none of these. It demands something of us and calls us to stand in uncomfortable places while the deserts of our lives strip away ego and […]
Do we really believe that we are not OBLIGED to obey God? That God never forces our assent? That God doesn’t withdraw his love from us when our response to him is “no”? Intellectually, I always knew that I was not obliged to ever say “yes” to God. But it was only when I had slowly […]
There is a very young part inside me whose emotion I don’t feel often. But when this specific part of me surges up into my consciousness, the power of her emotions breaks me. I have been reparenting my inner child for 10 years now. Since I also started integrating parts work (e.g. IFS Internal Family […]
There has been a truth that I have avoided, denied and suppressed my whole Catholic life until recently – I feel most distant from God during Holy Week, and especially on Good Friday. This is my sharing as a self-professed “recovering pharisee”. I have always been concerned about what I should understand and believe about […]
Journey of the Heart 