Soul’s Code

I fell into a world of hurt. My way out? How about just loving myself

BY JENNIFER SCALIA — My love story isn’t about a lover, per se. Instead, it is about the relationship I decided to have with myself.

Sounds quaint but think about it for a moment.

We’ve all been taught to love others as we love ourselves. The Bible told us so.

But how many of us truly love ourselves? I, for one, never learned how to do it.

Dating in America — an analysis of our collective consciousness from a couples counselor

BY DAVID RICKEY — As the 2010 season of The Bachelor nears its March 1 finale, curiosity about what Americans think dating is really about got the best of me. I am a psychotherapist and spiritual teacher, and hardly an avid watcher of Reality TV, so this posed a bit of a challenge.

My personal routine is getting up at about 5 a.m, and meditating. My day is then an exploration. I seek to heal, contemplate texts in preparation for sermons, which are a form of teaching, and generally try to stay aware.

A Jungian psychologist’s take on Eros and Valentine’s Day

BY PAUL KAIHLA — This is the one day of the year in our secular society where a celibate Catholic gets top-billing, marquee treatment. There were probably three saints called Valentine, one of whom history says is entombed in Rome’s catacombs.

But the origin of Valentine’s Day is in a medieval social custom, so it’s not like a long, lost high-holy-day has been hijacked by capitalist consumerism.

The custom marks the first day of spring mating season, so let’s hand over the mike to psychologist James Hollis for his take on how we modern humans channel that energy — eros, in Greek mythology:

Eros is dynamic and shape-shifting . . . always going somewhere, seeking to connect, to fill in, to transcend. Just as nature, we are told, abhors a vacuum, so our psyche is terrified by emptiness. Seeking to fill that emptiness, we all too often fill it with ourselves. Wheresoever space opens, into that hole flies projection . . . Eros substitutes as it seeks the Cosmic Other in the frail vessel of the Beloved.

Illustration, “tu lip,” courtesy of Angela Brown

Rev. Criss Ittermann is a quadruple-threat: Interfaith minister, shamanic practioner, Reiki master and life coach. Here, she coaches you out of singleton “panic mode”.

GUEST COLUMN: REV. CRISS ITTERMANN, 1st of 2 parts — Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers, and doesn’t consist solely of icons like chocolates, flowers, diamonds, and romantic engagements.

Together we can transform it into the holiday of sacred and unconditional love.  It is possible to take an over-commoditized holiday and turn it into a sacred celebration of the spiritual side of love.

Rather than turning the day’s passion inwards to only the very closest people in our lives — or worse, making it into a pity party for the single person without a date — why not go to great lengths to expand the circle of those you love, express love to, and experience a divine connection with?

Like Alice down the rabbit hole, Joanne Ehrich leads us along the path that helped her to reconnect with her true calling and create Klassic Koalas: The Book of Valentines and Other Loves

“A picture is worth a thousand words”, and Klassic Koalas: The Book of Valentines and Other Loves is no exception.

In her recently released book, Klassic Koalas: The Book of Valentines and Other Loves,  Joanne Ehrich has taken seemingly disparate elements such as treasured old love letters, snapshots of long-departed family and friends, and images of koalas cuddling their babies — romantic love, the love of family and companions, and the love that exists even within nature — and woven them through her artwork into an enchanting book that will delight lovers, friends, and individuals.

This publication’s visuals are not only intended to entrance the viewer, it reminds us of our true nature — not just the love between lovers or among friends or family members, but the love we feel for creatures we hold dear and for the wonders of the earth.