We are interested in Graffiti Art – the type you see on train cars 🚃; Prehistoric Art - drawings found in caves; and the images of fossilized footprints 👣 imprinted in mud by travelers from many years ago. In our mind, these abstract symbols from present to past, are theological messages communicating and conveying/expressing the cultural needs, voices, and stories of society.
 
We recently came across such a message in a modern chalk drawing – the symbol of a human heart 💙 asking for kindness - a clear attempt to communicate what is on the minds of modern civilization. If you had a piece of chalk/paintbrush 🖌️ what would your petroglyph or wall art 🖼️ say or look like? What is the important message you would like to spread today? Might your artwork speak out about ending gun violence, climate change, or sharing loving kindness? As an advanced society what are we communicating today? What is at the heart ❤️ of being human here and now?

Our hope is that our mindful breathing exercises and other contemplative tools and practices will help hold stress and anxiety 😟 at bay in order to live enhanced healthier lives.

Now we know that many people think they will never need the services of a social worker. However, the fact is that we all face various life issues, and it is estimated that 90% of us will need a social worker sometime in our life. It could be working with a social worker at school, at work, being discharged from the hospital 🏥 as you place a loved one in a long-term care facility, working with a Hospice Social Worker, and the list goes on.

Social Workers are first responders, working in schools 🏫, in child welfare agencies, libraries, churches, and mental health centers. When people are suffering a social worker often help to secure assistance such as in cases of domestic violence, issues associated with poverty, and the list goes on. Giving people the best quality of life is one of the goals of the professional social worker. Social workers help people who are quietly suffering, working with families who don’t have enough food on the table, and the elderly who often have limited resources for daily needs like medication.

For additional information please visit a few resources listed below:
Discover all we offer at our website https://www.centertoawakenkindness.com/

Check out our Awaken Kindness by DaRevsUSA podcast https://awakenkindness.podbean.com/

Discover the power of journaling with a mindful journal https://www.centertoawakenkindness.com/mindful-journals.html

Come join the journey - check us out on your favorite social media network @DaRevsUSA

Peace & Blessings,
Penny & Bill, @DaRevsUSA

P.S. To learn more about social work and all that social workers do explore these links:
https://www.helpstartshere.org/
https://www.socialworkers.org/

The season of Lent is upon us. It is truly a time to think about life – Who am I? How do I interact with others? Do I share love with the world or war, hatred, oppression, and anxiety? Each of us has that choice. Do something different – use this mindful breathing video at least once per day for the next 40 days, during the season of Lent that begins today.

Lent is a 40-day journey toward Easter Sunday in the Christian tradition beginning on Ash Wednesday (March 2, 2022) when many Christians receive ashes on their foreheads as a reminder of Genesis 3:19: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Use this Lenten season to begin a journey of love with self and with others. Come celebrate the season of renewal. Be calm. Be refreshed. Be renewed.
 
This video is a guided journey through three mindfully contemplative exercises. Experience Mindful Breathing - inhale for a count of 4 - hold for a count of 4 - exhale for a count of 4 - repeat as needed or return to daily life. Experience Musica Divina as you listen to the music and to your breath as you breathe. Experience Visio Divina, use the visual element of a deepening of color for “Divine Seeing” - seeing the Sacred in the imagery of color. Use this perfect pick-me-up anytime and anyplace – at home or work – day or night. Available on AwakenKindnessNetwork.com

From the @DaRevsUSA, the Rev. Dr. Penny Taylor, LCSW and the Rev. Dr. Bill Ressl, LCSW from the CentertoAwakenKindness.com
 
Have a Blessed Lenten Season,
Penny & Bill
DaRevsUSA

Everyone needs to take a deep mindful breath. The 21st century demands hope and peace – not war and destruction. If we are to survive as a species, let us end the foolishness of war and demand civility grounded on hope and peace of all world leaders. If we are truly a civil humanity that loves and cares for another, let us make hope and peace the standards of our existence. Let it begin… here and now.

Take a minibreak - breathe mindfully and watch as hope and peace come alive. Experience mindful 4-4-4 breathing - inhale for a count of 4 - hold for a count of 4 - exhale for a count of 4. Repeat as needed.
 
Available on the AwakenKindnessNetwork.com from @DaRevsUSA, the Rev. Dr. Penny Taylor, LCSW and the Rev. Dr. Bill Ressl, LCSW at the CentertoAwakenKindness.com
 
#kyiv #ukraine #kiev #hope #peace #love #DaRevsUSA

Wishing you and yours a Happy Valentine's Day! Please enjoy this Red Rose 4-4-4 Mindful Breathing Exercise as our gift to you - use often and please share the joy.

Be Refreshed. Be Renewed. Find Meaning. Begin the Journey Today Here and Now...

Discover all the mindful contemplative tools we offer at CenterToAwakenKindness.com

Buy, Rent, and Subscribe to all our 12 Second plus Reset Mindful Moment 4-4-4 Breathing Exercise Videos at our Awaken Kindness Network... AwakenKindnessNetwork.com

Happy Valentine's Day!
Peace & Blessings,
Penny and Bill
DaRevsUSA at the Center to Awaken Kindness

Today is World Kindness Day – a global day to promote the importance of being #kind to each other, to our self, and to the world. Know It. ❤️ Be It. Live It. That’s our positive mantra for #WorldKindnessDay 🙏 Take time to be kind to self, be kind to others, and to the world. This is a day not only to think about compassion and #selfcare it is a day to share resources of #kindness and being kind to one another. I remember while going to seminary my friend Wilma would send me #cards of kindness. It was such a blessing to know that someone cared. Share God’s #love and kindness this day and every day. Thank someone for all their kindness ✨ with gifts from CenterToAwakenKindness.com Shop cards, journals, face masks, baseball caps, yoga mats 🧘 and more mindful products.

Designs created especially to celebrate World Kindness Day 2021... Learn More...

Happy World Kindness Day!
Know It. ❤️ Be It. Live It.
Peace & Love,
Penny & Bill, @DaRevsUSA

☮️ Celebrate International Day of Peace - observed worldwide on September 21. The 2021 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable 🌎 world” with a focus on a 24-hour day of non-violence and cease-fire. 💡 What would 💭that day look like to you?
 
We might explore how to help one another through 🙏 🛐 prayer, working toward a more just and equitable 🗺️world that is concerned about 🌱 sustainability and the environment, as well as ✊🏿 one another. How might the 🌍global society function with lifesaving vaccinations and ⚕️ medical treatments for all? Let’s imagine 🕊️ peace from Covid-19 by getting 💉 vaccinated and helping the one 🗺️hundred countries that are still 😷waiting for a single dose.
 
What might our world look like without ⚔️conflict? Laying down the 🔫 guns, focusing on ☮️ peace and ❤️ love. That every person has 🍗 🌽 🥣 food, 🚰 water, and 🏠 shelter while living in ✌️peace.
 
How might each of us provide relief for those suffering from ✊🏿 discrimination and 😠 hatred, for those recovering from 🌪️ 🌧️devastating storms, 🥣 food insecurities, and 🥺 poverty. What can we do to prevent ⛈️climate change or the devastating carbon 👣footprint on the world?
 
Choose today to 🧍‍♀️🧍🏾🧍🏼stand up for compassion, 🦋 kindness, ☮️ peace, 🕊️ hope and ❤️love.
 
As an online 📚 🎧 educational social media organization, the Center to Awaken Kindness is focused on social justice and 🤗 kindness. We value ✌️ peace through education. We believe it begins by 💡 learning to believe in something 🐘 bigger 🏞️ than ourselves. We invite you, your 🤝🏽 neighbors near and far to visit our website at 🌻 CenterToAwakenKindness.com and explore 🦋 kindness! Create some small act of 💌 🤟🏻 ❤️ love and awaken kindness today - then continue carrying it forward and expanding it to 😷 the entire week, month, and throughout the 📆 year.
 
Peace & Love,
😎 Rev. Dr. Penny Taylor, LCSW & 😎 Rev. Dr. Bill Ressl, LCSW
 
🕊️ Cultivate Self-Care & Love ❤️@DaRevsUSA 🦋 @DrsOfTheSoul
🛀 Self-Care Experts 🎧 Courses, Podcasts, Videos
👇🏽 LEARN MORE
CenterToAwakenKindness.com

#peace #love #kindness

Two labyrinth designs are featured in the Be the Salt of the Earth Mindful Moment Labyrinth Walk video. First the Be the Salt of the Earth Possibilities labyrinth appears etched on the earth. However, it is quickly followed by the Be the Salt of the Earth Challenges labyrinth symbolizing all the challenges of our current moment related to issues of justice, the environment, and Covid-19. Once you reach the center of the Be the Salt Challenges labyrinth another labyrinth appears. The Be the Salt Possibilities labyrinth reappears as a reminder that we are the “salt” of the earth and hold the current possibilities of this moment in our hands. It is up to us to “flavor” the world with goodness, honesty, and reliability. As the journey ends your feet end up at the words from Matthew 5:13: “You are the salt of the earth.” Continue walking and be the salt of the earth here and now.
 
THE BACKSTORY
 
Historically, to be called the salt of the earth is a huge compliment, individually and/or for groups. It means you are honest, loyal, reliable, trustworthy, and exude fundamental goodness. You flavor the world with goodness and honesty simply through your example of loving kindness. Become the salt of the earth here and now. Digitally “walk” the Be the Salt of the Earth Mindful Moment Digital Labyrinth Walk. Center yourself (carve out 2 minutes of your time for you). Watch the video and ‘walk’ the labyrinths as you contemplate how you can be the salt of the earth deep within and in all your relationships – here and now.
 
AN INTEGRATIVE CONTEMPLATIVE EXPERIENCE
 
The Be the Salt of the Earth Mindful Moment Digital Labyrinth Walk video offers an integrative mindful approach of contemplative self-care for this contemporary moment. The integrated contemplative experience features contemplative practices that have been developed over the past few thousand years. These include…
 
Experience several contemplative generative practices. Take this moment to pray about becoming the salt of the earth. Recite the loving-kindness meditation known through the scripture verse from Matthew 5.13: “You are the salt of the earth.” Enjoy the historic generative practices of: Lectio Divina (reading the sacred in the words of Matthew 5.13); Musica Divina (hearing the sacred in the sound of the music selected for this journey); Visio Divina (experiencing the sacred in art through the digital artwork of the labyrinth video), and Expressiva Divina (experience the sacred through contemplative movement, the labyrinth walk).
 
Experience the contemplative stillness practice of quieting and clearing the mind. Carve out a few minutes for you. Clear the mind. Center yourself in this contemplative moment and enjoy the labyrinth walk.
 
Experience the contemplative activist practice of bearing witness to life. Contemplate how you can be the salt of the earth and then share it – consider sharing the Be the Salt of the Earth Mindful Moment Labyrinth Walk video with others.
 
Experience the contemplative movement practice of labyrinth walking. Immerse yourself into the design and walk meditatively. Imagine how you have walked and plan to walk through the realities of life represented by the symbolism within the labyrinth designs.
 
Experience the contemplative creation process by listening to the contemplative music within the Be the Salt of the Earth Mindful Moment Labyrinth Walk video. Join along as you chant mentally or out loud: “I am the salt of the earth.”
 
Experience the contemplative relational practices of dialogue. Listen deeply to the Spirit as you ‘walk’ the labyrinth designs. Imagine the stories of your life in relation to being the salt of the earth for yourself and others. Journal your discoveries.
 
Experience the contemplative ritual/cyclical practice of vision quest. Create your own sacred space by opening yourself and participating with the Spirit deeply through the Be the Salt of the Earth Mindful Moment Labyrinth Walk video. Remember it is your journey, you can stop and advance the video as you desire in order to take additional time to pray, reflect, contemplate, and imagine possibilities.
 
Learn more about all our Contemplative Self-Care Tools and Practices at CenterToAwakenKindness.com
 
Be the Salt of the Earth labyrinths and Mindful Moment Labyrinth Walk video created by Bill Ressl at the Center to Awaken Kindness.
 
Scripture from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible with fair use (gratis) permission: New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
Music by Michael Kobrin, Decision https://pixabay.com/music/main-title-under-pressure-michael-kobrin-105bpm-3781/
 
The Be the Salt of the Earth Labyrinths include photography from the following artists. We thank the following artists for their work:
 
Min An, Person Holding Green Grains https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-green-grains-1230157/
 
CDC, Coronavirus, https://www.pexels.com/photo/coronavirus-3992933/
 
Gustavo Fring, Shabby teddy bear in medical mask sitting on pavement against blurred mom and kid in park, https://www.pexels.com/photo/shabby-teddy-bear-in-medical-mask-sitting-on-pavement-against-blurred-mom-and-kid-in-park-4000604/
 
James Gathany photo credit, CDC-Judy Schmidt Content Provider, Public Health Image Library, ID 9415, intramuscular injection, https://phil.cdc.gov/Details.aspx?pid=9415
 
Josh Hild, People Protesting on a Street https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-protesting-on-a-street-4508669/
 
Chris LeBoutillier, Photography of Factory, https://www.pexels.com/photo/photography-of-factory-929385/
 
Felix Mittermeier, Blue Universe https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-universe-956981/
 
Andrea Piacquadio, Man in Black Suit Jacket Standing Near Railings
 https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-suit-jacket-standing-near-railings-3778876/
 
Pixabay, Planet Earth https://www.pexels.com/photo/planet-earth-87651/
 
Pixabay, Electric Towers during Golden Hour, https://www.pexels.com/photo/air-air-pollution-climate-change-dawn-221012/
 
Mathias P.R. Reding, Paris, Group of ethnic people on demonstration https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-of-ethnic-people-on-demonstration-4646867/
 
Ketut Subiyanto, Woman Wearing a Face Mask on the Subway https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-wearing-a-face-mask-on-the-subway-4429403/

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. Center to Awaken Kindness. Penny & Bill Company, Brookfield, IL USA. Aka DaRevsUSA on most social media networks.

1 Corinthians 12:12 reminds us: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” The daily lived reality as a religious leader also reminds us that the church is an emotional family system often filled with stress, anxiety, and conflict. Learn how Bowen Family Systems Theory can help you to understand the daily systematic realities that you face as well as empower and strengthen your call to ministry along with your capacity to serve others. Join the new Bowen Family Systems Theory Educational Group for Religious Leaders from the Religious Leadership Institute at the Center to Awaken Kindness. The group is open to religious leaders and seminary students from all faith traditions, those new and those with past experiences in Bowen Family Systems Theory.

In each session we will explore theory, share through student presentations, and have ample time for dialogue. Beginning in late May 2021, we will meet on Zoom 6 times for 2 hours each, over a 6 month period.