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Expanding Minds + Hearts

The Expanding Minds + Hearts newsletter is a monthly email with timely spiritual lessons, musings, food for thought, and upcoming classes by Amanda Sue. Sign up below to receive one email a month!

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Spiritual Self-Care

Once a month email from expandingmindsandhearts.com Life can become busy, and we often forget to take care of ourselves as we focus on meeting our daily demands. I recall listening to a speaker who shared the idea that we "rise to the occasion." This notion suggests that when we face a challenge, we draw on internal resources to overcome it. It's a beautiful thought, and to some extent, we do have untapped inner resources we can access when needed. However, the speaker went on to say that’s...

green ceramic statue of a man

Our inner experience is simultaneously the most unique thing about ourselves, and yet also a complete mystery to us. Mindfulness practices are built on paying attention to this inner experience. Through quieting the mind in meditation, we learn to watch our thoughts without letting them run away with us. With grounding practices, we become aware of our direct experience of warmth, sound, taste — and do our very best to experience it without describing it or narrating it inside our heads. But...

grayscale photography of woman cleaning glass window

expanding minds + hearts by amanda sue briggs Growing up, I didn't know much about the meaning behind the season of Lent. I knew my Catholic friends got ash put on their foreheads, and for some reason that happened the day after Mardi Gras. The one year I remember participating was when I was 12 or 13, and I gave up gum for Lent. Now, that was a pretty big deal for me at the time! I don't recall feeling closer to Spirit after the experience. If anything, it left me with the impression that...

knitting project and a phone with earbuds

expanding minds + hearts by amanda sue briggs By now, 99% of people have given up on their New Year Resolution. Me? I didn't set one. Here's what I do instead. January is my favorite month though (and only partly because it's my birthday month). The new year (based on the calendar or the moon) brings a feeling of fresh opportunity. Renewal. Transformation. And yet this month I have been noticing two themes in my life and the lives of my community: Conversations that don't exactly turn out how...