Unraveling Religion - Part 2 Three Words On Your Tombstone; Three Counselors Talk On Death, Meditation, Meaning, and Suffering

Part 2 Three Words On Your Tombstone; Three Counselors Talk On Death, Meditation, Meaning, and Suffering

05/06/23 • 27 min

In Part 2 of this talk, Mike, Mike and Joel continue deconstructing meaning death and spirituality. Joel tells a story of his 'good friend' John Bednarchik who passed in 2012, and John's profound influence on Joel through his living example cultivated by John's long and devoted practice of Zen Buddhism. How do we sow seeds of faith in the process of life itself? How the idea of "Ownership' or 'Propriety' is a form of delusion. How do we connect the heart and mind, as people, as practitioners, and as counselors. Why are spiritual practices important? How do these practices teach us to develop comfort with silence and how do we ground ourselves in 'Who We Are?'

Previous Episode

Part 1 Three Words On Your Tombstone; Three Counselors Talk On Death, Meditation, Meaning, and Suffering

In Part 1 of this episode, at Joel's place, in the midst of new friendship and burning Sage, Mike Morde, Mike Pernot, and Joel Lesses talk about life, spirituality, psychology, meaning, and death. Explored are the importance and practice of meditation and mindfulness; also 'awareness of the process as the goal in life.' The vital link between service to community and our individual health and well-being, the importance of a good name. If life is suffering, what are the ways in which we can 'suffer well?' How do we live the best quality of life in the midst of suffering? Acceptance versus expectation in life, the relationship of Thích Nhất Hạnh and Thomas Merton, Catholicism's relationship to Buddhism. Impermanence and aging. Death and meaning in life.

Bios

Mike Morde, LMHC, NCC has worked in behavioral healthcare since 2011 and currently runs a private practice in Rochester, NY. He currently serves on several boards and committees for advocacy and mental health affairs on local and state levels, and is a co-founder of ROC-ACT, an affiliate group in Rochester for the Association for Contextual and Behavioral Science. More information can be found on Mike's website at mikemordecounseling.com.

Mike Pernot is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor practicing out of Rochester, New York regularly implementing Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction as a way to relate to stress differently and to honor and recognize preverbal senses in a more compassionate way. He has worked in inner city community mental health and substance use disorder settings with adults as well as in pediatric behavioral health. He has maintained a private practice since 2019 while also currently working in an integrated healthcare facility in a Rochester City High School. More information can be found on Mike's website at www.mjplmhc.com.

Next Episode

Part 1 Alchemical Dialogues' Spirituality and Religion: Similarities, Differences, and Implications

Alchemical Dialogues held a panel discussion regarding spirituality and religion.

These two practices not the same, but this can be confusing for many.

Westerners, in growing numbers, identify as 'spiritual, but not religious.'

Likewise, there are many who list their religious affiliation as 'other.'

Atheism and agnosticism are growing, often touting the benefits of community without the perceived negatives that religion and spirituality add—or do not.

What are the implications of spirituality, of religion, or neither?

In late 2022, Henry Cretella's podcast Alchemical Dialogues brought together a panel to disucss religion and spirituality, a discussion with Aude Chesnais, Henry Cretella, Tania Day-Magallon, Margot VanEtten, and Joel David Lesses.

Listen to this panel discussion with five practitioners who are either involved or have been with both spirituality and religion, as they explore their views and experiences.

Aude Chesnais, Ph.D., has encountered various spiritual traditions before finding her family on the Sufi path since 2017. She is a political ecologist and senior researcher for the Native Lands Advocacy Project, and has been working closely with native communities in the USA for the past 10 years on issues of land sovereignty and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, particularly in support of regenerative food-systems transitions. Aude’s work reflects strongly on her positionality as a white researcher working in Indigenous settings. Although her spiritual path has led her on the quest to understand oneness, Aude’s professional path and commitment to social justice constantly reminds her of the real social impacts of human distinctions on their lives. Reconciling these two coexisting realities is Aude’s lifetime quest. Aude received her MA in social and solidarity economics from Université de Haute-Alsace, France and her Ph.D. in sociology from Colorado State University, CO, USA.

Henry Cretella, M.D., is the host of Alchemical Dialogues and co-director of Amber Light International. He is a retired psychiatrist who received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University and his post-graduate training at the University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY. Henry was raised Roman Catholic and later began initial studies in Shamanism and Tibetan Buddhism, as well as in the martial arts before finding a home in the Sufi lineage of Inayat Khan. Henry no longer practices an exoteric religion, but teaches and guides others in a mystically oriented spirituality that incorporates the wisdom from many traditions and disciplines. For Henry, he believes that we are in an era calling for each of us to find and follow our own unique spiritual path. He also believes that we can connect with others and a power greater than ourselves, in order to further a positive expansion and evolution of human consciousness.

Tania Day-Magallon is an artist born in Mexico City and has collaborated in various art events and exhibits in Chicago, Mexico City, and Rochester, NY. She identifies as Muslim and is a Sufi practitioner. Tania started her art education at a young age, and she attended prominent art institutions in Mexico City. Tania’s art frequently uses symbolism and imagery emphasizing her own cultural identity and spiritual views. Tania became a member of the group formerly known as Women of Color in the Arts (WOC-Art) collaborative, where she curated an art activity and installation titled “Hands of Sorority”. Tania was also commissioned to design the cover of an issue for the academic journal Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies entitled Deterritorializing Frontiers. Tania earned her BA in Visual Arts from SUNY Empire State College, where she continued her studies in visual arts and psychology. She is currently earning her MS in Mental Health Counseling at SUNY Brockport. Tania believes that mental health, spirituality, and the arts are interwoven, and her current work is focused on exploring her roots, the Divine Feminine, and decolonial mental health approaches that include the creative process as a fundamental aspect of human wellbeing.

Margot VanEtten has a wide and varied background in spirituality and meditation, interfaith study and dialogue, martial arts, and ministerial practice including as a lay minister in the Catholic Church for many years. She holds a Master’s degree in Sacred Theology from St. Bernard’s Institute in Rochester, NY. From 2000 to 2019, Margot was the campus minister and director at the Brockport Newman Center where she was involved in ecumenical and interfaith work with the local ministers, student organizations including the Muslim Student Association and Campus Ambassadors, Interfaith campus ministry organizations across the Rochester area, and with the Diocese of Rochester’s Catholic/Orthodox Commission exploring r...