Category Archives: Spirituality

Assagioli’s Wartime Shechinah

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While many of us are feeling overwhelmed by the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza of late, there are actually 127 armed conflicts taking place in the world today. Most of these conflicts do not make the headlines. Some of them started recently, while others have lasted for more than 50 years.

So I thought it might be a good time to share this story about a spiritual experience that Roberto Assagioli had during wartime. He called it a shechinah and declared that it was one of the ‘high water marks’ of his spiritual life. You can read about his experience below in both English and Italian. My hope is that his story reminds us that the Higher Self exists in all of us, everywhere, at all times.

Note from Assagioli’s Archives:

Scehinah (da sciahèn, dimorare) / Scehinah è il “Dio immanente”, lo spirito divino che è nel mondo, “Dio che è in noi”. / Il Talmud, Pref. p. XVIII (Doc #17591, Istituto di Psicosintesi, Florence).

Scehinah (from sciahèn, dwell) / Scehinah is the “immanent God,” the divine spirit that is in the world, “God who is in us.” / The Talmud, Pref. p. XVIII

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One Pilgrimage, Two Sisters

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It was a cold, brisk April dawn as I entered the church. This was to be my fifth pilgrimage to Monte Camera Sanctuary from the Church of Santa Maria Assunta. Located in the hills, about five miles from the tiny Italian village of Pieve di Compresseto in Umbria, this sanctuary is devoted to Mary. Since 1647, the townspeople, full of faith and prayers, have been climbing to the tiny chapel to celebrate the Feast of the Madonna of Monte Camera every Tuesday after Easter.

The first pilgrimage took place 376 years ago when the bubonic plague was devastating the population. Those who were well enough went in procession to this sanctuary to pray to the Madonna, asking her to intercede on their behalf. When they returned, everyone who had been sick was miraculously cured. Since then, the villagers have returned every year in procession to this chapel to commemorate the miracle. This year was going to be different for me, as I was planning to carry a special prayer.

You can read more about my pilgrimage (which I hope to join next week as well) to this beautiful sanctuary and the prayer that I carried with me. This story was published as a “Spiritual Journey” by Unity Magazine (April/May 2024).

Feel free to enjoy and share “Sacred Journeys: Two Sisters Pilgrimage.” (Note that the graphic makes more sense if you open the pdf and view it in two pages!)

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A Glimpse of Infinity

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The author at the Sanzen-in Temple in Kyoto in 1987.

After graduating from the University of California Berkeley in 1987, I moved to Fukuyama, Japan—about 400 miles south of Tokyo—to teach English. People often ask why I decided to go to Japan, but the reality is that Japan chose me. At that time, I longed to take a year off and travel abroad. Having applied for English teaching positions in more than fifty countries, the school in Fukuyama was the one that invited me to come.

I arrived knowing only three words in Japanese: hajimashite (nice to meet you), arigatoo (thank you), and sayonara (goodbye), thanks to a Japanese friend who helped me learn some helpful phraes before I left. I practiced constantly.

I ended up staying two years in this beautiful country. I learned to speak Japanese and to read enough of the language to decipher grocery labels and train schedules, and I was blessed with making many Japanese friends, some of whom I am still in touch with 35 years later.

You can read more about my time in Japan and the transpersonal experience that I had while visiting Sanzen-in Temple in Kyoto. This story was published as a “Spiritual Journey” by Unity Magazine (September/October 2023).

Feel free to enjoy and share “A Glimpse of Infinity.” (Note that the graphic makes more sense if you open the pdf and view it in two pages!)

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