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The Lesson of the Ugly Duckling

2/17/2016

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by Deborah Globus
The lesson of the ugly duckling is that he is both the pain of his current reality and the promise of his desired outcome.
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I can see myself, sitting and crying on the beach.  I am 24 years old, unemployed, married, and flailing in life.  I am lost.
 

Thanks to my husband we have disposable income, though, and I have realized the joys of combing the self-help shelves and coming away with a stack of books.
 
I have discovered SARK who gives me permission to nap.
 
I have discovered Sarah Ban Breathnacht who feeds my desire to live a life of my own choosing. 
 

I have discovered Jennifer Louden who has taught me the practice of retreat.
That day on the beach was my first retreat.  I can’t remember the question I chose to guide me and keep me on track, but I know why I sat on the beach on that cold February day, crying.  In that moment I admitted that I hated being a woman, and the admission  devastated me.
 
I had always been more comfortable hanging out with guys. I had trouble with female friendships.  They didn’t seem to stick, always breaking my heart.  Even my beloved sister left the family, causing me to doubt my worth for years.
 
And I was lonely. My husband worked long, compulsive hours at work.  I who had never spent a night alone until I was 21 years old, suddenly had hours and hours of solitude.
 
I longed for companionship.  I longed for intimate, abiding relationships – ones that wouldn’t threaten my marriage, like the friendships with men did.
 
And so I cried.  I sobbed on that beach, acknowledging this self-loathing and this chasm of longing inside of me – neither of which I knew how to address.

At that moment a swan appeared.

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How to Have the Holidays You've Always Wanted

11/18/2015

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by Deborah Globus
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​Mine is a practical sort of spirituality.
 
Once I suspect something isn’t working, I turn my attention to finding something that will make it work.
 
Case in point: the Starbucks cup debacle.  (Bear with me – I promise this will be enlightening, and not just a little bit humorous!)

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Building a Life You're Happy With

5/12/2015

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by Deborah Globus
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My marketing coach/web designer/dear friend, Lara, sends out a weekly social media challenge.  The one from two weeks ago really got me thinking.  She’s on the cusp of a big year and it got her thinking back through the decades.

I’ve got quite a few decades behind me, too.  What would me of the past think of me now?


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The Practice of "Sacrifice" 

3/7/2014

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by Deborah Globus
Sacrifice as a spiritual practice had always been one that confused me.  

I would think of the Temple in Jerusalem and wonder why they were wasting all that perfectly good food; God certainly didn’t need it.

It began to dawn on me that I might be taking the practice too literally.  


Sacrifice is done as a ritual act and as such, is a symbol of something else.  But what?
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Sacrifice is a letting go of something, but who wants to let go of what they love? 


In the new age circles, sacrificing what was no longer useful or what we didn’t want became the go-to thing but that isn’t how the original practice went.

What would it mean to me to give away something of value, something that meant something to me?  

I explored this idea the year I turned 29 and decided it was high time I had a coming of age ceremony.  I had been exploring my teenage years in my journal and had healed many of the hurts, while at the same time recognizing the destructive patterns I was still following that grew out of those hurts.

I had decided it was time to put my angsty teenage years aside and embrace this thing called adulthood.
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I needed a symbol of those years and I had just the thing: my space tye-dye.  (See the image to the left.)  

It was a beautiful shirt, Dead Head style, with an elaborate blending of blues and greens that I could never hope to achieve with my limited tye dying abilities.  

I had purchased it at the age of 16 from a local music store where I used to sell friendship bracelets I made where they’d sell for a hefty mark-up.  I couldn’t afford the shirt alone.  At $24 it was out of my price range, so my boyfriend and I split the cost with the intention of sharing it (which of course meant that I kept it and wore it all the time!)

All those years later I was still wearing it.  The boy and I had broken up years before.  I was married and the mother of a 2 year old. 

 It was time to let the shirt go.

But I loved it!  I loved its softness.  I loved its colors.  I loved the memories of it and of who I felt I was when I wore it.  At the same time I recognized that I was stuck and that, if I didn’t find a way to release the past that had haunted me all those years, I would never grow beyond it.

The shirt had to go.

There was a bonfire, and friends – friends who were equally determined to grow out of their old selves, their limiting beliefs.  The shirt caught quickly and burned spectacularly.

It hurt like hell to watch it go; what I had done was irredeemable, the shirt would never be mine again. 


There wasn’t a feeling of exaltation as I had always assumed my ancestors felt while sacrificing.  These were real feelings, practical feelings – sadness, loss, grief.

It was there, in the fire light that I finally understood what the practice of sacrifice is about: it signaled willingness.

In that moment of sadness I had demonstrated to the Universe just how ready I was to let go of my past.  

I was willing to undergo discomfort; I was willing to experience sadness and grief in order to arrive at a new place of being.

And I also  realized that if I was willing to experience all those negative emotions I was more than willing to experience the positive side of growth and reap the rewards of my work.  


I had shown that to the Universe, and to myself.
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And all it cost me was a shirt.

So, what are you willing to experience?  

What discomfort would you undergo to make the world (or just yourself) a better place?  What would you sacrifice?



Would you care to come along on the journey?  We’re only three days in. Terri and I would love to have you along for the journey!

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It's National Disaster Day...and My Birthday

2/5/2014

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by Deborah Globus
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It’s National Disaster Day or so Facebook tells me.  It’s also my birthday. 

 I’m turning 42 and I’m actually pretty psyched about it.

First of all, I am now the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything.  

Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe reminds us “in large, friendly letters” – Don’t Panic.  I’ve got this awesome mug from my cousins that I use every day to remind me!

That’s just the first part of it, though.  


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Forging Authentic Traditions (From Very Different Backgrounds)

12/11/2013

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by Deborah Globus
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We’re an inter-faith family.

But that’s not quite true.

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La Padre is "Awesome"

6/27/2013

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by Deborah GLobus
I’m taking a class with Mark Silver and meeting all kinds of cool people.

People like Rosa who tells me that La Padre is a slang term for “awesome” in Mexico!  How cool is that?

And catching themes, my friend Christine over at Light Spirit Coaching sent me this one on being amazing (truly, you ARE!)

Ever wondered why I call myself La Padre?  Read the story of how I got my name here.

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Unexpected Blessings That Come from Ritual

3/8/2013

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by Deborah Globus
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I got this email from a client who was working with me on a ritual to bless her new office space:

“Interesting development this morning – I ran into the landlord (the man whose office used to be in my space).

(Backstory: They’ve been planning on moving out of the building for months now but haven’t been able to get the final permit approval on their new building so it’s been delayed. Because I’m in his old office, and they’re still storing some things in the attic up here, and because they still use my reception area, it feels unfinished and the energy is a little weird. )

Anyway, he told me this morning that they finally got the approvals and will be moving out completely within the upcoming week.

Maybe the blessing and “claiming” was the last little push to the Universe to get things moving. :)”


When we do rituals and set intentions we do so with the expectation that they will be fulfilled.  A cool bonus is the often unexpected benefits that show up.

And that’s why I love ritual!
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A Greater Threshold

3/5/2013

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by Deborah Globus
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I woke this morning to find him standing on the threshold.

Literally.

He was crouched between the dining room and kitchen, breathing, heavy.  It was almost as if he realized he stands on an even greater threshold.

His heart is broken.

Literally.

The murmur has grown steadily worse and now, at only two and a half he is dying.

Dolce, the kitten who never quite lived up to his name.  The cat we chased after calling “let me LOVE you!!”

But he became part of the family, an active member of our clan which extends from turtle and lizard, to dog and cats.  And now he’s leaving us, breaking our hearts as he goes.


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Take What You Need

4/20/2012

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by Deborah Globus
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I found this this morning at my local coffee shop – Urban Coffee in Greenlawn and I love it!


I chose “possitivity” which I like to think of as a cross between “possibilities” and “positivity.” I just love it when people take part in random acts of kindness that ask me to pause for a moment and check in with my heart.
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    Author

    My name is Deborah Globus and I am La Padre.  With me you'll find the support you need to uncover practical, do-able spiritual practices that work for you.  I offer new perspectives on old practices like journaling and ritual, with a side of compassion and a healthy dose of humor, just to keep it down-to-earth and real!

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deb@lapadre.com
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