Christian leaders want the best for their church or business, but they don’t want this at the detriment of their own inner health, family health or longevity. A healthy leader is joyful, is a blessing to their family and can serve the church and the world in the long haul.
This world needs emotionally healthy leaders who listen to wise counsel, follow the Holy Spirit and keep growing a healthy soul. In his podcast, Ian Borkent helps you do so. This is a bi-lingual podcast (Dutch and English episodes).
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Een tweetalige podcast van Anne Borkent
Meer info: growahealthysoul.com
The Daily Examen: growing in God-awareness and self-awareness
The Daily Examen is a prayerful reflection on your day, which you can do at the end of the day, for about 15 minutes.
The Daily Examen is a very old prayer practice but 500 years ago Ignatius of Loyola made it a way to experience God as well as to assess your own behavior.
You look back on the day, together with God, and examine some things together (hence the word ‘examen’). This will lead to two things: first of all, you will grow in God-awareness, realizing where God was present in your day. Secondly, you will grow in self-awareness, realizing where you were strong and where you can grow.
Find out more about the benefits, what and how of the Daily Examen in this episode.
27 Mar 2024
At the feet of Jesus: Gospel Contemplation
In this episode I share a powerful spiritual exercise: the 10 steps of praying with the Bible, in particular with the gospels. I am using the principles of contemplation developed by Ignatius of Loyola.
Doing this will give you a profound experience at the feet of Jesus.
Here are the 10 steps for gospel contemplation that I unpack in this episode:
Determine ahead of time the place where you will pray and contemplate on a particular gospel passage. It needs to be a place where you can pray in an uninterrupted way, and where you take notes. So bring a pen and journal, or a digital version of that.
Determine ahead of time how long you will contemplate, is it 30, 45 minutes or 60 minutes? I would recommend at least 45 for this first time.
When you’re starting the exercise. Take the time to slow down. Become still, at rest with yourself and with Jesus. Breathe in deeply and breathe out and become aware of God’s presence with you here and now.
Focus all your attention on Jesus. Then ask Jesus to receive a personal gift from what you are about to read. He has something very personal for you in this moment.
Now focus your attention on the scripture passage at hand. Read the text once, as a kind of exploration. It does not have to be slow just yet, or fast, just read it in one go.
After this first reading, share from your heart your true desires with Jesus. It can be about anything that’s going on in your life right now. What do you want?
Go back to the text. Now you’re going to use your imagination and your senses. Imagine as if you are in the text. Try to use all of your 5 senses. Try to be in the text. What are the sounds you can hear? What does it feel like to be here? What do you see around you? What can you smell or even taste? Explore this a bit further when it comes to Jesus and the other persons in the passage. What’s the look on Jesus’ face? How does Jesus say what He says? How does Jesus do what He does? And lastly, in this imaginative process, which person are you in the text? Take the time for this
important imaginative process. Write down what you observe.
Listen to the text without haste. What one word or sentence jumps out to you? What does Jesus speak to you personally? Receive His gift.
Have a conversation around this with Jesus, as if you are in a dialogue with a friend. Asking questions, and listening. Give Jesus the room to speak, without controlling or steering the conversation yourself. Let God surprise you.
Write things down. Write what you have sensed, what God has said, what you have learned, and what you will do with this. Or any feelings, thoughts or revelations you receive from this. Feel free to take the time for this and go back and forth in the scripture passage. It’s a creative process.
19 Mar 2024
Drie manieren om jezelf beter te leren kennen
Het leven achter de leider, dat is wat er echt toe doet. Jij doet er toe! Dus... hoe goed ken jij jezelf?
Als je jezelf beter leert kennen, ga je meer vreugde en vrede ervaren – en daar zal niet alleen jijzelf van profiteren, maar ook de mensen om je heen.
Jezelf beter leren kennen is soms niet makkelijk. Er zijn veel onbewuste processen. Maar het is wel mogelijk en het is de moeite waard!
In deze aflevering ontdek je drie belangrijke manieren om jezelf te leren kennen, met voorbeelden uit het echte leven en diepgaande innerlijke gezondheidsoefeningen.
Doe er je voordeel mee.
29 Feb 2024
Change your prayer life by praying the fifth gospel
You might have heard of the term ‘living a monastic life’. It refers to the practices of prayer in a monastery and these prayer practices are often held out to us as examples. But the reality is that most of us do not live in a monastery. Still, we can incorporate
monastic values into our daily activities, by praying the fifth gospel.
Praying the fifth gospel is the art of incorporating prayer into your daily activities. It was first developed by Ignatius of Loyola.
In this episode you will receive this powerful and simple 3-part praying technique - and its benefits to you in daily life.
Enjoy!
6 Feb 2024
Why we need a theology of suffering
A theology of faith always needs to include a theology of suffering.
The propensity to not embrace suffering has influenced some believers, and also our church value systems. This can lead to a prosperity gospel without a theology of suffering, which is not Biblical. And it can lead to an inability to handle suffering, which is not helpful.
Suffering is all over the early church, all over the New Testament, and all over the global church.
In this episode I first share why we need a theology of suffering and then I unpack some ways of how to deal with suffering when it comes our way.
Hope this blesses you.
9 Jan 2024
A new set of church health metrics
In this podcast I first look at a common set of current church health metrics. How has this set helped me as a leader and us as a church? And what are its limitations or even dangers?
Then I propose a new, broader set of church health metrics. These provide a more holistic view on what constitutes a healthy church and a healthy leader. I offer 10 new church health metrics to add to existing metrics.
This new set is by no means the silver bullet and there is much more to be discovered and developed in this area. So please send me any suggestions, comments or questions you have!
7 Dec 2023
Hoe haal je het meest uit gezinstijd?
Een gezond en gelukkig gezinsleven ontstaat niet vanzelf. Het vergt een bewuste focus om te investeren in je gezinstijd, dagelijks, wekelijks en jaarlijks.
In deze aflevering hoor je 5 tips om het meest te halen uit jouw gezinstijd, zodat jouw leven, jouw werk en jouw leiderschap, gefundeerd is op deze gezonde basis.
Dat geeft vreugde!
29 Jun 2023
Three major ways you will get to know yourself
The person behind the persona, that's what really matters. You matter! So... do you know you? When you get to know yourself, you will experience more joy and peace - and everyone else will benefit too! Knowing yourself sometimes isn't easy. There are many subconscious processes that you have to dig past. But it is possible, and rewarding! Find out three major ways to get to know yourself in this fresh episode, with real life examples and deep inner health exercises.
19 Jun 2023
How to lead and still have a life
Leading from balance.... I don't think there is such a thing. However, there is the art of juggling. How do you lead and still have a life? In this episode you will find 8 helpful insights for leaders who want to grow a healthy soul.
30 May 2023
How to make decisions the Ignatian way
Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, who founded the religious order of the Jesuits. As a former soldier, Ignatius paid particular attention to the spiritual formation of his recruits and wrote them down in his Spiritual Exercises (1548).
His spiritual method for decision making is widely used to this day by Christians across denominations.
This podcast will answer the question: how to make decisions the Ignatian way?
Het is mogelijk te genezen van onverklaarbare, chronische pijn. Uit wetenschappelijk onderzoek blijkt dat een groot deel van chronische pijn te wijten is aan een overgevoelig en verkeerd afgesteld brein-pijn alarmsysteem (neurale paden), en niet aan een specifieke pathologie of aan lichamelijk letsel. Deze aangeleerde neurale paden zijn ook weer af te leren. Doe je voordeel met deze lessen om te herstellen van chronische pijn.
Deze aflevering is een vertaling van eerder gepubliceerde Engelstalige afleveringen, en bestaat uit 3 delen in 1 aflevering:
Deel 1 - Pijn betekent niet altijd ziekte
Deel 2 - Je brein beïnvloeden om pijn kwijt te raken
Deel 3 - De pijn-angst cyclus doorbreken
15 May 2023
Healing unexplained pain - part 3: Breaking the pain-fear cycle
We need to talk about pain and your brain. Pain plays an important role in your body: to protect you. Pain tries to keep you safe by alerting the brain of danger. But what if your brain is actually sensing danger where there is none? What if a sense of danger is created by your fears, leading to more physical pain? And how can you stop this? In this last part of Healing Unexplained Pain, you will learn four things you can do to break this very real pain-fear cycle.
- This is part 3 of 3 on Healing Unexplained Pain. Check out episodes 1 and 2 first for the full background.
11 May 2023
Healing unexplained pain - part 2: How to rewire your brain to get rid of pain
Healing unexplained pain? It’s possible. A lot of chronic, unexplained pain, is learned pain. And what is learned, can also be unlearned. In this episode you will find a practical pathway on how to rewire your brain to get rid of pain.
- This is part 2 in a series of 3 on Healing Unexplained Pain. Please listen to episode 1 first for the full background.
9 May 2023
Healing unexplained pain - part 1: Pain does not always mean disease
Recent studies have shown that chronic back pain, neck pain, fibromyalgia symptoms, repetitive strain injury, headaches, and other forms of chronic pain are often not the result of structural causes, but of psychophysiological processes that can be reversed.
We have learned from researchers that chronic pain is generated from a different part of the brain than acute pain. Chronic pain comes from the same area of the brain that contains emotion related circuitry, the amygdala.
Unexplained, chronic pain is often due to an oversensitive amygdala, and not driven by a specific pathology or physical injury.
This means that chronic pain does not always mean disease and that healing is possible.
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Part 2 coming up: Rewire your brain and get healed from pain
25 Apr 2023
Van wat gaat er fout naar wat gaat er goed: hoe jij het zwarte stip syndroom kan overwinnen en kan groeien in innerlijke vrede
Heb jij ook last van het zwarte stip syndroom? Als je een cijferlijst met allemaal voldoendes ziet en 1 onvoldoende, waar richt jij je dan op? Als het de hele dag regent en er is 1 uur zonneschijn, wat heeft dan jouw focus? Hoe meer wij ons richten op het negatieve, hoe ongelukkiger wij ons voelen. Maar er is een manier om met meer dankbaarheid te leven. In deze Nederlandstalige aflevering hoor je hoe je dat doet en hoe je kan groeien in innerlijke vrede. Voor meer informatie: growahealthysoul.com
11 Apr 2023
Why 'workplace abuse' and 'the church' should not appear in the same sentence
We need to talk about the challenges and pitfalls of an unhealthy, high demand leadership culture, which can lead to workplace abuse. We also need to address how to cultivate a healthy soul as a leader and as churches: is there a healthy middle ground in leadership? Join Ian Borkent as he shares candidly about this sensitive topic, so that together, we can grow a healthy soul.
27 Mar 2023
What can we learn from Keanu Reeves, aka Jack Traven in Speed?
Your soul is a reflection of the image of God. But how can we grow a healthy soul, if we don't slow down? Can we learn something from Keanu Reeves in Speed? Join Ian Borkent as he unpacks the one thing that prevents us from growing in inner health, and two helpful questions for you to consider.
21 Mar 2023
Why I am starting Grow a Healthy Soul
In this first episode Ian shares his heart behind starting Grow a Healthy Soul. The current leadership crisis in the church demands we grow in inner health, because our inner life carries our outer life. It's time to invest in your soul, make a journey inward in order to go upward. For behind you, the leader, is you as a person. You matter. Your soul matters. Your health matters.
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