Author: Tom Flanagan

https://www.blueskiesri.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Flanagan-interview-MP3.mp3

A Word About Labyrinths

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Why Healthcare is Embracing the 3,500-Year-Old Science of Labyrinths. In our hyper-connected modern era, we are increasingly burdened by decision fatigue. From the moment we wake, we are forced into a relentless cycle of choices, navigating high-stress environments that demand constant attention. In response, a simple architectural tool is re-emerging within therapeutic landscapes: the labyrinth. Far from being a mere garden ornament, this ancient tool is used in hospitals, VA centers, and restorative outdoor spaces for walking meditation. Its power lies not in the complexity of a puzzle, but in the profound gift of a choice-less path.It’s Not a Maze… Continue Reading

Shadow Loss / Shadow Grief

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“Shadow Losses are the griefs other than Big Death …. but the brain grieves both in the same way” says Cole Imperi. Shadow loss refers to deep, often hidden, non-death losses (like infertility, divorce, estrangement, or ancestral trauma) that aren’t fully acknowledged by society.  These losses are often denied, deferred, or deflected and persist as shadow grief.  Also within these shadows, incompletely grieved deaths can be found … of friends, families, and even pets.  Recognizing and addressing shadow loss and shadow grief matters because, while they are beneath the conscious mind … and possibly felt only as a dull ache… Continue Reading

Walking Meditation

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Walking meditation is a practice that combines movement with mindfulness, allowing you to connect with your surroundings and enhance your awareness. It can be done anywhere and at any pace, making it accessible for busy individuals. The practice can be done in a quiet space, such as a park or a corridor, and involves focusing on your breath and body movements. Walking meditation can help reduce stress, improve cognitive flexibility, and strengthen emotional regulation. It is a dynamic form of meditation that can be integrated into daily mindfulness routines. Continue Reading

“Civic Grief”

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Civic grief is an emerging idea. It is not about specific grievances and it is not about political differences, although both can contribute to civic grief. Civic grief is about unspent community love with no where to go. It is a symptom of collective self defeat and the mindset of a conquered and colonized people. It can become a catalyst for violence and it must be named if it is to be overcome. Continue Reading

Poem for Grieving a Lost Pet

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This poem was developed through a conversation of Kevin M.C. Dye with Anthropic’s Claude, a private communication during the week ending in February 8, 2025 From Your Mack: A Love Note My human who smells of lavender and dawn,who moves like moonlight across our wooden floors—I want you to know: I am still tracking your scentthrough the vast territories of forever. Remember how I knew your sadnessbefore it reached your face?How I could taste the salt of your tearsbefore they fell? My nose never lies:your happiness was summer grass,your worry was autumn leaves,your love was warm bread rising. Here’s what I learned in… Continue Reading

Grief & Anxiety go Hand in Hand

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What does grief have to do with peer support for anxiety?  Grief can cause anxiety.  Anxiety can complicate grieving.  This cyclic relationship between unexplored grief and unrecognized anxiety can persist and intensify for years. Grieving is delayed when the recognition of the reality of a traumatic loss is repressed or when the grieving emotions are suppressed.  The two forms of interrupted grieving differ.  Repressed acknowledgement of loss is a conscious reaction that can occur when other urgencies demand immediate attention. When the distracting urgencies fade, the reality of the loss can be acknowledged, and grief can resurface.  A less recognized,… Continue Reading

Library Exhibit of Handheld Labyrinths

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Throughout the months of January and February, the George Hail Library in hosting an exbibit of several styes of handheld labyrinths along with a collection of books describing the history, the use, and the design of labyrinths, along with a directory of laboratories in the Southcoast area. Handheld labyrinths are useful when labyrinths are not available or accessible with walking. Hints for walking handheld labyrinths include getting in a thoughtfully comfortable position, using your non-dominant hand (to slow your finger walk), circle the labyrinth several times, breathing slowly and deliberately, and, of course, feel you contact to the labyrinth. Continue Reading