“Pop-Up Conversations” appear first on Serenity and Health’s Facebook page, so be sure to “Like” and “Follow” us there. You may also Subscribe to the Serenity and Health Blog/Newsletter for links to replays and show notes.
Episode 1: Finding Calm with Peg O’Brien
For the first episode of “Pop-Up Conversations on Health of Mind, Body and Spirit,” Donna sat down with Peg O’Brien. Peg is a fellow parishioner at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Hyattsville, MD, and has participated in Serenity and Health programs from the very beginning—first as a participant and now as a co-leader of some of our programs! She offers a great example of how Serenity and Health’s focus on mind, body, and spirit can allow you to make real, positive changes to your overall health and outlook on life!
Watch the Interview
““I realized through this program, I needed to be mindful that other people had a spirit within themselves. That enabled me to become more trusting and, as a result, [I] don’t tend to worry as much.””
Serenity and Health Inaugural Program
When I [Donna Chacko] started the Serenity and Health program in a little conference room in my church in September of 2014, my (now) friend Peg O’Brien came to the very first program that I offered.
The group was limited to 12 people. The flyer invited any adults who had a problem or issue they wished they didn’t have, including stress, worry, bad habits, obesity, aches, and pains. You can see the original program here.
Each week offered a different topic--tackling an area of body, mind, and/or spirit. Serenity and Health addresses all of these topics put together. The idea is that if you work on your physical health, your stress will go down; if you work on calming your mind, your blood pressure will go down; if you work on running/exercise, your brain will calm down. And, most important, if you surrender control to God, it will all come together. As Peg noted, “It’s all interrelated.”
Finding Calm Through Centering Prayer
“It brought a calmness to my soul, to my being, to my mind.” - Peg O’ Brien
Peg came to the meeting in grief, four years after losing her husband. She says that she was an excessive worrier, always questioning herself, and constantly anxious. During the program, she was introduced to something that helped her change her negative patterns— Centering Prayer, a quiet prayer during which you give your time and surrender yourself to God. Learn more about Centering Prayer here.
Takeaways
Start tiny. For example, you don’t need to run a marathon. Start by walking for ten minutes a day. “In order to really feel a sense of accomplishment, it’s nice to take a little chunk off and complete that towards the major goal,” Peg advises.
Get into a routine for your Centering Prayer. Start with 5 or 20 minutes in the morning--it doesn’t matter how long—but make the time to relax and be with God. When you start and end your day this way, how can it not impact how you feel? How can you not give 5 minutes to God?
Keep it up! Patience and calm will come. It’s not magical, but it just kind of happens in a rather mysterious and miraculous way.
Additional Links and Resources
Subscribe to the Serenity and Health Blog for monthly encouragement and suggestions.
Like/Follow Serenity and Health on Facebook, where our Pop-Up Conversations are published first.
Learn more about Serenity and Health’s Programs, including Caring for Body and Soul (offered in Hyattsville, Maryland) and others.
Recommended Book: Sacrament of the Present Moment by Jean Pierre Caussade
Watch More Episodes
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About Donna
Dr. Donna Chacko promotes health of body, mind, and spirit through her website (serenityandhealth.com), her blog, and programs at her church. She is the author of Pilgrimage: A Doctor’s Healing Journey (Luminare Press, 2021).
Donna previously practiced medicine for forty years, first as a radiation oncologist and later, after re-training, as a family medicine doctor. What she learned taking care of immigrants and the homeless in Washington, D.C., continues to influence her programs. A central theme is that health of body, mind, and spirit is interrelated and connected to God, all as a package deal. Donna is a wife, mother, and grandmother and lives in University Park, Maryland.
It is not crazy to sit in silence doing nothing. Wise and holy men and women have always done it.