Zen, Ignatius, And The Voice That Heals Artwork

SOLACE: Soul + Grief

This podcast is sponsored by SOULPLUSGRACE serving the San José/Santa Cruz area, offering grief support and grief journeying with spirituality. I hope to help you travel through grief with God at your side.

"I am a trained Spiritual Director for those who seek to complete the 19th Annotation of St. Igantius’ spiritual exercises OR seek spiritual direction while grieving. I have also worked as a hospital/cemetery chaplain and grief doula. I believe all paths lead to God and that all traditions are due respect and honour. I take my sacred inspiration from all of my patients and companions–past, present and future; the Dalai Lama, James Tissot, St. John of the Cross, the Buddha, Saint Teresa of Ávila, and, of course, Íñigo who became known as St. Ignatius. I utilize art, poetry, music, aromatherapy, yoga, lectio divina, prayer and meditation in my self-work and work with others. I believe in creating a sacred space for listening; even in the most incongruous of surroundings."

BACKGROUND

Jesuit Retreat Center, Los Altos, CA -- Pierre Favre Program, 3 year training to give the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius
Centro de Espiritualidad de Loyola, Spain -- The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola -- 30 Day Silent Retreat
Center for Loss & Life Transition – Comprehensive Bereavement Skills Training (30 hrs) Ft. Collins, CO
California State University Institute for Palliative Care--Palliative Care Chaplaincy Specialty Cert. (90 hrs)
Sequoia Hospital, Redwood City, CA -- Clinical Pastoral Education
19th Annotation with Fumiaki Tosu, San Jose, CA, Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA M.A. – Pastoral Ministries

CONTACT ME: candeelucas@soulplusgrace.com with questions to be answered in future episodes.

All Episodes

SOLACE: Soul + Grief

Zen, Ignatius, And The Voice That Heals

February 20, 2026 • Candee Lucas • Season 5 • Episode 8

0:00 | 10:30

Send us Fan Mail

What if the center of your grief isn’t emptiness, but a voice that calls you "Beloved"? We explore a quiet, radical shift inspired by Ruben L. F. Habito’s Zen and the Spiritual Exercises, bringing Zen attention and Ignatian prayer together to meet sorrow without shame. Instead of ranking life by wins and losses, we invite you into a gentler metric—inner freedom rooted in identity rather than performance.

We walk through the baptism of Jesus as a living scene, not a distant story. With sensory imagination and simple breath, we step into the water, hear the heavens open, and receive the naming that steadies the heart: “You are my beloved; with you I am well pleased.” From there, grief looks different. Not smaller, but held. You’ll learn how contemplative stillness can soften the tight loops of comparison, how Zen’s don’t-know mind releases deadlines for healing, and how Ignatian discernment guides daily choices toward what actually brings life.

Across the conversation, we offer a short, practical practice you can repeat when waves rise: sit, breathe, listen, return. We talk about letting go of inherited rules about “strong” mourning, making space for tears without apology, and building a small rule of life—journaling after hard moments, naming the one you miss, and choosing companions who bring freedom. If you’ve ever wondered whether faith and mindfulness can speak the same language to a broken heart, this is a hand on your shoulder and a path under your feet.
Please subscribe to us on Amazon Music, Spotify, or Apple Music

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION WHILE GRIEVING IS AVAILABLE

Art: https://www.etsy.com/shop/vasonaArts?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
and https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/candee-lucas

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2SFH4Z6

Music and sound effects today by: via Pixabay

Welcome And Purpose

Candee 0:43

Welcome to Solace: Soul + Grief. I'm glad you're here. My name is Candee Lucas. I'm a grief chaplain and spiritual director. The loss of a loved one can be especially difficult. I created these podcasts so you would have a resource to accompany you on your journey. When you have a chance, please look back at our catalog for any missed episodes that might be useful to you. Remember, you're always welcome in our circle of healing, love, and support.

Candee 1:27

Introducing Habito And Lenten Lens

Candee 1:29

Today I want to share some thoughts from a book called "Zen and the Spiritual Exercises" by Ruben L. F. Habito. He's a professor of world religions and spirituality at Perkins School of Theology. Mr. Habito was a Jesuit for a time and was exposed to the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius during that time. He later became a Buddhist. And hence this volume. I think it offers special thoughts about Jesus during this Lenten period. This is from a chapter called Putting on the Mind of Jesus.

Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Candee 2:26

The conventional wisdom makes us think that life and death, wealth and poverty, sickness and health, honor and dishonor, success and failure, and other such pairs that are part of our experience in this life on earth are mutually opposing values, whereby one is preferred over another. The conventional wisdom holds the slippers are to be worn on the feet and not on the head. Rich people are to be honored, and poor people despised or pitied. The powerful are to be respected while the powerless are to be ignored and so on.

Zen Freedom And Jesus’ Mastery

Candee 3:15

Rather, a spirit of total freedom in a given situation and a mastery over life and death is most desired. Zen practice is precisely meant to cultivate and bring about this spiritual freedom and mastery in the seeker who takes on this spiritual path. As we continue our contemplative exercises on the words and actions of Jesus, we come to appreciate how Jesus exhibited this total inner freedom and mastery over the various situations he encountered. He becomes for us no longer the son of a carpenter, an itinerant Jewish teacher who two thousand years ago walked about the land in Palestine and gathered a group of followers around him. In taking the invitation to behold Jesus in contemplative exercises, we may be able to see him as the one who shows us the way, who points us to our true self that emerges as we die to our old self,

Contemplating Baptism And Identity

Candee 4:33

still caught in the delusion.

Candee 4:36

THE BELOVED-- In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan, and just as he was coming out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart, and the spirit descending like a dove on him, and a voice came from heaven. --You are my son, the beloved. With you I am well pleased.-- That's Mark 1-9-10. Ignatius recommends the repetition of certain exercises that call for further deepening and tasting. In this spirit, we begin to take up a passage from earlier in Matthew 3:13-17. As we contemplate this pivotal moment in Jesus' life, we are given a glimpse of Jesus' identity, and more importantly, of our own. We place ourselves in the setting with Jesus in the water, and we sit in stillness and pay attention to our breathing. We immerse ourselves into the waters of stillness, slowly allowing ourselves to go deeper and deeper. We remain there, rapt in stillness. Listen. All is still.

Guided Stillness Practice

Candee 6:19

And in the midst of this, the voice resonates throughout our entire being. --You are my beloved. With you I am well pleased--. Jesus emerges from the water with this deep realization of what and who He is. We emerge from the stillness with this deep realization of what and who we are. --You are my beloved, with you I am well pleased--. With this realization, everything else in our lives can be seen in fresh relief. The answer to life's most pressing questions somehow falls into place. As we allow that voice to resonate within us, without us, and through everything we see, hear, smell, touch, taste, and imagine. As we continue along our grief journeys, what do the steps feel like when they are accompanied by a voice that echoes in you? --You are my beloved. With you I am well pleased--. You are the beloved survivor. You are special in your grief. God is

Grief Reframed As Beloved

Candee 8:17

pleased with you always in your pain and suffering. He holds you exquisitely next to his heart, so you can lie there in repose and begin to heal.

Weekly Release And How To Reach Us

Candee 9:02

A new one drops every Friday morning. You can find us on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Reach out to me as my contact is in the show notes. If you have any questions about grieving, when to find a grief group nearby or are seeking spiritual direction while grieving. Travel with God always by your side.