Jim Cogley’s Reflections: Tues 28 July – Mon 3 Aug 2026

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Tues July 28 – The Basis of Healing

What do you think forms the basis for all healing whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual? The answer must be self-acceptance as the key that unlocks the enormous potential for healing that lies within us. If our bodies can get sick because of not being right with ourselves then they also have the capacity to become well again through coming to a new place of being at peace with ourselves. At its most basic level sin is not about breaking certain rules but since it causes division it has to be self-rejection. At the very core of many of us lies a deep-seated belief that we are not good enough and are somewhat inadequate; that my life is not all that important and that I don’t have all that much to offer to the world. Perhaps a sense that my life will come and go without making even a ripple on the great ocean of eternity. Beneath these beliefs lies a fundamental rejection of my own magnificence as a child of God and an identification with outer things that are fleeting like age, appearance, my place in society, the talents I have or my need for the approval of others.

Wed July 29 – The Diamond Within

Each one of us comes into the world as a precious diamond. Made in the image and likeness of God we are really a chip off the block that is God. There is the essence of the divine in us. Before we are even born that priceless diamond has begun to pick up all sorts of influences from our mother’s womb. It is possible for a child to be born sad or angry because the mother was a sad or angry resulting from the earlier loss of a child. Or she may have been grieving for a parent during our pregnancy. As we go through life we get covered in the mud of our own individual history. A troubled childhood, alcoholism in the home, getting a hard time in school with bullying or punishment all form part of the mud of life. Things get done to us that are not nice, and we do things that we are not proud of either.

Thurs July 30 – Our False Identification

The Bible says you must love yourself. However, to someone who has never glimpsed the diamond that they are but has only seen the mud for most of a lifetime that must sound very strange and even impossible. If what I see is mud, then mud must be what I am. Such is the logical conclusion. But appearances can be deceptive. What we see on the outside is not what is on the inside. Deep within a surprise awaits us. The precious diamond that we are is always waiting to be discovered and ultimately that is what dying to ourselves means, the stripping away of the mud and the uncovering of who we really are as that precious diamond. This is where we discover that the Kingdom of God is within.

Fri July 31 – Sin as Self-Rejection

The problem is that if I reject what I see on the outside I will never discover the riches that are within. The outside may not be much to look at, but it does contain the diamond and that is the essence of who we are, nothing less and nothing more.

The implications of rejecting what we see on the outside of our lives are quite staggering because to reject what is without is also to reject what is within. To disrespect this is to disrespect that. So, any rejection of myself is a rejection of God. Any deeming of myself as unworthy is to deny that God has made me worthy. Any unforgiveness towards myself is to deny God’s mercy and cut myself off from it. So, how am I in relation to myself? Am I comfortable with who I am and with my own worth, even my own magnificence, because if not I have a divine right to be. 

Sat Aug 1 – What I see within is what I see without

The dignity that we hold for ourselves has huge implications for the dignity we place on all human life. If I see divinity within myself, I will see divinity in you. This is where other people are always acting as giant mirrors for us reflecting back aspects of ourselves that cry out for acceptance. The problem is that it’s much easier to shut out that person from my life with a hasty judgement rather than allowing the Lord to speak to me through them. For example, if there is someone who drives me crazy rather than dismiss him or her as a nutcase why not ask the more challenging question, ‘What is it in me that finds it so difficult to be respectful and loving towards that person?’ Once I can recognize that aspect in myself then the challenge is to accept it and allow it to come out into the open for healing.

Sun Aug 2 – Re-Creation

For many this month is the time for time out. The pace of life today is so fast that we are in danger of meeting ourselves coming back. Summer is a very necessary time for recreation and allowing our souls to catch up. On many occasions in the Gospel we see Christ taking time out and in today’s account its because he needs time to grieve the murder of his cousin John the Baptist

So together with his disciples they get into a boat and aim themselves for peace and tranquillity in some lonely place. Their attempts are doomed from the start, the people are able to see where the boat is heading and they get there first. Rather than turn the boat around and play a game of hide and seek with the crowds Jesus seizes the opportunity to teach his apostles a profound lesson on the tenderness of God for his people. Not only is it possible for them to hear God in the silent whisper of a still small voice he is also to be heard in the urgent cries of his people.

One of the hardest words in the English language to exercise is the word ‘no’. The urgent demands of life keep coming at us and as the pace of life gets faster we are always in danger of trying to be all things to all people and losing sight of our own needs and who we are in the process. An old Indian saging goes “If I can’t hear your ‘no’ then I don’t think much of your ‘yes’.” Those who never say ‘no’ think that others are going to have to like then but in reality such persons are not respected any more than a doormat gets respected. In fact, the best way to improve the quality of what you do say ‘yes’ to is to use the word ‘no’ a little more.

Especially for parents with small children, to have time for yourselves as a couple and as individuals demands a huge level of discipline. With kids involved in so many activities many families could do with their own taxi service. For mothers to get away and stop being mother for a few hours let alone for an overnight takes a lot of courage. Many can’t do it they just feel too guilty but is it really good for the kids in the long term since they eventually must stand on their own two feet. Some years back I tended an old lady of 90 in Glenbrien who was way ahead of her time and she used to say, ‘It’s a selfish mother that doesn’t take care of her own needs.’ Theres wisdom in that.

There is a little story entitled Who Are You?

Once upon a time a woman was recovering from a serious illness. She dreamt that she had died and was met by an angel who asked her who she was? ‘I am the wife of the mayor of my town’, she replied. The angel answered, ‘I didn’t ask whose wife you were, I asked, who are you?’ Again she replied, ‘ I am the mother of six wonderful children’. Again the angel replied, ‘I didn’t ask whose mother you are, I asked, who are you?’ Again she replied, ‘I am a committed Christian who attends church regularly and I am very charitable towards those in need’. Yet again the angel replied, ‘I didn’t ask what religion you belonged to or what good you do, I asked, who are you?’ After seven attempts she woke up but still hadn’t answered the question. The rest of her life was spent in search of the answer.

To move beyond being the mother or father, the provider, the hard worker, is important for all of us and the only way not to lose our identity in all that we get caught up in is to come apart and rest, to take time for ourselves. That’s why holidays are so important and it’s why we use the word recreation; it literally means the time we take to re-create ourselves. As anyone who works with tools knows the time we take to sharpen our chisels and look after our implements is never time wasted. On the other hand if we didn’t sharpen our chisels we would waste a lot of time using blunt tools. 

It took me many years to realize in my own life is that I need my time for quiet and prayer far more than I need seven hours sleep.

From our upbringing we often got the idea that idleness or doing nothing was the same as laziness which if far from being the case. Another notion many of us picked up from our family background is that, ‘You are only as good as you are useful.’ In other words, if you are not like a machine in perpetual motion then you are useless. Our worth as individuals can never be defined by what we do because there comes a day when we might be able to do very little. To be a human being comes before being a human doer; it’s when we don’t get that balance right that we get into trouble and the time-out we didn’t choose to take may no longer be an option and be forced upon us. In other words, if we don’t take time-out to take care of our own needs there will come a time when we will no longer be able to take care of anybody.

Mon Aug 3 – Our Pet Projections

If I find that anger is something I detest in someone, I tend to give them a wide berth because they make me feel uncomfortable. However, it’s my own unrecognized anger that is staring me in the face and seeking my acceptance. I use that as an example from my own experience because for years when anyone would get angry with me, I would feel devastated. I wondered why and eventually came to recognize that I had a mountain of anger in myself. It was as I came to accept that anger that my creativity that had been blocked for years suddenly came alive. Should I find myself reacting to someone who is needy and they drive me bananas, it’s still my own neediness that ultimately, I need to own and accept. In the same way, if I feel uncomfortable around someone who is sad the one who is really sad and carrying unshed tears is myself. It’s all too easy to judge and blame what we see in someone else, the real challenge is to recognize and accept it in ourselves, for therein alone lies healing.