Dr. Feli Sebastian talks about contemplative prayer and walking the labyrinth, both ways to find stillness and listen to the sacred invitations from God. Her book weaves together the stories of her personal life and how that inspired and led to the non-profit she founded supporting incarcerated women. In writing her book, she found the courage to be vulnerable and share her story of overcoming an addiction to an unhealthy relationship. This enabled her to have compassion and understanding when listening to others’ stories.
She is a retired clinical psychologist with more than thirty years of work in her field. While working in her practice in the Bloomington-Normal community, she dedicated much of her work to serving marginalized populations. She is the founder of three non-profit organizations: Labyrinth Outreach Services, the ExtraOrdinary Women Project BN, and Dreams Are Possible, which provided training for trades and sustainable employment for women.
She published her first book in September 2020 called Broken and Beloved: A Journey of Discovery. It traces the labyrinth of her life from her childhood in the Philippines through her professional career and relationships in Ohio and Illinois. Part of that personal and spiritual discovery led to the development of Labyrinth Outreach Services to Women in 2005, a nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive aid to formerly incarcerated women when they return to their community.
She has continued to pursue community collaborations that benefit the disenfranchised, especially women. Her newest endeavor is co-founding the ExtraOrdinary Women Project BN which recognizes the quiet efforts, tenacity, and perseverance of those who identify as women in McLean County by sharing their stories in the spirit of celebration and with the aim of inspiring others.
Resources We Mention
- Dorothy Day
- Hidden Figures movie
- That’s What She Said Bloomington-Normal
- Multicultural Leadership Institute (MCLP)
- Contemplative Prayer Practices: Lectio Divina and Centering Prayer (If you are interested in learning more, Soul Care offers two-hour mini-retreats to try out different contemplative prayer practices.)
- Learn more about labyrinths
- JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters by James W. Douglass
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