Donna Miesbach

I have been on a spiritual path all my life. I was first introduced to meditation when I was seventeen. I knew this was an important tool, but I wanted to go deeper than that particular method allowed, so my search began. I attended workshops and classes, read books and tried every form of meditation I could find, to no avail. Then in 1994, my life changed dramatically. My husband died very suddenly. Soon after that, I lost both parents, too. They say when the student is ready, the teacher appears. This student was certainly ready. About a year after my husband’s sudden death, I learned about Dr. Deepak Chopra and his teachings. It was like finding the light at the end of the tunnel. I took meditation training from Dr. Chopra and began attending his courses. They fed my deep roots and made such a difference in my life that I committed to being certified both in meditation and yoga so I could share these wonderful practices with others. I have studied with Deepak and also Roger Gabriel both here and in India. I also studied sound healing with Jonathan Goldman, and remote viewing with Dr. David Morehouse, having completed all five levels of his training. As my teaching became established, doors began opening that allowed me to teach meditation to at risk youth. Then another door opened and I found myself working with Playmakers Mentoring Foundation, a Sacramento-based outreach. Together with their Executive Director, we wrote a book and then opened a chapter here in Omaha. In addition to my work with Playmakers, I continue to teach meditation in the Omaha NE area, offering both private and group instruction. I also hold group meditations and programs five times a year, and speak to groups on various aspects of spirituality upon request.   It has been an amazing journey, one I never could have anticipated. I didn’t know it then, but I know now that it is possible to get to the other side of grief, and that is what my book, “From Grief to Joy, A Journey Back to Life & Living,” is all about.

Articles:

You Are Never Lost: Surviving Multiple Losses

A little over twenty years ago, my life changed dramatically. I lost my husband, my father, and my mother in less than seven years. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had entered a very intense school. The lessons were the hardest I’ve ever had to work through. Many times I thought I was lost. I wasn’t lost, but that’s how I felt. I was really struggling. I wanted to go back to how it was, but we can’t go back. We have to learn to accept what we cannot change. Acceptance allows us to use our pain […]

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Accepting What We Cannot Change

There is no question about it – accepting the loss of loved one can be one of our most difficult challenges, and yet acceptance is part of the answer we are looking for. As long as we resist what has happened, we cannot move beyond it. It is only when we can accept the change that we are able to move on with our life. This doesn’t happen all at once, but if we are patient, if we are compassionate with ourselves and our need to grieve, eventually – step by cautious step, piece by little piece, we begin to […]

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If You’re Stuck in Grief, Be Patient

As I am sure you already know, the sense of separation when loved ones die can be very painful. What we may not yet have realized is that just because you can’t see your loved ones doesn’t mean they aren’t with you. You are always connected in your heart. Love does not die. In love, there is no separation. One love, one heart. Just thinking of someone consciously connects you to them. Yes, the parting is hard, but always at some deep level we are all very much connected. And if there are times when you feel as though you’re […]

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Donna Miesbach: Finding a Spiritual Path

In this episode of the Open to Hope Show, Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley interviewed Donna Miesbach, who has been on a lifelong spiritual path. She has studied with some of today’s spiritual leaders, including being a student of Deepak Chopra for 15 years. Miesbach is the author of From Grief to Joy: A Journey Back to Life and Living and  is a certified yoga and meditation instructor, having received her certification at the Chopra Center. “I’ve been searching all this time” to find meditation that connected with her soul, and it took the death of her husband to lead […]

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God Wants Us to Grow and Evolve in Our Grief

The sense of separation when a loved one dies can be very painful. What we may not yet have realized is that just because you can’t see your loved ones doesn’t mean they aren’t with you. You are always connected in your heart. Love does not die. In love, there is no separation. One love, one heart. Just thinking of someone consciously connects you to them. Yes, the parting is hard, but it isn’t forever, and even though the “separation” seems so real right now, at some deep level we are all very much connected. Sometimes you may even feel […]

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Nourish Yourself, One Day at a Time

It is so easy to feel overwhelmed after the loss of a loved one. Routines have changed. Responsibilities have changed. Everything seems so different, and while it is true that nothing will ever be the same again, life does continue. Working through grief teaches us great lessons and broadens our vision as we discover not only that life does not end, love does not end either. While it is true that the physical body does not last forever, the relationship we had is still there. The love continues. In the meantime, there is much we can do to help ourselves […]

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Finding a Larger Meaning: Suffering Can Open Us Up

Challenge is a necessary part of life. And no one is exempt. That includes people like author-teacher extraordinaire Jean Houston. Being “famous” didn’t allow her to opt out of the process. So here are some of her conclusions after meeting difficult times: 1. “It is absolutely essential to look at what happened in fresh ways. A change in perspective can lead to the way out.” 2. “As much as you can, stop mentally re-living what happened that was so painful. As long as you focus on the pain, you will have pain. When you look for a broader landscape, you […]

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Unending Love: Death Does Not End the Relationship

One of the things that makes it so difficult to adjust after losing a loved one is the absence of their physical presence, and while there is no denying that we cannot see them anymore, the love is still there, and that love is a link that cannot be broken. One could even say it is our eternal connection to each other. That love is what joins us in spirit, whether we are in the body or not. Some of my children live 1500 miles from here, and yet we are very close. Our love for each other connects us […]

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A Dozen Bereavement Tips for Getting Through the Holidays

Years ago, when my minister told me the holidays are difficult for a lot of people, I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Why on earth would such a joyous time be difficult? That all changed when I was working my way through the sudden loss of husband and both parents. The holidays, I quickly learned, can indeed be difficult. I also learned there are some things you can do to make them a little easier. Here are some of the things that helped me: 1. Nurture yourself every way you can ~ in big ways and […]

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Accepting What We Cannot Change

Life is very much a continual weaning process. We come into the world dependent on other people, but over the course of time we are forced more and more to rely not so much on others as on That which is within us which is both our Source and Sustainer. I’m talking about learning to put your hand in the only Hand that can lead you not only through life but through death as well. The process begins when death first comes into our lives as children through the gradual loss of family and friends, and it does not end […]

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