Category: Spirituality
The Good Therapy Blog
January 25th, 2012 |
From sex and relationships, to confusion about career and life choices, to those persistent and pesky maladies of the mind like anxiety and depression, past-life regression therapy can heal the mind and body.
Past-life regression is a form of therapy commonly known as hypnotherapy. But hypnotherapy, in my opinion, is just a term for a philosophy that has the potential to go much deeper.
What is typically referred to as a state of hypnosis comes with a lot of stigmas and preconceived notions. The layperson has come to see hypnosis as a trance-like state, much like a zombie. In actuality, however,... Read More
January 18th, 2012 |
Expressive Arts Therapy bridges the gap between the conscious and the unconscious. It can bring light to areas of therapy that are blocked, inhibited, and stuck, as well as bringing greater focus to those areas of concern. The primary focus is on the process, which allows the client to discover new insight and meaning that might not be achieved with traditional talk therapy. Appropriate for all ages, it can enhance each person’s emotional, spiritual, cognitive, and physical well-being. While no talent in the use of expressive arts is required, several modalities available to the client within... Read More
January 5th, 2012 |
The majority of Americans believe in a higher power or God. Eighty percent of people living in the United States are affiliated with a structured form of religion, and the majority of those people consider their faith a significant aspect of their lives. “Thus, religion is likely to impact the lives of many counseling and therapy clients in the United States and may even play an integral part in their therapy,” said Marilyn A. Cornish of the Department of Psychology at Iowa State University. “A number of studies have... Read More
© Copyright 2012 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Pleasant Hill Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
December 29th, 2011 |
Last month, one of my readers felt shortchanged by my article on suffering. Not to be defensive about it, but the editors changed my original title [Ed. note: "Suffering" was the original title of November's article]. Nevertheless, perhaps it would be worthwhile to give my suggestions on how to survive painful and difficult periods in our lives whether they are physical, emotional, spiritual, financial or a combination of the above.
Historically, suffering has been viewed through many different lenses. There are those who feel that suffering in this life will be rewarded in the next. Others... Read More
December 29th, 2011 |
“Estimates from the U.S. Department of Justice indicate between 21% and 38% of households with partner violence had children under the age of 12 years living in the home and, among urban households, 60% of children witnessed the violence,” said Gerald Gonzales of the Department of Counseling Psychology & Human Services at the University of Oregon, and lead author of a recent study examining resiliency in men who experienced abuse in their childhoods.... Read More
© Copyright 2011 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Olympia Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
December 23rd, 2011 |
Some would say the winter solstice is a moment of equality, in which there is equal light and equal dark. It is also a moment of reversal. The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. I like metaphors, so to me, winter solstice is about embracing opposites, or seeming opposites like light and dark. Like the yin yang symbol, they are parts that go together, equal parts of a whole. Like phases of the moon, there is a shifting from light to dark and back again. At the moment we embrace opposites, or shifting between... Read More
December 3rd, 2011 |
Part One: Finding Source Energy
In 1983, when diagnosed with a rare, deadly cancer, I sought the assistance of spiritual healer, Barbara Ann Brennan. She realigned my energy fields which seemingly helped put my cancer into remission, much to the surprise of my oncologist. It was the beginning of my understanding of Source Energy.
Whether this energy is called spirit, God, Higher Power or the universe, it clearly is something that we just feel. In whatever way it can be sensed, be it as stillness, wave vibrations, presence, feeling awakened or connected, it’s a universal force found in... Read More
November 29th, 2011 |
Confession: I often get take-out from Whole Foods Market, which is just a short walk from my New York City apartment. Mostly it’s because I’m tired or lazy or haven’t been organized enough to stock my refrigerator.
Anyway, this is not an article about Whole Foods; it’s about suffering, or what I imagined to be suffering, and how it deeply affected me. For the most part, I would say I’m aware of the suffering in the world, but so as not to be overwhelmed by it, I compartmentalize some of the feelings. I need to be attuned to suffering in my work, and I do read up on local and world... Read More
October 31st, 2011 |
Every so often I will be treating a couple, one of whom says that the other doesn’t care about religion or spiritual matters. The complainant may cite a lack of support for his or her spiritual or religious activities. Sometimes the partner resents the time devoted to religious/spiritual pursuits. Sometimes one or the other person feels alone when it comes to events that are more couple or family oriented (such as holiday celebrations). In my religion, the Yoruba/Lucumi faith, the activities, initiations, drumming, etc. are so labor-intensive, it is hard to imagine being with someone who isn’t... Read More
September 26th, 2011 |
I took a break from writing my monthly article this past summer because I thought I was running out of things to write about. I also knew that it was going to be a tumultuous time for me, and I wanted to be fully in the experience and not have to be concerned about deadlines. It may seem that 600 words is not a lot, but when you’re struggling, it can be the same as having to write a novel.
As predicted, the summer was difficult for me personally and for the world. There has been a lot of cleaning and clearing going on, most of which has been dramatic and life-changing. Much of it has been... Read More
September 14th, 2011 |
The final paramita, or practice leading to happiness, is Prajna, or Wisdom. This is not the wisdom that comes with age or long study. This is the wisdom of seeing what is actually happening in any given moment. This is discriminating awareness, which can tell the difference between our imagined storylines about what is going on, and what is true. It is the wisdom of clarity, and acceptance, and it requires more than a little awareness and courage. It is the wisdom of accurate reporting.
Awareness helps us to see what it is that we may not be seeing. Courage helps us to accept that things are... Read More
September 9th, 2011 |
When I hear the clients in my psychotherapy and grief counseling practice talk in black and white terms, or view their options in terms of extremes, I am reminded of the Buddhist concept of the Middle Way. When the Buddha was asked how one should meditate, he responded, "not too tight, not too loose." He analogized this to a string instrument, like a lute: If the strings of the lute are too tight, they will break, and if the strings of the lute are too loose, they won't play.
So it is as we live our lives. Ideally, we strive to find a middle way where the "strings" of our life can resonate.... Read More
April 28th, 2011 |
This month our Paramita, or practice on the path towards happiness, is Patience. The practice of patience involves a shift in our perspective. Buddhist teacher Sylvia Boorstein says patience “…remains present as long as the mind remembers that things end…when their conditioning causes end...” Conditioning causes are the elements that are coming together in this particular place and time that are causing us stress. In other words, have patience, this too shall pass.
Note: stress could be celebrated as the only opportunity we have to practice patience. Of course, our habitual tendency... Read More
March 31st, 2011 |
When he was three months old, my firstborn child was diagnosed with a choroid plexus carcinoma, a rare, aggressive brain tumor that grows on the structure inside the brain that makes cerebral spinal fluid. Two weeks after the initial resection of the tumor, and two more subsequent surgeries to drain fluid from his brain, he endured his first chemotherapy treatment. Three days following the administration of the chemo, a CT scan revealed that his brain was completely destroyed. The scan showed no healthy tissue. Doctors called it “total neurological devastation.”
If somehow, after 70 weeks... Read More