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Tag Archives: reflection
Our Mother’s Moulding
Understanding our mom’s past brings clarity and compassion to our own story
In order for each of us to become our own person we need to leave our mother’s force field. Co-dependence with her is easy and good as a starting point, but it’s not a good ending point.
To help young men and women with this journey to self-hood, many cultures have rituals which are significant both for the mother and her child. For us in the West, often all we get when we turn 21 is a key that doesn’t fit anywhere or open anything. For us it’s an ongoing process of learning to trust our way of seeing instead of always deferring to our mother’s opinion. This isn’t an easy shift as, for many of our growing years, her well-intentioned choices decided how we should behave in ways she felt were socially appropriate. We often conformed without question simply for fear of rejection or being ostracized. Continue reading Our Mother’s Moulding
Finding Healing for What We have Received
Our mother’s role in learning to trust ourselves
Our ability to relate is a learnt skill and all our lives we continue this journey of learning to relate. Our mother’s womb was a special place, a perfect environment where all our physical needs were met. Though we were tiny we read her emotional force field very well. When we registered negative emotions we developed patterns about our own ability to trust ourselves and the world around us.
Continue reading Finding Healing for What We have Received
Do We Really Want to Change?
Looking at the patterns of identity we’ve learned from our father
Most often, when we define ourselves, we think of our material successes as if our inherent worth is measured by the amount of money we have. If we find our identity in many external things – what we own, what people think of us, who we aspire to be like – then our true identity is stolen from us. Continue reading Do We Really Want to Change?
Resonating words from last Monday’s Session
Resonating words
from last Monday’s Sans Pareil Session by participants:
“Make your own dreams & decisions and we’ll be there with you, and happy that you have made them.”
“The idea that Dad’s ideas and words become my inner voice.”
“Feelings we are not familiar with are not necessarily our enemy.”
“My desires are legitimate.”
“…Dying to my old way of seeing things.”
“The simplicity of the invitation to respond differently.”
Our Body Speaks
Our subconscious has amazing coherence about who we are. It gives us ongoing tell-tales to encourage us to explore our inner drama further so we can find deeper integration and healing.
We all hold reality in different ways. In our heads we may carry an ideal of how things should be, but this sets us up for disappointment. Though it might give us nice feelings for a while, it is disconnected from our fuller reality. Continue reading Our Body Speaks
Why We Retreat
An integral part of the spiritual life is time set aside to be alone with God. Our connection with God, as with any other relationship, needs special time together for it to grow and mature. On a retreat we have an opportunity to rest and to wander through time, looking at our ways of relating and being with God and listening to Him. Here we can explore our feelings and share them with God and He can share His with us. These feelings tell us the true state of our relationship and also what may be needed as we seek to draw closer to our Lord. Continue reading Why We Retreat