Hello there! I’ve been focusing on keeping this blog limited to clinically relevant information, my advice and perspective around healing. This bit below isn’t entirely opposite of that, but the original purpose of the words was fulfilling my desire to share a bit about myself on my social media accounts.
Still, I think it can be helpful sometimes to know who you’ll be talking to in a session, assuming you don’t just start snoozing! I do my best to translate my perspective to fit whoever I’m working with, but the bits below are closest to my unfiltered perspective on people and life.
If you don’t know the folks in the first line, feel free to look them up, both have a pretty strong online presence, and a lot of good talks & writing. Without further ado:
I think my perspective on life is 50% Alain de Botton, and 50% Ram Dass. Half psychology, and half spiritual.
The former essentially says we’re each individually kind of a mess and that’s okay. The latter saying essentially that we’re unified ultimately by an infinitely wise and loving Oneness.
I think either perspective might be hard to take on depending on the person. Of the two I think the psychology is easier to argue, certainly easier to study and prove that we all have various neuroses and coping mechanisms we pick up. We all have our aspects of enduring immaturity and ridiculousness, and yet somehow we muddle through. I think many people make the mistake of thinking they’re uniquely messed up when I think the awareness and willingness to continue to work on oneself is the unique part, not the wounds.
The spiritual side is one I’ve long struggled internally to argue. And I’ve concluded, it’s not something meant for debate. I don’t think there’s any particular words that can beat out a single heart breaking story of life’s horrendously challenging ways.
I think it’s experiences of loss, prayer, meditation, psychedelics, various ways people come to actually touch and connect with this universal Love that changes people in ways that words just can’t adequately convey.
And in that way psychology and spirituality are similar: people have to find the humility to choose to try something different. Usually it’s through significant hardship that people really put in the work to second guess their own viewpoint of the world. And despite however much good intention exists, no one can do that work for someone else.
I really like this rabbit, to me it symbolizes vulnerability and boundaries. The capacity to love one’s self enough to protect yourself.
I think its helpful to acknowledge both, that we’re so foundationally all in this together and that life can be confusing and scary and cause people to act unkind and harmful out of ignorance and fear.
So, here’s to all of us, here’s to being kind and loving to ourselves and each other. And to this badass rabbit with a morning star flail thingie.
