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Embracing the Suck

9/2/2020

Embracing the suck is a military expression used to mentally push through the difficult trainings and harsh conditions. It is the understanding that, although things are unpleasant, the situation is unavoidable and you have to get through it to be better in the end. Therapy in and of itself is learning how to embrace the suck as addressing concerns, creating awareness, setting boundaries, letting go of people, practicing forgiveness, and changing maladaptive habits is incredibly unpleasant.

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Illusions of Life

7/20/2020

I had a conversation with someone about statements / interviews Jim Carrey made a couple years ago. Jim Carrey talked about how "depression is your body saying, 'I don't want to be this character anymore. I don't want to hold up this avatar that you've created in the world. It's too much for me.'" He goes on to describe how spiritually he sees depression as a state of "deep rest" from this character, almost like a recharge. There is alignment in what he explains in what I discuss with clients.

How to Protest Everyday

5/31/2020

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Nonviolence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Before I could address what is happening in our country with race relations, I wanted to look deep into my values. I reflected on my experiences as a person of color in this country; as someone whose father marched during the Civil Rights Movement; as someone whose grandfather fought in WWII, married a Frenchwoman and brought his mixed race family back to the U.S. during a time when his marriage would be illegal in most states.

So, What is Forgiveness Anyways?

4/27/2020

For many of my clients, dealing with trauma from our past and present requires the ability to forgive. How people define forgiveness and what they do to practice forgiveness can vary and it can be a difficult process to face. I talk with clients about learning to forgive in three stages.

First, we must understand the person that hurt us is in pain from whatever has happened in their life. They may intentionally, but usually unintentionally, be inflicting pain on other people as a result of their own hurt. We hold on to our anger because we feel that this person should be "punished" for what they have done. When we choose to forgive we have decided not to seek revenge, not to retaliate. We have decided to let go of the pain being placed upon us and to free ourselves of resentment. This is not a process that is done with the other person; it is an internal release to set us free, whether or not that person has acknowledged their wrongs. The Buddhist see forgiveness as a "gift" to both us and the person who has harmed us, as we have freed our energies from a cycle of pain.

Embracing the Suck

Illusions of Life

How to Protest Everyday

So, What is Forgiveness Anyways?

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