These sessions will begin with a contemplative exploration of the day’s theme, followed by a guided meditation, then some time for open discussion, approximately an hour total. Some of the topics we will cover will include working with our inner child, shadow work, moving through grief, releasing trauma, how to reach deep wounds, letting go, and finding our true selves. The first and last sessions will be an opening and closing, the middle twelve sessions will roughly follow the arc of the transformative process, keeping in mind this is a spiral experience, and each time we go around it is new yet familiar in some ways. This begins with getting to know oneself, through facing the difficult things and letting go, and into integration and establishing in our new self.
Everyone has different pain and experiences, a different path to healing, and a unique internal world, no one other than ourselves will know what is truly best for us, nor have all the answers we seek. Yet there are commonalities and consistencies across all paths that can be discussed, and much of it comes down to working with our own nervous systems, expanding our capacity to hold life’s difficulties as well as joys. In the discussions and meditations we will cover general knowledge about what is possible and available to everyone, and approaches to the work of self-healing that can be of use to anyone.
It is not necessary to have any belief system to do the work of healing oneself, but there is a need for connecting to love and self-compassion, which people often find through some form of faith or spirituality. Access to this love is an inherently human experience, and all are welcome no matter how they approach this, all the way from an entirely neutral or scientific worldview, to one that is deeply religious. Your path is yours and this program is here to support you on it, not define or judge how you experience it. There will be some discussion about how the the scientific and spiritual approaches cross over, and how there tend to be road blocks that keep us from our most transformative work no matter how we approach it, each system having its own limiting tendencies.
Meditation can often be intimidating for those who are unfamiliar with it, or find that sitting still is difficult, these sessions are meant to be freeing, and while we do our best not to disturb others, there will be no requirement to hold yourself still, sometimes movement is what brings our minds into calm. No prior experience with meditation is necessary, in this program it is viewed as a tool, not an art to be mastered.