http://beyondmeds.com/2014/10/19/secret-jewels-of-the-darkness/
Click on the link to visit http://www.beyondmeds.com for this lovely post on the therapeutic journey into wholeness (be that through talking therapy or any of the many, many other paths). Matt puts this in terms of moving from the known to the unknown, the energetic and emotional demands of this process and the inevitable fear, uncertainty and confusion.
As he acknowledges, ‘You very naturally want the path of the heart to feel safe’ – and often it does not, even if you reach points along the way where ‘you’re feeling more alive than you’ve ever felt’. His view (and ours) is that this path is safe, but brings immense challenges to our sense of self – egoic death – and so threatens our sense of safety, posing the question: ‘what will happen to the great drama and narrative of “me”?’. What of ourselves, our stories of ourselves, our dearest hopes and dreams may we be called upon to surrender, in the process of death and rebirth into fuller being?
We love Matt’s allusion to Chogyam Trungpa’s insight: ‘enlightenment is ego’s ultimate disappointment’.
And we resonate with his conclusion – as Rogers would have done:-
‘The aliveness, presence, and connection you are longing for will only ever found in the very center of every feeling, emotion, and sensation you have disowned and disconnected from up until now.’
That is the potential of therapeutic work, and of the adventure of being alive. It’s not an easy journey, and it can be an intensely painful, frightening one that appears to threaten the very core of who we think we are – yet it is only by travelling this path of ‘wild love’ that we can come home to ourselves, to wholeness, and uncover our ‘intimacy with all things’.
Palace Gate Counselling Service, Exeter
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