Practicing the Presence of God>
God’s Sabbath rest for mind and soul>
The Healing Practice of Acceptance>
The Healing Practice of Acceptance
Psychotherapy can be understood as a healing process by which the fractured pieces of our mind, emotions and relationships come together. As our damaged sense of self and others increasingly integrate, we can better access our personal resources as well as become more available to life’s deeper satisfactions. It is in the context of acceptance and trust that healing and growth are possible and we can more fully participate in life and relationships
This particular understanding of psychotherapy’s process is compatible with God’s loving intention towards us, to hold and unite our life as the Source of all and our Sustainer. The purpose of this course is to learn and practice some of God’s simple ways for living which answer our complex needs for healing and wholeness. We will incorporate psychological concepts and practices to help sharpen our apprehension of God’s ways which He makes available for us in the life of His Son, Jesus
Classes will seek to better understand and apply God’s healing ways, which begin with His acceptance of us in Jesus
Class 1: God, our holy Other, and Boundaries - God's holiness is His absolute boundary with His creation. Accepting our boundaries with God and others clarifies the value of these relationships
Class 2: Acceptance and change - Acceptance is not resignation. It is our will actively affirming what is. Acceptance prepares us for change by enabling us to participate more fully in life’s present dynamic of receiving and responding
Class 3: Focused awareness - We invest our value and efforts on the objects of our attention, which in turn shape us. Our focus can narrow our world by the stress of negative expectations and judgments or expand it with the possibilities of God’s gifts
Class 4: Basic trust - Basic trust is our personal grounding that enables us to receive and respond to life. As broken trust heals, we learn to be more safely vulnerable and risk receiving what He intends for us
Class 5: Relationships and the forming of self - Relationships inform and form the quality of our life and identity. Learning to accept the nature, extent and limits of our different relationships allows these bonds to deepen as God intends them to be
Class 6: The value of suffering - One of life’s greatest stressors is suffering. Learning to accept suffering from God transforms our experience of and response to it
Class 7: The isolation of addiction - Addictions or addictive patterns isolate important aspects of self and fractures our will. Accepting these addictive patterns changes our experience of them and clarifies what is needed for living with them
Class 8: God's voice among voices - God meets us where we are, speaks to us as we are, and heals us as He is able. God's deepest healings begin with accepting our brokenness, in Him