November 21, 2013

Alignment Within

by Judith Bobbe, LCSW

There is a capacity inside each of us that is filled with strength, calm and personal freedom. This mysterious source of wisdom is always there, always available to be tapped into for guidance.

Your own soul is that part of you that resides in you, beyond the reach of anxiety depression and discouragement. It is eternal and can be accessed in stillness.

Inner life is by its nature quiet and the outer world is very distracting.

How do we turn within when the world is so compelling to our attention?

Awareness of our true nature, that spacious open sense of self, evolves naturally from practices of stillness.

Self- judgment can stop us in our tracks as meditation or mindfulness practice begins, and even as practice progresses. Negative thoughts and feelings discourage us from developing practices of self-inquiry. So, how can these obstacles be overcome?

The first step is to realize that self- judgments, doubt and skepticism are extremely natural as we begin new practices.

There is nothing wrong with you if you have attempted practices of self- awareness, and have stopped. Doubt, uncertainty or confusion about introspective processes are a part of practice for everyone. If you welcome this awareness in, as part of learning how to be with yourself, you can develop real curiosity and patience. If you make room for the doubt and the discomfort as natural, you will progress with greater success.

The proper guidance and encouragement is all you need to keep trying, and before long the benefits of practice will compel you little by little, to continue.

You don’t have to be able to sit on a meditation cushion, or even in a chair for long periods of time, to be able to learn how to look inwards with curiosity and confidence.

for more see my website:

http://www.personal-discovery-chicago.com

http://www.personal-discovery-chicago.com/meditationmindfulness.html

November 9, 2013

The Light Within

by Judith Bobbe, LCSW

“In me there is a light that lights the whole world.” – Rod Stryker

How many of us ever get to experience the true infinite power and expansiveness of our own potential? In my experience as a therapist and as a person living in this world, not many people ever get close to really knowing their own limitless potential.

It is said that we use only a small portion of our brain’s capacity. What, in addition, do we use of the capacity of our soul?

Many people who suffer from depression, anxiety, and other very common problems, are unaware of the power and resourcefulness of their own soul.

I am not using the word soul in a religious sense but in a sense of all of those intuitive wise and mysterious capacities that reside deep within us.

Often it takes a calamity or a trauma like a car accident or serious illness, for people to look more deeply into who they are, and to discover a meaningful life purpose that may have been elusive before. To be shaken to the core by a traumatic event can be a positively life changing experience for people who use the moment to re- actualize and transform themselves.

You can begin to transform yourself, as well, by simply learning how to look more carefully at who you are and to be encouraged to persist in discovering your own true inner self.

As a therapist working with people who feel trapped by their emotions and stuck in non- productive habits, I see that when people are taught how to look more deeply into themselves, into the more mysterious realms of thought feeling and intuition, they discover that they really are much more of a person than their symptoms and problems allow them to believe.

Healing is not only about understanding the past but also about learning how to develop the fire within you that burns with an infinite capacity for creativity, growth and joy. Difficult feelings which have dragged you down, and the impact of the past, can begin to fall away and to become much more faint in their influence over you.

Positive beliefs about your own potential begin to grow with a glow which is undeniable so that changes becomes more natural and easy to accomplish.

This is the path of real personal freedom.

for more see my website: http://www.personal-discovery-chicago.com

http://www.personal-discovery-chicago.com/meditationmindfulness.html

November 1, 2013

Remembering, Living, Exploring

by Judith Bobbe, LCSW

“The best of modern therapy is much like a process of shared meditation, where therapist and client sit together, learning to pay close attention to those aspects and dimensions of the self that the client bay be unable to touch on his or her own.” Jack Kornfield, A Path With Heart.

It is important to remember and understand the past. We need to understand who we are in the context of our past experiences. Our influences from early life determine the way we each cope with life.

Remembering and understanding the past, however, does not in itself create change. People often feel trapped in habits and behavior patterns which were established earlier in life, and want to understand how to change.

How can we get in touch with who we really are, beyond our expectations and beliefs?

Change and motivation grow in the present, out of openness and commitment to try new ways of behaving and thinking. In order to believe that change is possible, a different experience of who we are is the only really motivating force. Experiencing oneself differently, introduces hope and curiosity about how life might be better, if we take the risk to grow and change.

When we try new activities that expand our perceptions of ourselves, the courage to change begins. We discover aspects of our own strengths and capacities.

Practices such as Yoga, meditation, deep relaxation, journaling, making art, and other creative activities, transcend our normal life flow, and provide access to richer aspects of ourselves. These experiences reveal to us a sense of ourselves that is deeper and broader than our habitual ways of knowing who we are. Inner life exploration grounded in mind- body expansion and discovery, and in creative activity, teach us that we are more than we think we are. Exploration teaches us that there is a level of reality within us that is infinitely wise, strong and clear.

Habitual thought patterns, the demands of work, responsibilities to others, and the outside world, can combine to make it seem almost illusory that it is possible to get in touch with our intuitive strengths. It seems illusory but it is a reality. It really is possible for anyone who commits to try, to discover their own vast inner world of strength , and I can be your guide in this process of self-discovery. Your own inner world is a part of you that is deeper than any of the symptoms of depression, anxiety, fear, or other states of mind which might seem inescapable to you.

Who are you when you sit in meditation? Who are you when you stretch and breathe into a yoga pose? Who are you when you are creative? What are the strengths that are waiting there inside of you to be discovered?

Inside each of us is an entire universe of boundless potential. In yoga philosophy, this is referred to as uncovering the dust that covers the soul, burning off the dust through practices.

Through encouragement and persistent practice, attention within, and real curiosity about our thoughts, we become more positive about ourselves. Life becomes a reality, to be lived and explored, with a whole new range of capacity for joy and freedom. Issues from the past can be healed with greater ease and comfort.

I am persistent, patient and dedicated to finding ways to help you to take the risk to grow, and to finding the ways that are best for you. I provide an array of tools to help you to discover more richness, meaning and the core of strength inside of you.

for more, see my website: http://www.personal-discovery-chicago.com

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