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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