Coming Back & Finding Strength

Hi folks,

It has been a while. The life of parenting a newborn is as all-encompassing as they say, and as tiring. That it is also happening while the overall economy is in turmoil, and the country's consciousness about what could happen is so shaky, well, that's an added stressor. Because a lack of sleep definitely impacts my psyche, and the lack of time has definitely impacted my spiritual practices.

But I can happily reporting that things are slowly returning to a new normal as my son gets over the 3-month-old mark and starts to sleep more at night - a new homeostasis.

And I had a month or two where I let all the worries and fears, especially about scarcity and separation (that there isn't enough, and that you and I and Spirit and I are disconnected) get to me a bit. Not good times. And when it got bad enough, I reached out to friends to help. And they reminded me of all the good, and they reminded me to turn into what I already knew. And holy moly, has that made the difference.

So, I guess the moral of the story for this post is that when you get scared, get worried, lose faith, or lose your way - turn to a friend. Turn to someone who can remind you of the good. Who will dust you off, and turn you around. I know you have them, I just do. And I bet you've done it for friends and colleagues in your life.

Finally, I have two posts I am working on - one about lowering fees during this time, and the other about scarcity and separation and fear (versus Abundance, Unity, and Faith). But those are for another night.

Until then, I wish you the best. Keep doing all the good you do - it is needed now more than ever.

Best, Your Grateful Guy

PS - and sleep is always the best thing to check when anyone's head is messed up. I was gifted with a full night's sleep on Sunday and I was a new man the next day.

Community Support: Taking Refuge in the Sangha

Buddhists talk about taking refuge in 3 things: the Buddha, the Dharma (teachings), and the Sangha (spiritual community). I wanted to chat for a moment about Sangha.

There are times when all of us are stressed, or have some loss of faith. One of the most effective things I've found in those times is Sangha, my spiritual community. This can be any group of like-minded people, who support one another. It can be through any medium (in-person, email, phone, online forum).

Sanghas I have been in have usually been clear in their intention - as a place to voice both faith and doubt; as a place to be supported and give support; as a place to lend and to borrow faith; as a place to remind and be reminded of Truth.

I think it can be easy to "go it alone" when you're in private practice. After all, we therapists sit in a room with our clients, with no backup in the moment. And we usually have no one else to be accountable to about our business results. We even have quite strict policies about discussing our cases (and from our inherent role we may develop strict policies about talking about our own pains and weaknesses).

I want to encourage anyone reading this to find spiritual support in community. In Sangha.

Peace, Your Grateful Guy

PS - I wanted to come back and add a quick thought: the concept of spiritual community certainly isn't limited to Buddhist thought. In Christian thought, fellowship and "where two or more are gathered" are well known ideas. While I am not as conversant in Islam or Judaism, I would imagine there are similar ideas there too.