Unlock the Power Within: Healing Through Parts Work and Mindfulness
Buckle yourself in—I’m going deep fast!
As a therapist (and lover of people), I have spent a lot of time in the past week talking, listening, regulating, reregulating, and hoping I have what it takes to live in this era of humanity.
It’s been hard, and I want to do it well to be there for each and every one of you, and for all people who deserve to feel safe in this world.
Our problem is that pesky othering. In fact, according to the podcast, Chitheads by Jacob Kyle, this week, is the VERY thing we MUST overcome.
(for those curious, “chit” in yogic philosophy, means pure consciousness and comprehension of the true nature of self)
This podcast reminded us of the kleshas, which are obstacles or core ignorances that make it hard to experience peace. They start with
- Spiritual ignorance that leads to the
- Development of ego (separateness from the whole), then
- The drive of attachment and desire, which devolves into
- Aversion and othering, and finally
- The fear of death.
As I see this, our ability to “other” others develops out of our ability to “other” ourself—seeing ourselves as separate and at competition for resources to the point of fear of death.
That proposed “self-othering” also happens on the level of parts. We’ve been talking about parts quite a bit in recent newsletters, and our desire to shut down different aspects while letting other parts take up “all the air” directly translates into rejecting similar parts in others. When we do that, we turn them into the enemy (at least foreigner)–outside of ourselves.
For example, I can reject people around me for hurting people I love. But I also must acknowledge the places where I cause similar harm, otherwise I am rejecting a part of myself! And if I can’t accept that part of myself, how will I ever be able to be part of true change? I must accept it all to make deeply informed decisions about how to engage or to invite people into new behaviors!!
We have ALL created this divisive reality.
So here’s my call to action this week. I find this reference to parts to be particularly poetic:
“Am I part of the cure; or am I part of the disease.”
Do you know the song “Clocks,” by Coldplay? True poetry if you want to check it out:
Clocks
“Clocks” reflects our very human desire to live life to the fullest, which to me necessitates self-reflection, acceptance of all of ourselves, and growing as a result of our insights.
So?
Are you part of the cure? Or are you part of the disease?
OF COURSE you are both. So am I. We all are.
We MUST face that we are a part of the disease if we want to be part of the cure!
And I want to encourage us all to be in reflection of these questions in coming days, weeks, months: “If I were to choose self-awareness and growth, and the person next to me were to choose self-awareness and growth, how different would the world be? Where am I blind to myself and where I am contributing to the ‘disease?’ How can I do my own deep healing and then take action to bring it to other? How can I be part of the cure?”
As Ghandi said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”