OUR SOUL

It is interesting that Psychology is derived from the word Psyche which is interpreted “soul”, yet the Encyclopedia of Psychology has no entry for the soul. In our previous blog “we are one”, we explored the impact of Quantum Physics on our modern spiritual journey and showed how this science breakthrough clearly demonstrates how all things are connected, as all things begin and end as energy.

As we discussed, this energy comes from one source and we are one with this energy. Most spiritual journeys agree this creative energy source is God.

As theologian George Hermes states:
 From one Soul of the Universe are all Souls derived.

If we truly are one, then why are we so divided in so many ways? One common reason for this is we do not understand how we are all connected by the energy of our souls, for it is the soul, which connects us to the core of all life, God. 

If I go to the ocean and fill a glass of water, I have the ocean in the glass. It may lack the power and dynamic of the ocean, but it is one with it. We are the glass filled with the energy of God, we may lack the power and dynamic of the source, but we are still one with it.

If we don’t believe in God, then we are on a journey, which will be controlled by our interaction with the physical and not consciously part of the soul. However, even if we are thinking we are disconnected and do not believe in God, we are truly still connected by this soul energy; we are simply not taking advantage of the power this energy provides.

We do not have a soul, we are a soul and this is the common basis of all relationships. If I allow the human, physical world to define relationship, then I will be at the mercy of the ever changing and unpredictable natural world.

But if I connect to who I am as soul and merge this connection with another soul, then this relationship will have the ability to be guided by the strength and beauty of the universal source of the soul. 

WE ARE LIKE ISLANDS IN THE SEA, SEPARATE ON THE SURFACE BUT CONNECTED IN THE DEEP. 

 WILLIAM JAMES 

These thoughts depict the relationship reality for both romantic connection and friendship with others. But the true relationship begins with the relationship to who we are as individuals, for we are not someone who has a soul, we are the soul. 

Thoughts for the Journey of Life

Over the last years, as a couple and as practicing therapists, we watched our journey take many different detours and adjustments, but as a couple we have tenaciously held on to our journey plan of loving each other and making the best of what we experienced.

The new book is a compilation of some thoughts and exercises from our journey, which we anticipate may help others as a roadmap or a GPS to keep them on course in order to reach their destinations.

For more information on how to order our book (click here).

We are One

In the last One Hundred years, our understanding of life has undergone a major evolution, which is easily understood but often either rejected or ignored. 

Until Albert Einstein gave the world the birth of Quantum Physics, our understanding of life was based on the belief that all things in life were separate from each other. A tree was a tree and thus was separate from the river and earth. As people we defined our self by our differences, which separated us from the other things around us.

Quantum Physics demonstrates all things are energy and thus not separate from each other but actually one. If we break all matter down to its smallest component, we find it is not solid material; rather it is energy, which is used to form matter but not limited by the matter it forms.

What does this mean to human existence both as individuals and in relationships?

Simple: We are all one. Not male, female, red, white, yellow, black, rich, poor – Just one.

Then why do we treat others so dreadfully? – Because we just don’t buy into the thought of one.

All this energy is not simply random; it is part of a greater source, which is the creator of all energy. This source is what most of us call God.

Think about this for a minute:

Genesis Ch.1

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 

4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 

5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day

When there was nothing, the source of all things brought all the existing energy together and made something. It wasn’t separate from the source; it was one, just in a new shape.

Obviously, this thought can be debated from a hundred angles, but the reality is, we are all one, from one source. We are not separate but one.

How does this change our life? Jesus left us with one solid insight which we need to truly understand.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.

Mark12:30,31

Love your neighbor as you love yourself. 

If I am one with my neighbor, then I love them as I love myself. 

Big problem is, do we love our self? 

Every human has traits and thoughts, which make the journey difficult and we will find fault with our self because of these negative traits, but our core is the positive creative energy, which unites us with others. We may not like all we do or think, and we may not care for all that others do or think, but at the core we are all one, created out of positive energy by the true source of all energy.

Relationships are simply an extension of each other. 

Love the essence of all, 

even if you don’t like the actions. 

Love never fails.

Thoughts for the Journey of Life

Over the last years, as a couple and as practicing therapists, we watched our journey take many different detours and adjustments, but as a couple we have tenaciously held on to our journey plan of loving each other and making the best of what we experienced.

The new book is a compilation of some thoughts and exercises from our journey, which we anticipate may help others as a roadmap or a GPS to keep them on course in order to reach their destinations.

For more information on how to order our book (click here).

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The A,B,C's of Life

Our therapy base is called Cognitive/Behavioral Therapy and is modeled after Albert Ellis, the father of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy.

The outline of this therapy is :

A = Activating event,  Something going on in the world around us.

B = Belief about the "something going on in the world around us".

C = The consequence  Our emotions about what we (B) believe concerning (A) the Activating event in the world around us.

For example:
I wake up in the morning and it is raining (the A). I am angry at the rain (the C) because I wanted to go on a picnic and it shouldn't be raining (the B).

Our emotions, (in this case anger) the C, are always controlled by the A (It is raining) and the B (It should not be raining).

The key to this is all in the (B) Belief. When I make a strong demand on something (It shouldn't rain) then my EGO system (self protection/self evaluation) checks to see if this demand is being met by using the senses (I see it is raining, I hear the rain, I smell rain, etc.) When the EGO system discovers the demand (it shouldn't be raining) is not being met, it automatically assumes we are out of control and goes into fight (anger) or flight (depression, anxiety,guilt, etc) in order to protect us from the unfulfilled demand (B).

To keep healthy emotions, we have to be very conscious of what demands we are placing on the world around us (It should not rain; They must like me; They should be smarter; I must never make a mistake, etc.).

  VS 

To avoid unhealthy emotions (the C) we need to consciously not put strong demands (the B) on the world around us. If we change our demands (should, must, have to) to preference (wish, like, prefer) then we will not be trying to control the world and not setting off the EGO system into fight or flight emotions.

Preference example:
I see it is raining (A). I wish (B) (a preference not demand) it wasn't raining because I wanted to go on a picnic today. The rain is (C) disappointing, but maybe I will just go to a movie and have fun there.

To live a more peaceful and joyful life, put preferences on the world around you and try not to make strong demands on things you cannot control. 

In reality, in this world, we do not have control over anything accept for our own emotions. We may think we are controlling things, but any situation can change rapidly.

Remember the outline:

A. The Activating event which we see, feel, think, or experience.

B. What I Believe about this event. I can not control or change it so I will not put demands on it such as should or must, but will use preferences like wish, prefer, like, etc.

C. The consequence of what I believe, (disappointed, sad, concerned, etc. but not angry, depressed, anxious, etc,)

If you want to study this in more depth, We have a book on Amazon called Inner Space which goes into detail on how to walk in a peaceful and content journey of life. (click here for more information)

or

Thoughts for the Journey of Life

Over the last years, as a couple and as practicing therapists, we watched our journey take many different detours and adjustments, but as a couple we have tenaciously held on to our journey plan of loving each other and making the best of what we experienced.

The new book is a compilation of some thoughts and exercises from our journey, which we anticipate may help others as a roadmap or a GPS to keep them on course in order to reach their destinations.

For more information on how to order our book (click here).

Our new book

Over the last years, as a couple and as practicing therapists, we watched our journey take many different detours and adjustments, but as a couple we have tenaciously held on to our journey plan of loving each other and making the best of what we experienced.

The new book is a compilation of some thoughts and exercises from our journey, which we anticipate may help others as a roadmap or a GPS to keep them on course in order to reach their destinations.

For more information on how to order (click here)