Musings on Becoming a Psychotherapist
~ Morihei Ueshiba“Contemplate the workings of this world, listen to the words of the wise, and take all that is good as your own. With this as your base, open your own door to truth. Do not overlook the truth that is right before you… Learn from holy books and wise people. Everything-even mountains, rivers, plants and trees -should be your teacher.”
From Chrysalis to Butterfly:
During my twenties, I immersed myself in the intriguing arboretum of academia, attaining undergraduate and graduate degrees in Psychology, English literature, and Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I became passionately absorbed in a veritable feeding frenzy of learning, studying many interrelated and cross pollinating disciplines encompassing a broad spectrum from the humanities to the sciences. Each field illuminated different aspects of the human condition, propagated my general and specialized knowledge, and irrigated my personal self-explorations.
In my free time, I would run off to various retreat and holistic institutes to participate in a colorful, mixed border of workshops on psychological, sociopolitical and spiritual subjects ranging from feminist and men’s psychology to Jungian and transpersonal studies, as well as the exploration of a variety of mystical and spiritual traditions.
Becoming, at an early age, an avid bibliophile and student of human "horticulture" has been instrumental in elaborating my self-knowledge and capacity for reflective, analytical, and symbolic thinking. It has greatly enlarged my understanding of the complexities and permutations of the human psyche, helped me to cultivate skillful and nuanced expressive language skills and sensitized me to vastly interconnected and synergistic ways of knowing.
Being a forever seeker of new knowledge helps me not to stagnate within narrow and limited terrariums of understanding. I am continuously expanding and aerating my awareness in order to see vast and more intricate variations on "truth". This process has allowed me to live more freely outside the proverbial boxes and envision my inner depths as well as that of those I serve with fresh attention, abiding fascination, and mindful presence.
~ Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield"The secret of beginning a life of deep awareness and sensitivity lies in our willingness to pay attention….It is just simple attention that allows us truly to listen to the song of a bird, to see deeply the glory of an autumn leaf, to touch the heart of another and be touched. We need to be fully present in order to love a single thing wholeheartedly. We need to be fully awake in this moment if we are to receive and respond to the learning inherent in it."
My self-awareness and relational competencies, from my twenties to the present, have been greatly enriched by my personal relationships. These intimate bonds and close friendships have helped carry me back into the land of the living, have reinvigorated my reclaiming of more submerged parts of my self, have created a matrix of human stability and continuity, have sharpened my understanding of the elaborate array of character styles and wounds, have honed my ability to genuinely listen and honestly speak, and have introduced me to the growthful challenges and incomparable joys of being a self-in-connection rather than only a solitary being. These experiences have taught me how to stay both sturdily anchored in myself while remaining profoundly present with my clients in the face of emotional storms, jagged defenses as well as deafening silences. I have learned experientially and deeply the magnificent transformative and healing power of being deeply rooted in the transformational cocoon of human relationships.