Comments on: The Sacrament of Penance and Therapy http://www.perryhazeltine.com/2010/01/the-sacrament-of-penance-and-psychotherapy-2/ therapy and psychological services Thu, 10 Jun 2010 22:48:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kedren http://www.perryhazeltine.com/2010/01/the-sacrament-of-penance-and-psychotherapy-2/comment-page-1/#comment-183 Kedren Thu, 10 Jun 2010 22:48:08 +0000 http://www.perryhazeltine.com/2010/01/the-sacrament-of-pennance-and-psychotherapy/#comment-183 I had to pause and repeat the paragraph introducing us to Fear, Shame and Guilt. The worst moments happen because we have disconnected that three pronged Fear, Shame and Guilt cable from our hearts and brains (and other body parts, too). Disconnecting this cable seems to be an increasingly common and simple procedure when one begins to consider one's actions in relation to the rest of the world. "I'm not so bad afterall." Relativism will get us nowhere when the bar is dismally low. The people I know who have behaved unforgivably for long periods(including me) stop gauging their fear/shame/guilt. When we are at our worst, it is in part because we have allowed ourselves to become INAUTHENTIC. I think the greatest contribution that therapy makes is to enable us to become AUTHENTIC again with ourselves. Offering courage and tools and the removal of blinders is noble work. Once a person starts to authentically see what they've done to themselves and others in the community, they may start to crave religion - including community acceptance. On a personal note, my first confession was powerful as I sat face to face with a priest. However, as I walked out of the church, a cranky old tough judger shot me the most beautiful SMILE of EMPATHY AND LOVE. That connection was transformative. Since 'the smile' (and boy oh boy did that person know what a thoroughly rotten egg I had been), I see myself as a new person (and incidentally, I probably behave better because of it, too). I had to pause and repeat the paragraph introducing us to Fear, Shame and Guilt. The worst moments happen because we have disconnected that three pronged Fear, Shame and Guilt cable from our hearts and brains (and other body parts, too). Disconnecting this cable seems to be an increasingly common and simple procedure when one begins to consider one’s actions in relation to the rest of the world. “I’m not so bad afterall.” Relativism will get us nowhere when the bar is dismally low.

The people I know who have behaved unforgivably for long periods(including me) stop gauging their fear/shame/guilt. When we are at our worst, it is in part because we have allowed ourselves to become INAUTHENTIC.

I think the greatest contribution that therapy makes is to enable us to become AUTHENTIC again with ourselves. Offering courage and tools and the removal of blinders is noble work.

Once a person starts to authentically see what they’ve done to themselves and others in the community, they may start to crave religion – including community acceptance.

On a personal note, my first confession was powerful as I sat face to face with a priest. However, as I walked out of the church, a cranky old tough judger shot me the most beautiful SMILE of EMPATHY AND LOVE. That connection was transformative. Since ‘the smile’ (and boy oh boy did that person know what a thoroughly rotten egg I had been), I see myself as a new person (and incidentally, I probably behave better because of it, too).

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