Dear Souls and Hearts Member, As we enter the final days of our liturgical year, the final days of November when autumn gives way to winter (at least for the 90% of us in the northern hemisphere – YMMV, Argentinians, South Africans, Australians and New Zealanders) we consider the eschatological themes, the four final things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. The readings for the daily Masses are focused on the ends of eras, the ends of kingdoms, the end of the world, and the second coming of our Lord. It is a time for us to pray for the dead, and to prepare ourselves for our own parti ..read more

Your Tor-Mentors: God's Gift to You at Thanksgiving Dear Souls and Hearts Member, Thanksgiving is again upon us -- the annual American holiday famous for family reunions, turkey feasts, televised football and backyard pick-up games, the Macy’s parade, afternoon naps and pumpkin pie.  A day specifically set aside for giving thanks to God for all the good things in our lives. This holiday brings our families together from near and far, a day when friends and neighbors break bread together. This annual celebration with its history and tradition also comes complete with all the ingredients ..read more

Image titled Danny Sullivan by Obligated, used under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 License Review of The Crowded Room TV series with a Brief History of Multiple Personality Disorder and Ego State Therapy By Gerry Crete, Ph.D. Warning: This program contains violence, sexual content, drug use, language, and disturbing emotional content. It is rated as TV-MA (for “mature” audiences). This program is not for children. Spoiler Warning: This review contains major spoilers. Background of the series The Crowded Room is a 10-episode series released o ..read more

Dear Souls and Hearts Members, I so appreciate when our Resilient Catholics Community members reach out to me with their struggles, allow me to accompany them into their inner worlds and to be with them.  Part of that “being with” involves listening to their questions and concerns.  Recently an RCC member whom I will call Beatrice (not her real name) sent me a message with questions related to her struggles with the Litany of Humility attributed to Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val y Zuelta (1865-1930). Beatrice agreed to share her questions and my responses in today’s weekly email: Hi D ..read more

   Photo Caption: St. Maximillian Kolbe at a messy desk.   Dear Souls and Hearts Member, Time for a confession: I hate most depictions of saints.  I hate the plaster statues of saints with frozen fake smiles, perfectly unnatural skin tones and glassy eyes, standing immobile forever in their alcoves and niches. I hate the stylized painted portraits of saints with their golden halos and frozen expressions of serenity in otherworldly peace. I hate the carefully curated stories of saints who glide from one peak of holiness to the next, embracing suffering with tranquilit ..read more

Your parts, IFS, and war in the Middle East Dear Souls and Hearts Member, Sometimes a week off just doesn’t pan out.  I am back this week despite my planned break.  My writer part couldn’t resist, and a self-led desire to share the fruits of my own interior work has inspired this week’s reflection. Three interconnected life events fueled this week’s (unexpected) reflection: Chronic sleeplessness Correspondence from an RCC member regarding current events in the Middle East Interior exploration and IFS parts work around my reaction to the correspondence I hope this reflection ..read more

How to help your parts get their needs met by working with daydreams Dear Souls and Hearts Member, In last week’s reflection, The eight steps to understand your parts through exploring your daydreams, we reviewed a structured way to discover our parts’ underlying unmet attachment and integrity needs which so often fuel our daydreams and fantasies.  As a resource to help you better understand your inner experience, I shared a new Souls and Hearts workheet: 8 steps to approach and explore your problematic daydreams.  Available for download in Word and also as ..read more

Dear Souls and Hearts Members, Last week’s reflection shed light on the deep interior work of St. Ignatius of Loyola, whose lengthy convalescence from a cannon ball wound grounded his temporal affairs and offered him an opportunity to re-evaluate his modus operandi.  St. Ignatius spent a great deal of time in a healthy YOU-turn, inwardly investigating his daydreams and fantasies which so frequently and powerfully occupied his attention during his worldly life as a soldier. He thoughtfully compared these chivalrous imaginings with the types of daydreams he began to experience after reading ..read more

Dear Souls and Hearts Members, In the spring of 1521 at the battle of Pamplona, a prideful 30-year-old Ignatius of Loyola convinced his commanding officer to defend the city walls against a vastly superior force of more than 10,000 French soldiers.  The battle ended when a cannonball broke Ignatius’ leg, sending him to an extended, painful convalescence from multiple surgeries where his stimulus-seeking adventuresome nature was sorely tried.  According to published accounts, he went nearly stir-crazy from boredom, confined to his bed.  He asked for the popular chivalrous adventu ..read more

Dear Souls and Hearts Members, In episode 120 of the Interior Integration for Catholics podcast, titled Understanding narcissism more deeply with IFS, I introduced you to four characters, two of whom were married – Thomas, who presents with overt narcissism and Juanita, who manifests patterns of covert narcissism.  In last week’s reflection, Gently approaching what underlies problematic daydreams, we looked at how Thomas’ daydreams and fantasies were related to his parts – how they were fueled by unmet attachment and integrity needs.  We discussed the gentle approach IFS offers, allo ..read more