I, Anne Milligan, was a holistic-oriented therapist long before holistic was cool. I first learned of this way of looking at human behavior via my first college degree, which was as a Social Worker. The Clinical (Therapist) branch of Social Work emphasizes the "people in environment" perspective wherein any part of our experience plays out within the context of our inner world and outer world (environment). Over the past 20 years, human consciousness has branched out to a far more pervasive (and I have to admit, really cool) understanding of the connectedness of all things. Nothing you or I experience exists by itself. It is affected by, and affects, everything else in some kind of magnificent orchestration of energy which exists below the surface of our everyday knowledge. To take this a few steps further, a new awareness of the connectedness of all things is coming together in a form of personal and global spirituality that many describe as "spiritual but not religious". This means that a more modern and genuine form of spirituality would break out of (but not necessarily exclude) the confinement of church and move out into the "real world" of everyday existence. Here are a few areas of interest on this topic which you might explore. At the bottom of the page, please note that I am asking people if you are "spiritual but not religious" and, if so, to post any personal ideas you have about what that means to you. The following are some of my own ideas about the subject. Tell us yours:
1.
Inclusive, deep respect for diversity. (NO ONE gets left out based on age, sexual orientation, gender, race, country of origin, economic class, etc.)
2.
Environmental consciousness. An awareness of the effect of our carbon footprint on the choices we make every day.
3.
Non-extremist. (Fundamentalists won't like this one).
4.
Inner awareness. The willingness to approach our inner self via a "mindfulness" branch of psychology which forces us to "get real" with ourselves so as not to project our unconscious (unknown to ourselves) inner stuff onto others. The very best first step in this way is daily mindfulness meditation. Three years ago, I created a
mindfulness meditation CD for those wishing to enter this arena in a way which is guided and not confusing. The steps which you will be guided into with these two meditations come straight out of the latest knowledge from the psychoneurology arena of science - what REALLY works in terms of focusing the mind to influence the whole system toward healing. It also includes the imagery of healing light, love, and the release of heavy grievances. Here is the link for that CD:
http://www.annemilligan.com/Heal.html
5.
Body-Mind-Spirit.
Part of coming to know ourselves inwardly is to understand how our bodies hold emotions for us. The "alchemy of illness" opens our awareness to how physical healing of illnesses might include emotional healing of past hurts, unforgiveness, trauma, grief, etc. The spiritual aspect of personal Body-Mind-Spirit awareness can include opening ourselves to hypnosis-oriented inner work such as that taught by David Quigley at the Alchemy Institue of Hypnosis. In my own work in this arena, my clients and I have discovered the marvel of "synchronicity" which is a fancy word for a meaningful coincidence. It seems that when deep inner healing happens, the outer world changes to match that inner transformation, and it most often manifests in the form of synchronicity. I would definitely call that spiritual!
Peace,
Anne Milligan
www.annemilligan.com
