I’m still thinking through what it means for me having lost so much through leaving church, and I find the concept of domains helpful. We have the domains of family, work, contribution and service, our inner worlds and then belonging to groups like faith communities, sports clubs and other interests, like hobbies.
It’s funny isn’t it that when we start to think about, or focus on a particular thing, it seems to pop up everywhere. There’s science to this phenomenon that I’ll leave for another day, but it’s happened to me this last few weeks. I’ve been spending a of time on Substack recently.
I wrote on my Substack this week about the God of my imagination. I’d been reflecting on how I created God in my imagination. Which is, of course, what we all do as we learn about faith, as it becomes our framework, identity, worldview, a relationship with the divine. It’s
I was reminded of a great descriptor yesterday – overcoupling. In context, it means attaching or blending two emotions or states together. For example, we witness the pain of other people and we take it on as our own. This is different to empathy which says I can imagine and have
When we talk about stress and trauma responses, we hear a lot about fight & flight. The instinct to punch something or run, be it from a tiger or a terse email. This is often celebrated, we think it’s great when people are perceived as being strong or resilient when
Many of you know I work with a lot of people recovering from harm done in religious spaces. From high control groups to cults and rebuilding identity, it’s a big topic. I’ve spoken in many places about my own story too. I’m not anti-God, anti-church or anti-religion however these are
I was reminded recently of a beautiful piece of writing by one of my favourite poets, Padraig O’Tuama. The lovely, soft Irishman whose voice could bring calm into any breathless situation. You can listen to him here. The piece is from his book, Finding a Home in the World.Read these gorgeous words in the light of
I remember sitting up in bed and taking a deep breath the first time I read the writing of Bayo Akomolafe some years ago. He started with “The times are urgent, let us slow down” quoting an African proverb. You can see the blog I was reading here. It’s a thought provoking delight alongside a warm drink and
If you subscribe to my Freedom from Religious Trauma email, it’s now on Substack! If you’re on that list it will just appear in your inbox monthy-ish as usual – but if you’d like to subscribe, you can do that here. With every subscription there’s a code to download my eBook, The Sentimental Non-Believer, for
LGBTQI+ affirming. My door is wide open.
I work on Wangal and Gadigal land. I acknowledge and pay my respects to the traditional owners, and recognise their continuous connection to culture, community and Country.
© Jane Kennedy Counselling 2024