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
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
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
Religious Trauma and Perimenopause are probably not terms you thought you’d see in the same sentence. For me, they happened at the same time. Fair to say there were days I was not fun to be around. I was overwhelmed, bone tired and highly reactive. I was gaslighting myself, trying to think my
What does the word resurrection mean to you?
Is it loaded or can you reclaim it? What have you come alive to?
Leaving church and / or God is often one of the most painful things we can go through.
But there is life, freedom and relief to be found on the other side.
I have come alive in so many ways. I feel free. New.
I have settled into myself.
We cycle through phases of grief and healing when we’ve experienced religious trauma. Easter brings us face to face with where we are in that cycle and if we’re paying attention, our bodies will tell us what we need next. As I’ve healed from the pain of leaving church and
I wrote my story of leaving faith a few years ago. It’s called “The Sentimental Non-Believer.” There’s a chapter called ‘Melancholy’ and in the lead up to Easter you can download it here. I wrote ‘Melancholy’ over Easter that year as I realised I hadn’t felt the heaviness that usually
We so often believe and are taught that anger is unhealthy and needs to be managed and suppressed. But anger is human and is good information. If we’re not used to feeling it, we can mistake it for rage and think we’re going too far when really we’re testing out what it could feel like to express what we need and speak up when we’ve been hurt.
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