In an ideal world, and an ideal life, we are born in a loving family. We get comforted when hurt, we are told we are beautiful and good. We get encouraged when we fail and praised when we succeed.Our tiny bodies grow up healthy, with everything working as it should.
We are taught to respect and taught to reciprocate.
In an ideal world...
If only, and that is a thought that is shared by many. Therefore maybe we should seek comfort in the knowledge that we are not alone in questioning our childhood experiences and the conduct of those in our immediate environment, especially that of those that work in a position of trust and in some cases even our parents or carers. Our psychological and spiritual development starts from the moment that we are born and our thought processes are influenced by how we are cared for in those early years.
Without going into detail, we can be sure that to a certain degree, physical distress affects our emotional/mental disposition and emotional distress effects our physical disposition. The most severe cases, will fall under child abuse, either psychological or physical. Therefore, I discuss the subject as 'distress' and not abuse. As abuse affects a minority (thank goodness!) but distress affects us all.
However loving our parents or carers might have been, we as children don't come with an instruction manual. We are raised by our parent's idea to what is right or wrong and how to deal with situations that present ourselves in our early life. And some of our dear parents fall short with their care unbeknown to themselves. And this creates an ugly seed of insecurity. For some this ugliness will take root deeper then others but almost all of us have had or still have an insecurity hiding somewhere.
And where our parents might have failed, we had of course religion to fall back on and seek answers to our demise or hardship?
Not? Hmmm... I can hear you think.
Faith was something that was supposed to bring solace and provide us with answers but with ever advancing science, this influence is weakening day by day.
How many of you, have lost faith when you see your loved ones suffer, or when you've lost a sibling? How many of you will no longer accept the term: 'It was God's will' and have peace with that? I wouldn't!
And like many others, I started to seek answers elsewhere.This led me to study all religions and followings, from old mythological one to the New Age, and from this hotch potch of information, I learned to perceive life's hardships as a lesson and not a problem. Spiritual Development starts with self acceptance, physical and psychological, whatever ordeal you've been exposed to. Being at peace with your insecurities and be aware of them. And instead of going into hiding or running away from them, make them part of whom you are.And indeed, it isn't easy and it will take time. But once having found peace, trust me, it will make you stronger and more confident. We worry too much from what other people might think and we don't worry enough about what we think of ourselves.
In the next few Blogs, I will share some of the consultations I've given in my career. The names of the subjects will have been changed to protect their identity and I hope by sharing these consultations and experiences, it might encourage you to the first steps towards your own self-acceptance and therefore the foundation of your own spiritual growth. Let's make ourselves feel a little more beautiful or handsome...
Yvonne Welch - The Source Spiritual Society
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