By Adam J. Pearson Friend: Things are slowly working out for me but I’m really struggling today and succumbing to suicidal thoughts. Me: I’m happy to hear that you feel that things are slowly working out. Healing and growth are a process and moments of struggle along the way are a normal part of that….
Tag: compassion
The Celebrate Yourself Exercise: Self-Love With a Partner
By Adam J. Pearson The Fear of Shining Bright Every day, we find ourselves inundated with images of people who excel. Our popular media glorifies athletes, business moguls, and wealthy musical performers. Our advertisements favour the most beautiful and handsome models to showcase their products and set up standards of perfection, which unconsciously influence us even though we…
Forgive and Be Free: The Liberating Power of Forgiveness
By Adam J. Pearson Introduction I waited a long time before writing this article for two reasons. The first is that I really wanted forgiveness to sink in so that I could talk about it from the insider’s point of view of someone who practices it. The second is that I don’t consider myself to be an authority…
The Mystic View of the World: On the Superposition of Absolute and Relative Perspectives
By Adam J. Pearson Introduction In his classic work, The Varieties of Religious Experience, American psychologist William James writes about the central experience at the heart of the world’s mystical traditions in these words: In mystic states, we both become one with the Absolute and we become aware of our oneness. This is the everlasting…
Tuning into Feeling Tones: Emotions Beneath Words
By Adam J. Pearson Image: “Body Language” by xDarQax Introduction You’ve probably had this experience. You’re talking to someone and their words seem to be saying something, but their body language is saying something totally different. You may have even seen this tendency in yourself. She’s saying “I’m fine,” but you get the sense that she’s furious….
Silencing the Praise: Why Seeking Approval Fails to Fill Our Inner Void
By Adam J. Pearson The Game of Approval Seeking For many years, I found myself playing a game that was not only futile, but excruciatingly painful and destructive. Usually without even fully being conscious of what I was doing, I would try to seek approval from other people. It was as if there was this…
Ways out of Drowning: Four Ways to Respond to Troubling Memories, Thoughts, and Feelings
By Adam J. Pearson Yesterday, I noticed shame, sadness, and embarrassment arising from an old memory coming back to haunt me. It is a memory that I have had to confront many times in the past. And yet, it still holds some power over me. When it comes into the light of consciousness, it tends…
Shadow Integration: The Complete Shadow Work Process in Four Steps
By Adam J. Pearson To listen to the first section of this article as you read, click the play button below: 1. Shadows and Shadow Work Recap Shadows are those contents of the mind that feel uncomfortable, painful, terrifying, infuriating, anxiety-inducing, or otherwise disturbing to us. We know them when they arise because they hurt, anger, disturb, or…
Balance and Beauty: Reflections on the Passion of the Christ (2004)
By Adam J. Pearson To listen to this article as you read, click the play button below: I fittingly watched The Passion of the Christ (2004) for the first time on a Good Friday, the day on which Christians remember the crucifixion of the man they regard as the Son of God, their Savior, and…
Words from the Wind 