There’s no safety

“What we have to discover is that there is no safety, that seeing is painful, and that when we imagine that we have found it, we don’t like it.”

Alan Watts

There’s a very personal story about someone who’d suggested a great book that I’m about to recommend to you on this same topic. He touched me very deeply and yet I’m no longer in contact with this man. I used to see him as a psychotherapist for 4 years while I was studying at my Energy Healing school that required therapy sessions as part of personal growth and reflection regiment. At the end of our work together he saw me as a “therapist in training’ and we became quite close.

I was involved in his projects, he came out to my exhibitions (I have a visual art background). One day, he has shared that he felt counter transference towards me (a very common experience when a therapist develops feelings for their client). I’d shared that I also felt the transference and really wanted to work through it and not severe the connection. He’d grown more and more fearful that I’d complain to the board (still to this day I’m not sure what I could possibly complain about – his disclosure?!). We couldn’t resolve this conflict and the sessions had abruptly stopped. This was quite painful to me and took me a while to get over. I still think fondly of him and am very grateful for everything I’ve learned and how much I’ve grown.

All of that to say that… lol there’s a great book called “The Road Less Traveled” by Dr. Scott Peck that is based on a premise that confronting and solving problems is a painful process which most of us attempt to avoid. Avoiding resolution results in greater pain and an inability to grow both mentally and spiritually. Recognizing that, as in the famous opening line of his book, “Life is difficult” and that the journey to spiritual growth is a long one, Dr. Peck guides the readers gently through the hard and often painful process of change toward a higher level of self-understanding.

I still have a copy of this book that will always remind me of this person. Thank you.

2 thoughts on “There’s no safety

  1. Thank you for sharing this very deep emotional experience. The Road Less Traveled has always been one of my favorite reads. I have a story about the author to share.

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