Sometimes grief and loss can be so vicious, so cruel and sudden that it can tear a person apart. What a person can see, witness and experience can traumatize the soul. In these intense types of death and loss, a person may experience various trauma and complications within the grieving process. War, crime, natural disaster, mass death, and sudden losses can all cause intense trauma for the griever.
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Grief Counselor
When helping the dying, it is also critical to help them with their spiritual beliefs. This may well involve one dealing with another one of a different faith. It is important to try to find one a representative of one’s faith as soon as possible if death is approaching or if one needs spiritual rituals conducted, but if not, and it is not possible, it will be important to be able to sojourn with the dying.
It is important to respect the dying’s wishes, their religious beliefs and to listen. It is also helpful to have some knowledge of other faiths and the beliefs that coincide with dying. Please also review AIHCP’s Pastoral Thanatology Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Pastoral Thanatology.
We have numerous blog posts on this topic and I encourage anyone type in the search button to find posts regarding St Teresa and the Interior Castle. This blog serves as a brief introduction to the famous work. Written in 1588, St Teresa wished to help souls find their way to God. The Castle serves as a metaphor of the interior soul and the mansions are the various rooms within the castle. The duty of the soul is to know God more perfectly entering more deeply into the castle. God is always present in the castle and near, but the soul must overcome the trials, distractions and sin of the world to find God. Many never find the ultimate mansion until the next life, and even so, this union is imperfect due to temporal reality, but it is the closest taste of Heaven possible for souls who do complete such saintly levels on earth.
One can find deeper union with Christ as one progresses through the mansions of the soul. Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification
Most human beings of good nature may struggle through the first 3 mansions, and few may enter into the 4th and 5th. We should all strive though our very best to become as close to God as possible. St Teresa illustrates the soul as a silk worm who must eventually build its own cocoon to become a beautiful butterfly. The longer it crawls, the longer it must wait to become re-born. For those who never enter into the mansions, they are paralyzed by sin, hypnotized by the illusions of the world.
The soul must acknowledge the presence of God, its own imperfections, seek forgiveness and enter into prayer and meditation to enter the first mansion. The first three mansions are purgative in that they break the soul of earthly attachments. Many spend their life teetering between mansions. Falling back and forth to the world and then back to God.
The First Mansion is an invitation to prayer. It is an acknowledgement of sin and one’s own true self. It forces one to accept humility in one’s state before the throne of God. The soul though is tempted by many worldly things. In fact, as the soul advances, it is barraged more and more by the enemy in an attempt to prevent spiritual growth.
In the Second Mansion, the soul has grown in holiness. It prays, it seeks good company and holier books and things regarding the faith. It pushes the soul to seek God in times of tribulation due to the constant warfare waged by the enemy. In active mental prayer, the soul seeks God. It looks to withdraw oneself from outward senses and look inside towards God.
In the Third Mansion, the soul has overcome many of the initial difficulties of change. The soul sincerely wishes not offend God but is not ready to fully surrender to the will of God. The soul must overcome aridity and perceived absences of God’s presence. The soul is tried and pushed to greater limits to see God through pure love not necessarily a warm presence.
The Fourth Mansion invites the soul to illumination and perception of greater mysteries. The soul enters into a prayer that is passive in recollection. This pure gift from God presents itself and the soul involuntarily closes off to the world. In addition of the Prayer of the Quiet, the soul experiences more peace. Unlike active recollection in prayer which is like a aqueduct to the ocean, passive recollection is with the source of the ocean itself. It is with the Divine. The soul has opened itself to these gifts.
The Fifth Mansion continues the love for the Divine in prayer. The Prayer of Union pushes the soul further from the world and makes it fall asleep to it. The soul appears to withdraw from the body. In this deeper love, the soul seeks greater penance. The soul, as the analogy of silk worm, begins to create its cocoon and seeks a deeper union.
The Sixth Mansion can be likened to Engagement to the Divine. The soul is deeply in love and shares with God deep raptures, visions, locutions, flights of spirit, ecstasies and tears of separation in this fallen world from the Divine. However with this deeper union comes equal trials of persecution, illness, and hardships.
Final union occurs in the Seventh Mansion. In this mansion, the soul has awoken to the true reality of God. There is a spiritual marriage between the soul and the Divine. The soul ceases to experience aridity, but only a tender love for God and neighbor. Crosses exist and are welcomed, but they cease to unsettle the soul. The soul loses fear and experiences a peace of constant presence of the Divine. The soul however despites its great desire to pass into the Beatific Vision, accepts it place on earth and shares the love of the Divine with one’s neighbor.
Christ’s human nature experienced a perfect union with the Divine infusion of the Blessed Trinity via the Son. However of course, although two natures, there was one Person in the Hypostatic Union and this union was complete from the moment of the conception of Christ. The Blessed Virgin Mary also experienced this deep union, not merely through grace but the Incarnation itself, and her womb being a vessel of the Divine itself.
Most Christian Counselors will deal with individuals struggling with the first three mansions, especially the first. Christian Counselors can help individuals find greater union with God by mapping the path set by St Teresa and helping individuals deal with the trials they will experience as they go deeper into union with God
Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Christian Counselor.
Avoidance can be big issue in anything we do not wish to face. It is natural to avoid distasteful things in our life that bring back bad memories. Places, things, even scents can remind one of the past. We naturally tend to gravitate towards things of happy memory.
Trying to avoid grief and its emotions never works. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
However, with grief, while initially helpful, one needs to eventually face the issue or the bereavement process will halt. One cannot keep avoiding a certain room, or a particular place. Many try to cope by avoiding by immersing themselves in work, or other things to silence the pain. However, avoiding the pain can cause bigger issues that prevent overall healing.
The article, “What is Avoidance Behavior? An Explainer” by Eleanor Haley takes a closer look at avoidance behaviors and how they can negatively affect. She states,
“When you are grieving, every person, place, or thing connected with your loss takes on the risk of reminding you of something painful. And in the early days of grief, reminders are everywhere. Not only are they all around you, but they’re inside, too, in your thoughts and memories. ”
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling
Individuals experience and react to grief differently. There are multiple different ways individuals grieve. Some are more extrovert, while others are more introvert. What type of griever are you? How do you express grief? Do you express grief in a healthy way or a detrimental way? Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Courses and see if they offer the training you need to become a better griever but also a better grief counselor. The program ultimately leads to a four year certification for qualified professionals
Beyond the loss of a person due to death, many suffer the pain of breakups and divorces throughout life as well. The loss of a person or a relationship can be very emotionally painful and take much time to fully adjust to life without that person. From simple breakup to messy divorce, the loss and adaptation varies on the connection and bond between the couple.
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Grief Counselor. The video below reviews the problems and issues facing those dealing with romantic loss
Christian Counselors face difficult times when dealing with the Occult and individuals facing possession. It is imperative they help the person find the spiritual and sometimes physical safety they need. It is essential that Christian Counselors work with appropriate mental health care providers and church professionals if they suspect demonic activity within a person. Such spiritual warfare is extremely dangerous. Faith in Christ is essential.
Please also review the video below and also AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Christian Counselor
We all know stress causes a fight or flight response. Within the sympathetic nervous system it awakens the body through various increases in adrenaline to prepare the body for action. Increase in heart rate, muscle tension, blood pressure, digestive shutdown and preparation to face struggle emerge within the body. Short term this can save oneself, but long term when facing modern problems that cannot be fled or do not pose physical harm, it can cause issues with health. AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program offers courses and ideas on how to reduce stress and find calm for oneself and others.
It is very important to identify stressors and reduce the negative impact on the body. Knowing how to calm the body is key. There are a variety of ways to calm the body physically, mentally and emotionally. There are also a variety of tools to help calm the body. The key is to reverse the effects of the sympathetic nervous system and return to a state of calm. Of course Meditation is key but not everyone can mediate immediately when stressed. Long term use of meditation can help overall and when the situation occurs, but one needs to have other strategies also to deal with anxiety, fear, stress and worry.
Too many times, people let worry and stress dominate instead of trying to find peace and calm. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program
Physically, Power Breathing is an excellent way to help reverse the ill effects of stress. When stressed, individuals breath in short shallow breathes. This reduces oxygen in the blood and also causes anxiety. It is important to take deep breathes that fill the entirety of the lungs, allowing the abdomen to fill and the chest to expand. These short breathes should focus on inhaling and exhaling to promote a more peaceful mind set. This in turn can help the body reverse the effects of the stress response on the blood pressure, muscles and heart.
In addition, Yoga postures, as well as various calm postures can help. Simply by taking a calm postures such as Calm Unfold, that involves a bending to the ground and allowing the arms to dangle, can help reduce stress. Also, when stressed, jaws become stern. By touching the roof of one’s mouth with the tongue, the jaw can be relaxed. Lotus hands and other Eastern postures can also create a sense of calm. By reversing facial expressions associated with stress such as Calm Demeanor, one can also trick the subconscious that correlates these expressions with happier times.
If one notices, when stressed, people speed up things. They talk faster, walk faster, breath faster. Walk slower, speak slower and most importantly by breathing slower, can reverse ill effects of stress. These slow down calm techniques can be very useful.
Some points also help negative energy within the body process through. Acupuncture and EFT tapping are all examples of utilizing points in the body to release negative energy trauma and stress. Self massage points can help reduce tension and stress. Checkbone rubs, Feng Chih (back of skull), Jan Ku (below ankle), Chin Wei (Below breast bone), ear points, wrists, top of head and foot reflexology can all be sensitive points that can relax energy channels and muscles. Aromas such as lavender can also help one find calm physically.
Like meditation, herbs can also play long term keys in helping oneself, but again, these are not immediate fixes like many of the above procedures. Ginseng, Valerian and Chamomile can all play long term helps, as well as a higher alkaline diet.
Individuals can also employ a wide variety gadgets to help reduce stress on the spot. Finger bindings, worry beads, stress balls, music, ionizer, bio feedbacks, self hypnosis and stress balls are all techniques and gadgets on the spot that can help reduce stress.
Mentally and emotionally, individuals can also reduce stress. Stressors for some are not for others. In many ways, some stress is perception as well as how one copes with the particular stress. Individuals with type A personalities which are more aggressive, over-worked, self centered and heavy goal orientated individuals suffer more from stress than Type B personalities. Type B personalities are more laid back and less prone to stress. Neither personality is superior but if one is more one than the other, then difficulties can arise in how work and goals are met. It is important to implement a little of both personalities to truly find success without the high stress.
Most stressed individuals can utilize a variety of mental ways to reduce stress by how they view it. Calm affirmations are on such way. Calm affirmations replace negative words with positive words for each situation. Focus is more on the positive.
In addition, Big Screen Visualization can play a big role in helping a person view a stressful situation. Through the power of imagination and visualization, one can imagine oneself in various situations but with successful outcomes. Another visualization technique is referred to as Stepping in Time. With this visualization, one imagines the problem now then reviews it at a later date, and if it bears any power on that date. This can help one see the true significance of the stressor.
Also, one can similarly try the Ten Year Plan, as well as the Universal Perspective. The Universal Perspective teaches one to visualize oneself from various frames of height, until one only sees the Earth. One can even go farther to the edge of the solar system or galaxy. How important is the stressor at that moment?
Individuals can elicit a calm response through various techniques. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Certification
Framing is also another useful visualization tactic in which the person can reframe in one’s mind a stressful person or place with comedy. For those who feel they cannot perform these visualizations or avoid the stress, one can offer a Lets Pretend technique. The stressed person then pretends they are not stressed. Sure enough, soon the person discovers he or she is not stressed
Other Type A worriers need strategies. Permission to let loose, or be a Type B person for an hour, or permission to say no, or permission to play strategies can help them unwind. In addition, giving one a worry free spot, whether at home or work to go to. This type of re-programming is based on the environment. Places, music, or scents that are associated with stress are stressful. Opposite, places, music and scents associated with peace are not stressful. One can trick the subconscious to feel safer and relaxed by sitting in area more peaceful, or listening to a song associated with a good moment.
Worry lists can also help. One can departmentalize the worry and assign it an appropriate time. This closely resembles the concept of worry dolls. In addition, sometimes, disconnect is critical. To walk away from the worry itself to eliminate the stressor and the physical issues associated.
This is a but a small sample on ways to elicit the calm response within the body. There are many other ways, especially in the text Instant Calm found with SM560.
If you would like to learn more about reducing stress and becoming certified in Stress Management Consulting, then please review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals looking to become Stress Management Consultants
Frustration and anger can emerge even when we are doing something we like. Hobbies are not immune to anger and rage outbursts especially if we are not performing to optimal standards. Golf is one such example of a game where anger can erupt. Below are some tips to control anger, not just for golf, but for life itself.
Are you allowing a mere game to get the best of you? Please also review AIHCP’s Anger Management Consulting Certification
The article, “When anger goes too far: 10 rules for avoiding an on-course blowup” by Shane Ryan looks at how to control your emotions while on the course. He states,
“Assuming you’re not a living saint and have not attained nirvana, you should accept the fact that anger is going to bubble up on the golf course if you care about the state of your game. It’s a natural emotion, and it needs an outlet. Keeping anger to yourself only allows it to fester and results in bigger blow-ups down the line. So by all means, if you hit a bad shot, chastise yourself, swear if you’re in safe company, and bemoan the gods. But keep it to five seconds—after that, let it go, and let it go for good.”
Applying basic anger management to even golf itself can help one find more calm and reduce temper tantrums in life itself. How one behaves in any environment in regards to anger translates to a larger issue than a mere game but an issue of self control.
Please also review AIHCP’s Anger Management Consulting Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program in online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Anger Management
Many individuals fear needles. During this pandemic is not the time to allow fears and phobias to prevent healthy decisions. Hypnosis can help one overcome irrational fears. Individuals with anxiety over needles and utilize calming techniques and self hypnosis to help themselves receive the vaccines or shots they need to live a safe life during the pandemic.
Hypnosis can help with a variety of irrational fears and phobias. Please also review AIHCP’s Clinical Hypnotherapy Certification
The article, “Use Self-Hypnosis to Get Ready for Your Jab. How to Treat Irrational Fear of Needles with Hypnotherapy: by Elena Volodchenko takes a closer look at how one can calm him or herself prior to a shot. She states,
“Fear of needles affects up to 25% of population, according to research. Although it may be brushed off as irrational, it is however very real for the person who is afraid and may prohibit them from getting the vaccine or, in an event of getting a vaccine, will likely to cause an extreme overwhelm, anxiety, panic attacks or fainting.”
It is important not to let irrational fear prevent your from protecting your own health. Hypnosis and other calming techniques may be able to help
Please also review AIHCP’s Clinical Hypnotherapy Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Hypnotherapy.
