Dear new readers of my random thoughts,
About 6 months ago I stopped writing blogs. I was thinking that I had nothing more to say. If you want to get the back-story, you can go to www.rondachervin.com and peruse the seemingly infinite number of ideas I have shared in the categories of books to purchase, free e-books and audios and last of all free journals of mine for the last 20 years ago up to the present called One Foot in Eternity.
I am presently, as you see in the short bio, teaching philosophy and spirituality at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut on campus but also distance. You might consider auditing or taking, toward a B.A. or M.A. undergrad or grad courses at Holy Apostles distance learning. Google Holy Apostles College and Seminary and click on Distance Learning.
I did save thoughts since June, 2013, and I will be inserting these in globs of blogs from now on until I reach the present:
June 14, 2013
Conflict
A few blogs ago I wrote about Karen Horney on conflict. Here is an e-mail I got from a blog-viewer who is a pastoral counselor using Cognitive Behavioral therapy methods:
“Here is one example of the steps that a Cognitive Behavioral therapist might use in addressing conflict or anger management:
1. Help the client identify the stimuli or triggers in his life that typically cause conflict, like anger or a related emotional response.
2. Help the client to learn and rehearse self-statements that he can use at the very moment he notices the presence of the stimuli and the conflict response beginning to happen so that - by use of these mental statements (cognitions) - the circumstance can be reframed in order that his response is no longer one of conflict, but becomes a healthier and more socially acceptable one (e.g., the person could say "This isn't so bad, I can manage it." or "This really isn't important, so I don't need to lose my temper because of it" etc.).
3. Help the client to learn relaxation techniques - both mental and physical - that he can use along with the rehearsed cognitions when he experiences the stimuli that usually results in a conflict response.
4. Help the client practice the above in a safe setting (e.g., the therapist's office) so that he learns the techniques and can use them whenever needed as circumstances arise in real life. This is usually done through practice sessions in which guided imagery and role-playing are utilized to initiate a conflict response (or as close as one can get in an imagined setting) in which the client can then practice the techniques until they become almost second nature.
If you are reading this but not wanting or able to find such a therapist, I think we could get a better handle on conflict by pondering these steps. They correspond very well to Recovery, International for anger, anxiety and depression that I participate in. For more information google them. I am an assistant leader on an on-line meeting that is at 5 PM EST and 6 PM Pacific time Tuesdays in case on-line is a better option than their world-wide face to face meetings described on this web.
June 12, 2013
Topic: Our 21st Century Synthesis
I have been editing a book that will be called Catholic Realism: A 21st Century Synthesis. It will be chapters from those who teach and study at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut in the face to face or distance learning programs in philosophy and theology.
At the parish where I have been in California we have a group studying the Catechism each week. We read paragraphs and talk about them. When this great Catechism came out many years ago, I read it cover to cover in a week, with delight because it had the potential to put an end to controversies about whether the Church really teaches this or that in areas where people in the Church dispute about whether a teaching is out-dated or not.
Now reading it slowly, years after its publication, I see that it is, in effect, this very synthesis I am always longing for. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit to bring God’s personal love for each of us in the context of experiencing and building the kingdom of God through the truths of the faith, is beautifully displayed in the texts and the quotations.
In the parish group, because I am a professor, it is easy for me to show the others, zealous Catholics with a little less formal education, how every sentence in the Catechism is a nuanced reflection of the balance in our teachings from errors on many sides of each topic.
I urge you all to reread this book if you have not opened it in a while or start a similar group in your parish.
About 6 months ago I stopped writing blogs. I was thinking that I had nothing more to say. If you want to get the back-story, you can go to www.rondachervin.com and peruse the seemingly infinite number of ideas I have shared in the categories of books to purchase, free e-books and audios and last of all free journals of mine for the last 20 years ago up to the present called One Foot in Eternity.
I am presently, as you see in the short bio, teaching philosophy and spirituality at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut on campus but also distance. You might consider auditing or taking, toward a B.A. or M.A. undergrad or grad courses at Holy Apostles distance learning. Google Holy Apostles College and Seminary and click on Distance Learning.
I did save thoughts since June, 2013, and I will be inserting these in globs of blogs from now on until I reach the present:
June 14, 2013
Conflict
A few blogs ago I wrote about Karen Horney on conflict. Here is an e-mail I got from a blog-viewer who is a pastoral counselor using Cognitive Behavioral therapy methods:
“Here is one example of the steps that a Cognitive Behavioral therapist might use in addressing conflict or anger management:
1. Help the client identify the stimuli or triggers in his life that typically cause conflict, like anger or a related emotional response.
2. Help the client to learn and rehearse self-statements that he can use at the very moment he notices the presence of the stimuli and the conflict response beginning to happen so that - by use of these mental statements (cognitions) - the circumstance can be reframed in order that his response is no longer one of conflict, but becomes a healthier and more socially acceptable one (e.g., the person could say "This isn't so bad, I can manage it." or "This really isn't important, so I don't need to lose my temper because of it" etc.).
3. Help the client to learn relaxation techniques - both mental and physical - that he can use along with the rehearsed cognitions when he experiences the stimuli that usually results in a conflict response.
4. Help the client practice the above in a safe setting (e.g., the therapist's office) so that he learns the techniques and can use them whenever needed as circumstances arise in real life. This is usually done through practice sessions in which guided imagery and role-playing are utilized to initiate a conflict response (or as close as one can get in an imagined setting) in which the client can then practice the techniques until they become almost second nature.
If you are reading this but not wanting or able to find such a therapist, I think we could get a better handle on conflict by pondering these steps. They correspond very well to Recovery, International for anger, anxiety and depression that I participate in. For more information google them. I am an assistant leader on an on-line meeting that is at 5 PM EST and 6 PM Pacific time Tuesdays in case on-line is a better option than their world-wide face to face meetings described on this web.
June 12, 2013
Topic: Our 21st Century Synthesis
I have been editing a book that will be called Catholic Realism: A 21st Century Synthesis. It will be chapters from those who teach and study at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut in the face to face or distance learning programs in philosophy and theology.
At the parish where I have been in California we have a group studying the Catechism each week. We read paragraphs and talk about them. When this great Catechism came out many years ago, I read it cover to cover in a week, with delight because it had the potential to put an end to controversies about whether the Church really teaches this or that in areas where people in the Church dispute about whether a teaching is out-dated or not.
Now reading it slowly, years after its publication, I see that it is, in effect, this very synthesis I am always longing for. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit to bring God’s personal love for each of us in the context of experiencing and building the kingdom of God through the truths of the faith, is beautifully displayed in the texts and the quotations.
In the parish group, because I am a professor, it is easy for me to show the others, zealous Catholics with a little less formal education, how every sentence in the Catechism is a nuanced reflection of the balance in our teachings from errors on many sides of each topic.
I urge you all to reread this book if you have not opened it in a while or start a similar group in your parish.
RSS Feed