Have you experienced a major shift in your spiritual beliefs and struggle to integrate “old you” and “new you”?
Spiritual evolution can be a stressful journey.
If you grew up in a religious organization or community, it can be challenging to break away from those beliefs and traditions. Maybe you went to youth group, sunday school, and even worked in religious leadership in your life, but things are different now. You are different now - or are you?
When your perspective or belief system changes, you may experience significant mental and emotional anguish as well as cognitive dissonance between what you have been taught in childhood and what you have learned through research and your own personal exploration.
You may find it difficult to trust others or to trust yourself due to experiencing a religious environment that was toxic and/or a faith leader who had manipulative intent, causing betrayal trauma.
This can feel like grief, heartache, anger, sadness, confusion, shame, guilt, and a whole host of other emotions. Therapy can help you process these emotions and integrate your belief systems. You do not have to erase your past to have a beautiful and spiritually rich future.
“Imagine if every church became a place where everyone is safe, but no one is comfortable. Imagine if every church became a place where we told one another the truth.
We might just create sanctuary
What I love about the ministry of Jesus is that he identified the poor as blessed and the rich as needy...and then he went and ministered to them both.
This, I think, is the difference between charity and justice.
Justice means moving beyond the dichotomy between those who need and those who supply and confronting the frightening and beautiful reality that we desperately need one another.”
— Rachel Held Evans (1981-2019) Author of Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions
According to DaretoDoubt.com, The fastest-growing religious group in the USA is the religiously unaffiliated.
78% of those who identify as 'None' were raised in a religion.
6 in 10 Millennials leave their faith.
Questioning faith takes courage. Leaving your religion or spiritual community can be life-shattering.
You are not alone.
You may experience being ostracized and distanced from a close-knit community and feel the conflicting emotion of being liberated at the same time.
You may be experiencing varying stages of doubt, crisis, and recovery.
If you have experienced a crisis of faith, shifted your religious perspective, or are currently struggling to integrate your beliefs from ‘then’ into ‘now,’ I’m here to listen and sit with you.
Spiritual evolution can be a beautiful journey that includes deconstructing one’s original belief systems and crafting a new set of beliefs that integrate parts and lessons from all facets of life. This process takes time, requires vulnerability, and therapy can help.
Some things never make sense, but healing is possible.
Your wounds are not your fault. Your healing is your responsibility.
You do not have to heal in isolation.
If you’ve experienced anything you define as trauma and want another human to sit with you and listen to your story, the new thoughts or behaviors you now have, or the things you miss about yourself or your life from before, I’m here.