Working with Parts helps relationships too!

This week I went on a school 2-day Spring Celebration field trip with my school. At the end of day 1 I found that I somehow reverted to a "self" I rarely inhabit- very outgoing (for me), talkative, trying to be useful and helpful whenever possible. By evening I realized I was exhausted and very much needed some down time. I also realized I felt lonely in a crowd, like I didn't belong there.

I tried to figure out what that was coming from, as it's a familiar feeling from my past. What I realized was that I had totally neglected all but my extravert/helpful part all day long, and so all the other parts were upset and needy. I took some time by myself (in the bathroom, as I had 2 students rooming in my room!) to write and do a mini meditation. That helped a lot. I began to feel more connected- not only to myself, but to the people around me. I didn't need to talk nonstop to connect with them, I mainly needed to connect with myself first!

The second day we went to an amusement park, and since I felt more whole I was able to sense what I needed. I suggested going on the ferris wheel (my favorite ride) and I ended up in a whole crowd of others who wanted that also. I was even the "brave one" on that ride- it was my native element (I like being above and looking down) while others were more used to roller coasters but didn't like hanging above it all for periods of time. I felt very proud :)

Then I saw there was an IMax movie about waves, and asked a student if she wanted to see it. We both loved the scenery and learning about surfing.

I'm so happy that connecting with myself has such a wonderful byproduct. It was my most enjoyable Spring Celebration ever!

Parts are us

This blog will be about working with inner parts of onesself. Many different authors and psychologists have talked about different parts. From Carl Jung, who wrote about his personality 1 and personality 2, to Walt Disney, whose cartoon about the 2 sides of Donald Duck is hilarious, this phenomenon is becoming more and more mainstream.

I have studied psychosynthesis (originated by Roberto Assagioli), Inner Family Healing (in "How to Love Yourself When You Don't Know How" by Jacqui Bishop and Mary Grunte), and personas (with the Hendricks Institute). I am currently enrolled in a Level II practitioners class with Center for Self Leadership, studying Inner Family Systems as defined by Dr. Richard Schwartz.

It seems obvious to me that we all have different "sides" of us that can be triggered by events in our lives. I have also learned ways to help some of these parts heal, and grow, and even blossom.

I am currently working on a book about parts, and I welcome contacts with folks who have made progress in their own lives by working with their inner parts. Let me know what has happened for you. You could reply to this blog or e-mail
partsbook1@gmail.com for more info about how to be involved in this project.

My next week's entry will be about a cool tool for inner exploring called IFS Insight. This is a computer program I have tried out and I love it!

Best wishes until then.

Karen