Trying to Help People Out By Entering Spiritual Counselling
I’ve been facing depression over the past few years but visiting a spiritual counsellor has helped me a lot. If you’re considering spiritual counselling, I highly recommend it. I feel like I have found inner peace and it has inspired me to follow this career route.
I’m looking to get my spiritual counselling diploma done through Holistic Healing College (healingcollege.co.uk/) in the UK. Do you guys any tips for me?
Any replies are appreciated
Spiritualism to me, since I’m an atheist, means doing your best to help your fellowman. I used to think spiritualism was a religious term only until I joined AA. In AA we can choose our own meaning. Whatever choice we make,spiritualism is an integral part of healing for anybody. For without caring for each other, this world wouldn’t exist. Enjoy your journey.
Thank you, thank you for posting this my fellow friend of Bill W. There is one hilarious chapter about choosing your version of a higher power and this one person chose a light bulb. Basically saying that you don't have to be religious in recovery, it's about getting out of ego and getting out of your own way. Letting go of guilt, regrets, shame, and blame... I started on my recovery back in the late 70's, slipped, and came back in the early 80's. Back in those days there were more self-help groups than you could imagine...but I also got a lot of work done in ACoA: Adult Children of Alcoholics/Dysfunctional Families, and other group therapies and one on one therapy. But finding meetings that didn't become bible studies was hard for a while. And back in the day, doing anything outside the basic guidelines like therapy, which was just considered psychobabble, and wasn't encouraged. So I knew I drank and used to nub the pain of mental injury and depression, but sober.... all those demons were back... so I had to do everything I could to deal with them to stay clean and sober.
Spirituality is not religion for me... it's learning an inner strength of self-love, and empathy for yourself and others, and unconditional love, ... I don't believe in organized religion, I respect those that do, I just don't like being preached to.
Oh, Boy! So much to say and so little space to say it in. As usual, you say a lot in little spaces. Yes, AA isn’t a glum lot and we can laugh at ourselves. A coke machine was the higher power for a fellow AA er til she settled in and found one that worked for her. I was made aware early on in recovery that AA or sponsors were not psychologists, marriage counselors or financial advisors. Mental health issues were rarely discussed in meetings, but even so, back then, I was seeing a therapist as well. Today, it’s pretty standard that mental health issues and addiction can go hand in hand. My AA friends talk freely about both now. AA has come a long way these last almost 90 years.
Like Bill W said…..preaching or lecturing doesn’t stop a person from drinking and I’d add neither does it work for anything else.
Oh yeah....way, way back in the very first days of my recovery, I introduced myself as both proclivities in an AA meeting and was asked to leave because it was a strictly AA meeting and a closed meeting.... I said that was a hypocritical statement and that addiction is addiction no matter what your poison, but that said, I still was also in AA so what's the problem?.... I just shook my head in disgust and left. I had decided after that I would focus more on my home group who were open-minded and didn't quote scripture throughout the meetings. I still say a meeting is a meeting, and that's the crap shoot. You try and take what you need and leave the rest...you do what you need to do.
Exactly. Groups are made up of people and as people differ, groups do. I had to search for the ones I felt most comfortable in and fit my needs. Sometimes newbies don’t find that quick enough, get discouraged and quit going. I hung in there and you did too. And that made all the difference.
Yes, addiction is addiction and there’s always discussions about addictions to different things and how one can’t be treated exactly like the other because of different affects,etc. But if an addict needs help and shows up at any kind of meeting, it’s cruel to reject them. I was a member of a ladies meeting and a male showed up in need of a meeting. We let him stay. Part of our recovery is helping other suffering alcoholics. That’s spiritualism. There has to be some flexibility in everything.
Sounds like you have an awesome home group.... compassion is key.
It was, faux. Sadly it disbanded when attendance decreased after 26 years. We even had pizza nights and that didn’t help.
I think it's great for you and it is fulfilling to be able to help someone in their journey as well as help in healing yourself, so go for it. Personally, I think religion is actually the institutionalization of spirituality and it has unfortunately lost its soul in some of them. I think the essence of spirituality is unconditional love and the realization that we are all connected with all life and the essence of life itself and part of the flow of life. I think it's also about learning to love ourselves and others unconditionally which many religions consider to be blastphemous to god and a sin. A lot of them also believe in the concept of original sin which I think is harmful and keeps people away from unconditionally loving and accepting themselves and their spiritual essence. I was raised in an evangelical environment and it's taken me years to undo the harm it caused so I admit I am biased and thankful for it and am a happy spiritualist.
Mine did too, I think because of the internet and social media people have just become more home bound and apathetic... and after Covid... it's few and far between.
Where would I find a spiritual counselor? I see a social worker, just not sure it's helping me at all. Feel like I'm talking to my mom. Which didn't help much, sad to say.
I have never tried spiritual counseling,only secular. I have been helped by several counselors over the years,with different areas of expertise. There are plenty of good ones out there. If you try one,and they work out for you,great. If not,then try to find a better fit. The important thing is, keep trying until you find the right person for you.You will.
There actually is secular spirituality. Check the site.
Thanks,Blueruth.
When people go all out to harm you, 
Trying so hard to pull myself out of this
I saw Aliens and they turned out to be people
Just cant figure out what to do, just looking for people to talk with
I’m freaking out, please help
Go for it! I am curious what kind of religious background do you have? Also, do you have any tips? Like, what is the spiritual method to find inner peace? I have a lot of knowledge about the spiritual realm