Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? I’m not so big on making New Year’s resolutions because I don’t tend to keep them. I do better with an ongoing process of evaluation and renewal that grows from my faith and includes my prayer life, conversations, books, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation—commonly known as confession.

Any practice of self-evaluation, whether random or formal, will reveal an imperfect life—a “human” life with sins, problems, failures, or unhealthy habits of body, mind, or spirit. This is normal. Instead of just making a resolution, we can take steps that can bring healing and growth for ourselves and the world. The secret of success with these efforts is utilizing TRIPLE-ACTION HEALING.

We All Know Triple-Action Anything Is The Best, Right?

Think of triple action cleanser, detergent, fertilizer, toothpaste, or fungicide. I’m using this light-hearted description to make a very serious point in a fun way so you will be more likely to remember it.

We can use a triple-action approach for any ailment or disturbance in the health of our bodies, minds, spirits, or society. Examples of “dis-ease” range from tiredness to cancer, arthritis to obesity, anxiety to depression, sadness to fear, and so much more.

TRIPLE-ACTION HEALING: 1) Top-Down, 2) Bottom-Up, And 3) Inside-Out

The terms Top-Down and Bottom-Up are customarily applied to the two different approaches of psychotherapy used in the healing of complex trauma. I’m using “triple action” to broadly describe the three approaches available to each of us to help us heal--always with God’s help, often with the help of others, and sometimes with professional help.

1. TOP-DOWN THERAPY starts in the mind. It is using your mind to understand why you are so stressed, angry, easily triggered, unmotivated, or sad. It is solving your problems by using your mind with self-study about emotional health, stress reduction, habits, mindfulness, communication, or boundaries—alone, with groups, or with a therapist. Changing how you think will change your body and behaviors. A very simple example is how deciding to go for a walk can make your stress headache resolve. Or how understanding the roots of your anger can help you control your temper. Or how learning about habit formation can help you come up with plan to cut back on screen time or snacking.

2. BOTTOM-UP THERAPY starts in the body. This was foreign to me until I read the landmark book The Body Keeps the Score (2014) by Bessel Van Der Kolk. He described PTSD patients for whom conventional talk therapy often did not help. A war veteran could know in his mind that the car backfire was not a bomb, but his body still reacted violently to the backfire because the body was still convinced it was a bomb. The bottom-up approach was to find therapies, movements, or activities for the body that could somehow release the trauma that had been imprinted on the body as a result of past traumas. Van de Kolk offered yoga for his PTSD patients and saw positive results. Other bottom-up approaches include exercise, rhythmic movement, deep breathing, bodywork/massage, and specific therapies like EMDR. Arts-based “therapies” like theater, storytelling, visual arts, and music all contribute to helping us feel better … and heal our bodies and minds. For a brief introduction to how this works, check out this Psychology Today article.

3. INSIDE-OUT THERAPY starts with God.

We Cannot Earn This Kind Of Healing By Anything We Do.

However, this approach is not entirely passive. We have to allow it to happen by surrendering to God some of our precious time and making ourselves available to his healing presence—especially in prayer. We tell God our intention to follow his will and then just do our best and trust the outcomes to him. I’ve come to believe that this is the most valuable path to healing and wholeness. Think of the peace and love we could experience and share if we surrendered everything to God.

Since our mind, body, and spirit are all interconnected, we need TRIPLE-ACTION HEALING to cover all three parts and enjoy abundant health of body, mind, and spirit.

For best results always use TRIPLE-ACTION!

SUGGESTIONS:

Introduce solitude and silence into your daily routine, even if only 5-10 minutes.
Check this link for study resources on this vast topic.
If you are a planner like me and like to be in control, the very idea of inside-out healing can be hard understand. Practicing Centering Prayer over the last ten years has given me a glimmer of understanding. Check out Contemplative Outreach for more information about this meditative type of Christian Prayer.

EXTRA:

Inaugural meetings of our two new Centering prayer groups are this week, January 8 and 10th, 2024, Monday evening in Hyattsville, MD and Wednesday morning in College Park, MD. Contact me for details.

Coming soon! Something new for Serenity and Health!! Engaging with a Messy World, a 10-Part Video Series to help you deal with the intersecting crises in the world. Learn how to respond with grounded, loving, effective activism instead of with rage, fear, despair, or indifference. I will facilitate these presentations by Susan Riggs, a coach in private practice who offers leadership coaching as well as coaching for teams and individuals. Susan draws from many coaching and psychology resources to offer practical and engaging guidance.

Dr. Donna Chacko promotes health of body, mind, and spirit through her website (serenityandhealth.com), her blog, her podcast/vlog series Pop-Up Conversations on Health of Mind, Body, and Spirit, and programs at her church. She is the author of Pilgrimage: A Doctor’s Healing Journey (Luminare Press, 2021), a recent best-seller on Amazon, 2022 Illumination Awards Gold Medal Winner, 2022 Reader Views Literary Award Gold Medal Winner, and 2022 Catholic Media Association First Place Awards.

Tagged: prayer, mind-body, healing, 2024, silence, Centering Prayer, mindbodyspirit

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