Episode 144: The Surprising Truth About the Spiritual Life (Hint: It’s Messy)

In this episode, Dr. Greg offers a glimpse into why the path to holiness is not linear,  how our psychological and spiritual lives impact one another, the importance of self-awareness, and why decreasing our defense mechanisms is key to becoming who God calls us to be.

Discussed in the episode: 

• How can we strive for spiritual perfection while maintaining a sense of mental health? 

• Why the path to holiness is not linear or “cookie-cutter” but actually quite messy;

• How specific personality patterns and defense mechanisms can hinder us from becoming who God created us to be;

• An exploration of the psychological and spiritual dimensions of the life of St. Therese of Lisieux;

• The importance of understanding our identity as a way to facilitate our own and others growth in holiness;

• Why integrating the different dimensions of our personality is crucial to growing in our spiritual and emotional lives;

• The importance of adaptability in becoming a psychologically and spiritually healthy person.

Resources mentioned or relevant:

• Past Being Human Episodes on integration, holiness, and Internal Family Systems theory/parts work: 

• Episode #34: A New Theory! With a Catholic Lens; 

• Episode #35: Why Do I Feel Like I Have Conflicting Parts? w/ Dr. Peter Malinoski

• Episode #41: What is Integration Anyway? w/ Fr. Louis Merosne
• Episode #43: The Psychology of Holiness: Stories of Fr. Benedict, w/ Dr. Bryan Violette (Mentor Series)

• Episode #98: Are You Gaslighting Yourself?

• The Context of Holiness: Psychological and Spiritual Reflections on the Life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux by Marc Foley; 

• Introduction to Internal Family Systems by Richard Schwartz; 

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• Download The Integrated App for access to free audio exercises, the Catholic Mindfulness Virtual Retreat, courses, prayer resources, and more; 

• Become a member of the Integrated Life Community to get access to every course Dr. Greg has created, plus the opportunity to participate in Integrated LIVE’s - weekly, Mentor hosted Q&As covering topics like boundaries, communication, trauma, forgiveness, and more!

Contact us! Have a topic or a question you would like Dr. Greg to address on the podcast? Want to give some feedback about this episode? Email us at beinghuman@catholicpsych.com - we would love to hear from you!

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