Becoming Me When You Harm Others In Spite of Your Best Intentions
Episode 144
In this episode, I share a deeply personal story about the painful moment when I realized that having faith and spiritual practices alone couldn't save me from the dysfunctional patterns in my life.
I discuss the inadvertent impact of unconscious complex trauma, the harm of spiritual abuse, and the significance of human integration in the healing journey. This reflection highlights the importance of seeking broader resources beyond faith practices in the journey toward wholeness in healing. This may include developing insight on psychological and family dynamics. I hope this sharing makes you feel less alone and provides hope on your path to becoming more integrated and whole.
In the previous episode, I introduced an invaluable workshop presented by Paul Fahey, focusing on recognising, preventing, and responding to spiritual abuse in the Catholic context. Join me in exploring this significant resource—check the show notes for more information and a link to the workshop.
Link to Register for Spiritual Abuse Workshop.
Read Paul Fahey’s article on Spiritual Abuse in the Catholic Church.
Watch this recording on YouTube.
Follow me on my Instagram account @animann for more material on the integration journey and subscribe to my monthly reflections on Begin Again.
CHAPTER MARKERS
[00:00:36] Lack of Awareness and Spiritually Abusive Behaviours
[00:01:23] Personal Story on Spiritual Abuse
[00:02:27] Gaps in Human Formation and Integration
[00:06:07] Impact of Gaps in Integration: Poor Boundaries
[00:07:38] Impact of Gaps in Integration: Insecurities and Burnout
[00:10:15] Impact of Gaps in Integration: Performing and Pushing for Perfection
[00:12:13] The Wake-Up Call that I Had Harmed Others
[00:14:12] On Realizing that I Had Been Spiritually Abusive
[00:15:45] Trauma and Toxic Shame
[00:17:44] 'Waking Up' to the Integration Journey
[00:19:17] Acknowledging Our Context with Compassion
[00:24:52] Embodied Faith
[00:28:56] Encouragement for Listeners
[00:31:14] Conclusion and Final Thoughts
TRANSCRIPT
Available here.
REFLECTION PROMPT
Have you had an encounter or experience where you realised that you were harming someone when you were only intending to love them to the best of your ability? How did you respond to that realisation?
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