I am joyful beyond measure to have completed 12 years of spiritual psychology journey with the University of Santa Monica!
What is Spiritual psychology you may ask?
For more than 40 years, the University of Santa Monica has offered pioneering experiential educational Programs in Spiritual Psychology supporting more than 6,500 graduates in Awakening more fully into the Awareness of who they truly are—a Divine Being having and using a human experience for the purpose of Awakening—while living more fully into their life purpose and making a meaningful contribution in their world.
You can check out their website for more information https://www.universityofsantamonica.edu
What started as a WE in October 2010 when I left the UN Peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast to follow my husband to Los Angeles has finally reached completion and freedom.
When I signed up, little did I know what deep transformation, rather a transmutation I sign up for.
Today I complete four intense days of reviewing 57 skills of facilitation and numerous trio processes as Sharer, facilitator, and neutral observer.
I feel blessed and grateful for having continued and completed it despite all the challenges and hurdles on the way.
For it takes two years to finish the cycle, and it took me 12 to complete it.
I had to drop out 10 years ago when I was pregnant with my first son and it kept hanging on my head.
Last march I joined the online classroom to complete my cycle, I wanted and needed to be in the field of spiritual psychology. Even though I was practicing and using the skulls in my daily work and life.
The depth of the processing and the inner work has no equal - that I know of- or that resonates for me as much.
Even arriving to participate in this practicum, the 4 days retreat that represents the completion of the cycle, was challenged with the workload, family visit, car accident and whats’ not. But all of these were just stories and rocks that my subconscious wanted to sabotage and test my readiness and willingness to dive deeper into my own personal transformation. and I did.
One of the most basic principles that touched me to the bone is that outer experience represents inner reality.
That there are no victims in any story.
That we all are and have a loving essence.
And that Spirit is always here supporting us and are we willing to accept and receive the love that is available to us?
None of this made sense to me in the beginning.
Being a Palestinian growing up in Israel, there's such a competition of suffering that responsibility isn't part of our upbringing. Let alone projections and compassionate self-forgiveness!
These are the 3 of the main skills that USM teaches and that are my favorite and that’s how they explain it: .
Self Responsibility is about identifying inner and outer choices that tend to perpetuate a challenging situation and in considering alternative choices that can lead to creating more positive outcomes in our life.
Projections is a powerful key to freeing ourself from the prison of self-victimization: anytime we find ourself in upset and are blaming someone else, we are engaging in a projection. Learning how to effectively identify, own, and accept projections is like having a “get-out-of-jail-free” card in our back pocket!
Compassionate Self-Forgiveness involves the inner action of moving into and experiencing Love and Compassion for oneself as well as for all of Creation. It is an antidote to the pain and separation that result from passing judgment. IT provides a way of distinguishing, affirming, and experiencing the Loving Essence of who we are independent of our thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
The USM practicum got us all, over 200 participants from all around the world, to drop all our rocks. Drop our stories. Our favorite wounded roles as the victims. And to connect and dialogue with our Spirit.
And So I did! dropping my own irrational beliefs and misperceptions of reality. getting in touch with the deeper layer of wounding, the comfort of secondary benefits of being a victim in any story. My own story, as a Palestinian muslim woman that relinquishes all these identities and boxes that limit my freedom of speech, action and being.
I come out of this feeling lighter, grounded, and centered in my loving.
Better equipped to show up in my life purpose without any attachment to the outcome.
Breaking free from all the limitations that I have put and the prisons I have created.
Ready to embrace life's challenges as they don't disappear, just the time to respond becomes shorter.
And most importantly ready to support myself and others in experiencing the Authentic Empowerment, Joy, and Freedom that are available to all of us!