The last two months (July 4- September 4) we had been journeying
together in quest of wholeness. We started from where we were, looking at our
“Now Period” of life and what is happening on life’s journey.
Fr. Jose Parappully helped us to explore the current realities
of our lives and also our spirituality in the context of changing paradigms. He
also helped us to explore the psychological dynamics that are affecting our
spiritual life, particularly the midlife dynamics of identity, intimacy,
generativity and integrity. He used various psychological theories of
development to help us explore these issues.
Fr. Parappully also helped us integrate body, mind and
spirit through Somatic Meditations – a combination of Yoga, Music and Dance at
the dawn of the day.
We had sessions on “Trauma and Healing” by Sr. Agnes
Panikulam. She helped us explore the adverse emotional effects of trauma and
provided some techniques to heal from them.
The sessions on “Befriending Our Emotions” by Sr. Maria
Goretti Kanakarathinam presented the meaning of emotions and emotional
maturity. She helped us explore and understand some of our major positive,
negative, hidden and dominant emotions through art, role play, group exercises
and by sharing her personal experiences.
Through sessions on “Sexuality, Celibacy & Intimacy” Fr.
Parappully helped us to understand the impact of sexuality and affectivity,
particularly hetero-sexual friendship, on our celibate commitment and lifestyle.
The sessions on “Sexual Abuse and Healing” by Fr. Parappully
helped us explore and understand the impact of sexual abuse and learn about various
approaches to healing from them.
In “Feminist & Women’s Spiritualities” Sr. Shalini Mulackal
explored the meaning and scope of Feminist spirituality and their implications
for us. We also looked at the salient features of spirituality from women’s
perspectives.
We had ample opportunities throughout the programme to
reflect on our experiences and to share them with one another. This helped our growth in psychospiritual
integration.
We experienced further healing and transformation through
Group Therapy. Fr. Parappully facilitated the process, helping us create an
atmosphere of freedom and trust in the group wherein we could openly share our
brokenness and work through our unresolved issues.
We concluded our Psychospiritual Wholeness Journey integrating
all our wonderful experiences at Sumedha in prayer and reflection on the Word
of God during our Spiritual Retreat which was also facilitated by Fr.
Parappully.
Today as we celebrate the conclusion of our psychospiritual
wholeness journey we thank God for the healing and transformation we have been
privileged to experience at Sumedha Centre.
Sumedha Sadhana Participants
September 4, 2014
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