{"id":30,"date":"2018-02-13T01:01:02","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T01:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/?p=30"},"modified":"2018-02-13T02:28:25","modified_gmt":"2018-02-13T02:28:25","slug":"4-brilliant-counselor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/4-brilliant-counselor.html","title":{"rendered":"#4 The Brilliant Counselor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-29 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/408\/2018\/02\/214_1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"214_1\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/>Few people can afford all the therapy and coaching they want or need. Friends can fill some of the gaps and are invaluable but can be loath to point out the ways we contribute to our own problems.\u00a0 Plus, if we tend to blatter on and on about a problem, their tolerance can have limits. Fortunately, we all have an always-available, free solution at our fingertips.\u00a0\u00a0 Meet your personal, in-house advisor, otherwise known as the Brilliant Counselor (BC).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Brilliant Counselor is the wisest, most thoughtful part of yourself. Some might call this voice the higher self. The spiritually inclined might say it is a line to God or a way to access the wisdom contained in the energy field that connects us all. Others may prefer to view the BC as a link into the collective consciousness which is a field of sorts. The collective consciousness is the shared beliefs and values that tie societies together.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Carl Jung introduced the idea that a healthy human psyche is made up of many subpersonalities or parts. These parts are distinct emotional states or habitual thoughts. For example, there can be the boss, the critic and the caretaker. In happy people these voices adapt and work together depending on the circumstances. When we are stuck or anxious, the inmates run the asylum.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Subsequent therapists expanded on Jung\u2019s subpersonalities theory and developed therapeutic techniques such as Voice Dialogue and Internal Family Systems to identify and work with the different parts. The critic can occupy way too much mental space, for instance and may need a pink slip or a stint in rehab. A therapist can help identify the predominant voices, distinguish the self apart from the clashing personas and facilitate control over the less useful qualities.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After exploring the classic subpersonality parts, Baltimore based coach and acupuncturist, David Mercier added the BC. Why not have a larger part that represents something bigger than yourself?\u00a0 Rather than uncovering voices for the purpose of therapy, he developed technique to connect to your strong, positive voice.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mystical abilities are not a requirement to access the BC. \u00a0We are all capable of accessing this wondrous part of ourselves. So whether your inner child is insisting people cannot be trusted or your rebel part is inciting a riot, trust that the BC knows the path to peace of mind (and not the fastest way to the poky). Jung said, \u201c<em>who looks outside dreams; who looks inside awakes<\/em>.\u201d Your BC is waiting.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Next time: Part 2: An Appointment with the BC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Few people can afford all the therapy and coaching they want or need. Friends can fill some of the gaps and are invaluable but can be loath to point out the ways we contribute to our own problems.\u00a0 Plus, if we tend to blatter on and on about a problem, their tolerance can have limits.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":619,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3,19,17,18,20,21,16],"class_list":["post-30","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anxiety","tag-counselor","tag-higher-self","tag-inner-wisdom","tag-jung","tag-subpersonalities","tag-therapist"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>#4 The Brilliant Counselor - Serenity in an Age of Anxiety<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"#4 The Brilliant Counselor - Serenity in an Age of Anxiety\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Few people can afford all the therapy and coaching they want or need. Friends can fill some of the gaps and are invaluable but can be loath to point out the ways we contribute to our own problems.\u00a0 Plus, if we tend to blatter on and on about a problem, their tolerance can have limits.&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/4-brilliant-counselor.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Serenity in an Age of Anxiety\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-13T01:01:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-02-13T02:28:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/files\/2018\/02\/214_1-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kelly Dorfman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"#4 The Brilliant Counselor - Serenity in an Age of Anxiety","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"#4 The Brilliant Counselor - Serenity in an Age of Anxiety","og_description":"Few people can afford all the therapy and coaching they want or need. Friends can fill some of the gaps and are invaluable but can be loath to point out the ways we contribute to our own problems.\u00a0 Plus, if we tend to blatter on and on about a problem, their tolerance can have limits.&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/4-brilliant-counselor.html","og_site_name":"Serenity in an Age of Anxiety","article_published_time":"2018-02-13T01:01:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-02-13T02:28:25+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/files\/2018\/02\/214_1-300x200.jpg"}],"author":"Kelly Dorfman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/4-brilliant-counselor.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/4-brilliant-counselor.html","name":"#4 The Brilliant Counselor - Serenity in an Age of Anxiety","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/4-brilliant-counselor.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/4-brilliant-counselor.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/files\/2018\/02\/214_1-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2018-02-13T01:01:02+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-13T02:28:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/#\/schema\/person\/fe46541d5785c5438edd2d7fd5e65b42"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/4-brilliant-counselor.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/4-brilliant-counselor.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/4-brilliant-counselor.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/files\/2018\/02\/214_1-300x200.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/files\/2018\/02\/214_1-300x200.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/4-brilliant-counselor.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"#4 The Brilliant Counselor"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/","name":"Serenity in an Age of Anxiety","description":"Mastering peace of mind when the world won\u2019t help","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/#\/schema\/person\/fe46541d5785c5438edd2d7fd5e65b42","name":"Kelly Dorfman","description":"Kelly is an award-winning author and speaker who has been featured on CNN\u2019s American Morning and other news programs, as well as in articles in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and Oprah Magazine. In addition to her work as a clinical nutritionist, she leads workshops on resolving relationship conflicts and anxiety using principles of wholeheartedness. Kelly also directed an intuition training program for doctors and medical professionals for ten years and co-founded a non-profit to support families of children with developmental delays. After decades of clinical practice using targeted nutrition therapy to tackle complex medical problems, she wanted to focus on problems created by the mind beyond biochemistry. She noticed the mind seems to create endless obstacles to happiness and peace of mind no matter how committed a person is to these goals. Anger, fear, anxiety and loneliness are symptoms the mind needs help as well as opportunities to remember who we really are and why we are here. Kelly is writing a second book tentatively titled, Love in an Age of Anxiety.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/author\/kdorfman"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/619"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions\/32"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}