{"id":35,"date":"2018-02-19T18:07:17","date_gmt":"2018-02-19T18:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/?p=35"},"modified":"2018-02-19T18:07:17","modified_gmt":"2018-02-19T18:07:17","slug":"5-session-brilliant-counselorbc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/5-session-brilliant-counselorbc.html","title":{"rendered":"#5 A Session with the Brilliant Counselor(BC)"},"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\" \/>Now that you know a wise, fearless and kind Brilliant Counselor is available for the asking, here is how to access him\/her\/it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find a quiet and private place where you will not be interrupted. Sit in one chair and place an empty chair directly in front of you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Imagine a BC is sitting in the empty chair. The BC does not need a particular form unless you find imagining a symbolic figure like Jesus or the Dalai Lama helpful. You are energetically tapping into the highest part of yourself that is like and connected to the most enlightened part of everyone else. The empty chair is the place holder for this energy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tell the BC all about whatever is preying on your mind. You can talk about anything from where to go on vacation to your frustration with your partner to why you are here. Delve into as much detail as possible. Spare no anger, sadness, fear or frustration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking out loud works best for most people, especially if they are new to the exercise or are not getting satisfying results. Speaking silently also works especially if privacy is lacking or you are introverted. Some people find they process better with their eyes closed and an imaginary empty chair in their head rather than outside of themselves. If one way does not work, try the other.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When you are finished talking, move over to the empty chair.\u00a0 You are now the BC and need not ask any questions because unlike a traditional psychotherapist, you know all the details, secrets and longings of the person consulting with you.\u00a0Share your wisdom and support.\u00a0\u00a0<u>Be<\/u>the Brilliant Counselor that is the wisest and most thoughtful part of yourself.\u00a0 The BC does not scold, criticize or belittle.\u00a0 If you feel guilty for forgetting to write Aunt Hilda a thank you note, you are channeling your mother or rehashing the past not connecting with the BC.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Switch back and forth until you feel the session is complete.\u00a0You will know you have accessed the BC if at the end of the session you feel clear headed and happier. Even if you do not have specific next steps, you should feel supported and a sense of calm.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t have to believe in a higher self or power for this technique to work. It can be done as a strictly cognitive exercise or used to deepen a sense of spiritual connection. Do not put a friend in the chair no matter how much they promise not to say anything. That is a different technique.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Finally, getting to know your BC may take some practice. Do not get discouraged if it takes a few sessions until you get comfortable. Knowing you have a free, in house BC available 24\/7, is worth the trouble.<\/p>\n<p>Next time: The Anxiety Narrative<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now that you know a wise, fearless and kind Brilliant Counselor is available for the asking, here is how to access him\/her\/it. &nbsp; Find a quiet and private place where you will not be interrupted. Sit in one chair and place an empty chair directly in front of you. &nbsp; Imagine a BC is sitting&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":[3,19,17,18,20,22,4,23],"class_list":["post-35","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anxiety","tag-counselor","tag-higher-self","tag-inner-wisdom","tag-jung","tag-mindfulness","tag-peace-of-mind","tag-personality-subtypes"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>#5 A Session with the Brilliant Counselor(BC) - 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=\"#5 A Session with the Brilliant Counselor(BC) - Serenity in an Age of Anxiety\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Now that you know a wise, fearless and kind Brilliant Counselor is available for the asking, here is how to access him\/her\/it. &nbsp; Find a quiet and private place where you will not be interrupted. Sit in one chair and place an empty chair directly in front of you. &nbsp; Imagine a BC is sitting&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/5-session-brilliant-counselorbc.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Serenity in an Age of Anxiety\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-19T18:07:17+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":"#5 A Session with the Brilliant Counselor(BC) - Serenity in an Age of Anxiety","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"#5 A Session with the Brilliant Counselor(BC) - Serenity in an Age of Anxiety","og_description":"Now that you know a wise, fearless and kind Brilliant Counselor is available for the asking, here is how to access him\/her\/it. &nbsp; Find a quiet and private place where you will not be interrupted. Sit in one chair and place an empty chair directly in front of you. &nbsp; Imagine a BC is sitting&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/5-session-brilliant-counselorbc.html","og_site_name":"Serenity in an Age of Anxiety","article_published_time":"2018-02-19T18:07:17+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\/5-session-brilliant-counselorbc.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/5-session-brilliant-counselorbc.html","name":"#5 A Session with the Brilliant Counselor(BC) - 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\/5-session-brilliant-counselorbc.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/5-session-brilliant-counselorbc.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/files\/2018\/02\/214_1-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2018-02-19T18:07:17+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-19T18:07:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/#\/schema\/person\/fe46541d5785c5438edd2d7fd5e65b42"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/5-session-brilliant-counselorbc.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/5-session-brilliant-counselorbc.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/02\/5-session-brilliant-counselorbc.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\/5-session-brilliant-counselorbc.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"#5 A Session with the Brilliant Counselor(BC)"}]},{"@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\/35","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=35"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions\/36"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}