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Children of The Universe
“Half the people in the world think that the metaphors of their religious traditions, for example, are facts. And the other half contends that they are not facts at all. As a result, we have people who consider themselves believers because they accept metaphors as facts, and we have others who classify themselves as atheists because they think religious metaphors are lies…. Which group really gets the message?”
Neither, of course. The great stories are indeed metaphorical, not literal, and are always totally True as symbolic explications of the internal, intangible, heart and soul. The never-ending argument between believers and atheists is specious.
— Joseph Campbell
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Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
— ‘Desiderata’ ~Max Ehrmann 1927
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Over four decades of clinical experience, Maté has come to recognize the prevailing understanding of “normal” as false, neglecting the roles that trauma and stress, and the pressures of modern-day living, exert on…
