Did I tell you I went back to school?  And I don't mean the back-to-school required each year for my teaching job.  I have just begun a Master's degree program in psychology!

Yeah, I'm nuts!  Nuts, because, well, I already have way too much to do!  :-)

But I love school!  I especially love school supplies (but that's another post!).  I love studying -- you know reading and learning new stuff!  I don't like writing essays, though, so you may hear me whine about that at a later date!

Today, I was reading the hundreds of pages I need to read this month, and I came across the concept of "three graces," and I thought I'd share it with you!

David Richo, Ph.D writes that, "We have three reliable and highly skilled healers--three graces--within ourselves."

Cool, huh?

"The first is an inner physician--the grace of the body--who rushes to the scene of an accident.  We cut a finger and s/he brings the platelets to stop the bleeding and white cells to prevent infection."

NOW, listen to this next part:

"We COOPERATE by washing and covering the cut--skills from our first aid manual." (emphasis on COOPERATE mine!)

I just love that!  I love that we CAN choose to COOPERATE with our bodies healing power!

"The second (of the three graces!) is the inner psychologist--the grace of the psyche--who knows just how to help us with our emotional injuries.  When a shocking loss occurs, s/he brings tears of mourning to the site of the wound."

Now, listen to this next part:

"We JOIN in the grief work:  allowing our feelings to emerge, taking time off from work, and even being depressed for a while.  We can trust our inner psychologist to have a program perfectly calibrated for every crisis we face." (emphasis on JOIN mine).

WOW!  Did he just say it's okay to allow our feelings to emerge, to take time off of work, to EVEN be depressed for a while??? 

Did he also just say that we can TRUST our own inner psychologist?  How AWESOME is that?!

"Finally, there is our spiritual guide--the grace of the soul--who knows the full itinerary of our journey through life and can offer the provisions it requires:  inner assurance, synchronicity, dreams, intuitions, sudden awakenings, bursts of imagination, and other miracles."

NOW, listen to this next part:

"We PARTICIPATE by faithful attention, acting in accord with the callings of our destiny, active imagination, mindfulness, dreamwork, etc." (emphasis on PARTICIPATE mine).

Let me just state that again (to make sure I GET IT!):  I PARTICIPATE by FAITHFUL ATTENTION, ACTING IN ACCORD WITH THE CALLINGS OF MY DESTINY . . .

Double WOW!

"The physical work leads to the joy of health.  The psychological work leads to the joy of responsible living and effective relating. The spiritual work leads to the joy of universal love."

"Personal power is an abiding and inviolable trust that the three graces are resident and active in our psyches."

That is all. 

Now, back to my reading!

Richo, D. (1998), Unexpected Miracles:  The gift of synchronicity and how to open it, New York, Crossroads, 1998.