Have you ever wondered if aspiring to unconditional love is unrealistic or even a sign of grandiosity? Have you found that trying to be present to your partner when you have a disagreement is easier said than done?
Even when you find the right person to fall in love with, it is difficult to deal with the next stage: negotiating the real problems of everyday life, while dealing with the wounds and habitual patterns both partners bring to the relationship.
Judith and Vincent credit the skill of disidentification as being hugely important in providing access to a safe and spacious place within us that is less reactive and more centered in the present moment. As we learn to disidentify, each person in the relationship is more able to investigate their own part in the disagreement, as well as to hear their partner, and to be aware of the Soul or essence of the other. It then becomes possible to listen deeply and to reconnect with one’s partner in a fresh and open way.
Judith and Vincent, who each have more than 40 years of rich experience in Psychosynthesis, will reflect on the unfolding of their own relationship. They will use a “question and answer” approach, taking turns in asking and answering questions that open the door to exploring a mystery, challenge, or concern that will be all too familiar to anyone in relationship.
After the sharing by Vincent and Judith, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their own responses to the dialogue in small groups, concluding with sharing in the larger group.
Judith Broadus, PhD, has a doctorate in psychology, with a major focus on counseling and women’s issues. She trained with the Kentucky Center of Psychosynthesis, has been a co-trainer in mindfulness-based professional Psychosynthesis and loves exploring the connections between meditation, Shambhala Buddhism and Psychosynthesis as her “growing edge” with a heart centered somatic approach.
Vincent Dummer, PsyD, a native of the Netherlands, is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Lexington, KY. Within his practice, he assists highly creative and gifted individuals with emotional and interpersonal difficulties, utilizing insights from attachment literature. He trained at the London Institute of Psychosynthesis, and served as a trainer and director of the Kentucky Center of Psychosynthesis from 1983-1988. He and Judith conducted a three-year professional training in mindfulness-based Psychosynthesis and produced the video interview series, “Psychosynthesis Portraits.”