How do we get to the soul? We have to get past the outer self. It is through journeying to the Outer self. Our wounds. Our (defense) mechanisms. We need to do this with kindness, empathy and tenderness as well as a sense of humor. There is no room for judgement because everything we are in our wounded self is there for a reason and we need to honor that reason as well as having to transcend it.
Margot Borden on why should one contemplate therapy
I sat and sipped on an orange juice as the birds in the courtyard sang their morning chorus. Across from me sat a lady who was doing a Zoom call. Between sips of juice, gazing up at the sky and watching guests come and go, I began eaves dropping on the digital conversation going on in front of me. Pretty soon I could recognize there was a therapy session taking place. What really impressed me was first of all this therapists presence and her ability to listen fully to what was going on with her client. I heard only the (therapist) side of the conversation, which I noticed was a fantastic mixture of changing perspectives, ancient wisdoms and confrontation with laughter always lying on the surface throughout the session.
Having gone through several forms of therapy myself, it was wonderful to witness someone who used compassion and humbleness as a starting point, as well as humor and irony so that the client was able to see the humor of their behavior too.
I asked Margot if she would be up for answering a few questions whilst here in Goa in between her juggling her online therapy practice, writing her PHD thesis and finishing her fourth book about the healing power of women to finding and expressing their voice in the world.
This was a person who had things to do and oh so little time.
Luckily for me, she said yes! So, with a chorus of birds and dogs barking in the background, we began our conversation. I started off by asking her:
Ritchie: Do only weak people seek therapy? Why would a healthy person seek therapy??
Ritchie: As a therapist, what has been the emotional response of (your clients) both during and in the aftermath? Is there a common theme that you have seen come up?
What I’ve seen is that people are turning to the essential questions. They start asking themselves: Who am I? What am I doing? Why are we making these decisions? What’s driving me? Where’s this coming from? What do I really want?
Margot Borden on the effects on the psyche of everyday people post pandemic
Ritchie: How do we as individuals take ownership of our mental health so that we can become better human beings?
Ritchie: Is there any hope for us Humans to have a shift in consciousness, or are we doomed as a species?
Ritchie: Can one have a checklist where one can prepare one’s self to act in a conscious way and move away from one’s reactive (or compulsive) tendencies?
When we honor our pain, not empower it but hold space for it, we can then start to make meaning from the evilest of forces to the sublime so that we can work with them consciously and intentionally ….
Margot Borden, Palolem Beach, Goa 2023
