Father Bill W.

In modern society many men – and not a few women – are seriously and dangerously out of touch with their emotions. Opportunities abound to isolate and to self-medicate.  When an addict or an alcoholic begins recovery many of us find ourselves emotionally vulnerable and immature. This series focuses on some reasons for this and offers methods and exercises for connecting with and caring for our emotional selves. 

Father Bill interviews therapist Laura Jones Swann, author of Men and Emotions: It’s a Thing. Laura has worked extensively in the recovery field  teaching at several Texas universities. She’ll serve as the guide to a topic that’s relevant to men and women alike. 

In this second episode Laura takes a deep dive into the emotional life of men: the unique challenges men face, the emotional inner- landscape of our lives, and Nine Principles for Connecting to and Caring for the Emotional Self. 

 Show Notes:

Men and Emotions: It’s a Thing by Laura Swann, MEd. LCDC 

Daniel Goldman: Emotional Intelligence

Emotions and Feelings Chart:

Practices-FeelingsSensations.pdf

You can contact Laura [email protected] 

In modern society many men – and not a few women – are seriously and dangerously out of touch with their emotions. Opportunities abound to isolate and to self-medicate. When an addict or an alcoholic begins recovery  many of us find ourselves emotionally vulnerable and emotionally immature. This series focuses on some reasons this comes about and offers methods and exercises for connecting with and caring for our emotional selves.

Father Bill interviews therapist Laura Jones Swann, author of Men and Emotions: It’s a Thing. Laura has worked extensively in the recovery field for many years teaching at several Texas universities. She’ll serve as the guide to a topic that’s relevant to men and women alike. In the first episode Laura introduces herself, talks about her own recovery, shares how she became interested in deeper emotional work, and suggests how her book can be of help to readers wanting to grow in emotional maturity. Hope you'll come along! 

Show Notes:

Men and Emotions: It’s a Thing by Laura Jones Swann, MEd. LCDC

You can contact Laura

Fr. Bill interviews Jungian analyst and author of The War of the Gods in Addiction David Schoen. The conversation centers on the underlying, and often overlooked, psychic elements uniquely present in addiction and the 12-Step pathway that seems specifically designed to overcome them.

Show Notes:

The War of the Gods in Addiction

Copy of the Letters Between Wilson and Jung

A book I’ve often returned to over and over is Thomas R.

Show Notes:

A Testament of Devotion by Thomas R. Kelly

A book I’ve often returned to over and over is Thomas R.

Show Notes:      

A book I’ve often returned to over and over is Thomas R. Kelly’s  A Testament of Devotion. Kelly was a Quaker and a mystic. His book centers on what the Big Book calls “the Great Reality within.” Since it’s a Greater Reality we can never fully understand it – but we can certainly experience it – and mystics like Kelly come as close as humans can come to describing what such an experience - and still more – what a such relationship is like. In this episode Fr. Bill goes further into Kelly’s chapter: The Blessed Community. He describes what it means to be in genuine union with fellow spiritual travelers verses being just another cog in a spiritual wheel going nowhere.

Show Notes:

A Testament of Devotion by Thomas R. Kelly

A book I’ve often returned to over and over is Thomas R.

Show Notes:

A Testament of Devotion by Thomas R. Kelly

A book I’ve often returned to over and over is Thomas R.

Show Notes:

A Testament ofDevotion by Thomas R. Kelly

Poem: The Hound of Heaven by Francis

Wiki page on the life of Francis Thompson (a recovered opium addict)

A book I’ve often returned to in my morning Quiet

A Testament of Devotion by Thomas R. Kelly

Passage from The Light Within by Thomas R. Kelly:

… Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body

It is a Light Within which illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the face of men. It is a seed stirring to life if we do not choke it. It is the Shekinah of the soul, the Presence in the midst. Here is the Slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened, to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action. And He is within us all.

Many early AAs were prolific readers. Dr. Bob left a library overflowing with spiritual literature and for Oxford Group members spiritual reading formed an important part of their daily morning quiet times. When I’m asked, “What books do you recommend?” to read before doing Two Way Prayer, I’m hesitant to answer as we’re each very different. But, for me, there's one book I’ve returned to several times and it never fails to speak to the deepest longings of my soul. The Big Book says the Great Reality is within. Thomas R. Kelly’s book A Testament of Devotion sheds a Light that helps illuminate that inward journey. Come along for the ride!

A Testament of Devotion by Thomas R. Kelly