I have something I call my "therapy notebook".  It is a notebook where I put therapeutic articles, write notes from conferences or healing books I read, take notes in during therapy, have blank pages for spontaneous art, journal some thoughts, worksheets, and so on.  I'm going to share some things I have in there.

Thoughts

I think of me what I think you think of me.

Saying "if only..." is faulty because it implies I was in control of the situation.

It's not a press conference, it's therapy!

Be Yourself: everyone is already taken!


Those Who Recover Have the Following Common Characteristics

1. A commitment to do whatever is necessary in order to recover.
2. Insight into the psychological, relational, and emotional issues underlying their character.
3. A cadre of supportive people to walk with them throughout the process of recovery.
4. A willingness to take risks.
5. A strong collaborative therapeutic relationship characterized by trust.
6. The willingness to learn to tolerate emotional pain.
7.The willingness to distance themselves from people who are undermining their recovery process until they are healthier.
8. An attitude of curiosity about themselves that supersedes judgment and defensiveness
9. An openness to learn new ways to deal with life.
10. A willingness to admit they are not perfect.
11. A  source of unconditional love and truth, be it spiritual or human.


Everyone knows that
You can't be all things to all people
You can't do all things at once
You can't do all things equally well
You can't do all things better than everyone else
Your humanity is showing just like everyone else

So
You have to find out who your are, and be that
You have to decide what comes first, and do that
You have to discovered your strengths, and use them
You have to learn not to compete with others
Because no one else is in the contest of *being you*

THEN
You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions
You will have learned to live with your limitations
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due
And you'll be a most vital mortal

Dare to believe
That you are wonderful, unique person
That you are a once in all history event
That its more than a right, it's your duty, to be who you are
That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish
and you'll be able to stay up on what used to get you down.


To Let Go Takes Love by Dr. Margaret J. Rinck

To "let go" does not mean to stop caring; it means I can't do it for someone else.
To "let go" is not to cut myself off; it is the realization that I can't control another.
To "let go" is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.
To "let go" is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another; it is to make the most of myself.
To "let go" is not to care for, but to care about.
To "let go" is not to "fix", but to be supportive.
To "let go" is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To "let go" is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to      affect their own destinies.
To "let go" is not to be protective; it is to permit another to face reality.
To "let go" is not to deny, but to accept.
To "let go" is not to nag, scold, or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and to correct them.
To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes, and to cherish myself in it.
To "let go" is not to criticize and regulate anybody, but to try to become what I dream I can be.
To "let go" is not to regret the past, but to grow and to live for the future.
To "let go" is to fear less and to love more.

Native American Proverbs

Stand in the light when you want to speak out.  Crow
Good and evil cannot dwell together in the same heart, so a good man ought no go into bad company.  Delaware
Do no speak of evil, for it creates curiosity in the hearts of the young.  Lakota
When a man prays one day and steals six, the Great Spirit thunders and the Evil One laughs.  Oklahoma
Let your eyes be offended by the sight of lying and deceitful men.  Hopi
When an elder speaks, be silent and listen.  Mohawk
Never see an old person going to carry water without getting a bucket and going in their stead.  Twanas
Show respect to all men, but grovel to none.  Shawnee
We stand somewhere between the mountain and the ant.  Onondaga
Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.  Cherokee
What is past and cannot be prevented should not be grieved for.  Pawnee
Force, no matter how concealed, begets resistance.  Lakota
The bird that has eaten cannot fly with the bird that is hungry.  Omaha
There is nothing as eloquent as a rattlesnake’s tail.  Navajo
God teaches the birds to make nests, yet the nests of all birds are not alike.  Duwamish