We are living in extremely hard times with widespread unemployment, staggering personal debt, foreclosures, and economic uncertainty about the future. Many people are in prolonged crisis mode with the resulting symptoms of stress, lack of sleep, and depression. Quite a large number of people would describe what they are experiencing as "my life is falling apart." In this handy and helpful resource, Daphne Rose Kingma (The Future of Love) presents ten emotional, practical, and spiritual solutions to this troubling malaise. When we suffer and are confronted with difficulties, we respond by trying to stay in control but we usually fail. Kingma goes along with spiritual teachers from all traditions who say, "part of the purpose of crisis is to get us to stretch in new and completely different ways. Major life events are profound opportunities for emotional healing and spiritual development."
The first of the Ten Things to Do When Your Life Falls Apart is to "Cry Your Heart Out." Kingma sees tears as a cathartic expression of the body's need to express grief. They are not a sign of weakness, but "a healing balm, a river to the future." Change does not come easy and that is why another solution is "Face Your Defaults." When we feel under pressure and overwhelmed, we turn to our habitual behaviors or old tapes. Kingma outlines six Life Themes (neglect, abandonment, abuse, rejection, emotional suffocation, and deprivation) and four steps to facing our defaults. Other strategies for dealing with our troubles and crises include the practical solution of living simply or the spiritual solution of embracing our essential nature and making the most out of our "Spiritual Signature."
The Ten Things to Do When Your Life Falls Apart: An Emotional and Spiritual Handbook reveals how crises and changes can be seen as teachers leading us to substantive transformations.
