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How Can We Access and Heal Our Authentic Self? Richard Schwartz and Loch Kelly
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How Can We Access and Heal Our Authentic Self? Richard Schwartz and Loch Kelly

Introduction to Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Overview of the Podcast

  • The podcast features Dick Schwartz, founder of Internal Family Systems (IFS), discussing its innovative psychotherapy approach.
  • Focus on micro meditations and conversations about non-duality, neuroscience, and contemporary psychology.

Background on IFS

  • Schwartz shares his journey in discovering IFS, starting from his background as a family therapist in 1981.
  • Initially skeptical of internal psychological work, he aimed to prove that reorganizing family relationships could resolve issues.

Discovery of Parts

Understanding Client Experiences

  • Clients described their internal struggles using the concept of "parts," which was unfamiliar to Schwartz at first.
  • He learned that these parts often had autonomy and were trying to protect the individual from pain or trauma.

The Concept of Exiles and Protectors

  • Schwartz identifies two main categories: Exiles (vulnerable parts) and Protectors (managers and firefighters).
  • Exiles: Vulnerable parts locked away due to trauma.
  • Managers: Parts that try to control external circumstances to prevent triggering Exiles.
  • Firefighters: Reactive parts that act impulsively when Exiles are triggered.

The Nature of Self

Accessing the Authentic Self

  • The "Self" with a capital S is described as an inherent part within everyone that cannot be damaged and knows how to heal.
  • This Self embodies qualities such as calmness, curiosity, compassion, confidence, creativity, courage, clarity, and connectedness—collectively referred to as the "8 C's."

Transformation Through Dialogue

  • IFS encourages clients to engage in dialogue with their parts rather than suppress them; this leads to transformation rather than mere observation.

Distinguishing Parts from Mind States

Understanding Sub-Personalities

  • Schwartz discusses how other therapeutic models may conflate negative states with identity rather than recognizing them as distinct parts carrying burdens.

Compassionate Engagement

  • Emphasizes the importance of approaching all internal experiences—including negative emotions—with compassion instead of vilification or suppression.

Cultural Perspectives on Healing

Addressing Trauma Without Fear

  • Both speakers challenge traditional beliefs about needing a strong ego or good parenting for healing; they argue that self-leadership can emerge even from severe trauma backgrounds.

Bridging Psychology and Spirituality

  • They highlight IFS as a bridge between psychological understanding and spiritual awakening by allowing individuals access to their true selves without extensive preparatory work or therapy stages.

Practical Applications of IFS

Daily Integration

  • Discusses how individuals can practice self-leadership daily by recognizing when they are triggered by external events and accessing their Self during those moments for better outcomes in interactions.

Learning from Relationships

  • Relationships serve as opportunities for growth; challenging interactions reveal unresolved parts needing attention for healing processes.

Exploring Self and Parts in Healing

Accessing Self through Activities

  • Engaging in activities you love, such as sports or dancing, can help access the self. It's important to recognize who is experiencing these feelings and what it feels like to be in that state of self-awareness.

The Role of Self-Energy

  • A key goal is to bring more self-energy into the world, especially among leaders. This energy has healing properties for both inner and outer relationships. Understanding how leaders can express this energy is crucial for broader impact.

Speaking from Parts vs. Speaking for Parts

  • When communicating feelings, it's beneficial to speak for a part rather than as a part. This approach helps clarify emotions without blending with them, allowing for healthier interactions and understanding of one's feelings.

Peak Experiences and Spirituality

  • Peak experiences, including those induced by psychedelics, can facilitate access to the self and reveal an innate sense of well-being that many people miss when living from a parts-based perspective. Recognizing this can lead to profound realizations about existence and connection.

Compassionate Engagement with Parts

  • Developing compassion towards all parts of oneself is essential for healing. Accepting parts without needing them to change fosters openness within individuals, making them more receptive to transformation over time.

Psychedelics as Tools for Accessing Self

  • Psychedelic substances like MDMA can quickly help individuals access their self-energy while remaining grounded in their bodies, promoting deep emotional connections and compassion toward others. These experiences often lead participants to spontaneously engage with their internal parts system (IFS).

Risks Associated with Rapid Accessing of Self

  • There are dangers in accessing the self too quickly without addressing protective parts first; backlash may occur where individuals experience overwhelming negative emotions or reactions due to unresolved trauma or fear of feeling good again. Understanding this dynamic is vital during psychedelic sessions or therapeutic work involving IFS techniques.

Managing Emotional Responses During Sessions

  • If intense emotional responses arise during therapy sessions (e.g., screaming), it's important to acknowledge the upset part separately rather than becoming overwhelmed by it; facilitating dialogue between the individual and their parts can aid in processing these emotions constructively.

Integrating Mindfulness into Healing Practices

  • Practicing mindfulness involves recognizing when one is blended with a part and learning how to unblend effectively; this process allows individuals to connect with their core essence before re-engaging with their various parts in a compassionate manner that promotes healing relationships within themselves and others.

The Interconnectedness of All Beings

  • Achieving enough self-awareness leads individuals not only to feel connected within themselves but also fosters a sense of unity with all beings; this interconnectedness aligns closely with Buddhist principles while providing practical pathways toward experiencing it firsthand rather than merely conceptualizing it.
Playlists: TCP Trauma Aware Resources
Video description

Explore all of Loch Kelly's practices and teachings on the Mindful Glimpses app, found at https://lochkelly.org/mindful-glimpses. This innovative meditation and wellness app offers daily micro-meditations, step by step programs, and simple-yet-advanced tools for awakening. Learn how to love and heal our wounded parts by accessing authentic Self and embodying awakening. Loch welcomes his friend and co-teacher of many workshops together, Richard Schwartz, Ph.D., the founder of Internal Family Systems psychotherapy (IFS). They share unique insight into how our ego manager is not the enemy but a protective part of us that is happy to be a part of the team when our authentic Self is the new leader. After the dialogue, Loch offers a guided mindful glimpse micro-meditation to access our Authentic Self. Richard Schwartz, Ph.D., began his career as a systemic family therapist and an academic. Grounded in systems thinking, Dr. Schwartz developed Internal Family Systems (IFS) in response to clients’ descriptions of various parts within themselves. He focused on the relationships among these parts and noticed that there were systemic patterns to the way they were organized across clients. He also found that when the clients’ parts felt safe and were allowed to relax, the clients would experience spontaneously the qualities of confidence, openness and compassion that Dr. Schwartz came to call the Self. He found that when in Self, clients would know how to heal their parts. A featured speaker for national professional organizations, Dr. Schwartz has published many books and over fifty articles about IFS. Loch Kelly is the creator of the Mindful Glimpses app, (mindfulgliimpses.org )an award winning author, psychotherapist, and meditation teacher known for his unique practical methods that support awakening as the next natural stage of human development. Backed by modern neuroscience and psychology, Loch introduces Effortless Mindfulness, an ancient form of nondual meditation that allows immediate access to our embodied awake nature which arises as calm, clarity, and compassion. ►MOBILE APP: https://mindfulglimpses.org ►WEBSITE: https://lochkelly.org/ ►PODCAST: https://podcast.effortlessmindfulness.com/ ►DONATE: https://lochkelly.org/donate TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro and Welcome 02:29 - How Richard Discovered “Parts” and Internal Family Systems 05:22 - There Are No Bad Parts. “The nature of the mind is to be multiple.” 05:43 - The Roles of Parts 11:44 - The EM and IFS Connection & The 8 C’s of “Self” Leadership 13:06 - The Self with a Capital “S” is within everybody 14:03 - Transforming and Returning Parts to Be Valuable Entities 14:32 - The Difference Between the Parts and “Self” 16:55 - IFS, the “Missing Link”, Between Psychology and Awakening (Self Leadership) 18:26 - Distinguishing Parts 23:00 - The Loving Presence of “Self” Can Always Be Available Regardless of Diagnosis 23:45 - Relating to Parts and the Spiritual “Self” 25:45 - Leading From “Self” and The Next Stage of Human Development 30:08 - Exercising “Self” and Bringing “Self” Energy to the World 33:25 - Accessing “Self” Directly (via Effortless Mindfulness, Pique Experiences, Psychedelics) 36:30 - IFS, Psychedelics and Dangers of Accessing “Self” Too Quickly with Psychedelics 41:15 - Unblending, Recognizing “Self” Essence and Interconnectedness 44:15 - Thank Yous and Goodbyes 45:05 - Mindful Glimpse Micro-Meditation - Know Yourself The IFS 8 C’s of Self Leadership - Curiosity, Calm, Courage, Compassion, Creativity, Connectedness, Confidence, Clarity Loch's 11 i's of Self Essence (awake awareness) invisible, intelligent, innate, indestructible, infinite, immediate, illuminated, ineffable, inspired, immutable and is The Effortless Mindfulness Podcast is brought to you by our 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity. Our mission is to make learning how to tap into your inner resources simple, teachable, and accessible to everyone.