Prayer and Pastoral Care

I highly recommend books by Lindsay C. Gibson, PsyD on healing from Emotionally Immature Parents or Emotionally Immature People. Since our parents or caregivers were often our primary example of love in the world, healing from the effects of unhealthy parenting can help heal us in other ways as well.

Our relationships are a fundamental part of our lives and often involve a complex balance of love, friendship, healthy communication, respect, good boundaries, and more. I recommend resources by The Gottman Institute and The Center for Non-Violent Communication‍ by Marshall Rosenberg, PhD. The Gottman Institute, by Drs. John and Julie Gottman, provides research-based or evidence-based information on relationships and their common challenges.

Grief is the experience of profound loss in life. Grief can involve the loss of a loved one, but it can also involve the loss of a friend, home, job or other elements that define our lives. Healing from grief often does not come in an orderly fashion, but can come in waves. I recommend resources by Elisabeth Kubler Ross, one of the world’s leading experts in grief and near-death experiences. GriefShare groups can also be found in many churches across the country.

Abuse is the absence of love. Jesus or Yeshua explains that love is the highest law or principle of Heaven and life on Earth, so when we engage in an absence of love towards ourselves or others, we are engaging in abuse. Since love is the fundamental nature of God and ourselves, it is not “God’s will” that an unloving circumstance occur. It is up to us to listen to our intuition to get ourselves out of an unloving circumstance. If you feel you are being abused by someone and would like to talk with someone immediately, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

While you do not need to go to church to have a connection to God, many believers in Christ find it helpful and easier to connect to their faith through fellowship in a community. I recommend researching various church’s social and theological beliefs before joining a church and becoming involved in their community.

Life on the other side is often full of tales of a God of Love and Light. I recommend organizations like IANDS, NDERF, ACISTE, SAI, Spiritual-Experiences, Near-Death News, and Dr. Raymond Moody’s Life After Life for understanding the full spectrum of spiritual experiences and why love is what truly matters to God.

To God, what matters is love and connection to Him, not whether someone is black or white, or gay or straight. As such, gay and lesbian individuals go to Heaven, too, and can have positive encounters with the God of Love and Light on the other side. I highly recommend research by Liz Dale, PhD to learn more about the experiences of gays and lesbians. She has written a book entitled Crossing Over and Coming Home. Christian Andreason is a prominent LGBTQIA+ experiencer who lives openly. You can read more of his experience and others on near-death.com.

Suicide or suicidal ideation often occurs when people are experiencing profound amounts of emotional, psychological, or physical pain. This can be due to an illness, unexpected life circumstance, isolation, personal injury, betrayal, trauma, or more. If you are thinking about ending your life, consider connecting with a trusted friend in life, contacting a trusted pastor, calling 988, or a seeking out a trustworthy licensed professional counselor. Often times, talking with a compassionate person about what you’re going through in life can help ease the pain and give you the courage to move forward.

High-control groups are communities or organizations that often demand high loyalty to leadership or the group’s ideology. They often use tactics of overt or covert control to reinforce loyalty or conformity to the group and/or leader. They usually do this by finding ways to override the individual’s thinking, behavior, emotions, or access to information. HCGs can be found within churches or organizations. They are often operated by controlling, autocratic, or authoritarian leaders and the people who trust in or believe in their leadership. Healthy leaders or groups will always value individual freedom and autonomy. I often recommend Dr. Steven Hassan’s BITE Model of Authoritarian Control and the Influence Continuum.

Emotions are a fundamental part of our being and are a part of our spirit and our soul. Our Souls and our spirits are made of pure love that comes from God. When we try to invalidate, deny, diminish, downplay, or suppress our emotions, we cause great harm to ourselves and others. “Negative emotions” from times when we were hurt, abused or traumatized, are then stored in our bodies. Learning to release the “negative” emotion often takes counseling and learning to relax the mind, body, and spirit to release the “hold”. You can also pray and ask God and the angels to help you release the emotion within your body that is not beneficial to you.