What's in a Name?

In this inaugural episode, we describe what this podcast is about. You are not a slave to your genetics or environment. You can create an environment for growth so that you can be and do everything that God is calling you to be and do!

Transcript

Well, Tim, since this is the inaugural podcast, we thought that we would begin by explaining the title of this podcast: Create an Environment for Growth.

Clients usually come for counseling at Live Oak Associates looking for help to solve a problem in their lives. They are stuck somewhere, and they need help to get unstuck. Often, they have things that happened in their childhood that are still affecting their lives as adults. In fact, many people have experienced trauma in their lives, and they are still trying to figure out how to process that trauma.

You are probably familiar with the concept of PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This diagnosis was first recognized in 1980 but had been reported as early as the Civil War as “soldier’s heart” and in World War I as “shell shock.” It basically describes the trauma-related distress that is often experienced by people who face the horrors of war. Symptoms could include things such as nightmares, flashbacks, hypervigilance, and the inability to function well in society. Victims of PTSD often try to avoid the pain with alcohol or drugs, and there is a disproportionate number of homeless veterans because of this. We now recognize that many people experience the symptoms of PTSD, not just soldiers.

There is another side to this, however, called post traumatic growth. In the mid-1990s, psychologists realized that some people not only survived traumatic situations, they often reported positive personal transformations. In fact, it was not uncommon for traumatized people to experience a greater appreciation of life, better relationships with others, new possibilities in life, personal strength, and spiritual growth.

What’s the difference between those who are sidelined by trauma and those who grow through it? There are two streams of knowledge that help answer this question. One of these areas is research on human well-being and flourishing. There is actually a vast amount of information available to us that informs us about what helps people thrive. The other stream of knowledge is in the area of spiritual disciplines. These are practices that have been developed over the centuries that are designed to foster inner transformation and deepen a person’s relationship with God.

Not surprisingly, there is significant overlap between modern psychological research and the spiritual disciplines. We at Live Oak Associates believe in treating the whole person; body, mind, and soul. So we need to pay attention to all aspects of human flourishing.

The good news is that we don’t need to stop with just helping people solve the problems that are keeping them stuck in life. They can also proactively participate with the growth that God is fostering in them. We cannot make people grow. But we can create an environment for growth that will nurture deeper flourishing over time.

We find that the metaphor of a garden is helpful in understanding this. When you look at the world around you, you can see a lot of things growing. Trees, flowers, animals, and insects – they are all around us! But a garden is a special place. The Volksgarten (“Folksgarten”) in Vienna is an example of such a place. Designated as Vienna’s first public park in 1823, it features a rose garden with over 3,000 rose bushes representing more than 200 varieties of roses. It is a beautiful thing to see!

Gardeners can’t make stuff grow. They can only create an environment for growth. They use their expertise to create the optimal conditions, insuring that there is the right amount of sunlight, water, and soil rich in nutrients. They also protect the garden from insects, weeds, and animals that might be detrimental to the plants.

In the same way, we can create an environment for growth to proactively participate in the growth that God is fostering in our lives. How do we do this? All of the things that we have discovered through psychological research and through the spiritual disciplines can fit under one of three categories. These are Focus, Fellowship, and Fasting.

Focus is meditating on something, soaking in it until it feels true. Neuroscience has shown us that if we focus on something for 10-15 minutes per day for about a month, a strong neuropathway is developed. It becomes a habit, it feels true, and we tend to behave based on that feeling.

Fellowship is based on the fact that, since we are made in the image of God, we are made to be in close relationship with others. God, in the trinity, is three persons but one essence, and he made us to be like him. We can’t grow in isolation.

Fasting is based on the reality that when God asks us to focus on something we usually have to let go of something else. We are not just talking about fasting in the narrow sense of abstaining from food, but in the sense that the Apostle Paul speaks of casting off all of the things that hinder us as we run the race set before us.

You can find out more about creating an environment for growth in the book Create an Environment for Growth by Dr. J. Timothy Smith. You can find this book on Amazon. We will be discussing more of the details on how to create an environment for growth on future podcasts.