By Michael R. Kandle, Psy.D.
“THE PREMISE OF THE BOOK IS SOLID: WE CAN FIND INNER WISDOM AND BECOME OUR OWN HEALERS. WHAT IS MORE, KANDLE GOES BEYOND THEORY, SHOWING YOU HOW TO DO IT.”
LUCIA CAPACCHIONE, PH.D., ART THERAPIST AND AUTHOR
The Whole Mind Healing introduces a groundbreaking method for personal transformation that takes readers beyond a self-help experience into a much deeper self-healing experience. Readers will not only learn how their minds and hearts can heal but will learn how to do this for themselves.
The self-healing process presented in Whole Mind Healing combines three essential elements:
Detailed explanation of the healing process.
An introduction to a large family of sub-selves in the subconscious and
A two-handed writing technique that gives individuals direct access to their sub-selves in order to have healing dialogues with them. The literally puts the power
The effectiveness of the Whole Mind Healing method relies on taking full advantages of the brain’s neuroplasticity. By learning how to have loving dialogues with and b/w the mind’s sub-selves, heal their patterns of thinking and emotion take root in the deepest levels the subconscious.
This process is analogous to removing invasive weeds from a neglected garden and planting new seeds for more beautiful and healthy growth. In the case of a distressed mind, the weeds of toxic beliefs, judgments, shame and self-loathing become replaced with seeds of compassion, understanding, acceptance, and wholeness.
Readers will discover how to identify internal conflicts and divisions in their minds and learn how to transform these into cooperative partnerships. Using two-handed writing, they will orchestrate loving, internal dialogues, bringing together the left and right hemispheres of the brain, the rational and emotional functions of the mind, the conscious and the subconscious levels of awareness, and the entire family of sub-selves. As the whole mind experiences this deep healing, the mind becomes whole. And, with a healthy mind, the doors are opened to a healthier and more rewarding life.
Whole Mind Healing
Introduction
Whole Mind Healing is a book that will teach you how to heal your whole mind. You’ll be surprised to discover how much easier this is to do than you might think, and how it’s entirely possible to do by yourself. To do so, you’ll need to learn about the process of healing and develop an understanding of the nature of your mind. What most people don’t understand about their mind is that it’s not a single entity, but rather is made up of multiple subpersonalities. By understanding the nature of these subpersonalities, a person can heal their whole mind.
The word whole in the title of this book has two integral meanings. The first refers to the entirety of all the mind’s individual parts, and the second refers to the wholeness of the mind, a condition reflecting how well the individual parts are integrated through their relationships with one another. In many ways a mind is identical in nature to that of a family. Both are made up of three dimensions: the individuals are made up of three dimensions: the individuals (parts), the whole (collective), and the relationships between their parts. Together, the status of these dimensions determine how healthy a family or a mind will be. In a mind or a family, healthy functioning is determined by the health of each individual part and the health of the relationships between them. Because of this, healing is often required on both individual and relationship dimensions.
Why might a mind need to be healed in the first place? Most often this is because various painful or traumatic experiences have created scars, divisions, and conflicts within it. Returning to the family analogy, if an emotionally unhealthy parent abuses a child, this typically causes damage to that child as well as damage to the parent/child and spousal relationships in the family. For such a family to become whole and healthy again, individual healing would likely be necessary for the child, the unhealthy parent, and all the family relationships harmed by the abuse. A mind becomes wounded, and whole again, in the same way.
Most people don’t think of their minds as consisting of separate and unique parts, nor that there can be multiple conflicts between them. Once you learn about the different subpersonalities in your mind and how to access them, you’ll come to understand their different natures, their conflicts, and learn how they need to be healed.
Conflicts between subpersonalities result in a loss of internal connections – connections necessary for the mind to be whole rather than divided. The more the mind is divided, the more one’s health becomes afflicted by anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, shame, and/or despair. Conflicted minds are also associated with parallel conflicts in relationships with others. This is because there is a direct correlation between how different subpersonalities relate internally and how they relate to the corresponding subpersonalities in others. Healing inner conflicts also helps manage outer conflicts. In other words, by learning to heal your mind you will also learn how to create healthier relationships with others.
The secret to both inner and outer healing can actually be discovered in a deeper understanding of the “Golden Rule.” The Golden Rule is the most universal principle found in virtually every major religion and society, both around the world and across the span of history. The language of the Golden Rule varies slightly between different religious and secular traditions, but the fundamental wisdom is the same – that we must understand and treat others the way we would like others to understand and treat us. Though this may sound simple on the surface, there is more wisdom in this tenet than most people realize. This is not a book about religious principles or spiritual healing, but instead about the process of healing with the love and compassion represented in the Golden Rule.
There is nothing magical or mysterious about the healing process. Virtually everyone can learn how to do it. Though healing most often occurs in a therapeutic or other compassionate relationship, it can also be done by oneself. Either way, the healing process is a relational one.
This means that healing occurs through the interactions of a compassionate relationship. With respect to healing the mind, it’s the relationships between subpersonalities where healing takes place. This is accomplished by replacing toxic beliefs and conflicted interactions with better understandings and collaborative partnerships. Whole Mind Healing will teach you exactly how this can be done.
In the chapters that follow, you’ll be introduced to some concepts that may or may not be familiar to you. These include a map of the mind’s different domains, the process for healing the relationships between them, and a simple, effective technique for applying the healing process wherever wounds require healing. Though these concepts may be unfamiliar, there is very little contained in Whole Mind Healing that is new or unconventional. Everything presented here has roots in the traditions of mainstream psychology, philosophy, and ancient wisdom. The first part of Whole Mind Healing introduces the principles of the healing process, the second part provides a map of the mind, and the third part focuses on the experience of applying the principles of healing to the mind. It’s written in a way that teaches readers how to heal their minds independently, though these lessons can also be adopted into an existing therapeutic relationship. The more choices we have in life the better. There is no “one size fits all” path to healing.
Throughout Whole Mind Healing, the terms healing, creating peace, and conflict management are used interchangeably because these functions rely on the same process, though with slightly different aims. Not all internal or external relationships can fully heal, yet there is still the potential for increasing peace and/or reducing conflicts within yourself and with others. Whole Mind Healing also places emphasis on the importance of personal safety. If deep and delicate sensitivities are encountered, guidance will be offered for how to maintain emotional safety and draw on outside support when necessary. Healing is most necessary in those places where people are most vulnerable, so healing must take place in safe conditions. I hope you will find this path easy to understand and to experience. If so, Whole Mind Healing will have fulfilled its purpose.