St. Augustine
Just as Jesus still bore the scars of his crucifixion in his resurrected body, so our wounds may be part of our story also.
But they're not where the story ends.
"After suffering years of losses beyond my control and facing a lifetime without my precious babies, my life is still worth rebuilding. I hadn’t given myself enough permission or taken enough responsibility to control what is mine to control - my thoughts, feelings, actions, boundaries, expectations, etc. I am excited about growing within myself and in my relationships." - Erin B.
We all were.
But the reality of life in this fallen world is that sometimes, we're not loved the way that we're supposed to be.
This experience can create inner wounds that leave us feeling broken and acting out of that woundedness.
Do you feel inauthentic? Do you people-please?
Is there tension in your relationships with extended family and friends, but you're not sure how to create boundaries or to find peace? You just know that you keep getting upset or disappointed and you're not sure how to change it.
Does God feel far away?
Do you struggle to trust His goodness or His love for you because of the ways that you've been hurt in the past?
Does He feel like a loving Father or like someone who is just waiting for you to make a mistake?
Do you see yourself as a beloved child of God or as someone He only tolerates?
Do you have beliefs about yourself that say you're unlovable, broken, too much, or not enough?
Do you have a hard time giving yourself compassion?
My Beauty from Brokenness Workshop Series is for women who have been wounded from the circumstances of life and feel ready to learn more virtuous and healthy ways of relating to God, to others, and to themselves.
Beginning with self-awareness, we will grow in understanding of our unique temperaments and the way we interact with others.
We will move into self-possession to understand how to gain control over our thoughts, feelings, and actions, and interact with others in a healthier way.
We'll examine our relationships and find points of friction that may exist due to unmet expectations, boundary problems, or a need for forgiveness.
We'll learn tools to help process our emotions with the Lord so that we don't continue to either let them run the show or stuff them down to avoid them.
Finally, we will pull all of these tools together to discover the unique calling God has for our lives so that we can be a true self-gift to others from a place of freedom and love.
This is not New Age mindfulness and mere self-help. This information is firmly rooted in the scriptures, in the teachings of Saints like St. Teresa of Avila and St. Thomas Aquinas, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Healing happens when we are aligned with proper Catholic anthropology, including right judgment and God's created order. I want to help you get back into alignment so that you can receive God's healing and wholeness.
"I am more equipped to deal with my runaway thoughts and emotions - they come at me daily and quickly, and even when I’m most overwhelmed I know I have tools to slowly bring me back to stability. This series requires strength, deep reflection, and self-honesty - the more one can invest into the series the more one will reap. I am tremendously grateful to Eileen for this incredible opportunity." - Workshop Participant
wondering what's the point of doing this healing work? I'm so glad you asked!
Ultimately, the goal of healing these wounds is a closer relationship with God. Wounds tend to create a distance from the One Who Heals, either because we're ashamed and don't believe He'll accept us in our broken state or because we fear that He will hurt us more. Grounding ourselves in the truth of who He is and who we are is like setting a broken bone. The proper alignment enables us to begin to heal.
Additionally, by doing this work you'll gain:
control over your thoughts and emotions
freedom to choose virtuous actions over vicious ones
the ability to love others in a healthier way
tools to combat the lies of the enemy and to put on the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5)
compassion for yourself and others
awareness of the dignity and unique design with which God has created you and others
an understanding of the way your desires and gifts point to the mission God has for your life
Week One – Understanding Your Unique Temperament Workshop Discover your unique God-given temperament and how it affects the way you show up in all areas of your life. Together we will identify your particular strengths and weaknesses, the things that motivate you and the things that trigger you. This can help us grow in self-awareness, self-advocacy, and self-compassion. St. Teresa of Avila says that walking in truth and self-knowledge are two important components to humility, so let us begin here. (A free temperaments assessment is included.)
The Reason Cycle - With this three-part workshop, we transition from self-awareness to self-control. The Reason Cycle is a process by which we grow aware of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, see how they are impacting our lives, hold them to the light of truth, and decide how we will think going forward to live a life of greater purpose, freedom, and virtue. This is a meta-skill that can change the way you solve problems for the rest of your life!
Week Two – The Reason Cycle Part 1: Setting Goals and Identifying Problems
Week Three – The Reason Cycle Part 2: Unpacking our Thoughts and Emotions
Week Four – The Reason Cycle Part 3: Using our Judgment and Reason
Week Five – Managing Your Expectations of Others We all have expectations of the other people in our lives – our spouses, our children, our extended family. In this workshop we will learn about the different “manuals” – or unspoken rules – we may have for others and what we can make it mean when they meet or don’t meet those expectations. We can learn how to let go of these things or communicate them better to improve the health of these relationships.
Week Six – Setting Healthy Boundaries In this workshop we will talk about setting boundaries with others. We do this by getting clear about the things that are inside and outside of our control. Sometimes we need to reevaluate our boundaries after an experience that wounds us. Let’s talk about how to do this in a healthy way that honors the freedom and dignity of everyone involved.
Week Seven – Embracing Forgiveness In this workshop we will talk about what forgiveness means. We will examine areas where we may need to forgive others, forgive God, or forgive ourselves and learn how to do this freely, using our will. This skill can open huge channels of grace and help us to heal from and move past places we may feel stuck.
Discovering Your Unique Call to Sanctity - God has a plan for your life. In this two-part workshop, we will build on what we have learned so far and pull it all together to discern the unique calling God has for you. By looking at your temperament, talents, gifts, and passions, we will learn how to get a better understanding of the mission God has planned for you. With your solid foundation of self-awareness and self-possession, you can prepare to become a more virtuous self-gift to your family, friends, parish, and possibly beyond! A spiritual gifts inventory is included as part of this workshop. As St. Catherine of Siena tells us, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” Let's discover who God means you to be!
Week Eight– Unique Call to Sanctity Part 1 – Identifying Your Gifts and Passions
Week Nine – Unique Call to Sanctity Part 2 – Discovering Your Mission
"Very early into the series, I began implementing the tools, and before the nine weeks were complete, one of my difficult relationships was already improving (because of my own actions, not the other’s!)."
Here's what's included in this workshop series:
Because wounding often happens in the context of relationships, the source of our healing can also be relational. Meet live with me and other participants on Zoom for each lesson and workshop. These live sessions help create support, validation, and friendship with others who are doing this work. A recording of each session will be available for 30 days following that workshop in the event that you're unable to attend live.
Live workshops will take place Tuesday evenings from 7 to 8:30 PM Eastern (US) Time.
In addition to the weekly workshop, participants will have the opportunity to participate in live group coaching with me. Here, they can bring up any areas in which they are feeling stuck or struggling with what we're learning.
Live group coaching sessions will take place on Thursday mornings from 9:00 to 9:45 AM Eastern (US) Time.
Each participant will be able to print her own PDF workbook to bring to each session.
Participants will be added to a private discussion space inside my FREE online community where they can ask questions, share wins, and otherwise discuss the lessons learned in the series. This private community just adds to the support and encouragement you'll be finding in the context of the workshops.
Each participant will be able to schedule a 45-minute session with me in which she will learn tools for processing emotions. Our emotions can play a big role in our woundedness - either because we act out of them or because we stuff them down in an effort to ignore them. But we don't have to be afraid of emotions. Our Lord experienced our emotions and created us to have them. Let's learn tools to feel them so that we can heal.
All participants receive a 10% discount on any 1:1 work with me after the course.
This cohort is only open to 10 participants
The next cohort will begin October 8, 2024.
Register today!