Dear friends, I’m happy to announce the launch of my new 2023 online spirituality and healing group. You can find all the details here: >>Matt Licata’s New 2023 Online Group and Community In hearing from many of you over the last few years – and reflecting on my own journey – I’ve come to realize that it’s not easy to find a spiritually-oriented group or set of teachings and practices that honor the role of psychotherapy, emotional attunement, the shadow, the body, and our relational lives on an integral path of transformation and healing.Even if our primary interest is in spiritual transformation, we cannot separate out our unresolved relational trauma, attachment wounding, and the narcissistic injury we may have experienced. For these shape the way that we perceive ourselves, our relationships, and also our connection with the mystery and our own spirituality. If we do not include these essential aspects of our human experience, we’ll be unable to live fully in the world in a way that is guided by wisdom and compassion. We won’t be able to fully access that joy, aliveness, and creativity that is our birthright, participating in our lives with an open heart, attuned to the mysteries, in a way that is deeply meaningful and beneficial, for ourselves and others. What I’ve discovered in my own life (the hard way) and also in my clinical practice with a lot of dedicated and courageous women and men over the years is that if we fail to tend to our own wounding and trauma, it will inevitably leak out, and color any realization that we might have.Unprocessed somatic and emotional material has a way of creating a perceptual lens (reality tunnel) through which we come to imagine ourselves, others, and the world; and also how we imagine and relate with nature and with the Divine.No matter how deep and profound our realizations have been, they will be filtered through whatever unmetabolized trauma and wounding that remains upheld and unhealed within us. In response to an inner call that I’ve felt and the many requests I’ve received over the last few years, I’ve designed this new online training immersion for those looking to make a real commitment to their inner lives, to meet regularly throughout the year, in a way that is attuned to the majesty of the human person, sensitive to developmental wounding, embodied and relational, while anchored in the deeper layers of spiritual transformation.It is vital, in my experience, to have a “home” from which we can step into the unknown and engage the mysteries of the heart, a sanctuary which is safe, which holds us and our experience, while at times being provocative and challenging, in a grounded and loving way. It is my sincere, heartfelt aspiration to discover and create this home with you as we make the journey together. What is unique about this particular training group is that it will honor both psychotherapy and spirituality, tending to attachment, narcissistic, and traumatic wounding as well as to the further reaches of the spectrum of consciousness. It will honor who we are as embodied, sensitive human beings as well as pure Spirit, and allow us to engage our spiritual lives in a way that is integrated and whole. It’s essential, in my experience, that we not leave any aspect of our humanity out, including our bodies, our relational nature, our trauma, and all of our wounding, which it turns out are vital pathways to spirit. The connection between trauma and the sacred is mysterious and we will explore the many ways that our wounding can serve as initiation into the spiritual world. And so whether we’re prioritizing safety and regulation, which is essential with trauma; uncovering, unconscious, and shadow integration; intimacy and relationship as yoga and temple; existential matters such as freedom, purpose, meaning, and aloneness; or the more transpersonal, or spiritual aspects of our experience, we can turn to the wisdom, compassion, and skillful means of the various approaches, traditions, and practices to help us along the way to the felt, lived experience of an embodied wholeness. As part of this new yearlong training, our work together will integrate the wisdom, teachings, and practices from the fields of depth and somatic psychotherapies; relational and contemplative neuroscience; developmental and trauma studies; the clinical (practical) application of mindfulness, self-compassion, and meditative awareness; and the experiential discoveries of the alchemists, mystics, and yogis. One of the primary intentions of the program is to help you discover and live a spirituality of your own, one that is unique to your own being. Spiritual transformation and lasting, embodied healing is a matter of direct revelation and will not always look the same for you as it does for those around you. It is the full embrace of your own path that allows you to fully participate in your life and in this world in a way that is spontaneous, alive, meaningful, and free. I invite you to explore the course information page to see if this journey might be resonant for you, if you feel drawn to connect with myself and fellow travelers around the world on this path of deep soul-healing and spiritual transformation. Warmly, Matt LicataP.S. If you have any questions about the course and the training, please reach out to us at support@mattlicataphd.com. P.P.S. I’ll be offering a free live webinar next week on Thursday the 26th, at 9am U.S. Pacific Time/ 5pm in London, where I’ll speak in part about the new group. You can register for the webinar for free here.