Welcome!

Posted on August 2, 2010 by The Authors of Pathways to Liberation

The Pathways to Liberation project was started in 2008 by Jacob Gotwals, Jack Lehman, and Jim and Jori Manske.  Read more About our project – or read our latest blog postings below… Continue reading

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Avoiding Fundamentalism in Spiritual Practice

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Jacob Gotwals

When we’re in community with others who are enthusiastic about a particular approach to life, it’s possible to fall into a kind of fundamentalism in which we limit ourselves to viewing life through the lens of that approach. I experienced this myself when I was learning Nonviolent Communication (NVC). In this article, I describe my experience of fundamentalism, I explore how fundamentalism can follow from the stories we hold about our spiritual practices, and I suggest how we can translate these stories so we can maintain our open-mindedness, awareness, and flexibility as we participate in spiritual community. Continue reading

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Feeling Your Feelings (When They’re Hard to Feel)

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Jacob Gotwals

You might imagine that if you can name your feelings, you should be able to feel them—but in my experience, that’s often not the case. Sometimes our feelings are obvious—but more often, they’re either suppressed or hidden behind thinking. And feeling your feelings is especially hard when you’re triggered. Reactive emotions are uncomfortable to feel; they compel us to react, instead. Generally, the last thing we want to do with reactive emotions is simply feel them. But feeling your feelings can be a powerful way of freeing yourself from reactivity. Continue reading

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Feelings and Emotions: Describing Them vs. Feeling Them

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Jacob Gotwals

Describing feelings and emotions and feeling them are two important—yet distinct—skills to have. Lets explore both skills, and see how they can be helpful. Continue reading

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A Young Woman’s Dream: When You’re Triggered, Feel Your Feelings

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Jacob Gotwals

Once a young woman was in a relationship with a young man. She was happy with the relationship, except for one thing. She often complimented her partner, but he rarely complimented her. Over time, she grew resentful about this—but she never spoke about it. Gradually their relationship soured, and eventually it ended.

Her next relationship started well, but soon the same thing began to happen. She often complimented her partner, but he rarely complimented her. She wanted things to be different this time, but she wasn’t sure what to do. One night in a dream, she met an old woman, and asked her for advice. The old woman said, “When you’re triggered, feel your feelings.” She didn’t quite understand what this meant, but she woke up before she could ask. Continue reading

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Observing, Interpreting, and Experiencing in Conflict Resolution and Personal Growth

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Jacob Gotwals

Making observations, interpreting, and experiencing are three ways of approaching experience. Let’s see how they relate to conflict resolution, personal growth, and spiritual growth. Continue reading

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