What is Attitudinal Healing?

Attitudinal Healing comes to us through the work of Gerald G. "Jerry" Jampolsky, M.D., author of Love is Letting Go of Fear (Celestial Arts, 1988), and founder of the first Center for Attitudinal Healing  in Tiburon, CA in 1975.

There are twelve Principles of Attitudinal Healing that Jerry derived from A Course in Miracles (Viking Press; 2nd edition [March 1996]). I encourage you to go look at them. You can come back here in one click.

The following comes from The Network for Attitudinal Healing International, Inc.,  33 Buchanan St.,  Sausalito, CA 94965; www.healingcenter.org:

Attitudinal Healing is a way to transform the conflict, fear, and separation that can easily dominate our personal lives. It is based on the premise that within each of us—regardless of age, language, religion or culture—there is an essential quality of being that is creative, peaceful and whole. This essence is called “love”, and it can be expressed at any moment through our conscious choice.

Attitudinal Healing teaches that people or circumstances do not cause us conflict or distress; instead it is our own thoughts, feelings and attitudes about people and events that produce our struggle.

By exploring conflict and fear within ourselves, we combine the energy of willingness with love’s healing energy. This is a continual process, and it takes great courage. With persistence and patience, our inner fears and conflict heal.

Attitudinal Healing recognizes that love and fear are our only emotions. All feelings arise from one or the other. Love-based attitudes extend joy, respect, happiness, compassion and peace. Fear-based attitudes project confusion, stress, frustration, anger comparison, judgment, conflict.

Using Attitudinal Healing concepts within a stressful situation empowers us to respond honestly from our hearts, knowing that we speak our truth as we know it now. By taking responsibility for our thoughts, feelings, and actions without blame or judgment, we create a space for those involved to do that also. We extend ourselves to join.

Sometimes when we extend peace and respect, it isn’t returned. Attitudinal Healing asks us to give it away, without any expectations of another’s response. This does not mean that we accept unacceptable behavior It means that we bring about change peacefully with respect for ourselves.

Some people will claim that the idea of choosing peace and respect is too simple. It is a simple choice; it is simply very difficult to do! Our global society supports a fear-based system. Experiencing Attitudinal Healing is a choice to experience a peace-based system.

When we go to the heart of a system, we clearly see that a system is constructed upon the attitudes of those within it. Personal healing, therefore, evokes transformation within a system, whether it is a family, a business, a governmental agency, a culture, or a global objective. This is how educational systems, legal/judicial systems, health care system, and virtually every cultural system is transformed the transformation emerges from gentle choices for peace, respect and love. Attitudinal Healing helps some people choose peace. It happens one by one by one by one.

One person does make a difference! Each of us is the difference!

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