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Sep 30, 2024 | 
innerself.com | Joyce Vissell
Standing from left: Barry's uncle Ralph; Joyce's mom Louise; Joyce. Sitting from left: Barry's dad Michael; Joyce's dad Hank; Barry's mom Helen; our son John-Nuriel How do families differ in expressing emotions? What impact do these differences have on individual family members? How can one navigate contrasting emotional expressions within a family? Expressing Emotions Differently in Family Dynamicsby Joyce Vissell.
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Jul 29, 2024 | 
innerself.com | Barry Vissell |Joyce Vissell
Image by StockSnap What makes deep and intimate relationships rewarding and challenging? Seven common reasons couples avoid counselingExamples of how professional help can strengthen relationships Why Couples Don't Get Helpby Barry Vissell. A deep and intimate relationship is one of the most rewarding as well as one of the most difficult things in life. To truly give and receive love makes life worth living. Most of us don't learn enough about this subject growing up or in school.
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Jul 13, 2024 | 
innerself.com | Robert Jennings |Lawrence Doochin |Joyce Vissell |Emma L Lawrance
Image by Ankit SinghOur InnerSelf welcomes your inner Self. Comment from Marie:One thing we all have in common is we all have, or at least had, a mother... thus we also had ancestors. We have a lineage from which we descend. This means we have certain traits we have inherited (skin color, eye color, build, etc.) as well as some personality traits and behaviors that we also have either acquired genetically or through modeled behavior.
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Jul 7, 2024 | 
innerself.com | Robert Jennings |Pierre Pradervand |Joyce Vissell
Image by Susanne from PixabayOur InnerSelf welcomes your inner selfPower. Change. Crisis. These are words that may bring up feelings of discomfort, if not outright fear. Yet as with anything, there are always two sides to the story. You have probably heard that the English translation of the word crisis from Chinese is "danger" and "opportunity". However, this is not correct.
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Jul 1, 2024 | 
innerself.com | Joyce Vissell
Photo submitted by author. Barry and I have a delightful family hobby of raising a litter of Golden Retriever puppies every year or so. We've owned and loved Goldens since 1970 and are dedicated to bringing only the highest quality dogs into the world. The entire family comes together for this project, and we have so much fun with the puppies, raising them with as much love as we can. As part of this hobby, we used to march in our town's parade (Aptos, CA) each July 4.
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May 1, 2024 | 
innerself.com | Joyce Vissell
Image from PixabayApril 15 is National Tax Day in the US, which is not very popular. But it is also National Eraser Day. Eraser day is referring to the eraser at the end of a pencil. But I am referring to the possibility of erasing grudges in our lives, so that we can have a freer more open-hearted life. When I was growing up, I only had one grandparent, who lived with our family for several weeks three or four times a year.
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Mar 27, 2024 | 
innerself.com | Barry Vissell |Joyce Vissell
Image by Gerd AltmannWhen I was a small child growing up in Brooklyn, NY, in the early 1950's, I rarely felt safe. I needed love but dared not show it. I was afraid of being ridiculed, or worse, physically abused. My need for love eventually went underground, hidden even from me. Like many of us, I learned how to present a show of strength, independence, and competence. But in truth, we all need love.
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Feb 28, 2024 | 
innerself.com | Joyce Vissell
The author and her dog, Bokie. 1970: Los Angeles, CA. One month before the following story, Barry had an affair with one of my best friends. I felt so hurt and betrayed that I moved out of our apartment and felt that our marriage was over. I eventually moved back in with him, and we were trying to heal this wound, but it was not going well as I was still feeling deeply betrayed. Some days, I felt so disconnected from Barry, and felt that my job was giving me more than my marriage.
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Jan 29, 2024 | 
innerself.com | Barry Vissell |Joyce Vissell
Joyce and Barry sitting on old lava flow with the lava eruption in the background. Photo provided by author. When leading a retreat, Joyce and I most want to create a safe container for the deepest personal growth work. It is this feeling of safety that allows participants to really open up. Unfortunately, that is NOT what happened in January, 1989, at a seven-day retreat on the Big Island of Hawaii. The universe stepped in to create the biggest challenges possible.
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Jan 2, 2024 | 
innerself.com | Barry Vissell |Joyce Vissell
Image by Phillip NehoI feel it is vital for not only men, but also women, to understand the father-son wound, and to know how to heal it. Over the decades, I have watched (and of course helped) men become better fathers. I have seen men who have had difficult relationships with their fathers go on to father their own children with much more love and awareness. Of course there are father-daughter wounds, mother-daughter wounds, and mother-son wounds too.
