You can find more traditional Shakespeare than we do. But what we want to bring to these works is energy, passion, freshness.
John BradshawThat's the trouble with the conventional doctors. They always say, 'How does it work?' but often there isn't any neat little answer...Something simply works...We don't really know how it works. We say we do. We know one or two things we can see and measure.
John BradshawTo be shame-bound means that whenever you feel any feeling, need or drive, you immediately feel ashamed. The dynamic core of your human life is grounded in your feelings, needs and drives. When these are bound by shame, you are shamed to the core.
John BradshawIt's essential to tell the truth at all times. This will reduce life's pain. Lying distorts reality. All forms of distorted thinking must be corrected.
John BradshawHell, in my opinion, is never finding your true self and never living your own life or knowing who you are.
John BradshawI believe that this neglected, wounded, inner child of the past is the major source of human misery.
John BradshawEvil is a source of moral intelligence in the sense that we need to learn from our shadow, from our dark side, in order to be good.
John BradshawChildren need parents who model self-discipline rather than preach it. They learn from what their parents are actually willing to do; not from what they say they do.
John BradshawAll these feelings need to be felt. We need to stomp and storm; to sob and cry; to perspire and tremble.
John BradshawGuilt says I've done something wrong; ... shame says there is something wrong with me. Guilt says I've made a mistake; ... shame says I am a mistake. Guilt says what did was not good; ... shame says I am no good.
John BradshawChildren are curious and are risk takers. They have lots of courage. They venture out into a world that is immense and dangerous. A child initially trusts life and the processes of life.
John BradshawTrue love heals and affects spiritual growth. If we do not grow because of someone else’s love, it’s generally because it is a counterfeit form of love.
John BradshawI define a good person as somebody who is fully conscious of their own limitations. They know their strengths, but they also know their shadow - they know their weaknesses. In other words, they understand that there is no good without bad. Good and evil are really one, but we have broken them up in our consciousness. We polarize them.
John BradshawThe feeling of righteousness is the core mood alteration among religious addicts. Religious addiction is a massive problem in our society. It may be the most pernicious of all addictions because it’s so hard for a person to break his delusion and denial. How can anything be wrong with loving God and giving your life for good works and service to mankind?
John BradshawThe capacity for love that makes dogs such rewarding companions has a flip-side: They find it difficult to cope without us. Since we humans programmed this vulnerability, it's our responsibility to ensure that our dogs do not suffer as a result.
John BradshawRecovery begins with embracing our pain and taking the risk to share it with others. We do this by joining a group and talking about our pain.
John BradshawHealthy shame is an emotion that teaches us about our limits. Like all emotions, shame moves us to get our basic needs met.
John BradshawCondemning others as bad or sinful is a way to feel righteous. Such a feeling is a powerful mood alteration and can become highly addictive.
John BradshawGrowing up means leaving home and becoming a self supporting adult. I think this the hardest task any human being hast to face.
John BradshawSince the earliest period of our life was preverbal, everything depended on emotional interaction. Without someone to reflect our emotions, we had no way of knowing who we were.
John BradshawIt is a mark of soulfulness to be present in the here and now. When we are present, we are not fabricating inner movies. We are seeing what is before us.
John BradshawScience has so far been unable to tell us how self-aware dogs are, much less whether they have anything like our conscious thoughts. This is not surprising, since neither scientists nor philosophers can agree about what the consciousness of humans consists of, let alone that of animals.
John BradshawThe foundation for our self-image is grounded in the first three years of life. It comes from our major caretaker's mirroring.
John BradshawOur sadness is an energy we discharge in order to heal. …Sadness is painful. We try to avoid it. Actually discharging sadness releases the energy involved in our emotional pain. To hold it in is to freeze the pain within us. The therapeutic slogan is that grieving is the ‘healing feeling.’
John BradshawI know from my own clinical work that when people are beaten and hurt, they numb out so that they cant feel anymore.
John BradshawThere are plenty of quacks in the field. Fewer than you'd expect, though still plenty (in alternative medicine).
John BradshawThe more we know about how we lost our spontaneous wonder and creativity, the more we can find ways to get them back.
John BradshawOur beliefs create the kind of world we believe in. We project our feelings, thoughts and attitudes onto the world. I can create a different world by changing my belief about the world. Our inner state creates the outer and not vice versa.
John BradshawThe most paradoxical aspect of neurotic shame is that it is the core motivator of the superachieved and the underachieved, the star and the scapegoat, the righteous and the wretched, the powerful and the pathetic.
John Bradshaw