by Yvette Erasmus | Feb 14, 2023 | Interdependence, Love
“Awakening to love can happen only as we let go of our obsession with power and domination … cultures of domination rely on the cultivation of fear as a way of ensuring obedience.” bell hooks The first place that each of us learns about love – what it feels like...
by Yvette Erasmus | Oct 24, 2022 | Healthy Boundaries
If you were to ask me if I would rather experience a high level of discomfort for a minute, or deal with a lower level of discomfort for days and weeks on end, I’d tell you that I’d rather have high anxiety for 30 seconds, than low-grade dis-ease for longer periods of...
by Yvette Erasmus | Aug 15, 2022 | Growth
For the month of August, we’re delving into the process of change and growth that humans undergo as we embark on our inner work journey. My model of change, The Change Spiral, emerged as one of the frameworks that now underlies much of my work. The quality of...
by Yvette Erasmus | Aug 8, 2022 | Relationships
Last week, I described how I’ve come to describe the process of change and growth that we humans go through as the Change Spiral underlying much of my work.The quality of spiraling can feel like a revisiting of themes and patterns in our lives as we move through the...
by Yvette Erasmus | Aug 1, 2022 | Growth
On this personal growth journey that we’re all on together, do you ever feel like you’re just cycling through repeating patterns?Do the same lessons seem to keep coming up for you?Does it feel like the more you change, the more you stay the same?I used to think of my...
by Yvette Erasmus | Jul 25, 2022 | Relationships
You know two main things get in the way of setting healthy boundaries? Our fear of how other people might react. Self-doubt and insecurity about our ability to respond to those reactions in effective ways. This challenge is made even more difficult when we’ve been...
by Yvette Erasmus | Jun 20, 2022 | Communication Relationships NVC
We all have people in our lives we might think of as the “unreasonable, egoistic” people who are not practicing compassionate consciousness. They want to be judgmental. They want to get control. They want to dominate. They’re invested in the jackal...
by Yvette Erasmus | Jun 5, 2022 | Communication Relationships NVC
If you’ve been feeling weary or disheartened and stuck in sticky emotional dynamics, I have a story for you this week. Last weekend, I found myself growing increasingly judgmental toward a particular family member, who I happen to love very much. She was irritating...
by Yvette Erasmus | May 30, 2022 | Communication Relationships NVC
As I look around at local, national, and global events, I feel deeply disturbed and afraid. My heart breaks as I feel into the suffering that results from a re-emergence and regression back into systems of oppression that we’ve worked so hard to transform in ourselves...
by Yvette Erasmus | May 23, 2022 | Communication Relationships NVC
I was recently listening to a woman sharing about what’s worked for her when it comes to bridging differences in her politically divided family, and I wanted to pass on a few nuggets of learning. She leans liberal politically, but lives in a part of the country that...