This book by Tom Bruno was a hard and highly rewarding read. Regular followers of this blog may know my mental health isn't always great and neither is my faith, so reading a book that basically lays out my personal Lord and Saviour as being the perfect archetype of psychological wellbeing was a bit too close to like conducting rather aggressively on-the-nose theological therapy on myself. Needless to say I made lots of notes, had lots of arguments with God, prayed a lot, cried a lot, and came out the other side somewhat less lost in my own head and somewhere closer to stability of thought and feeling rooted in a more settled personal effort to offer my life to Christ each day, each moment. Which, my goodness, I probably can't credit this book alone as having done because lots of other shit has been kicking off in my life during the span of reading this, and I've been reading lots of other stuff too, but I may as well give credit where credit's due.
Bruno writes clearly, using actual psychology alongside stories of Jesus' life and teaching to illuminate the wholesome principles laid out in each chapter - which explore how Jesus (despite being a mere carpenter from a backwater town under Roman occupation 2000 years ago) may be deserving of an honorary doctorate in psychotherapy for the following pointers:
- Take the inward journey
- Focus
- It is up to us
- Have purpose in life
- Keep the inner child alive
- Work through your fears
- Know yourself
- Ask for what you want
- Stay in touch with your feelings
- Don't worry
- Keep your heart pure
- Learn how to transcend the valleys
- Stop blaming others
- Work a program
- Retain a dynamic view of life
- Use your gifts wisely
- Manage your anger
- Retreat before you charge
- Take control of your life
- Believe that you can change your life
- Stop searching for happiness
- Be thankful
- Plant
- Love may be difficult
- Empower people (especially women)
- Love is the priority
- Speak as a man to men
- Forgiveness must be a part of your life
- Accept people where they are, and challenge them
- Seek truth and freedom
- Keep in contact with the highest power
- Know how to listen
- Stop chasing what you can't keep
- Loosen up and laugh
- No quick-fixes
After these digestible chapter-insights, there's a final chapter exploring the nature of discipleship on the sinner's human psyche and how liberating it can be to love, be loved by and imitate Jesus Christ, who acts as the catalyst for all growth into mental and spiritual health. There's an appendix helping programmatize this for a flexible range of personal struggles too, though I haven't used this. It looks similar to what Alcoholics Anonymous use though so it's probably got a strong track-record.
Overall, the book is a treasure trove of practical insight into how being better attuned to, and in control of, one's own behaviour and reactions, in the flux of feelings and ideas and relationships and an ever-changing sinful world, can help us not only draw nearer to God but achieve deeper and sturdier mental wellbeing. Each chapter has a few really helpful reflection questions at the end of it too, so you can work your shit out in real time as you read through. And no, you can't borrow my copy, it's full of far too much of exactly this.
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