[Mtngrl]

Aw, thanks Nora!

I appreciate you too!

I know what you're saying. It's hard to find people who've done enough work on their own "stuff" to be able to sit with the discomfort that arises when deeply soul-wrenching subjects come up.

I've spent six of the last seven years taking graduate courses in theology. I started on an M.Div. in 2008 and graduated in 2012, and I started right in on a PhD. I didn't really know what to expect from seminary--it just seemed to be something I was called--or pushed--to do. But it's been a fantastic community for learning about brokenness and healing, and the members are much more open to exploring new ideas and understanding themselves and others than any community I've been in since I was an undergraduate in the 70s.

One of the best, most focused classes I took was called Trauma and Theology. I first heard about Bessel van der Kolk in that class.

I do blog, though it's kind of random. I'm not trying to attract a following or make money or be a particular "kind" of blogger. I just write about whatever is rolling around in my head and needs to get out. It's at www dot durfeewest dot com. I have mentioned my dear facilitator by name on the blog, so I don't want to hot link to it.