The World Of Emotions: Science and Spirituality

— “People in therapy or on a spiritual path are often under the mistaken notion that getting Enlightened means no longer having to deal with a full range of emotions. They hope that Enlightenment will mean living in a permanent state of “bliss” which they translate as “feeling high all the time, like on the best combination of drugs.” In fact, they often begin using meditation and its special states of consciousness to “hide out” from any emotional experience. You can’t stifle, suppress, or repress your own emotions; instead, you must learn how to feel your feelings and interpret their purpose skillfully.”

Valeria interviews Jonathan Labman — He is the author of “A Therapist's Guide to Being Human and Waking Up."

In 1992, Jonathan received his License as a Massage Therapist in New York State. He worked as a Licensed Massage Therapist full-time, while studying and getting certified in Energy Healing (from 1995-1998) and taking two graduate courses in counseling at NYU. In 1998, Jonathan returned to graduate school for a Master of Art with a Concentration on Counseling Psychology. Following that, in 2000 he took a 500-hour Yoga-Alliance Certification as a Yoga Teacher.

Jonathan was in private practice as a Counseling Psychologist from 2000-2008, and then returned to corporate life for supervision hours towards a license. He began that process as an Employee Assistance Program Specialist at United Behavioral Health in Philadelphia in 2008 and completed it as an Outpatient Counselor at the Penn Foundation Recovery Center.

Upon licensure in late 2010, Jonathan became the Director, The Trauma Treatment Project at the Penn Foundation from 2011-2013. There he worked with a team to implement changes in policies, procedures ,and clinical skills to make Penn Foundation a Trauma-Informed Care Center of Excellence. He was and still is a supervisor for clinician licensure, ran the Adult Trauma Treatment Supervision group, created lectures and trainings on trauma-informed and trauma-specific care, and specialized in individual and group work for people with a history of trauma.

Jonathan served on the Montgomery County Trauma-Informed Services Committee and Training Subcommittee and served on the Bucks County Trauma Steering Committee. Jonathan also completed the ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) Workshop and then the ASIST T4T (Training for Trainers) in Denver, CO.

In 2013, Jonathan returned to private practice work as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Spiritual Mentor in his private practice Simply Awake LLC. He has run small groups in spiritual awakening since 2001, taught meditation to hundreds of people (including Bucks County administrative staff, and at the Doylestown Hospital Community Health series) and worked with people using the principles of Transpersonal Psychology.

Jonathan says, “I have studied human development in its many dimensions for 50 years. I have an entire album of credentials and academic degrees that you may review in my consulting office in Holicong (Buckingham Township), and I’ll be happy to answer any professional questions you have. I have been in the human service fields for over 31 years. I have worked with everyone from wealthy heirs of family fortunes, to successful businesspeople wanting to find meaning in their lives, to famous artists and writers, to people on welfare because their jobs were shipped overseas.

To learn more about Jonathan Labman and his work, please visit: simplyawake.com

— This podcast is a quest for well-being, a quest for a meaningful life through the exploration of fundamental truths, enlightening ideas, insights on physical, mental, and spiritual health. The inspiration is Love. The aspiration is to awaken new ways of thinking that can lead us to a new way of being, being well.