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Roland Evans

Inner Life Therapy and Coaching

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18: The Doors of Perception

May 20, 2023 By Roland 3 Comments

Fall 1969 to Spring 1970, Age 18

Living in Whitchurch Road was like trekking through sticky mud again: one foot down, feel it sucked into the depths and then fight to pull the other foot out of the gluey mess. Cardiff was the same dreary city, full of dreary people. In the house, family members had shifted places—Dilly gone to London, John entrenched in the front room, Toody out with his friends and Dad hiding in the garden—but nothing had really changed. The house was dark and damp, the atmosphere deadening. Adding Mother to the mix made it worse. [Read more…] about 18: The Doors of Perception

Filed Under: Blog, Surface and Depths

Winifred Rushforth: Embodying the Archetype of Wisdom

February 18, 2023 By Roland Leave a Comment

Winifred, my first therapist is still with me, possibly more so than 44 years ago. In my therapeutic work I feel, as Winifred would say, that Something is Happening. A mysterious, numinous force unfolds in each moment and especially in certain therapy sessions. Her ideas from Life’s Currency: Time, Energy and Money are a regular topic of conversation with my older clients. I’ve added Attention as the forth primary resource we have to nurture, protect and use consciously. Almost without thought, Winifred permeates my approach to therapy: spiritual openness, spontaneity, attention to the unconscious and particularly, a focus on dreams. [Read more…] about Winifred Rushforth: Embodying the Archetype of Wisdom

Filed Under: Blog, Psychology, Reflections

Discovering Happiness

October 29, 2022 By Roland Leave a Comment

I am two-years-old, toddling across the farmyard behind our house in Wales. I look down and see my favorite precious little book lying in the mud. I don’t know what to do, don’t know to pick it up or keep it safe. I don’t even ask others to help me. Gradually over the weeks, I notice its pages falling apart until eventually it becomes indistinguishable from the grime around it. [Read more…] about Discovering Happiness

Filed Under: Blog, Reflections, Spirituality

The Oath of Allegiance

October 21, 2022 By Roland 1 Comment

On September 28th 2022, I finally took the Oath of Allegiance and became a US citizen. For most immigrants that is a blessing and relief from the uncertain status of carrying a ‘green card’. Having lived in the US for over 30 years, it was for me a decidedly problematic experience. [Read more…] about The Oath of Allegiance

Filed Under: Blog, Reflections

Ideas for Contemplation

August 27, 2017 By Roland

I decided to update this old blog post (Random Thoughts) and add ideas as they occur to me.  I hope one or two catch your attention and are useful for reflection and contemplation.
The Ego and the Mind:
  • Make friends with your mind—or live in a tiny room with your worst enemy.
  • And don’t fight with your thoughts. It’s like fighting with a pig—you never win and only get covered in muck (adapted from G.B. Shaw).
  • Thoughts are the voice of the ego, beliefs are its bones.  Never trust your own beliefs!
  • The Ego’s four dark aspects:
    • The wish to be special and the center of the universe
    • The need to control everything and everyone
    • The urge to judge and criticize
    • The tendency to self-deception and blindness.

[Read more…] about Ideas for Contemplation

Filed Under: Blog, Reflections, Spirituality

Surgery and Healing

September 1, 2022 By Roland 6 Comments

Orianne and I set off before dawn for the hospital. Check in was at 5.30 am for a 7.30 operation to remove a large cyst from the left side of my head. I’d had it since I was a baby but it had grown over the years and started pressing on my eye. Now was the time to deal with it.

As we sped along the empty highway, I felt calm and quiet. I knew I had the right head and neck surgeon: it had taken almost a year to find him. To be safe, he had invited two other experienced doctors to do their part: a neurosurgeon and ocular-plastic surgeon. A three-person team of experts was looking after me. The cyst didn’t stand a chance! [Read more…] about Surgery and Healing

Filed Under: Blog, Psychology, Reflections, Spirituality

War Trauma

April 11, 2022 By Roland Leave a Comment

The terrible devastation in Ukraine disturbs me at a very deep level. It closely resembles the launch of World War II when Hitler invaded Poland. That war is personal for me; it traumatized and damaged both my parents and as a consequence, created untold disturbance in my family. [Read more…] about War Trauma

Filed Under: Blog, Psychology, Reflections

Cultivating Knowing: a conversation

February 14, 2022 By Roland Leave a Comment

“I can’t decide,” said the young man pacing up and down. “It’s a jumble and I don’t even know if I trust myself. What should I do?”

The old man sat quietly looking down at the ground. After a pause he looked at the young man and replied, “That’s because you don’t know where to decide from.”

“What do you mean? How do I make a decision from somewhere? I just need to make up my mind.”

“So you decide with your mind? You think a decision!” [Read more…] about Cultivating Knowing: a conversation

Filed Under: Blog, Psychology, Spirituality

Appreciating Dreams

March 14, 2021 By Roland 2 Comments

It was winter 1979 in Edinburgh, and as usual the wind off the North Sea cut to the bone. A group of eight of us huddled in a circle around an electric bar heater in Winifred’s front room. Although we met weekly, we knew little of each other’s outer lives. Our only task was to explore the workings of our inner worlds through sharing dreams.

Dr. Winfred Rushforth sat in an overstuffed armchair, a gently commanding presence, her snowy hair forming a halo around a strong square wrinkled face framed by oversize glasses. At 96 she had been practicing as a psychoanalyst for over 50 years and her owl-like gaze could penetrate any dream to its most obscure depths. [Read more…] about Appreciating Dreams

Filed Under: Blog, Dreaming, Psychology

Fishing for Dreams: Part 1

December 19, 2021 By Roland Leave a Comment

Dreamfish
Dreamfish

This is the first of a two-part article on how to work with dreams. Tongue-in-cheek, I explore different aspects of dreamwork using the metaphor of fish and fishing. In this section, I deal with how we catch, hold on to and recognize different kinds of dreams. A second article will address how to prepare, cook and digest these strange creatures of the unconscious.

Dreams are slippery fish—hard to catch and difficult to hold. They don’t give up their nourishment without a bit of a struggle and some resolute cooking. [Read more…] about Fishing for Dreams: Part 1

Filed Under: Blog, Dreaming, Psychology

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From Roland’s Blog …

18: The Doors of Perception

Surface and Depths: Introduction

1: Surface & Depth – An Encounter with Death



Roland Evans, Psychotherapist • 303-998-1090 • roland@roland-evans.com • 948 North Street, Suite #5, Boulder, CO 80304