It all starts with you. Wellness and recovery from addiction or a mental health diagnosis
requires self-compassion, kindness, diligence, and self-mastery. Self-hatred can be
detrimental to your mental, spiritual, and emotional health. We all need to be our own
best friend; supportive, consistent, wise, and available 24/7.
Watch the videos on self-love. Pause at each frame and reflect on the content. Are the
ideas being expressed relevant to your experience of unconditional self-love? Are joy,
understanding, happiness, serenity, courage, and wisdom part of your experience of
recovery and wellness?
‘Palanca’ is a Spanish word meaning ‘to pry open’. It is also a term that describes a brief
note written to someone on a spiritual retreat weekend seeking inner healing and communion
with their higher power.
Spiritual renewal is a very personal process often requiring brutal self-honesty and vulnerability.
Relatives and friends offer support by writing inspirational letters that have
the effect of ‘prying open the heart’ and expressing appreciation and love to the spiritual
seeker, creating a more conducive atmosphere for healing and renewal.
As an exercise of self-love, write a palanca note to yourself. You are the expert on your
needs and desires. Write in the third person and tell yourself how much you are loved and
anything else you think you would like to express to bring healing and express self-compassion.
Place the letters in a self-addressed envelope and put it in the mail. What a treat to
receive a letter from yourself addressed to yourself!
Consider sharing your palanca letter with your family or friends.
Video I:
https://youtu.be/5fKa7mvTww4
Video II:
https://youtu.be/MP3IGgXhWjs
Optional activity: Read and reflect on the Desiderata by Max Erhmann, 1692.
requires self-compassion, kindness, diligence, and self-mastery. Self-hatred can be
detrimental to your mental, spiritual, and emotional health. We all need to be our own
best friend; supportive, consistent, wise, and available 24/7.
Watch the videos on self-love. Pause at each frame and reflect on the content. Are the
ideas being expressed relevant to your experience of unconditional self-love? Are joy,
understanding, happiness, serenity, courage, and wisdom part of your experience of
recovery and wellness?
‘Palanca’ is a Spanish word meaning ‘to pry open’. It is also a term that describes a brief
note written to someone on a spiritual retreat weekend seeking inner healing and communion
with their higher power.
Spiritual renewal is a very personal process often requiring brutal self-honesty and vulnerability.
Relatives and friends offer support by writing inspirational letters that have
the effect of ‘prying open the heart’ and expressing appreciation and love to the spiritual
seeker, creating a more conducive atmosphere for healing and renewal.
As an exercise of self-love, write a palanca note to yourself. You are the expert on your
needs and desires. Write in the third person and tell yourself how much you are loved and
anything else you think you would like to express to bring healing and express self-compassion.
Place the letters in a self-addressed envelope and put it in the mail. What a treat to
receive a letter from yourself addressed to yourself!
Consider sharing your palanca letter with your family or friends.
Video I:
https://youtu.be/5fKa7mvTww4
Video II:
https://youtu.be/MP3IGgXhWjs
Optional activity: Read and reflect on the Desiderata by Max Erhmann, 1692.
