Spirituality Essay:

The Gettin' Place ( September 2006 )

Coast old-timers may remember Victor Biondo, a larger-than- life therapist-guru, who changed many of our lives with his incredible work.

Victor had a wide range of talents and magic that helped open us and heal us. One was his awakening us to the concept that each of us had a "Gettin' Place" . . . a place each of us knew, intuitively, where we could go to, whenever we needed help, comfort, a breakthrough idea - whatever. In our weekly group sessions, someone struggling with an issue would be challenged: "Well, go to your gettin' place!"

It sounds simplistic. But it does seem to be human nature to thrash around, do a bunch of moaning, and find dysfunctional ways to negate the discomfort in our lives that is sending us a clear message that we need to make some changes.

He believed there was a core part of us that always knew where to go, what to do, who to get help from for our pains, struggles, and issues . . . "the gettin' place."

I know one of my most reliable ones is running. When I'm bummed, depressed, or hurting, and my instincts are to go limp and hide, I force myself to put those running shoes on and hit the road. An hour later, I've worked through enough angst that life is good again.

The Rx, of course, will be different not only for each person, but for each problem. Nature, meditation, a loved one or friend, getting busy, a drive, doing art, reading inspirational works, journaling - the possibilities are indeed endless. But, Victor says, every problem can be helped, if not healed, by a trip to the "getting' place."

Being aware that that special place does exist, the essential task becomes knowing that if we quiet - deeply quiet - and just ask, then what we need and how to get it will appear. It's always there, inside us.

This is one in a series of essays on spirituality by Rick Childs, lay leader of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Mendocino Coast. You may want to:
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