A Sociological Perspective, A Social Justice Lens

A sociologist by training, I spent many years teaching students how to embody “a sociological imagination,” that transcends our habitual “individualistic” perspective by layering in a more structural perspective that takes into account macro forces like history, economics, and global events. As C. Wright Mills put it, it is critical we embody this “quality of mind” that explores how the very things we as individuals may view as our most private of “personal troubles” actually intersect with, reflect, and reveal the “public issues” of larger societal problems.

The Sage Practice, steeped in this perspective, will help you begin to see how social ills, cultural tensions, societal expectations, and structural inequalities are written onto the bodies and seared into the minds of individual members of society.  Of course, society tends to disown this association and “individualizes” any manifestation of such social problems on your body by treating you as if you simply have a personal medical condition, while the more complex, macro-level social problems inscribed on your life are obscured by what looks like a purely personal problem.  You may feel shamed and blamed, isolated and alienated, as if you and you alone are responsible for your “pitiable” personal situation.  Thankfully, it is validating to understand that your body is speaking the truth about the madnesses within society itself.  Knowing this can alleviate a significant amount of your suffering, as it dispels much of the alienation, shame, and self-blame that living with chronic pain & illness imposes on you. 

When you realize the relationship between your “personal trouble” and larger “social problems,” and connect with others coming to a similar realization, you can together forge a collective voice with tremendous power.

A Focus on the Healing Power of Group

The SAGE Practice offers a uniquely explicit nod to the healing power of the group, the powerfully transformative role of people connecting with other people and building a supportive community with one another.  If (I hope, when) you participate in any of the group coaching options I offer, you will come to understand — not just in theory, but in an embodied, experiential way — that you are not alone.  Feeling as if you are alone in the suffering you are experiencing adds to its weight, and experiencing the opposite, in turn, lightens that weight considerably.

You are also likely to experience the profoundly restorative joy and relief that bubbles up when you are connected to a truly supportive, understanding community.  These bonds can begin to heal old social wounds that sufferers of chronic pain & illness endure too often, over and above their physical ailments, whether it is in the form of isolation; invalidation; marginalization; discrimination; or feeling misunderstood, judged, disbelieved, or left out.  Not only can a new positive group help to heal the sting left by old social wounds, but it is mutually healing — each time you actively engage to help other members of the group, it goes a long way toward healing both them and you. You will develop a muscle for helping that adds to your sense of empowerment. 

Trust me on this one, I know from my own life-changing experience sharing the mutual bonding, unconditional love, & support of the most extraordinary group of people I have ever known (shout out to “The Pit Crew”!). 

Groups matter, groups can heal, and only groups enable the collective transformation of which you are both an active participant & beneficiary that takes your own individual healing to the next level. 

The Practice is Both Path & Destination

While there are (thankfully!) a growing number of outstanding programs out there to reduce chronic pain & other physical symptoms, sometimes people participating in them can — in spite of working extremely hard and driving themselves with impressive discipline — end up blaming themselves or feeling as if they are a failure if they cannot make their symptoms “go away” immediately, completely, or forevermore with zero flare-ups, like the ‘miracle’ stories they hear about in books or podcasts. 

Here, there are no failures, and there is truly no "going backwards” on this path — because the path is the way.  I call it the Sage Practice because to rewire your brain to empower yourself and transform your life, you do have to practice.  Like learning to play a sport or a musical instrument: at first you practice just to learn the basic skills - the drills, the scales - but over time, your practice becomes so engrained into your muscle fibers, absorbed into your memory, that you are actually playing. The same is true here: your practice will empower you to tackle ever deeper layers of challenges in your life. 

I am the first to admit that when I first discovered these tools after 28 long years, I experienced tremendous (dare I say miraculous!) relief.  Elated, I felt I had arrived at my desired destination, and — as if the program were just a boat I had used to cross a raging river — I hopped out and gratefully, eagerly waved it goodbye (“thanks, boat!”) to go on my merry way.  What I learned (the hard way) is that the proverbial boat is not a means to arrive somewhere; it is the somewhere I had been seeking all along.  When you are suffering, all you want is relief.  I know. The only destination you imagine worth your time & resources is one that delivers you somewhere far from where you are now.  But the real magic happens when your practice becomes play and you realize that you can take that proverbial boat anywhere.