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About the author


Rebecca Janes brings over twenty years of learning from clients, while working with them. She has a Master's Degree in Expressive Therapies from Lesley University, is an LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor), and LADC, (Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor). After working at a methadone clinic in New Bedford, Massachusetts for nearly 20 years, she now has a private practice in Westport, Massachusetts. She has self-published two recovery books, Methadone, Bad Boy of Drug Treatment…What Works & What Doesn't, and Generation RX, Kids on Pills, A Parent's Guide, and has written and illustrated a children's book, The Seeker- A Nocturnal Journal which won First Place in the category of Children's Literature for the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards in 2013. Certified in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), she is Level 1 trained in the Internal Family Systems theory of Richard Schwartz (whose work has brought a whole new level of understanding of why people feel the way they do, and has given us a much clearer path to guiding people towards healing).
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Not Everything Happens for a Reason
Finding Peace in the Gray Areas of a Polarized World
by Rebecca Janes

Overview


Some years ago while working at a methadone clinic in New Bedford, Massachusetts, I started hearing the saying "Everything happens for a reason", and that "positive thoughts bring positive things, and negative thoughts bring negative things." When one of my clients came in saying that her taxi driver was promoting this belief, my client (who had an abusive mother) asked her,"So if a baby is sexually abused, they must've somehow sent the wrong message to the Universe?" The taxi driver(according to her understanding of the theory) said, "Yes, that the baby must've done something in a previous life to deserve the abuse." 

Do I believe that positive thinking can help positive things happen? Absolutely. But there are times we need to see that bad things happen, and not always for a reason.

Sometimes we get things wrong. 

Read more

Description


Have you ever had something really awful happen to you or someone you love, and then hear someone say, "Well, everything happens for a reason"? Maybe you've said it to yourself. And it helps. Until it doesn't. This book is about finding a way to deal with life, somewhere between "Everything Happens for a Reason", and "Life sucks and then you die," with or without a belief in God. Extreme beliefs in either direction can tangle people up. And that's what many people seem to do. Take a good idea too far, and you get tangled up. We all love easy answers. There are no easy answers. Popular culture has changed over my lifetime. I believe some popular beliefs have got it very wrong. This book is for those who may still believe in God but have difficulty reconciling some of those beliefs with what they hear from modern interpreters of Christian doctrine. It is also for those who have put their faith in "New Age" beliefs (especially the widely popular teachings of "The Secret"). Finally, it is for those who can no longer believe in God, and who identify as agnostic or atheist. As a therapist I often hear, "I just want to be happy". Here are the things that have helped me find some acceptance when life seems unfair, and some ways that can add more moments of happiness.
Read more

Overview


Some years ago while working at a methadone clinic in New Bedford, Massachusetts, I started hearing the saying "Everything happens for a reason", and that "positive thoughts bring positive things, and negative thoughts bring negative things." When one of my clients came in saying that her taxi driver was promoting this belief, my client (who had an abusive mother) asked her,"So if a baby is sexually abused, they must've somehow sent the wrong message to the Universe?" The taxi driver(according to her understanding of the theory) said, "Yes, that the baby must've done something in a previous life to deserve the abuse." 

Do I believe that positive thinking can help positive things happen? Absolutely. But there are times we need to see that bad things happen, and not always for a reason.

Sometimes we get things wrong. 

Read more

Description


Have you ever had something really awful happen to you or someone you love, and then hear someone say, "Well, everything happens for a reason"? Maybe you've said it to yourself. And it helps. Until it doesn't. This book is about finding a way to deal with life, somewhere between "Everything Happens for a Reason", and "Life sucks and then you die," with or without a belief in God. Extreme beliefs in either direction can tangle people up. And that's what many people seem to do. Take a good idea too far, and you get tangled up. We all love easy answers. There are no easy answers. Popular culture has changed over my lifetime. I believe some popular beliefs have got it very wrong. This book is for those who may still believe in God but have difficulty reconciling some of those beliefs with what they hear from modern interpreters of Christian doctrine. It is also for those who have put their faith in "New Age" beliefs (especially the widely popular teachings of "The Secret"). Finally, it is for those who can no longer believe in God, and who identify as agnostic or atheist. As a therapist I often hear, "I just want to be happy". Here are the things that have helped me find some acceptance when life seems unfair, and some ways that can add more moments of happiness.

Read more

Book details

Genre:SELF-HELP

Subgenre:Personal Growth / Happiness

Language:English

Pages:200

eBook ISBN:9781543998559

Paperback ISBN:9781543998542


Overview


Some years ago while working at a methadone clinic in New Bedford, Massachusetts, I started hearing the saying "Everything happens for a reason", and that "positive thoughts bring positive things, and negative thoughts bring negative things." When one of my clients came in saying that her taxi driver was promoting this belief, my client (who had an abusive mother) asked her,"So if a baby is sexually abused, they must've somehow sent the wrong message to the Universe?" The taxi driver(according to her understanding of the theory) said, "Yes, that the baby must've done something in a previous life to deserve the abuse." 

Do I believe that positive thinking can help positive things happen? Absolutely. But there are times we need to see that bad things happen, and not always for a reason.

Sometimes we get things wrong. 

Read more

Description


Have you ever had something really awful happen to you or someone you love, and then hear someone say, "Well, everything happens for a reason"? Maybe you've said it to yourself. And it helps. Until it doesn't. This book is about finding a way to deal with life, somewhere between "Everything Happens for a Reason", and "Life sucks and then you die," with or without a belief in God. Extreme beliefs in either direction can tangle people up. And that's what many people seem to do. Take a good idea too far, and you get tangled up. We all love easy answers. There are no easy answers. Popular culture has changed over my lifetime. I believe some popular beliefs have got it very wrong. This book is for those who may still believe in God but have difficulty reconciling some of those beliefs with what they hear from modern interpreters of Christian doctrine. It is also for those who have put their faith in "New Age" beliefs (especially the widely popular teachings of "The Secret"). Finally, it is for those who can no longer believe in God, and who identify as agnostic or atheist. As a therapist I often hear, "I just want to be happy". Here are the things that have helped me find some acceptance when life seems unfair, and some ways that can add more moments of happiness.

Read more

About the author


Rebecca Janes brings over twenty years of learning from clients, while working with them. She has a Master's Degree in Expressive Therapies from Lesley University, is an LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor), and LADC, (Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor). After working at a methadone clinic in New Bedford, Massachusetts for nearly 20 years, she now has a private practice in Westport, Massachusetts. She has self-published two recovery books, Methadone, Bad Boy of Drug Treatment…What Works & What Doesn't, and Generation RX, Kids on Pills, A Parent's Guide, and has written and illustrated a children's book, The Seeker- A Nocturnal Journal which won First Place in the category of Children's Literature for the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards in 2013. Certified in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), she is Level 1 trained in the Internal Family Systems theory of Richard Schwartz (whose work has brought a whole new level of understanding of why people feel the way they do, and has given us a much clearer path to guiding people towards healing).

Read more

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