Our Glory & Our Depravity engaging the good & bad of what makes us most human By Andrew J. Bauman I tell my son often, “There are no such things as bad guys, just people with difficult stories.” He normally responds with a puzzled look and then continues on [...]
What does it mean to love someone without being emotionally enmeshed? How can we be solid within our own true self without other people's decisions completely shaking our foundation? Here I discuss the concept of differentiation and how it impacts relationship. The Differentiated Self: creating healthy relationship Andrew J. Bauman [...]
I wrote this poem as a way to process my own masculine journey. There was a war inside me fighting for supremacy. A war between my inner child and the aggressive man I was becoming. I needed to give voice to this war in my head, and to the battle [...]
Here I reflect on the harm that occurs when restoration is not present, when acts of sexual brokenness are sanctioned by structures of power and, often, complicit church hierarchies. Please note: this article features a quote (widely circulated in news media last year) that is violently degrading and may be [...]
Most of us learned to develop defensive structures and strategies to protect ourselves from painful situations and relationships in our past. But what happens when those defenses emerge years later, in the midst of intimate relationships with close, trusted others? Here I write about how intimacy and vulnerability invite us [...]
“The wailing of broken hearts is the doorway to God” —Rumi, 13th Century Poet/Mystic Do you ever feel like you are walking through life with no skin on? When everything hurts. Your entire body tenderized. People’s words feel like arrows as you hobble along not knowing if you can endure [...]
