Matt Licata presents

Resting Your
Nervous System

Opening Your Heart, Listening to Your Body, and Remembering the Sacred

“In my many years on the path, it is very rare to meet someone who is as knowledgeable about the interior journey as Matt. Not just his encyclopedic-like understanding of spiritual and psychological traditions, but the maturity of his heart that comes from someone who has seen the darkness in himself, been broken by it, and slowly rebuilt the pieces. Matt is not like an ordinary teacher or therapist, I’m not sure he even relates to those descriptions all that much, but is a true friend of the spirit, a real human being who was able to help me in ways I didn’t even know that I needed. His is the sort of wisdom and humility that we need in the world right now.“

– A.D., Ann Arbor 

Your Invitation

Dear friend,

It’s so important to take some time out of our busy lives to slow down, rest, and recommit to our own unique journey of healing and spiritual transformation. 

There’s a certain tiredness that we can feel at times, not only in our personal and relational lives, but also in the pull to heal, to awaken, and to engage what can seem like an unending project of self-improvement. 

I hear from many about this deep, soul-level exhaustion that can manifest as unexplainable physical symptoms, the loss of meaning, or just a sense of feeling disconnected from life, that somehow, we’ve lost contact with the beauty, the mystery, and the aliveness of the sacred world. 

In the Resting Your Nervous System online course, we’ll practice the art of empathic attunement, the creation of a spacious holding environment, and open to the nature of an embodied spirituality, one that honors the wisdom of the body, the holy data and information encoded in our emotions, and the creative intelligence of non-rational, right-brain ways of knowing. 

I want to explore our nervous systems in a more “earthy” sort of way. The truth is that if you close your eyes and shift your awareness inside, you’re not going to find “a nervous system.” In this way, the nervous system is not some “thing” that exists inside you, or some abstract idea or scientific theory, but is actually a friend, a companion, an ally that walks with and accompanies you on your unique journey. 

It is right there with you in your relationships, in your work and creative expression, as you wake up melancholic in the morning, meditate, do yoga, go shopping, pay your bills, gaze up at the night sky, come apart in a moment of overwhelm, fall in (or out of) love, or sit with a friend who is struggling. Your nervous system has its own particular wisdom and ways of perceiving, sensing, and navigating the mystery. Along with your soul, spirit, body, and mind, it is an essential dimension of your inner family, a majestic partner with its rightful place in the larger ecology of what you are. 

It is my hope that the course deepens your awareness of what it means for you to be alive at this time, touches what is most meaningful and important to you, opens new pathways of experience and perception, and evokes an embodied, felt sense of compassion and connection to yourself, others, and the world. 

We could really use that about right now: embodied, sensitive, open, warm, empathic, kind human beings who can listen deeply to one another and inside themselves, and to open to the possibility that perhaps there is no such thing as “individual” healing or awakening, but only a healing or awakening that includes all sentient life. 

Thank you for your interest in Resting Your Nervous System and in your own unique journey of transformation and healing. 

Respectfully,

Matt Licata

P.S. Please note that this course was originally offered in the spring of 2021, to a group of participants live online around the world. If you participated in the course at that time – either through the Befriending Yourself membership community or as a standalone course – please do not register for this course as you already have all of the content!

P.P.S. Please note that while Resting Your Nervous System is offered with a sensitivity to trauma, it is not designed specifically for trauma survivors or those currently struggling with traumatic or post-traumatic stress. While I will speak about trauma – and the importance of integrating an understanding of trauma into our practices and lives – this is not a course on how to heal trauma, per se, which is something that is unique for each person, the subtleties of which are beyond the scope of this offering. It is my sincere hope and intention, however, that those with a history of trauma may benefit through participating in the course.

“Matt’s understanding of the subtleties and nuances of the healing journey, and how meditation and psychological work fit together were a key for me which unlocked the door to a part of myself that I had forgotten about. The way he held my experience and contained it with such love and kindness allowed me to end the war with myself and to begin to perceive even my most challenging emotions and sensitivities as allies and just how he’s right when he says that the path really is everywhere. Spending time with him was a real fork in the road in my life, a true turning point that opened up a whole new way of being for me.“

–J.R., London

Part 2

Into the Heart of Trauma and the Nature of Relational Wounding:
Going Slow, Staying Safe, and Honoring the Intelligence of the Body

Over the last few decades, there has been greater awareness around trauma and the many ways it affects our lives. In addition to tragic singular events such as war, rape, assault, invasive medical procedures, and natural disasters, we have come to understand more about “relational” trauma, which affects every one of us. 

What is trauma? And how can we become more aware of the ways it can affect our perception, our ability to experience and regulate emotion, our capacity to “be in our bodies,” and our ability to feel safe and connected, both inside ourselves and with others?

We will explore:

• A fresh look at what trauma is and how it is more common than we might think
• The relationship between trauma and feeling unsafe, and how “safety” is the ultimate medicine for trauma 
• Trauma, the nervous system, and the workings of implicit, bodily memory 
• How and why we cannot “think” our way out of trauma and other types of relational wounding
• The meaning of integration and how trauma is a dis-integrating experience

Part 4

Self-Compassion, Embodied Attunement, and What Works for You:
Toning and Tuning Your Unique Nervous System

It’s essential that we have a list of practices or behaviors we can engage in the moment in response to inevitable states of overwhelm, stress, pain, and fear. Whether by way of the “active” or “passive” pathways, to have access to “neural exercises” to restore us to the felt sense of safety and connection. 

While aspirations to “be kind to yourself,” “ be in the present,” and “ accept things the way they are” sound and may be “true,” we must discover for ourselves, beyond aphorisms and spiritual one-liners, what it means in the moment to honor the intelligence of the nervous system (and messages from the soul). And attune to what is most skillful, wise, and kind, as we deepen our capacity to take care of ourselves in creative new ways.

We will explore:

• Establishing a list of specific, individualized practices and exercises you can engage in the moment when you notice yourself falling out of your window of tolerance
• The role of contemplative practices such as mindfulness, breathing, and yoga – and discerning when they are being used in healthy vs. less-than-healthy ways
• How meditation and practices oriented in “open awareness” are not always the most wise, skillful, or kind approach to working with trauma and other relational wounding
• The importance of having even one “safe other” in our lives, including the accessing of this “other” by way of imagination 
• How spiritual beliefs and practices can overwhelm our nervous systems and can also serve as unconscious pathways of self-abandonment and avoidance

“I’m not sure I’ve ever been with a teacher or therapist who saw me so transparently and so lovingly. At first it was uncomfortable, scary, and I wasn’t sure if this was for me. But the kindness that came from Matt and his insight and presence into my wounding and vulnerability melted something within me. It was like years of conditioning came crashing down and I felt real love for myself and compassion for the little girl that was raging alive inside me. There is a way that I finally felt safe, to unravel and fall apart and be fully empowered, with him there next to me. After all the healing I had “thought” that I had done, Matt helped me to see that there were always deeper realms of the body and heart to excavate and open to the light. Also, just how human and real and authentic he is meant so much to me. He wasn’t “trying” to be someone he wasn’t, honest about his own biases and brokenness, and that just made it so much more natural for me to open.”

– J.P., New York

BONUS #2

Meditations for Befriending Yourself

[5 Audio Guided Meditations]

On this set of 5 guided meditations for Befriending Yourself, Matt invites you into the inner sanctuary of your immediate, embodied experience. Through mindful presence, self-compassion, and working within the imaginal world, you can use these meditations as part of a daily practice or anytime you’re wanting to connect deeper to yourself and open to the inner world, with curiosity, kindness, and awareness. 

What You’ll Receive as a Member

Our Promise and 100% Guarantee

“Matt Licata pinpoints a space within us where healing, awakening, and a vibrant reckoning of who we actually are can be realized. The wisdom hidden deep within our darkest experiences comes from not turning away from these, but by directly tending to them with gentleness, love, and compassion. This book depicts a way of genuine freedom.”

–  Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness

“Weaving the wisdom of reflective practices, the insights from Carl Jung and the alchemists, and the relational truths of attachment research and psychotherapy practice, Matt Licata offers us a beautiful tapestry of truths to transform trauma into healing and strength. Adversity can constrain us, but with this wonderful book, we can find the perspectives and courage to embrace the reality of life’s innate uncertainty to guide us on a journey of growth and discovery—moving from post-traumatic imprisonment to liberation.”

–  Dan Siegel, MD, clinical professor at UCLA School of Medicine, director of Mindsight Institute, and author of Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence and Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation 

“Tender, profound, and deeply useful, this book is gem. Remarkably, Matt Licata weaves together self-compassion, depth psychology, and radical acceptance into a beautiful, passionate, soaring exploration of all that it means to be human.”

– Rick Hanson, PhD, New York Times bestselling author of Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness 

“A Healing Space is a beautifully written book exploring how walking through the darkness ultimately brings blessings, wisdom, and beauty to your life, and moves you onto a path of evolution that you simply cannot perceive during difficult times. Matt Licata is a perfect guide as evidenced through his life experience and work as psychotherapist. This book is so timely and filled with helpful tools to guide you from the darkness into your own divine light.

– Sandra Ingerman, MA, award-winning author of twelve books, including Walking in Light and The Book of Ceremony: Shamanic Wisdom for Invoking the Sacred in Everyday Life

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