PODCAST APPEARANCES

 

Starting With Self with Ralph de la Rosa

In this episode I (Tammy Sollenberger) chat with Ralph De La Rosa, a meditation teacher, therapist, and author of Outshining Trauma. Ralph shares his personal journey of healing from PTSD, depression, and addiction, and how IFS helped him access Self Energy beyond traditional meditation.  

  • Key Takeaways:

    • Self Energy and Buddhist concepts like Buddha-nature share striking similarities.

    • Meditation can be a powerful tool for parts work, offering a structured way to access Self.

    • What happens when Self meets our most burdened parts?

    • Self Energy as a reparenting force

    • Instead of rejecting painful emotions or defensive parts, he encourages holding them with warmth, like placing them in the sunlight of Self.

    • Trauma constricts and healing expands

    • Start with Self rather than diving directly into the pain.

    • Parts are just like people

    • Radical self-compassion as meeting every part of ourselves—including the ones that hold fear, addiction, or pain—with love, rather than trying to suppress or fix them.

    • Reparenting happens naturally when we turn toward our parts with compassion.