Some years ago, I worked as a Domestic Violence Counselor at a Women’s Shelter where I conducted both group and individual sessions. I met several wonderful women and on one of my weekly visits, I worked with a young lady who made an impression on me. I am singling her out because of the topic I have chosen for discussion—and for how our sessions progressed.

In our very first one-on-one, we met in the living room at the shelter, and I remember that the blinds were fully closed and it was early in the afternoon with the sun shining outside. She could not allow herself to open the shades, even after I brought her attention to that fact. My first priority then was to release her fears. As she gained more confidence, I asked her to begin creating a vision of herself to reinforce her new narrative of her life, versus how others saw and defined her. On our last session before she moved out of the shelter, she shared her vision in a poem that gave me goose bumps! I still remember how I felt in that moment.

The approach I used had also worked well for me when I was in the process of reshaping my own narrative and world. The assignment was: “Re-write the text of the Magnificat in your own words, correcting for gender. Then, using the Magnificat as a model, you will write a Hymn of praise to yourself and your gifts. You are glorifying the divine, immanent within your own body. Have mercy on yourself and give praise that you were created in the image of the most holy.” I chose Bach’s Magnificat, which I played several times over a period of time, until I was satisfied with my assignment. To this day, I feel it is one of most life-changing experiences, and it especially gave me my own channel to connect with the divine. I was presented an opportunity to deeply reflect, create, and share the vision of who I am. Here’s my version: