Charles L. Whitfield Quote

One alternative that nearly always relieves our suffering is surrender: we surrender our false self, and our attachment to the notion that we can control anything. We suffer when we resist what is. We slowly find that one of the most powerful and healing acts is giving up our need to always be in control. This freedom is that of our True Self. In this context, the word surrender does not mean to give up or to lie down in the military sense of losing a war. Rather, we mean that one who surrenders wins the struggle of trying to control, and ameliorates most of their resultant needless suffering (Whitfield 1985). This becomes an ongoing process in life, not a goal to be achieved only once.

Charles L. Whitfield

One alternative that nearly always relieves our suffering is surrender: we surrender our false self, and our attachment to the notion that we can control anything. We suffer when we resist what is. We slowly find that one of the most powerful and healing acts is giving up our need to always be in control. This freedom is that of our True Self. In this context, the word surrender does not mean to give up or to lie down in the military sense of losing a war. Rather, we mean that one who surrenders wins the struggle of trying to control, and ameliorates most of their resultant needless suffering (Whitfield 1985). This becomes an ongoing process in life, not a goal to be achieved only once.

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About Charles L. Whitfield

Charles L. Whitfield was an American medical doctor in private practice specializing in assisting survivors of childhood trauma with their recovery, and with addictions including alcoholism and related disorders. He was certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, a founding member of the National Association for the Children of Alcoholics, and a member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children.
Whitfield taught at Rutgers University and was a best-selling author known for his books on the topics of general childhood trauma, childhood sexual abuse, and addiction recovery, including Healing the Child Within and Memory and Abuse: Remembering and Healing the Effects of Trauma.
Whitfield was recognized for his sixty published articles and fifteen published books. Some of his works were: Healing the Child Within (1987), Memory and Abuse (1995), and The Truth About Mental Illness (2004).