Meet Dr. Robi

I cannot put into words how richly blessed I feel right now that came as a result of choosing to honor and observe Yom Kippur by prayer, fasting and basically consecrating the day to God. Alot of good came out of it that I will tell in due time but for now, I'll let you in on some cool things I discovered for you to check out. On Yom Kippur I was listening to a bunch of sermons and podcasts and there was one speaker that caught my attention. His name is Dr Robi Sondregger and his is a clinical psychologist who has a degree in neuroscience.

I can tell you right now that i have been to church all my life but I have never heard a speaker like Dr. Robi. He masterfully blends humor, scripture, and science. The whole theme of his messages are about protecting children, protecting the family, fighting child trafficking and exploitation, self esteem and creating better self awareness so one you can take care of yourself and your relationships. And I just want to say that when I say "protecting the family" it is not sermons about defending the definition of marriage. That is not what he talks about. What he talks about is the breakdown of communication, security and all the thinks that make a healthy relationship function. He actually did a whole series on family life that is available as a free podcast on "Hillsong Church Capetown". You can download it on itunes.

For example, in one of the messages he talks about one of the reasons people gets into pornography. He explains that anytime you have a damaging event in your life or anything your brain registers as pain, your brain automatically as a defense mechanism. This is why when you go through a breakup, you automatically want to sit on the couch with ice-cream and the TV. You brain is wanting to get those pleasure receptors going to deal with pain.  He also mentioned that sometimes boredom can be registered in your brain as pain so when you are bored, your brain automatically wants to start finding some form of pleasure. And it's at that vulnerable moment at your computer and you are bored that you get that little message with a picture attached to it saying that a "friend" is waiting to meet you.  Pornography and so many other things have been the reason for the breakdown of relationships and he comes from a educated perspective and gives people coping techniques with his background in childwelfare and neuroscience.

Although I am single, I gleaned so much from listening to him talk. There are things that I can learn to help improve myself and there are principles he taught on how to make relationships work that is definitely an asset for me to keep in mind for the future.  Because honestly, relationships are relationships whether it is a friendship or a romance. Alot of my very close friends have told me that things you need to make a friendship work are very similar to what makes a romantic relationship work. No matter what relationships I may have in my world, there is always room for improvement and I am always looking for ways to keep things fresh.

 Dr. Robi has two excellent websites www.drrobi.com and www.ihold.tv He actually did a whole series on family life that is available as a free podcast on "Hillsong Church Capetown". You can download it on itunes. Or you could just search his name on itunes under "Dr Robi Sonderegger" and you should be able to find the series.  I have included a clip of him speaking at a conference so you can get a taste of him as a speaker.

Enjoy!

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