Identity is Destiny
When we look through the eyes of the Father who wrote our story, what do we see?
A legendary movie came out in the 80's. Excalibur. It's cringeworthy by modern standards, but still enjoyable if you can focus on the story (and graciously look past the mullets... mullets for days). Anyone who knows the name already knows the plot, but the way the story goes can still grab you by the shirt and pull you in.
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The young squire, Wart, wants to be the best he can be for his knight, Sir Cade. Cade is about to fight in a tournament, but his sword is left in the tent. Wart runs off to get it. Arriving at the tent, he finds the sword was stolen, and a child is running off into the woods with the sword in its clutches. Wart chases the child as fast as he can, but it’s no use; the child has a head start and is much faster than Wart.
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Curiously, the child will occasionally stop and turn to make sure that Wart is still chasing him, like he’s making sure that it seems like Wart can catch up. Eventually, the child races off headlong into the forest with Cade's sword in hand, not to be seen again. Wart, frustrated, stops and turns to go back to the tournament. When he does, he turns to find a most odd sight indeed...
A sword sticking out of a stone.
Wart's on a bit of a schedule here, and at this point, any old sword will do. Cade has a tournament to win after all, and so thinking nothing of it, Wart pulls the sword from the stone and prepares to head off to give it to his knight.
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The story is, as most know, not that simple. His name isn’t Wart, it’s Arthur Pendragon, son of Uther the High King, the child was Merlin, and the Sword (in the movie) is Excalibur. Wart didn’t know his true name, his real identity in the eyes of the one who knew him before he was born, until he met Merlin. Our own Story is just like this. We’re not chasing after a wizard born of dragon’s blood in the mists of ancient Britania (that I’m aware of… anyway), but as we continue to nobly chase down what was lost or taken from us, we can come across something new and life-changing...
We can, perhaps, discover the identity forged for us by the one who knew us before we were born. In those eyes, we find our purpose, our story, our worth, and our full measure. That’s fighting the fight, running the race, keeping the faith. The Author of It All is much faster than us, but remember... he’s just up the trail, and he's leading us to something far greater than we ever had before.
About Ben
I’m not here to fix you; I’m here to help you remember who you are.
You're Arthur. Think of me as a Merlin for this part of your journey.​
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Over the years, as a coach and now clinical counselor, I’ve walked with folks through some of the most chaotic times this world has to offer: depression, adhd, mood disorders, addiction, sexual identity and compulsion traps, self-harm, emotional chaos, spiritual confusion including deconstruction/reconstruction, trauma recovery, and the slow, sacred work of rebuilding a life that’s aligned with truth, with integrity, with God.
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If you feel like your soul is leading a double life; if you're outwardly composed, and inwardly feeling like you're held together with uppers and downers and sarcasm, and you're praying to God, there's something more... you’re not alone. You don’t need shallow advice or quick fixes. You need presence. You need clarity. You need wisdom. You need a framework that honors your story and calls you forward.
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That’s what I offer.
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I am a counselor. The Christian faith is intricately woven into the fabric of my practice and my art. Whether in narrative, archetype, moral framing, or wisdom literature, it is intrinsic to my work and I cannot fathom doing the work any other way. I thank God for the gifts of common grace we call psychology and neurobiology because understanding the "how" and "what" behind the way our brain interfaces with our soul, that can provide us with the battle plan to reclaim lost ground.
I'm not just a counselor, I'm a client of the art as well. My methods are story-focused; if we know where we've been, and if we know the story we've been living from, we can know what we think we're destined to experience.
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My preferred methods include but are not limited to: psychotherapy, Jungian Shadow Work, storywork, narrative therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, solution-focused brief therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, as well as trauma-informed past reality integrative therapy. I draw on self-authoring programs, practical neuroscience, and long-term rehabilitative treatment options, emphasizing implementation and prevention science and focusing on increasing stress resilience in early development and through cognitive reframing in partnership with non-pharmacological adjuvant methods.
Education
2024-2027 (est)
Master's of Art's
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Colorado Christian University