In this rich and reflective essay, Bronce Rice reimagines repetition not as a sign of regression, but as a sacred gateway to deeper healing. Drawing from psychoanalytic, somatic, and neurobiological perspectives, Rice explores how our repeated emotional and relational patterns often reflect unconscious memories stored in the body and mind. Rather than viewing these returns to old habits or emotional wounds as failures, the article frames them as invitations to grow in self-awareness and compassion. Through clinical examples, such as patients navigating anxiety, attachment wounds, and self-sabotaging patterns, Rice illustrates how healing often requires leaning into these repetitions with curiosity rather than critique, allowing new patterns of safety and resilience to emerge over time.
Central to the piece is the idea that the “Wellbeing Equation” — the evolving framework Rice has developed — is not a fixed solution to be solved once, but a living, breathing process that shifts as we do. Healing is portrayed not as a straight line, but as a spiraling journey, where progress often looks like returning to the same emotional terrain with new tenderness and insight. Through the practice of noticing, relating differently, and meeting ourselves with compassion rather than self-punishment, repetition itself becomes a form of repair — a sacred act of becoming.
The orginal article published on Substack can be found here: https://broncerice.substack.com/p/the-sacred-act-of-returning
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