In many faith traditions there is a time of personal exploration and repentance, a time for spiritual renewal, a time to change direction, if necessary.  In the Christian tradition today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent.  Lent is a period of 40 days leading toward the celebration of Easter, the ultimate time of spiritual renewal and rebirth.  It is said that these 40 days are in remembrance of the  days Jesus spent in the desert battling with the devil.  I am not a theologian, by any means, but I prefer to think of it as Jesus battling with his internal demons, his self-doubt perhaps.   In the 26 years that I have been a psychotherapist it has become increasingly clear to me that all of us have our own internal demons, our own self-doubt, wells of insecurities, and shame.  In The Gifts of Imperfection author Brene Brown describes shame as “that warm feeling that washes over us, making us feel small, flawed, and never good enough.”  It is one of the obstacles, along with fear and vulnerability, that gets in the way of living what she calls a “wholehearted” life.    What are the internal demons that get in the way of your leading a wholehearted life?   Whether or not you observe the season of Lent, perhaps during the next few weeks as we move into spring, a time of new beginnings, we may find it meaningful to spend some time thinking about what is getting in the way of our living and loving with our whole hearts.