A few introductory pointers:

• The principles for this journey are very similar whether you are doing this as part of a faith relationship with Christ, or not. The language is slightly different, but we are all human and created by God. So the things that heal are effective for us all. Jesus brought healing to many, and after he healed, they then chose whether they wanted to pursue a relationship with Him. We use the same principle, and don't make any judgements about that faith decision.
• We encourage people to tackle their journey in bite-size pieces, whether deepening their relationship with God or pursuing greater wholeness. Its less intimidating to tackle something very specific. It can feel discouraging at first, if you know you have many areas of healing that you need, but starting small lays a solid foundation. Have a read of our Bible note on 'the spiritual house'. It suggests one way of looking at your journey, as clearing out the damage (baggage) in each room of your house, one at a time, so you can find more of who you are created to be in yourself and in your relationship with God.
• If you want some wider background about the journey, check out our 'what is Rapha' note. It sets out the Journey in a Biblical context.
• Some people find it helpful to write out a list of the areas where they want change or growth, and then pick one item from that list to get started with. Others have an instinct straight away, about where to start. Make sure you choose something very specific and not too ambitious!
• You will need some 'tools' to help you tackle the area you have chosen. After all, if it was easy to sort out, you would have done it already! That is what Rapha provides - numerous tools for lots of different types of area of growth and healing. Some tools you will need to practice, to get them working well. Others you will find you can use quite naturally. Our books and CDs are full of examples of tools to help you. And you will find many mentioned on this forum, often described by people who have themselves learned how to use them well in their own life. Use the search box on the forum or the website to look for something relevant to your issue.
• At its simplest, with each issue you will want to do a combination of 3 things;

1. Some diagnosis to make sure you have the root of the issue clear. This often focuses around your understanding and perspective of the issue
2. Some 'surgery' to let go of the obstacles, the pain and damage that has become part of your life, and some rehabilitation to change the way you have been living. This is usually an emotional step, engaging your feelings in a tangible way. For most of us, our emotional life had drifted a long way from how God intended it to be. It also involves your will, as you choose to let go of the damage.
3. Some rehabilitation as you welcome the new... whether new feelings, new attitudes and perspective, new areas of your relationship with God and spiritual gifting, or new habits and behaviour. This is the growth step. And it often leads you into the next issue.

These steps vary with each issue - they are not a formula. You can read about them in more detail in our note on 'spiritual surgery'.

• As a final suggestion if you would like a bit more background to help you get started, there is a CD you can download, that describes how to start your journey. Its one of our 'fireside chat' series. You can find the link to download it here. The book that is most relevant for a journey of healing, if you want to read about it, is Changed Lives. It includes stories from a number of people about how they have found healing in a specific area of their own journey. The book that is most relevant for a deepening discipleship journey is Becoming More Like Christ. It includes a number of qualities of Christ-likeness that we can all proactively welcome into our life.

We hope these thoughts give you a clue about the nature of the journey. We look forward to you being part of our community.

We know its a bit daunting, looking at the Forum and reading other people's posts. We have several suggestions to help you get started.

• Have a browse of the topics that interest you. As well as learning about a variety of topics, you will also pick up the way that we exchange ideas and support for each other. We want to be a virtual community that feels very safe and non-judgemental.
• If you see a topic that feels particularly relevant, you can choose to watch or subscribe, so its easier to find that topic again or to be notified when there are new posts on that topic. Perhaps choose one anyway, so you get familiar with that feature.
• You may already have a question you want to ask. If so, choose a brief title and then set out your question simply. Choose the forum that feels most relevant but don't worry too much about where to put it. If the Forum Team feel it should be somewhere else, we will let you know and then might move it for you. But we've a lot of flexibility. So most will stay where they are and that will be just fine.
• Don't try and put in too many details to start with when you ask your question. If more details are needed, you can add them as a response later.
• Many people just watch for a few days before adding a question. And many others just watch and learn and don't post a question for some time. That is just fine.
• And if you see someone who has posted a question and you want to share something from your own experience, please do. That is what our community is all about. Healing, wholeness, growth in Christ - they are contagious and we want to help spread more ideas about how to grow in these journeys.
• You might want to just add a brief encouraging comment. We all love to know that others are supporting and walking with us.
• Have a read of our user guide, and our guidelines. When you are a little more familiar with the site, reading them again will feel more meaningful.
• Keep an eye on the 'new' posts. This will show you what has been posted since you last visited the forum.
• And finally, make good use of the search box. It will help you find something on a topic that you are interested in. 

Hope these thoughts are helpful. We look forward to you being part of our community.

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We do require all members to follow our Rapha Community Forum Guidelines when posting.  If you are found to be in breach of these guidelines we reserve the right to block/delete posts and close accounts.

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9. Terms of Service/Terms & Condition Changes

Changes to our Terms of Service and Terms & Conditions may be made without direct notification.  It is your responsibility to ensure you check for changes in our Terms of Service and Terms & Conditions.

This forum is moderated by Dr. Peter Holmes & Dr. Susan Williams, and it is supported by members of the Rapha Journey Forum team, who have been pursuing their Rapha Journey over a number of years. We believe in a model of “experts by experience”, meaning that others’ experiences are vital and valuable to us as we walk our journeys.

We have a few guidelines for this forum that will help to honour everyone and create a place of safety. These are similar to the principles we use in our Rapha groups and have been created over many years of experience.

Mutual support

• The most important guideline is that every post is written in a spirit of support, whether seeking support or offering support. We want Love to prevail and for everyone to feel honoured.
• Don’t give advice. None of us know enough about each other’s experience to do that. Ideas and suggestions can be offered, especially if they are based on your own experience. But none of us would claim to be qualified to ‘advise’.
• If someone makes a suggestion in response to one of your questions, please consider it carefully and decide whether it feels helpful to you. There are a wide variety of ways of finding greater wholeness, and its fine to disagree or have a different perspective.
• Everyone is welcome to this forum, whether you have a Christian faith, or not. We are not seeking to ‘convert’ or evangelise. We respect each person’s experience and choice of faith. But please note that this forum actively supports a journey of Christian discipleship and one part of the forum is specifically to support that journey of deepening relationship with Christ. If you are offering support to someone else, note whether they are expressing their journey in relationship with God, and respect their choice.
• There should be no offensive language on the forum, no mocking or undermining of someone else’s journey or views.
• And finally - note that this forum is not suitable for urgent questions. Please contact us directly if you have a question that needs a more timely and specific response.

We do have the facility to end someone’s membership of the Rapha Community if these guidelines are not followed. We want to keep the forum feeling as safe and supportive for everyone as possible.

Practically

• Please post your question in whichever forum grouping feels most appropriate.
• Have a good look through the forum yourself. You will discover that many of us struggle with similar issues, so there’s a lot to learn there.
• If you can make the title of the question as specific as possible, that will help ensure you get good responses.
• Avoid titles like:
  • Help, I’m stuck
  • Rapha Journey Question
• Choose something like:
  • Struggling with self-hate
  • How do I forgive?

Thank you for joining our Rapha Journey Community. We hope that it will support you in your journeying into greater wholeness and, if you choose, deepening relationship with Christ.

It is a details guide to getting started.  If you have any further questions after reading it, please let us know.  You can email us at forum@raphajourney.com.