About My Logo
Published: September 21, 2021
By Marty Lythgoe LAADC-CA, NCAC II, SAP

The two trees of my logo have meaning for me both in the natural and in the spiritual realms.  In the initial stages of trying to design a logo for my counseling practice, I had in mind symbols which might represent both recovery from addiction and also living victoriously in Christ.

As I experimented with different symbols, I became clear that I also wanted to represent the city of Ventura, where I practice and where I was born and raised.  I considered the ocean, the islands and the pier, but settled on Two Trees, on the hilltop overlooking Ventura.

Addiction Counseling near Ventura by Marty Lythgoe

History

I am old enough to recall when there were five trees on that hilltop, originally used by merchant seamen as a sighting point to guide them to the Ventura pier to unload their goods.  Today there are only two trees on that hilltop.  As best I recall, and there seems to be some discrepancy about what happened, three of the trees were either burned or cut down on Halloween night, 1958.  Two Trees, as that hilltop has since been known, continues to watch over Ventura. 

The Spiritual and the Natural

In the natural, Two Trees is a symbol that represents the city of Ventura, a city I love, my birthplace, and the city where I am blessed to work.

In the spiritual, I believe the two trees represent the two trees in the Garden of Eden – the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life.  These two trees represent our ongoing struggle between our natural tendency to be self-reliant, dependent on our own knowledge, skills and experience – the Tree of Knowledge – and our need to focus on the One who is the source of life, Jesus – represented by the Tree of Life.

Good Fruit and Bad Fruit

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil produces bad fruit: self-contentedness, vanity, selfish ambition, jealousy, discouragement, doubt, defeat and death.

The Tree of Life produces good fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  These are the fruit of the Spirit.

I think Two Trees is a fitting symbol for my logo, representing the struggles we all face, whether addiction v. recovery, strength v. surrender, or good v. evil.  Those two trees continue to be a sighting point used for guidance.  We continue to have a choice of which fruit we will eat.  And our choice makes all the difference.

Spiritual growth is an essential piece of successful recovery.

There are many paths to spiritual growth but all require some examination and possible change of our original belief system.  The two biggest influences on our belief system are our family of origin and our culture.  To begin to change aspects of our beliefs that are no longer beneficial, we must intervene on any side of the triangle pictured above.  It is usually easiest to intervene on our CHOICES.  It is pretty obvious that when we begin to make different choices, we will have different experiences, which will begin to reshape our beliefs.

What are Beliefs?

In the old Anglo Saxon usage of the word “belief”, be = by and lief = life.  So “belief” is actually “by life.”  What one lives demonstrates one’s belief.  People claim a certain belief, and I ask, “How do you live that?”  If you change how you live by making different choices, you will naturally have different experiences, and these experiences change your beliefs.

Does this happen overnight? Certainly not.  There are 4 stages to spiritual growth:

    1. Unquestioning acceptance – usually the beliefs from our family of origin or sometimes adopted in response to strong cultural influences or charismatic leaders.
    2. Questioning/non-acceptance – often occurs during adolescence, sometimes in college or when presented with new evidence.
    3. Experience of mystery – this occurs when we come up against questions with no answers.
    4. Certainty of beliefs – when either our experience confirms beyond doubt or when we accept a truth based on faith.

How to Explore Spiritual Growth

A useful tool to explore our own spiritual growth is journaling our process, often by asking ourselves questions:

  • In what ways do I wish to change?
  • What is helping me or hindering me from growing?
  • What once seemed true that I now question?
  • What am I doing to enrich myself and grow spiritually?

 

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