Healing Trauma: What It Means To Heal March 9, 2015 • 7 Comments This was originally a guest post over at Elin Stebbins Waldal’s beautiful blog and I wanted to share it here: Traumatic experiences can dramatically interrupt our lives, like a mighty ice storm, and instantly change the landscape. We then face the question of whether we are going to remain frozen in the position the storm left us, or smash the…
The Transformative Power of Heartfelt, Active Listening December 5, 2014 • 7 Comments When was the last time you felt truly heard? I mean attentively listened to in a way that allowed you to actually hear what you were saying and make sense of it on your own, a time when your words were spoken and witnessed, no need for solutions, just a willing ear openly receiving them. I began to notice…
Breath Work: Pranayama Breathing for Healing Trauma February 10, 2014 • 1 Comment Although it has been a challenge to keep my mind on solid ground these past three years, my exploration of yoga, breath work, therapy and writing as ways to manage all the moving parts has helped tremendously. Due to a medical recommendation last year to try Adderall for better focus, I avoid pharmaceuticals. One pill and I was off on…
Being Present: One Thousand Healing Moments December 16, 2013 • 2 Comments I heard a statistic that, on average, people look at their cell phones a thousand times a day and I find this fascinating. It makes me wonder what we are looking for on our phones: Validation? Connection? Belonging? A way to look busy or feel important? I’m part of the generation that grew up pre-cell phone, and I’m trying to…
Healing & the Power of Receiving November 13, 2013 • 11 Comments “Receiving is much harder than giving. It can be emotionally risky: it requires opening up to a possibility or desire that may not be fulfilled. Giving is easy. Not only do you get to showcase your more saintly qualities but also your ego enjoys the reward – the payoff of giving.” Amanda Owen I was never taught much about receiving…
Self Healing: The Energy of Compassion October 28, 2013 • 3 Comments I have long been trying to understand my own propensity to succumb to the little voice that calls from the dark trying to convince me I am not enough. But even more puzzling is the actual existence of the part of myself that seems devoted to self-destruction. Our dark side is an underground entity with confusing motives – isn’t life…
The Voice Of Intuition: Confirmation from Genetic Testing August 19, 2013 • 0 Comments I tend to cringe at the word “genetic” these days because of all the scary GMO business. I don’t want to be genetically modified, nor do I want to eat food that has traveled that path. However, fatigue has been debilitating these past couple of years, so when my doctor suggested genetic testing as a way to expand the possibilities,…
Besmirched: Does it Really Matter What Other People Think? July 29, 2013 • 3 Comments For a moment, imagine you have just discovered that your husband of twenty-odd years has betrayed you, in a multitude of ways (perhaps you have been in my shoes and do not need to use your imagination.) I hate to say this, but the mind often wanders into the wilds of “what other people think,” or at least mine did…
The Finale: The Healing Energy From Singing Your Heart Out July 24, 2013 • 9 Comments It’s not the easy stuff that changes us. It’s when we’re afraid we’ll fail, but we try anyway. It’s when what we want is just out of reach and we have to leap. It’s when we fall down—and when we get back up. It’s that little space between curiosity and courage where we decide it’s time to stop dreaming—and do.…