Category: Healing & Empowerment

Overcoming

On By thinkcarebelieveIn Healing & Empowerment, Inspirational, Tools, Wise WordsLeave a comment

Something has been building and it feels as if the unexpected is about to occur. The word that came to me this morning was “overcoming.” Overcoming what?

It’s almost as if we are being gathered together and pushed forward, which means we must drop our stubbornness and move past any resistance to shifting from fear and survival mode into love and possibilities. Moving into our heart space and releasing all that no longer serves our highest and best good such as angst, anger, blame, grief, and words we withheld. With all the new information coming out now, we must accept and grow past everything that has been blocking us from living our best life.

If I had any advice right now it would be to let go of any attachment to any suffering that keeps us stuck. Our Souls have a higher calling for us. It is time to go with the flow and go forward where our Soul is taking us, releasing any resistance. We must step forward boldly… in truth, in Love.

We are walking into a new unity that binds us as we rise above anything that seeks to pull us downward. We are not going down again and we stand together, as one. We are making healthier choices now, choices that support our own transformation. We are grounding ourselves on a better path, and building stronger foundations for new relationships and careers. We are letting go of overthinking in favor of a wiser knowing. We are washing out all that has been holding us back. We as a collective have had enough so we are moving past whatever was causing resistance and overcoming our own blockages so that we can make anything happen now, together.

So, we can clear away clutter, exercise or take a walk, drink more water, organize our space. We can stop worrying and start working. Finding what needs changing in our world and being willing to be those changes. We can become the support we’ve always needed by cultivating a mindset of productivity and a just-do-it attitude. Might be a good time to upgrade our skills. Every small task we do gets us closer to success, and our bright new future.

Every writer, publisher and journalist needs to stand up and speak out for Julian Assange for what his detainment means for writing as a whole. Whether it be on the world stage or on a minute screen with bloggers such as myself. Please stand for Julian.

Use this tool to send a message to all the news organizations in your area telling them it is important that they stand for press freedoms and stand up and speak out for Assange>

https://act.campaigntoendqualifiedimmunity.org/lte/letter-to-the-editor_save-press-freedom/

Creating From the Heart

On By thinkcarebelieveIn Healing & Empowerment, InspirationalLeave a comment

With all of the chaos and unknowns swirling around us in the world, it has become clear that people are wondering if God has abandoned us. They feel alone and are starving to see something positive and comforting and beautiful. They are turning away from selfish powers-that-be dictating how to think and act and feel. They are beginning to discover a spark that is inside them, whispering to them that they’ve had God inside themselves all along.

Some say that this whole Earth experiment occurred with the purpose of exploring the darkness to see what it was like to get as far away from God as possible. To know the light better by knowing the dark. We would hit a marker and then travel back to God and our own divinity. Perhaps. Clearly when we travel away from God, we then struggle with our own forgetting. Forgetting who we are, that we are eternal multidimensional beings having a human experience, and how much we are loved. In that forgetting, we may feel abandoned. We begin to lose hope because we can’t feel “home” anymore and yearn to see God and feel God’s powerful love. With all of the mainstream messages of illness, corruption, recession, war and depression, hopelessness can spread through society like a sickness. A sickness that has people yearning and craving to feel God and God’s love in their lives.

Not only that, but the messages of the mainstream media are trying to make us feel like the Earth is trying to hurt us with words like global warming and toxicity and weather and earthquakes and…

Mother Earth does not want to harm us. She carries the love of the Divine Feminine for us as she nurtures all life. She shows us God’s love in all her beauty and miraculous wonder. When we immerse ourselves in nature, we can feel that God is there. God is inside us and God is all around us in nature.

It has become evident that people need to be reminded that God is all around them and that they are loved immensely. They don’t need to be told by religion that they are doing something wrong to cause it. People are craving to feel God, and to feel God in their lives. So, we need some heroes to give people that knowing, that reassurance. Those heroes are us.

The messages of the past few days, have us building a path rising up a stairway. The new knowledge and inspiration that came in with the new year is clamoring to get out into the world. We’ve cleaned ourselves out and washed away the mess. We peeked over the sides of the boxes we were in and saw that all is clear so we could tear down the sides of those boxes so that they lay flat as we move forward. We’ve been given the amazing gift of packets containing libraries of information from our divine blueprints, and we’ve been reminded to persevere, becoming more resilient in the process.

Yesterday’s message was to have fortitude and get into flowstate to bring these creations out into the world. Today’s messages are telling us what we want to target with those creations… people are feeling scared, disheartened, and hopeless. Reach out with your creations and remind them that they have not been abandoned by God. God is inside us and God is in nature.

Speak out to people through your creations. Reach them in a non-verbal way through your art and music or whatever you do. Remind them they have not been abandoned by God. Show them there is hope. Inspire them to rise and stand beside you. When we speak to people through our art, it transcends all languages. We can transcend all word salads double-speak and make meaningful connections when we create art that is from our heart. We can uplift the world by eradicating the illnesses of hopelessness and despair.

The Lord reigns forever;
    he has established his throne for judgment.
He rules the world in righteousness
    and judges the peoples with equity.
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you,
    for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 91, 7-10

Fortitude and Flowstate

On By thinkcarebelieveIn Healing & Empowerment, Inspirational, The ShiftLeave a comment

The messages from the last few days are still building. The new knowledge and inspiration that came in with the new year is clamoring to get out into the world. We’ve cleaned ourselves out and washed away the mess. We peeked over the sides of the boxes we were in and saw that all is clear so we could tear down the sides of those boxes so that they lay flat as we move forward. We’ve been given the amazing gift of packets containing libraries of information from our divine blueprints, and we’ve been reminded to persevere, becoming more resilient in the process.

Today’s message starts with the word strength. We not only gain strength from God, but we find it deep down inside. That is where our fortitude resides. It is the strength of mind that enables us to handle any danger or bear any pain or stand against any adversity, with courage. You have it inside you. No matter what you’ve been through lately, your strength has been hard earned, and it is still there, strong as ever.

Then I was nudged to talk about flow state. Flow state comes when we shift into a soft inner focus, the Holy Spirit moving within. It is inspiration from the higher realms and comes through the part of us that is divine, inside us. When we stop thinking around intellect we gain access to multidimensional wisdom from the collective consciousness. The library of all knowledge.

What does it feel like to be in that flowstate? Maybe when talking about something profound, you feel in total faith of what we are saying and it just flows out of us, surprisingly articulate. Other times when we are not in flow, we are in doubt and have to watch our words, and they come out disjointed. Flow happens when we stop over-thinking and trying to tightly control the process. We get out of our own way and flow with it as if someone else is guiding our hands. Flow state is optimal for higher level functioning.

When we get focused and open ourselves to divine guidance, the work just flows through and comes out smoothly and synchronistically as it it’s already created and we are just unveiling it. Sometimes we might even become aware that Angels are whispering in our ear as we work. We just let go and let our heart resonate. The most inspiring creations are produced this way. What we create has more soul and speaks to people in meaningful ways, uplifting and inspiring them to create their own masterpieces as we rise, together, to greatness.

Understanding Trauma through Polyvagal Theory

On By thinkcarebelieveIn Healing & Empowerment, Holistic Health1 Comment

Polyvagal Theory was a new way to understand trauma through the neuropsychological role of the vagus nerve in regulating emotions and fear responses and how they affect social connections in 1994 when it was introduced by Stephen Porges. The theory expands the two types of threat responses, fight or flight, into a third called “freeze.” It is what some animals do in the wild. Freezing is the body’s way of “playing dead” to become uninteresting to a threat until it passes. The natural way someone exits the freeze response and return to balance in the body is to bring ourselves into social engagement, in which we are open and receptive which establishes within the body that we’re not under threat.

The autonomic nervous system is responsible for this survival mechanism. It regulates heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, and sexual arousal. In times of extreme threat, one branch of our parasympathetic nervous system kicks us into shutdown mode. When we look back on the experience it is normal to wonder why we did not react differently such as fighting off the attack or running away. It can be confusing and make us think we are weak.

That confusion causes trauma energy to become blocked in the body where it is stored. The person can stay stuck in trauma and anxiety perpetually until it is discharged. The way this stored energy is discharged is through entering back into a state of threat, shut-down and immobilization, and working back into social engagement where we become relaxed and open again. Traveling back and forth threat to safety allows a person to truly recognize they are safe, where they can become open and receptive again so they can explore further healing.

The Three Parts of the Nervous System

Deb Dana, a clinical social worker and therapist recognized the need for a practical application of polyvagal theory and developed a therapy around it. She published three books, The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy, Clinical Application of the Polyvagal Theory and Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection. In her books, she organizes the nervous system into three parts, hierarchy, neuroception and co-regulation.

Hierarchy refers to the three states of the nervous system: The ventral vagal, sympathetic and dorsal vagal, and how they activate in a particular order. The ventral vagal helps us feel safe, show up and communicate. It is our home base line and place of safety. Sympathetic is that energy that gives us fight or flight to help us survive danger. If we cannot flee or fight, then the dorsal vagal has us shut down, collapse and go numb to protect ourselves.

Neuroception is when our nervous system is constantly scanning the environment for clues of any danger. It listens inside and outside our bodies, and to interactions between people for any trouble. Neuroception determines whether we need to be in ventral vagal, sympathetic or dorsal vagal, depending on the environment and threat level. Dana describes co-regulation as the need to be safely connected with others throughout our lifetime in order to survive.

Understanding our nervous system is the first step in navigating challenges more effectively. The nervous system informs the brain, therefore it is essential to first comprehend the processes of the nervous system before understanding the brain. When people come to an understanding of why their nervous system acts the way it does, people can guide themselves back to their home safety state. When people are stuck in the sympathetic state, people with unhealed trauma may carry fear, lack of trust and anxiety. Those stuck in the vagal state may carry loneliness, disconnection and numbness. When survivors heal, it is a triumph because they can reside in the ventral vagal state of their home base where they have let go of their stories of suffering and become connected and attuned with others.

Resilience

On By thinkcarebelieveIn Healing & Empowerment, PoetryLeave a comment

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

-James 1:2-5
Resilience

by thinkcarebelieve

Tis our greatest struggles challenging us to grow.  
Spurring us on til our juices flow.  

We persevere, we fight to gain ground,
Payoff from our tenacity abounds.

But when things don’t work out as we expect,
Don’t despair and slide back unchecked.

We take a breath and take stock of the mess,
Go to our baseline and re-assess.  

Realize we’ve become wiser from it all,
Maintaining focus, our eye on the ball.

This is what it means to persevere,
We grow more resilient and free of fear.

 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5

God’s Care

On By thinkcarebelieveIn Healing & Empowerment, Inspirational, ToolsLeave a comment

Happy Epiphany!!!

Sitting under a dense cloudy sky this morning, although I could not see the full moon, its power shined through. Wondering what today’s message was, my attention was brought to our core, the torso of our body. It’s where our vital organs are housed. It’s also where we store excess fat reserves and trauma energy. We’ve been discovering some horrid things in our world and as our old systems collapse, it has us on edge and vigilant. That is actually a physiological reaction that keeps us ready to react into fight or flight mode should there be an immediate threat. It puts us into a state of energetically walling off our torso for protection of our vital organs. We’ve been holding our breath, waiting for something to happen. If we maintain this for a prolonged period of time, the torso can become congested.

Tearing down stubborn walls of protection is not hard. We can use our imagination, visualization and affirmation. Speaking to our bodies should be an every day thing that we do to encourage it and bath it in love and gratitude. The power of the spoken word can set things in motion.

Exercise to Tear Down Walls of our Vital Area

  1. Get quiet and take some deep breaths.
  2. Bring your awareness to your body and say something like:
  3. “Thank you body, now please take down the walls surrounding my torso and let the energy flow through it unencumbered, releasing all concern and old stored up energy that are no longer needed now that we are in the new energy now. Thank you. I love you.”
  4. Now feel the lightness and freedom. Breathe out the stuckness. Imagine yourself tearing down actual walls around your torso and let it breathe freely.
  5. Now expand your light inside your torso and open your heart and let the energy flow through you freely. Feel your engine chug along. Good job.

Beautiful. Now back to today’s message which builds on yesterday’s. My initial key this morning was “God’s Care” which led me to a beautiful verse from the book of Nahum with Word from the Lord: “Now I will break your yoke and tear your shackles away.” -Nahum 1:13. With God’s Care we will step forward with our shackles falling away and the light of our divinity expanding from inside us and shining out into the darkness. Standing up. Voices loud. Forward together.

As I did my visualization for this full moon, I set the intention that this would become outwardly manifested for each and every person in our beautiful changing world.

2023 Wolf Moon Visualization

  1. Open up, brighten and expand our core.
  2. Connect down to Mother Earth through our feet, being grounded to our Dear Mother.
  3. Picture a braided cord of golden-white light going up up up and connecting into the Angelic realm.
  4. That braided cord is actually fiberoptic cable and now downloads packets of information to us.
  5. Those packets of information, are zip-files of whole libraries of pictures, movies, plans, diagrams and artwork.
  6. A tsunami of information being given to humans. Whether aware or not, we are activating and ready for it now.
  7. It comes through our imagination.
  8. Humans will design with what they’ve been given and link up with others who will bring these wondrous creations into reality.
  9. We are working on multiple dimensions at once now. Believe it. It’s true. It’s how we were designed.
  10. Thank the Angels who are singing to you a song of triumph of the human spirit and emoting love for the beauty and resilience of humanity.
  11. Now take several deep breaths and breathe this outward to the world, sending out ripples of inspiration.

As we step forward together into new possibilities, we become the bridge between the seen and unseen. Anchoring our dreaming and watching it crystalize into reality. This is the miraculous world we are stepping into. We only need to open our eyes, our hearts, look to eachother for inspiration, and believe. God’s care has broken our shackles, and we are moving forward with new gifts opening up more and more by the day. Finding our workgroups and bringing those divinely inspired plans into reality.

Somatic Experiencing Therapy for Trauma

On By thinkcarebelieveIn Healing & Empowerment, Holistic Health, Tools1 Comment

What is Somatic Experiencing?

Somatic Experiencing is a naturalistic form of therapeutic body work that aids the healing of Post-Traumatic Stress Response (PTSR) and other issues related to trauma. It was established by Peter Levine in the 1970s and has been used in the treatment of trauma. It is based on Wilhelm Reich’s theory of blocked energy in the body and how it needs to be released in order to heal.

Healing comes through Somatic Experiencing by addressing where imbalances occurred through the excess energy that was trapped in the body following a traumatic incident. During a traumatic incident, adrenalin floods the body in order to fight and run for survival. It’s just something the body does in normal reaction mode. When the traumatic event is over, the body gradually goes back to resting state, but sometimes the body can go into a freeze state and the brain can dissociate to leave the present moment and take refuge elsewhere. This can cause energy to be trapped in the body. The excess energy needs to be discharged but the body doesn’t like to waste energy and tends to store it. This is often the root of dysfunctions following trauma. In order to heal trauma, we must release that energy. It can be deeply uncomfortable, however, it is far better to go through it for our mental and emotional health, than let it fester or bury deeper inside.

The Somatic Experiencing approach is to assist a person to notice their physical sensations in relation to difficult thoughts and emotions connected with their traumatic events. Instead of talking about the experience and reliving it, Somatic Experiencing uncovers and identifies the sensations in the body that are energetically linked to the traumatic emotions or memories. For instance, when a traumatic memory comes up, a person would notice where they feel sensations of pain or discomfort in their body. The person would make the connection between that part of the body and the traumatic event. While that connection if fresh, the person would immediately think of a positive thought or memory, such as basking in the sunshine or a favorite vacation spot. By bringing in a pleasant, positive experience, there is a somatic overwrite and the person should feel relief in the form of a tingling sensation, calming or the feeling as if a weight has been lifted.

These are some techniques used in Somatic Experiencing to release traumatic energy trapped in the body:

Breathing can be used to breathe out and release blocked and stored energy.

Mindfulness to strengthen awareness of surroundings, thoughts, and the way the body feels.

Meditation to calm and increase awareness.

Somatic Psychotherapy may be used to talk about the experience and pinpoint correlating body discomfort.

Body movement is used to release trapped energy and identify areas of stress to process it for healing.

Positive Imagery can be used to calm the body and mind to help bring healing to stress areas.

Conclusion

Normally we can sufficiently recover from a traumatic event but we each process trauma differently both physically and emotionally. Trapped energy from a traumatic event can cause imbalances in the body. Those imbalances over time can become chronic pain, behavior disorders or disease. Trauma therapy should be sought at the first sign of trauma symptoms, or right after a traumatic event, but we don’t always realize that we need help. Waiting until pain and discomfort become so unbearable is what normally drives people to seek therapy. Somatic Experiencing is a way to release stored trauma energy by identifying body discomfort associated with a trauma memory. Using positive imagery, the trauma memory energy can be uncovered and released. Relief in the form of a freer, lighter feeling can be achieved.

Holistic approaches to healing trauma down-loadable free Ebooks written by Lou Lebentz.

https://docslib.org/doc/9096180/solutions-to-trauma-part-i-psychosomatic-and-holistic-methods-lou-lebentz-trauma-thrivers-trauma-thrivers

https://docslib.org/doc/9096180/solutions-to-trauma-part-ii-psychosomatic-and-holistic-methods-lou-lebentz-trauma-thrivers-trauma-thrivers

Sensorimotor Therapy to Heal Trauma

On By thinkcarebelieveIn Healing & Empowerment, Holistic HealthLeave a comment

How Does Sensorimotor Therapy Heal Trauma?

Sensorimotor Therapy- Research has shown that people who have been diagnosed with PTSD, have experienced child or adult sexual abuse and those who suffer from anxiety, depression and other trauma-related symptoms benefit from Sensorimotor Therapy. It was first discovered by Dr. Pat Ogden in the 1970s and is meant to re-establish the connection between mental health and the sensorimotor skills of patients at the psychiatric hospital where she worked. It works on the theory that when we experience trauma or a traumatic event, memory of the experience can become trapped in the body. Affected persons may not even be aware that the energy of unresolved trauma is what is causing pain and problems in their body. It can affect the nervous system, mood and numerous other secondary symptoms.

Normal survival responses to trauma are fight, flight, freeze, flop or friend. The freeze response shuts us down in a paralysis, thus our attempts to physically protect ourselves may not have been completed for several reasons, we may have been overpowered by the assailant. Situations where we are unable to protect ourselves can lead to mannerisms like shaking, clenching or nervous ticks. It can also lead to anxiety, hopelessness and depression.

In Sensorimotor Therapy, the incomplete actions are played out in a safe environment which can give the person a sense of closure. The playact is performed in a state of mindful awareness or mindfulness in order for the experience to reach directly into the subconscious. Mindfulness helps the closure experience reach the old trauma memories to augment them into a better state of wholeness.

Benefits of Sensorimotor Therapy are:

· Reduction in physical and emotional pain
· Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms
· Reduction in anxiety-related symptoms
· Mood disorders and emotional regulation
· Improved physical coordination
· Increased capacity for intimacy
· Improved ability to set boundaries
· Substance abuse and addictive behavior
· Self harm and suicidal behavior

The Three Phases of Sensorimotor Therapy

Phase 1: Safety and Stabilization– This is a gentle exploration of thoughts, emotions, memories and sensations. Mindfulness is cultivated throughout the investigation.

Phase 2: Processing– This is an exploration of memories that are attached to physical sensations and movements in the body. The person learns and practices movements that empower them to defend themselves that they may not have been able to use during the time of the trauma. This stimulates a triumphant response to the original threat.

Phase 3: Integration– This is where the client is empowered with a strong sense of self, improve relationships and to cultivate an ability to pursue pleasant, playful activities to feel joy and contentment.

Conclusion

In Sensorimotor Therapy, people become aware of their awareness, thus remaining cognizant while being able to observe mind and body. People are taught how to regulate their nervous system and emotions. This enables them to remain calm despite the intrusion of traumatic memories. It can reduce fight or flight or freeze reactions to stressful situations.

Holistic approaches to healing trauma down-loadable free Ebooks written by Lou Lebentz.

https://docslib.org/doc/9096180/solutions-to-trauma-part-i-psychosomatic-and-holistic-methods-lou-lebentz-trauma-thrivers-trauma-thrivers

https://docslib.org/doc/9096180/solutions-to-trauma-part-ii-psychosomatic-and-holistic-methods-lou-lebentz-trauma-thrivers-trauma-thrivers

Opening Our Hearts

On By thinkcarebelieveIn Healing & Empowerment, Poetry, The ShiftLeave a comment

Spreading Light

a poem by thinkcarebelieve

As old life falls away,

We step forward without delay.

We already know where this is going,

We’re going to where Compassion is flowing.

10,000 Angels are guiding us there,

With all the great Masters authoring prayer.

It’s a new start with a brand new year,

We’re dropping our doubts, anxiety and fear.

We’re going to Love with all our might,

Throughout the world Spreading Light.

I thought I’d open 2023 discussing opening our hearts. Heart has to do with openness. When we say, “have a heart” or that someone is hard-hearted, it means their heart is not open to receiving. Which means, the person is having difficulty experiencing another’s ideas, feelings or attitudes. Romantically, it can mean that the person has experienced so much pain in their life that their heart is so protected that they may have trouble feeling and sharing love, and they may not always realize it. Some who seem unable to love, were simply trained by family, school and society to lock it up in order to succeed in the world. It’s quite common that we put up protections, which are needed in the world, but forget that they are there..

Our hearts are our personal space of receptivity and response. It’s our innermost center. When we do something from the heart, we do it with the deepest feelings. Dealing with a warmhearted person, we know we’ll be accepted openly and treated kindly. Doing something whole-heartedly means we’re responding from our very core, giving of our whole selves.

My latest experience in my healing journey took me to my innermost being. I was shaken awake by someone I deeply care about. You know, one of those magical people that are wise beyond anything. Typically I am generous and caring, but I did not realize where I had protected the hidden depths of my heart. I was then able to see where I had built a wall and locked up my heart so that I would never be hurt again. I thought I was being smart and mature… but this is the shift. I had to see how I was making things worse when I was trying to make them better. I was being bombarded with feelings of fear, abandonment, desperation and powerlessness. I was baffled by what was happening… until I finally understood, and then I was ashamed of my defensive behavior. This experience was a precious, precious gift. When I was finally able to speak my truth, it felt so good, and was so simple to do.

I owe that person a debt of gratitude now. Truly. Who would take the flack that you were to dish out, but someone very special indeed. That’s what this magical time of healing is about. Getting to the heart of the matter and cleaning and clearing so that we resonate with the new world energies. These energies are opening up our spiritual centers and it is in that divine heartspace that we feel God the most. Where God comes in and touches our spirit, and where our spirit touches that of others.

Many are going to be going through deeper and deeper work as we further shift. If you are feeling the approach of deep inner work, my advice is to surrender to the process, be as gracious as you possibly can, there is nothing comfortable about it. Your heart is being cracked open by the Holy Spirit so that you can receive the love that God pours in. Be healed. Look forward and aim for a future where you resonate with Love. Like tuning forks, in our bright future we will resonate in a frequency of love.