RESULTS: WEEK 10: Heal from Trauma!

Fearless challengers! We've got some results from WEEK 11 but a big drop off in how many people have filled out the survey! Please stick with us... we are almost done and you are still so worth it! Thanks to those brave souls who filled out the survey so we can stay connected!

Mary Anne Koski	43
Maryjane	41
Lisa Jones	40
Krystal	19
Really Serious	32
Hillarie	22
Christie	21
Dannette Allen	32
Karin	32
Sarah	34
Rich	41

YAY! We've got folks back into the 40's!!!!!!! SO GREAT!! Looks like a great week! I hope you have all lighted your burdens in some way! You are so loved and so worth the lightness and peace that comes with healing from trauma in our pasts.

Looks like many of us were learning and helping others! That's good! Sometimes the process of healing takes a leap of faith. You have to really  believe that trauma that gets stuffed down and ignored never goes away. It just gets worse and makes your life harder to manage. It creates a debt that wants to be paid. Bringing it out into the light and getting help working through it, is a gift that is worth the effort. Take that leap! 

I like what I'm seeing here! Hopefully those who didn't try will give themselves lots of love and care and grace!!

I'm glad so many of you are committed to move forward with more healing!!

YAY! You are ready to try this whether you have done them before or not!! 

What one thing did you learn about yourself while healing from trauma (or helping others) last week?

I learned that a friend who is difficult to get along with probably has experienced trauma, judging from her stiff hugs (and other things).

I liked learning the practical things about healing. So much we already do can be healing.

I started using these techniques during the shut down to get through a family situation that caused me deep trauma and grief in my body. I became very diligent about meditation, breathing, and yoga. The situation has not improved for me but my abilities to cope and regulate the effects of the trauma is greatly improved by using these techniques. I had fallen out of daily practice of these things because of the stresses of my work life but this week reminded me that it’s not really optional. I loved in the book how he says management of feelings and emotions is still largely left to the preschool teachers! I can affirm that. We teach the children they can feel all the feelings. And should. And we teach them how to breathe. Everyone feels safe here and it’s a lovely place to be. I wish that we could expand this to the daily lives of elementary schools and beyond. It really makes life better.

Have more empathy for those who suffer.

Last week was a cluster. I am so thankful this challenge is still going so I can get back to some things that I know work!

We all have burdens that we carry and focusing on others helps my soul.

I have more healing to do. I liked the different ways suggested that help in healing.

Glad to have these new tools! I learned that I still have some work to do in an area I thought was already healed. Time to get to work!

WOW! Thanks so much for sharing your personal stories and insights! I am so grateful that these techniques are helping in real and practical ways! Thanks everyone for all you do and are doing! Keep up the healing and the FUN! Life is supposed to be JOYFUL!! You got this! I hope you have a great week saying your affirmations and declarations! 

Declarations to use and inspire you!!

Here are some excellent ideas of declarations that Carolyn and Camille shared with us! Go ahead and use them or use them to inspire your own. Carolyn recorded hers on a voice message repeating them two times each. That way she can listen to them in her car as well as speaking them aloud at home. 

Carolyn Gillespie’s Declarations

I am created for peace!

I am created for Joy!

I am created for love!

Life is easy for me and it gets easier every day.

The power is in me.

I am supported in all that I do. 

I am open to new loving, supportive thoughts, beliefs and relationships.

Today I can be renewed.

Today I can feel peace and joy no matter what is going on.

The  past years & moments do not matter.

I receive all the love and help that is available to me.

I am open to heavenly light, love and help that is all around me.

I do not have to do everything myself.

I do not always have to be the strong one.

I do not have to fight. I do not have to struggle.

Things always work out for me. 

The kingdom of God is within me. 

I am eternally supported. I need only to exist to be loved by my creator.

I accept healing for myself and I share that with others.

People love me and I love myself and I cherish myself and I take the very best care of myself. 

I let go of the grief that I have been holding onto.

I love myself enough to do this. 

The power in me is greater than the obstacles outside of me.
I can climb this mountain no matter what it is.

I am bigger than my circumstances.

I am in God’s hands.

The universe supports me & shows up for me.

I can access power that is greater than myself.

Camille Smith’s declarations:

 

My aura radiates to bright that I am a conqueror over the power of the destroyer.

I receive inspiration at high levels every day.

I am using my spiritual gifts to bless the lives of others.

I am connected to this earth life.

I have something to say!

Daily Affirmations from Dannette:

1. I can do hard things.

2. I can expect joy even when I am feeling anxiety or worried.

3. I can do my best and then let it go.

Thanks so much ladies!!

 

 

WEEK 11: DECLARE Your FUTURE!

 Week 11 is HERE!!! Our Challenge is almost over and this week we are preparing you for your future and sending you off (soon) with some great tools to use as you move forward! What do you want your future to look like? How are  you going to maintain your healing and your good habits? Just as we all have a truthteller, there is an adversarial force out there that wants to derail us from our best path. When we are aware of this presence and their tricks and traps, we are better prepared to stay safe and stay strong. I have already given you some HUGE weapons you can use: eating healthy, being well rested, getting exercise, feeling strong, listening to music, praying and meditating, even staying hydrated can help you be strong and healthy. Nature will surround you with beauty and strength as you combat resistance and lets not forget MUSIC as one of our best tools of finding peace and strength! Writing in our journals can help us see when we are getting pushed or pulled off track and remind us of important truths. Our decluttered minds and homes can be a place of refuge. We are ready!!

Let's talk about some additional tools. 

Affirmations  & Declarations- One ridiculously simple way to combat the lies that will try to encroach on your new found zen-ness, are affirmations and declarations. Cue Stuart Smally from Saturday Night Live...

Haha! Ok!! That cracks me up, now when you do your affirmations, you don't need to use a lisp or anything. Just your regular voice works! If you haven't done these before you might feel a little geeky or weird but just hang in there and trust me and millions of others! I want you to spend a little time reflecting on what you need to remind yourself each day but I will also give you some great ones here! 

- One  really simple thing is to directly combat the lies that your brain tends to return to when you aren't being vigilant. Lies you believed for a long time, or lies that sound an awful lot like truth before the light of truth is shone on them. Ask yourself, "What does my soul need to remember?" Maybe you always hear the thought "I am never going to get everything done." You could replace it with "Whatever I get done will be enough" or "I will focus on the best things and that will be enough" Maybe you grew up thinking that you didn't have a voice. You could remind yourself every day that "My voice matters." If you never felt like you belonged, you could remind yourself that, "I am a priceless creation of the King of the Universe. I am never alone and always loved perfectly." 

- You can take these a step further and make them declarations. These are powerful statements that definitively declare to the world truths that you want to manifest each day. Some might even be a stretch at first, but you put it in present day context and use "I am" statements and GO FOR IT! "I am a powerful force for good in the world and I operate seamlessly with my truthteller!" "I live my potential and bring love to the world every day!" 

- Think of how you want to feel at the end of each day?

- What do you want your life to look like?

- How do you want to show up in the world? How do you want others to see you?

- Put that future you and your future life into words and say it ALOUD each morning. WORDS HAVE POWER! Just ask Thomas Jefferson! What influence do you think the Declaration of Independence has made on our country, the world and you? Write your own Declaration of Independence!!

- What other affirmations and declarations have you heard or do you use? PLEASE EMAIL ME SOME and I will share them with the group!

Here is a quote that I have put on many leather bracelets and I think it would be a great declaration: (I am switching it to  "my" and "I" statements)

"My life has purpose. My story is important. My dreams count. My voice matters. I was born to make an impact!" 

Please continue your healing and growth beyond this challenge and fight for the future that you WANT! Don't be passive. Don't give in to old habits we have disposed of. Put your truth out there with power and positivity!! AND REMEMBER...

When you feel resistance, discouragement or an onslaught of negativity from some unknown (or known) source, that often means you are on the right track and the adversary is trying to thwart your progress. Protect your healing. See it as a sign that you are ON THE RIGHT TRACK! Keep going. Fight harder. Do it anyways!!! You got this!! 

I love you!! Have a great week and give yourself a point for every day that you write, or say your affirmations and declarations. DO AT LEAST 3 a day!! Send me in your ideas!!! 

Heal others with your healing!

Have you ever heard the phrase “Hurt people hurt people”? I have and it is SO TRUE. When we look at who is causing serious damage in our lives, it’s often people with deep, unhealed wounds, and they are like bulls in a china closet, smashing into other people and causing havoc and creating more injuries.  I often wish these poor suffering people, causing even more suffering, would get help! ARGGG!!! But, we have all probably (hopefully) learned along the way that the only one we can control is ourselves. It’s true. (More about boundaries and how we can protect ourselves from these people later).

 

So… our responsibility is to make sure WE aren’t the ones smashing all the teacups. We need to make sure we are healed (there is no way to avoid injury- but we can all get healing from our own wounds) And here is the cool part,  our healing can help others heal. What if this was the new phrase? “Healed people heal people”! Don’t you love that?!! I do! Instead of “Hurt people hurt people” it becomes “Healed people heal people” I believe it’s true on so many levels. 

When I am healed I know the process I went through to get there and can gently guide others to things that helped me heal. But it is so much richer than that. When I have healed, I can love those in the struggle with a deeper unconditional love because I am so grateful for my healing and so hopeful for them.  I KNOW it works. I KNOW the peace that is on the road to healing. They can trust me too. My hope is contagious and my love, understanding and empathy for those who are hurting can actually be a healing balm for them! Healing is even more contagious than wounds are. That’s why we find those who have overcome huge trials so inspiring and attractive to our  souls! I LOVE READING about people like this. One who inspired me during a dark time was Donny Osmond. He doesn’t even know it! Haha! But I experienced five dark days of massive fear, anxiety, confusion, and almost terror in Jan. of 2016. It was a reaction to years of abuse and being told that I was crazy (gaslighting- it's real and insidious). I was experiencing an onslaught of darkness from somewhere outside of myself that I couldn’t explain at the time and I so afraid that it meant that my ex-husband was right! I was crazy after all! This thought led to even more fear, more confused feelings of craziness, which validated his argument even more. It was a vicious cycle and beyond awful. 

After about four days of my mind and soul feeling like they were being consumed with fire, for some reason (I think it was my truthteller) I started thinking about Donny Osmond and how he suffered from panic attacks. I had heard it somewhere and was so blown away by it! He always seemed to professional and calm, cool and INCREDIBLE on stage! I have seen his performance of Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat about a million times. My kids and I have every word from every song memorized. I imagined him having a panic attack right before coming on stage to sing one of my FAVORITE SONGS, Close Every Door to Me, and how HE WENT ON STAGE AND DID IT ANYWAYS… over and over and over again- he still performs live today! I’ll never forget playing that song for myself in the bathroom as I did my hair that morning  and watching  him on my phone be so brave, so talented and inspiring...hearing the incredible message of bravery in the song and realizing that if he could do that, I could survive this. 

After getting ready that morning, I went outside and sat in the sun and STARTED FEELING BETTER FOR THE FIRST TIME in almost a week. I felt safe and warm and a tiny bit strong. Quickly, before I lost my nerve, I made a video (in which I sounded slow and exhausted) to advertise—for the very first time—my "WHAT NOW" class, that Camille and I were unveiling that month! I FELT SO BRAVE! I was so brave. I owe a lot of that to Donny (who I  have adored since I was a child belting out Donny and Marie’s songs in my basement “Make the world go away. Take it off of my shoulders…”)!

Because he was brave in the midst of his struggles, he helped me.  How strange that someone who I have never met, (sadly) and who has never met me, helped me overcome the darkest, most frightening 5 days of my life. I’ve never even heard him speak of his struggles, I had only heard from someone that he had them. His  spirit, THE SPIRIT and that music pulled me up from the darkness. I will never forget the contrast from how I had been feeling and how I felt later that day.  

I also called a dear friend of mine, Jennie, who suffered from panic attacks for years but had them under control- or knew how to handle them. Even though that was not exactly what was happening, she gave me very good, practical advice on how to calm my mind and focus on other things (go on a run, do a sudoku puzzle etc.) and also encouraged me that I could and would feel better soon! That conversation was so hopeful and helpful in concrete ways! Her healing was my healing that day. Thank God for Jennie and Donny!

I hope this inspires you to keep on track with all that we are doing in this challenge. Having a healthy body, mind and soul feels sooo good and is contagious. We do it for ourselves and we do it for others. Think of people you know who have major relationship struggles or have been divorced. I’d bet that one or both of those people have massive unhealed wounds, that if they were truly, entirely addressed, could have saved the relationship. Why not start with ourselves and why not now? You have no idea who you might help heal without even knowing it!! 

Let’s also talk for a quick minute about how healing also helps us feel better every single day. 

 

I had an interesting talk last night with a friend of mine who is feeling deep hurt from her sister. We were investigating the idea that not only is this present situation with her sister heartbreaking, but it digs up old wounds and makes them ache too. So, are those old wounds also aching a little on a regular basis and she just thinks that is “normal”? What if she digs deep and works out those shoved down emotions, unravels the stories (lies) that she has developed around those past hurtful situations? Would that not only make this current situation less painful but also just make every day a little better? Dealing with these stories could be as simple as talking them through with a friend, her truthteller, a therapist or even just journaling about them. She could do some cool-headed investigating to see where her thinking has gone awry and where the lies got in? And when she discovers the truth she can live with much more peace every day and less potential triggering from new situations that arise as well! Where are some pockets of infection in your soul that need some cleaning out?  Are these making good days a little duller and hard days much worse? Are your wounds hurting others too? Maybe your healing will be contagious instead!! Think of applying some of the new healing techniques from this week’s challenge to look to these old wounds and to start healing ourselves and spread that healing to others! 

Camille Smith is offering a special FREE Yoga class next Wednesday morning focused specifically on healing from TRAUMA!! She has been studying this a lot lately and has something special planned! I hope you all can join us! SIGN UP FREE HERE! 

Thank you, Camille! Let's all be healing warriors! 

LOVE YOU ALL! HAPPY HEALING!!