In The Middle Of The Storm

Imagine you're in a ship on middle of the high seas.  The winds are blowing and the waves are high.  Yet, for as far as you can see, that's what you see.  That is your experience.  It doesn't feel like there are any calm waters anywhere close to you.  It doesn't feel like there is an end in sight.

Your entire world revolves around the storm on the high seas.  You're in the middle of it.  You're in the thick of it, but yet it feels normal.  It feels like what life is supposed to be.  It feels like there is nothing else.

You could also view the storm as the emotions and difficulties and trials and struggles.  They are in great supply as if they are never ending.  You may be struggling to see the sun rise and set because of the storm clouds gathered around you.

This can often feel like what life is all about in our day.  Our mind thinks one thing, but our body disconnects and numbs.  Our body thinks one thing but our mind stays a million miles away.  Nothing seems normal or connected.  Nothing seems like there is peace and calm deep within.  There is this never ending sense of this is life.

There might be something different...

As we heal, we begin to get a thought or a glimpse that there might be something different.  While that may be extremely difficult at first, it may be nothing more than a hope that we long for in our life.  It may be the peaceful calm waters after the storm.

At times, the storm clouds rage on and we beg for mercy.  We pray that we will be spared and the storms will end.  We hope to find something beyond where we are at - a moment of solace - a moment of peace or just a moment of rest.

A greater glimpse...

Continuing through our healing, we begin to get a greater glimpse that where our life is heading is possible.  It isn't just a hope but something of a reality.  It is little moments of seeing the sun break through the clouds.  It is an moments of easing from the rough waves.

As we continue in healing, more and more comes into view.  More calm waters show up in periods of rest and recharge and renewal.  We begin to see there's so much more.  We can almost touch it, feel it and sense it.  It may seem a little beyond our grasp, but we know it is there beckoning to have the courage to keep going.

It is in that moment that we understand where the potential lies.

As difficult as the emotional stuff may be, nothing is more difficult than being stuck

Yes, while we know that the storm clouds are not fun, we do know they lead to calmer waters.  We had to pass through the storm to find them.  We had to realize that the storms would lessen and even the horrifying trip through it, there was nothing more difficult than being stuck there and not sailing on.

So keep sailing.  Sail through the storm.  Know that the difficult emotional stuff is temporary and it too will pass if we don't stop sailing along in our life.  It is up to us to keep our sails pointed forward and then let the winds of life help us find our way.  

---

Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

---

Are you afraid of LGBT Cooties?

I realize this may be an unusual question to ask.  In fact, it may just be way too strange.  After all, we aren't in grade school, afraid of the cooties of each other - or are we?  You can only answer the question for yourself, but I know I've seen this firsthand this week.

In the aftermath of the Orlando Massacre, we saw an outpouring of support from many corporations and cities across the US and the World.  Places that would not have wanted to be known as gay or LGBT friendly, were really stepping up to the plate.  I applaud them as loudly as I can.  I'm thankful they stepped up!

However, it is others that I think are afraid of the gay and LGBT cooties.  I'll list a few examples and maybe you have a few of your own that you could leave as a comment.  I think this discussion needs to take place.  Hopefully this will spark a discussion.

Examples of LGBT Cooties...

Governor Rick Scott and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi rushed to the scene of the massacre in Orlando.  Rightfully, they are in charge of these matters for the state of Florida and so they should be onsite.  However, and I make this a big however; these two individuals were so anti-gay (anti-LBGT) that they have very few friends in the community.  While they came down and did some grandstanding and photo ops, they could barely utter the word "gay" or "LGBT".  It was like the Governor and the Attorney General were afraid to get LGBT cooties on them.

Another example is a recent survey (most likely not a scientific measurement) of what happened to LGBT the next day at work.  Many of the respondents stated it was business as usual and while people felt bad that this shooting took place, most of the office folks tried to avoid the subject.  It was like, they were afraid to get LGBT cooties on them.

A more personal example was with people I know, especially the people I consider close to me.  The first thing I did when I heard about this was contact friends in Orlando and make sure they were okay.  I had a few friends and I mean very few that even reached out to check on me and my partner.  Many have still not even uttered a word about this situation and it's almost like they are afraid of the LGBT cooties.

The Orlando Massacre was personal...

Maybe I am over analyzing this, but it feels like too many just don't know what to say or they are too afraid to say anything.  Maybe while everyone feels horrible for what happened, there is still this stigma that it is a "gay" and "LGBT" related issue.  Attitudes have progressed and changed, but there is still this negative undertone that exists in our society.  We're nowhere near full acceptance of LGBT people.

This massacre in Orlando is personal for all people who identify as LGBT (gay).  For me personally, it happened in my backyard.  It is no longer something that happens in another city.  It is personal.  It has been an emotional week seeing this unfold and being at the vigil in Orlando on Monday night.

(click image to read)

If you're gay (LGBT), you know that you've had to live your life, always worried that someone would attack you for who you are.  With the event of this week, it has been made abundantly clear that this is not some made up scenario.  It's real.  If you ever wondered why the LGBT community has pride events, the events of this week should be a very good reason.

My main goal for writing this is to help push the discussion to reach out to those affected by this tragedy, directly and indirectly.  Don't just think that everything is okay and go on about your busy day.  Reach out.  Send a text, email or give them a call.  Let them know you support them and they aren't alone.  It is an emotional week and support is greatly appreciated, I think, by the LGBT community.  Supporting with dollars is helpful, but words of support are also critical.

Don't be afraid of LGBT cooties... I swear, we aren't contagious people.  We are just normal people trying to deal with events that are very personal.

What have been your experiences this week?  Please feel free to share and let's start the discussion that needs to be started!

---

Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

---

What Happened Before You Noticed The Pain

We don't ask ourselves this question enough and so we go through life not connecting outside forces with internal body pain.  The question that is the most helpful when you notice body pain or a an emotional state that is taking you down is, "what happened before you noticed the pain?"

It sounds too simple, right?  It sounds too much like new age thinking, right?

Unfortunately, it is more grounded and connected in reality and in your body than anything remotely connected with simplicity or new age thoughts.

I through I knew how to relax...

I know, I know - I was one that talked the talk, but I didn't truly understand the concept I'm writing about here.  I thought I knew how to relax and let go of stress.  I thought I was connected to my body and knew myself well.  I thought I had life all together.

Unfortunately I was anything but that.  My own ego led me to believe that when I thought this way, I was strong.  I was anything but strong.  Yes, I played the role well and I convinced and fooled many people.  Most importantly, I was just fooling myself.

So now that we have the basic foundation down, please know that most of us do exactly what it is that we don't think we do.  Hey, its part of the human experience.  It is part of being human and living in a human body.  Its part of the process of becoming more than we are today in this moment.

What happened before you noticed the pain?

If you really want to understand pain that you're feeling, ask the question, "what happened before you noticed the pain?"  What was going on right before it.  What emotional things were you dealing with and what stresses were there.

If you can't think of anything, start to list events that were taking place right before you began to notice the pain.  Make a time line of what transpired and when.  It will help you see it because all too often, we just don't want to see it.  We struggle to see it.  We have difficulty in making that connection.  Even if the event seems too insignificant, jot it down in your timeline.  It may be the combinations of little events that show the greater picture.

Becoming aware of what was happening right before the pain or emotional state kicked up will shed light on the mind-body connection.  It will show you what up close and person what events and experiences have connected with something you feel in your body or mind.

It's important to make that connection...

While we may discount events and experiences and question why or how they could impact us, the important part is to make that connection.  Sometimes these things connect with other neural pathways and bring out the pain or body issue that we've been hiding and disconnecting from in our life.

You might not magically change the pain or emotional state of mind at that instant, but it gives you the opportunity to start rewiring the brain and taking back the control.  It is a process that the more you do this, the more in touch you become with your internal body.  The more in touch you become, the more power you possess to change things from what they are to what they can be.

Asking and questioning what happened before you noticed the pain is the way to connect the body and mind together.  It is the way to see things more clearly and help lead you on a path of self-discovery bringing you to the answers and possibilities before you.

Yes, it does sound too simple to be true.  Yes, you may question if this idea is true or not and the only thing I can say, is begin to test it out within yourself.  See how it works for you.  Leave the doubt behind and focus on what you allow your mind to see and your body to feel.  If at first you don't succeed with it, keep trying because I promise you that there is a connection there.

We are taught to fear the pain coming up...

Recently I had another situation prove this to me once again.  I had to make a decision and take some actions that were very difficult.  In the process I ended up with severe back pain.  When I began to finally make the connection between the difficulty of what was going on in my life at that moment and when the pain started, it was then that things started the process of improving.  It didn't happen in two seconds, but the process of moving out of the pain started.

We all are taught to fear the pains that come up.  Again, this is a biological mechanism of being human in a human body.  We are not taught from birth onward that we have much more control over our physical body and mind then we realize.

Our body and our mind can take us down.  I know that from experience.  I also know now that our body and mind can bring us back and lift us to greater heights.  It doesn't mean it is easy, but it does mean it is possible.

This blog post on "Observing Stress In My Body" may also shed some additional information on this subject.

(click image to read)

Allow yourself to connect with what is going on with the outside world while seeing where it connects to your internal world.  The connection is there.  It may not be easy to find in the beginning, but keep practicing it and I guarantee you that your outlook will change and so will your life.

---

Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

---

Emotional Challenges

Some events come along and boy do they ever knock you on your butt.  These emotional challenges aren't easy to deal with in a day.  They run away like a train with no conductor going down a mountainside.

It seems like there have been far too many of these lately.  I struggle to hang on at times.  I struggle to continue on.  The emotional challenges batter me hard.

Yes, I'm strong.  Yes, I have tools and support to help me through them.  It just doesn't stop them from coming and taking over my life.

They are a challenge.  They are exhausting.  I so want them to end.  I so want them to go away and never ever come back again.

I wish upon a star that they are gone.  I recite mantras that they will never appear again.  Yet these emotional challenges just find their way into my life.

Emotional Connection With Onyx Stone

I don't understand what happens when I see it.  Every time I get around Onyx stone, I'm captivated by its beauty.  I'm captivated by how it feels.  I feel a warmth come over me like none other and I feel the energy of this stone.  It is like an overflowing abundance of joy, peace, and love all at one time.

If I hold it in my hand, I can literally feel the energy coming off of it.  Whatever is happening, it is very powerful to me.  It is an immediate feeling and connection.  From the moment I see it, I'm already into emotional overload.  If it is a lamp made of Onyx and illuminated, the effects increase exponentially.

Here are some facts that I found about Onyx by just searching and reading various websites out on the internet.  

When Your Body Hurts

Sometimes we as humans make things far too difficult.  When your body hurts, it is time to stop in life and take stock of what is happening.  Body pain and hurts is signaling to you that something is wrong and you need to pay attention.

Unfortunately, we as humans tend to reach for the pain pills or rush to the doctor at the first sign of body pain.  We don't stop and take inventory of our life, or if we do, we feel like were too busy to do anything about it.  So we continue pushing ourselves and propping ourselves up with stimulants, drugs, and constant activity in order to keep us going.  However, the more we do this, the more we are playing into a never ending cycle of pain, physical destruction and approaching the edge of no return.

When your body hurts, the first thing to do is stop and take an inventory of your life.  What is happening in your life, emotionally, mentally and spiritually (and I'm not talking religion either).  Usually there are events taking place that have led up to the body issues or there is emotional turmoil going on within your life.  You may be unaware of it, but that doesn't mean it exists.

Onions And Garlic Hurt My Stomach

Even though I try hard to stay away from certain foods, sometimes it is unavoidable.  It seems like everything in this world has to have onions and garlic in it to be called food.  Yes, I know how healthy and beneficial these things are and how great they taste.  However, if your stomach becomes upset from them, it is hard to accept the health benefits.

I know I have written about this subject before, (see Phantom Smells Of Trauma, Onions) but yesterday I had some foods that had onions and garlic in them.  My stomach hurt with pains that felt like someone was inside of me punching the exterior wall of my abdomen with as much force and frequency as they could.  Normally I get very warm and a headache starts, but this did not happen this time.

In fact, I think I have actually gotten better with this food allergy or food sensitivity with onions and garlic than I was not long ago.  I have virtually cut out diary and I actually believe that has helped me.  In addition to that, I've been doing some intense healing work on myself, which is probably accounting for the change.

Biology of Crying

In the WSJ article, Dr. Louann Brizendine, a neuropsychiatrist from the University of California, San Francisco  says that the brain’s amygdale or the emotional brain fires up the signals when we experience physical pain or emotional sadness.  If the stimulus is great enough, the energy can travel from the emotional area into the front motor strip.  That is the point where response of breathing can devolve into sobbing.  Dr. Louann Brizendine is the author of the book, The Female Brain, available on Amazon.

Tears contain protein, salt and hormones.  Emotional tears have more proteins.  One hormone found in tears is prolactin which not only helps produce tears but it is responsible for producing milk.  Women, of course, have more prolactin than men.

Tears or lacrimal fluid are continually produced in small quantities in the tear glands also known as the lacrimal glands.  Tear glands are located on the outer side of each eye, slightly above the eye and underneath the eye lid according to sicenceiq.com.  Lysozyme is an important component of tears because it inhibits bacterial growth on the eye.  Some of the tears evaporate, but the rest drain into the nose through the tear duct. 

After the tears are produced, they are stored in the tear duct.  When the brain senses a need for tears, the lacrimal glands excrete the tears into the upper eyelid area.  Gravity or capillary action draw the tears onto the surface of the eye where it lubricates the eye, washes away irritants or pools at the base of the lower eyelid.

There are three kinds of tears.  These include basal tears which continuously lubricate our eyes, reflex or infant tears which occur in situations such as chopping onions.  The final type of tear is emotional tears.


Further Reading:
1)  Men And Women Cry Differently
2)  When Is Crying Okay?
3)  Newborns And Crying Babies
4)  Stress Relief and Crying


Sources Of Information:
1)  Read It And Weep, Crybabies - Wall Street Journal, May 4, 2011
2)  The Science Of Tears - ScienceIQ.com



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog Post & Images (c) 5/24/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

If any part of this post is used or shared, a link back to this site is required.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Newborns And Crying Babies

Although newborns are biologically able to produce tears, they usually cry without tears.  Most do not know why this is but it is suggested that the wiring of the emotional brain is simply not complete.  Newborns do not have the emotional maturity needed to cry with tears.  Babies are born with tear ducts that produce enough tears to keep their eyes moist.

Between 2 and 4 months of age, the baby’s emotions begin to kick in.  Triggers such as loneliness, frustration or other emotional situations, cause the nervous system of the baby to stimulate the trigeminal cranial nerve in the brain.  This nerve sends a signal to the tear glands to produce tears.

In birth-traumatized infants, babies need to cry in order to release the trauma.  Crying removes excess stress-related chemicals from the body and help to restore the body’s balance.

Unfortunately in our society, a crying baby can put the baby at risk for child abuse.  In a survey of battered infants, eighty percent of parents reported that excessive crying by their child triggered the abuse according to primalspirit.com website.

Most parents desperately want their babies to be happy but those that do not understand the beneficial aspects of crying may feel anxious or incompetent when their baby cries.  It does not help when the parents themselves, were not allowed to express their own tears.

I was alarmed to find that a study done in 1989, that found that 25 percent of babies had been given sedatives such as alcohol or opium by the time they were 18 months old to stop the baby from crying.

As stated in the primalspirit.com article, these drugs interfere with the vital healing mechanism of crying.  Furthermore, when the expression of emotions such as crying is repressed by powerful drugs, it most likely would lead to problems later on in life.


Further Reading:
1)  Men And Women Cry Differently
2)  When Is Crying Okay?
3)  Biology Of Crying
4)  Stress Relief and Crying



Sources Of Information:
1)  Read It And Weep, Crybabies - Wall Street Journal, May 4, 2011
2)  Why Do Newborns Cry Without Tears - WondertimeGo.com
3)  Birth Trauma, Crying And Child Abuse - PrimalSpirit.com



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog Post & Images (c) 5/24/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

If any part of this post is used or shared, a link back to this site is required.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Most Common Misdiagnosis In Medicine

Somatization and conversion of emotional and repressed feelings, personality disturbances and unconscious psycho-biological states are responsible for an incredible amount of misdiagnosis and human suffering.

Slide from Seminar with Dr. Paul Canali
Unified Therapy, A Breakthrough Nervous System Re-Regulation Therapy
Nov 2010

Emotional Roller Coaster

When moments hit us, sometimes it can take all the strength we have in life to deal with all that we experience. Emotions can feel like a roller coaster with its ups and downs, loops, turns and twists. our day becomes emotional.

But if we stop and focus within, we can learn from these experiences. By just connecting with our breath, we take our thoughts inward. We forge a union with the power center of a sacred place within our bodies. At this moment we give ourselves the opportunity to become more aware of all that we are and the truths that really matter in life.

Sure these times may be intense. When our day feels like an emotional roller coaster, we may feel jerked around. However, it will not last forever. These moments are not a life sentence. They are but one blip in the time line of our life.

(c) 11/12/10 by Don Shetterly - use by permission only

A Body Is

A body is a multi-dimensional field that extends into the space beyond the physical. It is an organized dynamic of 'material substance' integrating with 'energy fields' incorporating physical, mental, emotional and spiritual essence.

Quote taken from my Textbook at Educating Hands, "Touchabilities - Essential Connections by Iris Burman, LMT and Sandy Friedland, LMT.

For more information: http://www.touchabilities.com/about.html