Being Okay With The Uncomfortable

In a previous post, I shared a video about emotional fitness done by Dr Paul Canali and Jim Fazio.  I understand what Dr Canali and Jim are talking about, but as they know so well, it isn't always that easy to do this.  Being okay with the uncomfortable takes some work to get there.

For me, this has hit home front and center.  From being paralyzed by a Conversion Disorder almost 25 years ago to the physical pains I sometimes go through, I struggle with these moments.  I still struggle with my memory and that's not always easy for me.  I'm not always comfortable with these things.

Being okay with the uncomfortable is something I'm learning.  In every Unified Therapy session I go into, I learn more how to not get myself overwhelmed by what is coming up on the table.  I learn how to stop and stay present with it as long as I can.  Of course, I can't always do this for a prolonged period of time.

Emotional Fitness With Dr Canali and Jim Fazio

Emotions can be overwhelming and draining.  I know, because I'm one of those people that can easily be overwhelmed by feelings and emotions.  Especially if you are a highly sensitive person, it can be much more for you.

In life, if we don't process all that goes on in our day, these moments can build up and get the best of us.

Take a moment and check out the latest newsletter from Jim Fazio of Integrative Bodyworks where he and Dr. Canali discuss emotional fitness.

Love Wins

The day is so surreal in my mind.  It started out as a second attempt in getting to go down and see a few of the sites in the center of Washington DC.  At first, the skies were cloudy and I was tired and I almost didn't go on my adventure.  It meant getting on a metro rail train in spite of my fears of getting lost in a city I had never been in.  But - I went.

I started out at the White House.  I had always seen the images on TV, but it was different getting to see this up close and in person.  I went and walked to various sites including the Lincoln Memorial, the World War Two Memorial and reflecting pool.   I had been monitoring Facebook to see what was going on with the Supreme Court ruling.

All of the sudden, I saw there was a decision and when I looked at the map, I realized I was a little over 2 miles from there.  My feet said, "oh no you don't", but my heart and mind said, I want to go to the Supreme Court building.  I want to be part of history.  So, I made the trek there.

To think, I was only two miles from the Supreme Court at the time this decision came down.  The odds of that blow my mind away.  

Don Was Paralyzed From A Conversion Disorder

Suffering from a somatoform disorder in 1991 (also known as a conversion disorder), Don Shetterly was paralyzed and not able to walk or take care of himself. Traumatic moments of child abuse he lived through from an early age had finally caught up with him. At age 26, Don was (read more)

Protest Everything

Every day I keep thinking, what's next?  What is it today that I'm not supposed to use, partake in, consume, enjoy, or associate with?  I mean, every day I read all the social media posts urging me to protest just about everything in life.

If you lined up everything that someone thinks you should protest, I'm not sure I could budge out of my house.  I don't think there would be anything I could do or consume or eat or enjoy.  Someone out there would be urging people to protest said products, companies, and organizations.

Don't get me wrong here!  I realize all these causes are great and worthy.  In fact, I agree with so much of what is the reason behind the protest.  Yet, I can't help but think we're maybe going just a little too far.  We're quickly becoming a single focused entity that only sees life in a singular issue of the day.

Review Of Qigong Revolution Convention

When I went to the QiGong Revolution Conference, I wasn't really feeling much like going.  I was feeling depressed and just didn't want to be around a lot of people.  Yet, that's the opposite of what this event was.  I had already paid for this and I needed the CEU's, so I couldn't back out.

The first day wasn't too bad and I managed to make it through it.  I had been so exhausted in the previous weeks from too hectic of a work schedule and so many emotional moments that had hit me hard.  I was starting to get my strength back a little.

The breath work at the conference helped so much.  I think my body really needed to just increase the oxygen that was available to it.  I was depleted in so many ways and oxygen was one of those deficiencies.  I felt empowered and relaxed after the 9-breath work we did.  It was such a peaceful moment after that until too many in the audience thought clapping was an appropriate response. I know - I know - everyone responds in their own way, but the peaceful moment got interrupted. 

The Story Of Your LIfe

Maybe not everyone is like me.  I love to see how connections are made and how people travel to the years we call life.  The story of your life or my life or someone's life is very interesting to me.  I find it fascinating to see how things unfold as I get older.

All the people we run across and meet are so varied.  It is like they are from every corner of the world these days with all kinds of experiences. They come in all kinds of flavors and views and hold many beliefs and opinions.  They've encountered all kinds of joys and difficulties in their days.

I find it amazing just how I came to know some of the people that I do.  It might have been through a mutual friend or maybe a place I worked.  Some days now it is through moments I've had being on Oprah or Dr. Drew.

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.  

What Is The Mind Body

Mind Body is so over used these days and essentially everyone using it fails to fully understand it.  The mind body connection is a deep awareness and consciousness that truly connects or syncs with the body (soma).  We have a logical side in our life that is extremely important when it comes to healing, but in all forms of diseases, health conditions and illnesses, there is a component that can only be found in the body.  If the body connection is not activated and released, healing is often short termed or ineffective at best. - What Is The Mind Body (Somatosync.com)

When We Surrender

As I watch what has become of my life over the past year or two, I see that I've gone from a building up to a depleted state.  In fact, I have had too many people exclaim just how depleted my body was.  I knew that, but I didn't.  I have been a part of it, but yet I was disconnected to it.

Its funny how we go along in our day doing what we feel we need to be doing, but we are so disconnected from reality, that we fail to see it.  To think that I'm generally connected to my body and life and yet, I bought into the corporate greed and stress and constant busy schedules.

Modern day business doesn't take into account how people should take care of themselves.  It doesn't make them any money in the short term day to day operations.  So, therefore, it has a low priority.  I know that and I'm sure most reading this know what I'm saying, but yet we buy into the fact of life that this is all we can be.

Trauma Healing Bandaids

It is easy to think that you can just wave a magic wand and all will go away.   Trauma is trauma.  Trauma requires time to heal and it requires work to heal.  You can't just wish it away and think it is gone.  You can't act as if your magic wand got rid of it and it is gone.

I was reading a comment online the other day and basically the healing therapy that was being promoted is about discharging the memory that came up by bringing it to the surface and clearing the effects of the trauma.  In their view, it was like erasing a virus on a computer as it would no longer impact the person.

It sounds good to wave the magic wand and all the bad stuff in life will be gone.  If it were that simple, I would have done this years ago, but it is not that simple.  We can trick ourselves into believing it is, but then it would be giving false hope.  It is like applying a band-aid to a gushing wound and believing you have done all you need to do to stop the bleeding.

Autonomic Scream Therapy

While I did not even begin to think that the events that transpired that day were going to take place, I'm still shocked and amazed at the body.  It is unbelievable to me just what the body does to protect us and how it plays this out when we allow ourselves to go deep into healing.

The reason I refer to it as Autonomic Scream Therapy is that it comes from the autonomic nervous system and it was scream therapy.  However, in this case I did not force the scream out.  It happened automatically and there was no way to stop it.  I could not have controlled it if I wanted to because it just happened.

There was a strong visceral and guttural connection to my mind and body which ended up being very powerful.  However, instead of writing about it here, I'll just refer you to the blog post I wrote titled Autonomic Scream Therapy on the Somatosync website.

Relaxation In A Hammock

What took me so long to buy this? I don't know.  It is a question that alludes me. I once had a hammock many years ago and I loved it so much.  When we moved, I gave it away and well, I wish I would have never done that.  This hammock I bought is so relaxing.  I love it so much.

It doesn't get any better than finding relaxation in a hammock.  I mean, just see how you can sink down and let go of life and stress and those difficult moments in life as you lay in the hammock.

Your body is supported but suspended in air.  You can feel the breeze of the wind blowing by you, while listening to the birds chirp and sing.

It just gives me that moment of pause in life that I so badly need right now.  It is a time to just drift away from the stress and cares of life, knowing that for the time I am in my hammock, nothing else matters.  It is a moment where I just let go and be in the "now" of the moment.

Move Beyond Trauma

From The Book

Title:  "The Body Keeps The Score"

Author:  Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk

While we all want to move beyond trauma, the part of our brain that is devoted to ensuring our survival (deep below our rational brain) is not very good at denial.

This book is available for purchase on Amazon.com.

Therapy Turning Point In Life - Part 3

(Continued from Therapy Turning Point In Life - Part 2).  Please don't think I'm telling you to go and stop doing whatever it is that you're doing to make it in life.  However, I will offer a challenge to you that you seek out more than what you are currently doing.

There is healing we can find from the inside out that is more powerful than anything known to modern medical treatment today.  We just have to open our eyes and see the bigger picture.  (Please note that I'm not tearing down the medical establishment.  I just want to push them further to integrate all forms of healing).

Unfortunately, until we wake up to life, we will continue to do the things that numb us and hold the locked energy within our body.  You can't get happy long-term, just by thinking it.  It needs to come from within the cells of your body and the neuropathways that bring you to true happiness.  Too many think a mantra is all you need, but that's like trying to balance a teeter-tater with one person.

Therapy Turning Point In Life - Part 2

(Continued from the blog post, Therapy Turning Point In Life - Part 1).  Since the session, I really feel the exhaustion that has inhabited and overtaken my body.  I thought I felt a little tired, but I truly didn't feel it until the session woke me up and connected me once again to my body.  It was almost overwhelming to feel all of this.

Here is what I texted to Dr. Canali the following day.

I didn't realize just how numb I was and how much I wasn't feeling the exhaustion.  I'm feeling it full force now.  Unbelievable just how far the body will go.

Can you see just what can happen?  Here I've been walking around and through my days so stressed out.  I've been on the verge of losing it and started to do that with coworkers and people I loved.  I've been on the verge of just giving up in life because I had no strength to keep going.  Yet, my body and my mind were still protecting me.  It was keeping me alive even though I continued to shred my existence.

Therapy Turning Point In Life - Part 1

I've been battling exhaustion for the past few weeks and it was coming on full force for me.  It was taking me down.  I kept pushing and trying, but at the end of the day, if I wouldn't have stopped for a rest, I wouldn't have made it this far.  Physically and biologically my body could not keep up and my mind was not in a good place.

As I've been doing therapy to help counteract this and taken a medical leave of absence to regroup and recharge, I think I might have finally come to a turning point in therapy.  It hasn't been easy in therapy and it required me to find courage and strength to not give up as I went through what I needed to do.

In my latest Unified Therapy healing session with Dr Canali, we went into some of the gawd-awful places that I just wish I could avoid.  If I avoid them, they will continue to haunt me and the more I can go into them, the more freedom I will have.

This Too Shall Pass

Lately life, has been a big struggle.  I'm barely keeping my head above water.  I'm barely functioning at times.  Between the headaches, the pain, and the exhaustion, it is all I can do to keep going.  I keep trudging on, but it truly feels like I'm walking in a foot of mud.

This reminds me of the summer days I worked in the corn and bean fields of Iowa.  During those months, we walked beans taking out volunteer corn and weeds that was growing.  It meant that you would walk each row of soybeans with a hoe or machete and whack out the unwanted plants.  If you were detassling corn, you were pulling the tassels on the female rows to get the proper pollination.

Generally the weather was hot and dry, but at times it would rain.  When it rained, it meant walking through the muddy fields or maybe more like trudging through the muddy fields.  You could not wait for the fields to dry or it to stop raining, because there was a short window of time in there to get this work done.  So as you walked through the field, your shoes would pick up pounds and pounds of mud.  The ground was uneven and so it became exhausting and challenging with each step you took.