Hope Tells You To Keep Going

Written by Don Shetterly

Sometimes this is very difficult when you are facing challenging times.  However, hope tells you to keep going when everything else says to give up.  Listen to hope and know that you will make it through these moments.  You just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

How Far Can You Go?

Written By Don Shetterly

What can you be today in your life?  How far can you go?  What is possible?

We should ask ourselves these are questions continually.  We have the potential to be more than we are at this moment no matter what we are facing.

I have faced insurmountable odds in my life and been told that I'll never regain my life.  I have proved everyone wrong that has said this to me.

We have potential that we often don't realize we do.  When push comes to shove, we can usually rise far about where we are.  In difficulty, that's when we find our strength.

So ask yourself these questions.

• What can you be today in your life?

• How far can you go?

• What is possible?

By asking the question, you are inviting your mind to see life in ways that may not be visible.  You're giving yourself a way forward beyond where you currently are in your life.

Let's start out this year thinking about what can be, not all that is not.

Join with me and give your thoughts in the comments below.

---

Blog Post And Images (c) 11/30/17 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required in writing before any part of this blog is reprinted, reworded, transmitted or used in any format. 
• Feel free to share the blog post LINK and a brief summary.  

---

Sometimes We Break Into Many Pieces

Written By Don Shetterly

It is a given in life I think that sometimes things don't go as planned.  Sometimes we break into many pieces.  When this happens, it is never fun, but sometimes it is necessary.

I can look back at my life and see just how many times I felt so broken inside.  The moments where I felt like I could not go on and I would not make it.  Experiences that felt like they were taking me under as I gulped for my last breath of air.

In these moments of life, I felt like I had broken into so many pieces that there would never be a way to put myself together.  I didn't believe at those times that I could go on and make it in life.  In fact, at one point I went through the paralysis of Conversion Disorder. It felt like walking again was a pipe dream.

Through all of those moments, I came to realize that I could make it.  I had more strength within myself than I realized existed at that second.  When I thought there was no more to get, somehow I reached further down and found more strength.

I also came to realize that sometimes when I felt so broken, that it was in those moments where I found my way forward.  It almost took the millions of pieces I had become before I could begin to piece life back together.

In fact, I think for the junk in life I no longer needed, the pieces had to break.  It was the only way out for the stuff that was no longer useful.  If I hadn't broken into many pieces, I would have held on to the things forever.  In the end, I would not have made it without going through this step.

While I know, it isn't easy when your life has been shattered.  I know it is difficult to see that this may result in something good.  I understand that.  However, I know in my own life, and I've got a feeling you do too, that you will make it through this.  I've got a feeling that you'll discover strength you didn't know what was present.

Even though sometimes we break into many pieces, just remember that we can always put ourselves together.  When we do this, we often find a much stronger way of piecing our life back, so we're more prepared to take on so much more in the future!

---

Blog Post And Images (c) November 28, 2017, by Don Shetterly

• Permission required in writing before any part of this blog post from 11/28/17 is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

---

We Have Answers Within

Written By Don Shetterly

It is so easy to go through difficult moments and cry out, begging for answers.  I know, I've done it many times.  I believe it is part of human nature and the cycle of suffering.  We forget, though, in these times that we have answers within our mind, body, and spirit.

While the answers may be there and we may acknowledge to some level that they are, we often don't believe it.  We feel isolated and trapped.  We feel discouragement and despair.  It often appears that there is no hope and no way forward.

At times we reach those moments of so much despair and agony, that nothing can convince us there is more beyond our current moment.  It almost becomes like we have reached our point of no return and so we spiral down further into the dark hole of our existence.

That flicker of hope...

Having answers within us is like saying you can be warm sitting outside in a blizzard.  It just doesn't compute at that moment.  Deep down, there may be that flicker of hope, but it grows harder to access with each waking minute.

I still remember staring up at the ceiling of my hospital room when I was 26 years old and dealing with Conversion Disorder.  Doctors told me my brain was shutting down as evidenced by not being able to walk, barely being able to move and struggling to verbally communicate.  At that point, I could barely remember my name or even feel a needle being pricked into the bottom of my foot.

I felt hopeless in those moments.  I felt like there was no way out.  In fact, at that moment, I was not sure if I wanted a way out.  Believing that I held the answers within was almost like watching a comedy routine.  Yet, I asked myself the question, "Is this all I can expect for my life?"

As significant moments came through one by one, I started to realize that if I was going to make it, I had to find the answers within myself.  No, there was no road map to discovery.  There was no one to ask.  There was no book to read, and the internet was not in existence like it is now.

I had to find my answers...

I had to go full throttle into the darkness of the unknown, believing that if I could not give up, I would find the answers to the situation I was in.  It was not easy.  Many told me their versions of beliefs and opinions that I should try, but more often than not, those things were of little help.

I had to find out what was my own truth.  I had to see what the answers were that I held within my mind, body, and spirit.  No one could tell me those things for no one was walking in my shoes.

More importantly, though, I did not give up.  I did not let deterrents like learning to walk again or bringing my memory back stop me.  I did not let obstacles like anxiety, depression, and normal life functions stop me.  I did not give up.

In a new book I am working on, I have detailed more of the things I used to help me find the answers within and heal my body.  It is not a recipe that everyone should follow step-by-step.  It is more of the concepts that I learned along the way in my own healing.  These are the life-changing moments, not my beliefs or opinions as to what heals.

All too often, we face life's challenges, and we neglect the wealth of knowledge and insight we hold within our mind, body, and spirit.  It is in this recognition that we will make it through from the lowest moments to the points where we have hope and possibility.  When we discover that all of our experiences have led us to this moment, it is then that we find those answers within ourselves.

Follow Me On

• Twitter:  @MindBodyThought

• Facebook:   MindBodyThoughts

---

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.  

---

I Was Featured In An Interview

The other day I had the opportunity to be interviewed for a site about my book.  I've actually written two books in the course of my life.

A Journey Through Words was more of a poetry book of some of the things that helped me through my own healing. 

Hope and Possibility Through Trauma was the second book.  It was born out of my blog writing.  It was one that I wanted to put together to help people have hope in their own healing.  I wanted others to know there was a possibility that they could heal.

So often in our life, it feels like we won't make it.  It feels like we are all alone.  It feels like no one understands the pain we have gone through.

In addition, it can often feel like there is no hope or possibility in healing the trauma in our lives.  We just feel like we're on a journey all by ourselves.  While this is not true, it is part of the healing journey and a difficult part.

I am working on a new book that will go into more detail about some of the things that were helpful in my own healing.  No, it isn't a recipe book of healing, but one where I'm sharing the struggles I went through and key points that I used to help myself.  Often though, I didn't know I was implementing these healing strategies until long after I did.

This interview that was done gives you further insight into my own life, and why I wrote the books that I have.  It is a good read, and hopefully you'll take a moment to check it out.  I think you'll like it.

For the Interview (click the image below)

Book - A Journey Through Words

Book - Hope And Possibility Through Trauma

Gotta Have Hope, right?

I overheard a discussion not long ago and I was amazed at what I heard.  They said, hope is pointless and that it adds nothing to life.  In fact, it was more like if you claimed you had hope, you're were setting yourself up for failure and it wasn't a good thing.

If hope is not a good thing or a valid thing, I cringe at the thought.

If there is no hope, we're all sledding down a rocky hill on our butts!  I'm sorry, but hope gets you through those moments when it feels like there is nothing else left.  It gets you through the times where you've just about given up completely.

Hope is the bungee cord of life.  It is there as something to hold on to and hopefully keep you from going to far.  Maybe hope is a "silly concept" and maybe to some it doesn't hold much value.  I just know from experience, without hope - I would not have made it this far.

When I was paralyzed and nearly dead, the only thing that kept me going was hope - hope for another day that could be better.  When I was actively trying to commit suicide every day, it was hope that helped me find my way back.

When the anxiety attacks and the depression, the horrors and the nightmares filled my waking hours, it was hope that helped keep me going.  When I felt shame and despair and had no self worth to care if another day came and went - it was hope that kept me going.

Sometimes in life, hope is all we have.  When we face moments that are difficult beyond belief, we can't just go in and turn a blind eye to everything.  They are there staring us in the face and trying to zap every last ounce of strength we have.

Hope is what gets us through just a little bit longer so we can see that things change.  Hope is what keeps us going when we feel like there is no tomorrow.  It is there for us to grab on to and asks little in return.

To say that hope is not valid or someone doesn't believe in it, I would only say - just wait until life grabs you so hard and chokes the life out of you.  It will be at that point where hope may be all you have in the moment.

I am saddened when I see people try to enlighten others with nonsense.  When statements are made that try to take away that little moment of all that someone may have, I am incensed by it.

For I know that if I would not have had hope in those very dark moments, I would not have made it this far.  There was little for me to grab on to and I didn't have the strength to go another day.  Hope helped me find my footing long enough for me to literally take another step.

Let's celebrate hope and hold on to it.  Sometimes it is the only lifeline anyone has!

---

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.  

---

Does The Pain Really End?

This is something I wrote as an answer to a question posed to me on Twitter.  For me, the pain and suffering in life has definitely changed.  I don't feel the same pain that I did years ago and now, it only takes up a part of my life, not all of it.  I would be dishonest if I said it was not there, but its not controlling my life.

Yes, I have my moments where things connect and kind of zap me momentarily, but my days are filled with more ease, contentment, joy, and love, rather than struggling through intense pain and suffering. At one time, I cursed the pain but I can now see it as something which gives me a different viewpoint and a different side of life. 

I can now see pain as a way to open up my eyes and embrace things that I didn't realize were there.  I can see it as an opportunity.  At one time, I would have popped someone for suggesting there was anything good about pain.

The pain brought me down....

For a long time, the pain really brought me down. It affected me physically and mentally and in just about everything I did. I never thought I would get beyond it or past it. I never thought there was enough hope to see things differently. I thought I was sentenced to a lifetime of pain and suffering and despair.

The interesting thing is that as I continued to move through the pain, the darkness around me lifted and I began to see my journey in a different way. There was more light to see with and the more I was able to view it, the more I could observe the things I could not see.

It's not like waving a magic wand...

I'm not going to say, it's like waving a magic wand. That is too simplistic and the pain and suffering that I went through was unbearable and almost to difficult to endure. Most people don't live through some of the pains I've experienced, but we all have our own pain to deal with in our life.

It is healthy to honor that pain and not minimize it or shun it or run from it. Yes, that takes a great deal of courage and strength at times, but that's where the gigantic moments of healing take place.

If you would have told me years ago that I would have made it to this point in how I view the pain and suffering, I would have laughed and scoffed. It was not something I could dream of or imagine, but as I continued on my healing journey, the pain was slowly replaced with life, joy, hope and possibility.

---

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.  

---

Do you empower the possibility of hope in life?

Its easy for us to get taken under by events of our day.  Sometimes life can be challenging as we face the difficult moments in life.  The question should be, "do you empower the possibility of hope in life?"

Sometimes we say we do, but we really don't.  Sometimes we think we do, but we stay stuck in misery.  Sometimes we think we are reaching out, but far too many times, we are in search of misery.

I know, I've been there.  It isn't easy sometimes and other times it can be just about as difficult as one could ever imagine.  If you've walked through the fires of life or are currently walking through them, you know without a doubt, just how difficult life can be.

While I don't necessarily agree with just changing thoughts and ignoring what is before us, sometimes we have to step up another rung on our ladder to see something different.  I feel it is very important to embrace all that we are currently experiencing in the moment, but sometimes even that can be too overwhelming.

In the midst of those moments...

When you're in the midst of those moments, stop and allow yourself to catch up.  Realize that you're trudging through heavy stuff right now, but with all things, it will pass.  The days will get easier at some point.  You can't have a storm without seeing the sunshine and the rainbow appear after the storm is past.

Empower the possibility of hope in life but taking the moment you have and just being okay with it.  Embrace it.  Love it.  Nurture it.  These moments will get you through, but if you fight them with all your energy, you will just drain yourself of necessary resources to move forward.

Hope and Possibility...

There is possibility and hope.  There is the possibility of hope in life if we keep looking for it.  No matter how difficult things can get, there is always possibility.  It is what has kept me going through some of the most difficult times I've encountered.  It is what keeps me in this world at times when I can see no other way.

(click image to read) 

Empower the possibility of hope in your life and it will propel you to the next moment you so desperately long for and want.  It will give you the strength to make it through.  It will help you see much more than you can see in this one tiny moment of 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.  

---

Healing Conversion Disorder Podcast

While this interview was done a couple of years ago, the information is still relevant to Conversion Disorder today.  With the news of assisted suicide in Canada, where a woman found no way out of conversion disorder, I thought the time is right to highlight this interview again.  There is hope.  Don't ever give up!

I know of others that have been through this and found their way out.  In fact, I was one of those that went through Conversion Disorder with paralysis and pseudo-seizures, among many other things.  At the time, I could not piece everything together as to what caused it, but in time the story began to emerge.

This video interview podcast is a discussion I had with Dr. Paul Canali of the Evolutionary Healing Institute in Miami, Florida.  He is a pioneer in the treatment of trauma and helping people recover their lives from the inside-out.  Dr. Canali has been instrumental in helping me fully recover and several others that have been through Conversion Disorder.

I have hosted the podcast and more information on a another website I run, so please check it out. There is some excellent information in here that you most likely have not heard presented in the way that it is.  The website is Somatosync.com .

Some of the topics covered include in the interview:

1. What is Conversion Disorder?
2.  Is Conversion Disorder all in your head?
3. What are some examples of Conversion Disorder?
4. Does there have to be major trauma for Conversion Disorder?
5. What are some of the first steps a person can take to recover?

Listen to the Podcast with Dr. Paul Canali

(click image to read)

Diagnosis Of Conversion Disorder

Here is another great interview I found on Conversion Disorder by Dr.  Rochelle Caplan.  She had a very good way of helping to understand what Conversion Disorder is and the struggle to diagnose it.

(click image to read)

Read My Personal Story

To learn more about my personal story and journey through Conversion Disorder, please check out my book, Hope And Possibility Through Trauma by Don Shetterly.

When I was in the early stages, there was so much I did not realize and know.  This is part of Conversion Disorder from my experience because if we knew these things, then most likely we could avoid this horrible ordeal.

If you're going through Conversion Disorder, please know that you are not alone and there is hope.  There is a way through it, but it requires courage and going outside the box of paradigms.  I had to let go of much of what I thought was true in life to find out what really was true.

---

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.  

---

Helplessness And Hopelessness

But when people don’t have this experience of knowing that they will be able to move through anxiety, chaos, and fear, this can lead to sensations, feelings, and postures of helplessness and of hopelessness. (Pg 40, Freedom From Pain by Peter Levine)



Please check out Peter Levine's book, Freedom From Pain on Amazon.

You Can Do It

Often we come up on times in our life where we doubt that we can do what lies before us.  The task may seem too big, or we may feel inadequate.  Often, this is the time when we need not lose site of the vision we see, and give every ounce of energy we've got, as we embrace our courage and our strength.  In the end, you can do it!

Struggling To Make It In Life

Many people throughout the world are struggling to get by and function.  Economic tough times have spread across this planet and forced people into moments they never expected.  Many struggle to make it in life.  Yet, if we look far and wide, we'll see just how well many people have it in life, compared to those that scavenge trash sites for food to survive.

When we struggle to make it in life, everything seems difficult.  Often we feel hopeless and full of despair.  As someone told me not long ago, storms never last.  We constantly have to keep perspective in our mind, because if we succumb to the despair, we'll write our own prophecy that things won't get better.

I've gone through some pretty tough times in my life.  Growing up, I can remember living in cold Iowa farm houses with inadequate heat, not having enough food to eat at times, and where buying clothes was a luxury.  Most people would not understand some of these things.  In college, I was inbetween jobs and trying to support myself when I had to find a way to eat on $20 of groceries for the month.  Even now, I'm in the midst of difficult times just like many others in our world.  Struggling to make it in life is no stranger to me.

Faith That Things Will Change

Every day we all wake up and struggle to put one foot in front of the other with no promise that at the end of the day, life will be any better. But you get up anyway. You keep breathing and hold on to faith that somehow, someday things are going to change for the better. Probably when we least expect it. - 1929 by M.L. Gardner

Don't Tell Me It Isn't Possible To Heal

I've been through quite a bit in my life and if you have been reading my blog for any time, that is most likely obvious.  None of these things have been easy and in fact there were times that I never thought I would make it as far as I have today.

For a long time in my life, I had people tell me that I would never get to the point I'm at.  Everyone said, you will always be on antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications.  Most thought I would always suffer from severe depression.  When it came to migraine headaches, no doctor out there ever suggested that I could get past these so that I would not suffer from them for the rest of my life.  During the rash that I had, it seemed like all hope was lost and I there was nothing that could cure me.

When I was in high-school and I had an ulcer (nervous stomach), the doctors didn't tell me that I could cure this.  They only told me to quit worrying and prescribed another pill.  When I had nightmares because of the trauma I had been through, I begged for my life to end.  During the many suicide attempts, I hoped that one day I would be successful.

I Stand In Amazement Of The Universe

Amazement Of The Universe

I stand in amazement of what the universe does and how it pulls various things together. I use the word "universe" because it is what fits for me. An event that surprised me, led to someone else learning there was hope. That event, was being on the Dr Drew show about conversion disorder in New York.

It is sort of funny that when the producer called, I had not been following the story in New York. I limit my intake of news and it was not a story I had heard about. While I know who Dr. Drew is, I was not a regular viewer of his show. And when they called, I was not expecting to be on national media that day. It came as a complete surprise and in fact, this is the first time I have ever done anything like this.

Breathe, Connect And Find Peace

Breathe, Connect And Find Peace
In This Moment

Just today in this moment, I will stop and focus my life. I will rise above all that I deal with in my life. I will let go of the stress and worry in my life, the uncertainty, the anger and despair. I will just breathe, connect and find peace for this moment.

Today in this moment, I will stop and take time out of my busy schedule to appreciate all that is around me. I will watch the birds play and fly from high wire to high wire, tree to tree. I will watch a squirrel run up a tree and a duck swim like there is no tomorrow. As I take in all that is around me, I will just breathe, connect, and find peace in this moment.

Hope For Haditha Children And The Trauma Breaking Point

Hope For Haditha Children
Song by Don Shetterly

Back in 2006 when I heard about the Haditha massacre, I wrote the article below. At the time I was horrified. Yes, I understand that sometimes in war, innocent people are killed. However, in this case, this was not an innocent event. From all accounts in the news, it was a deliberate act upon innocent people. If the war had not been going on and this happened in the US, the individual(s) would have been on trial for murder.

Out of this tragedy, I wrote a song called "Hope For Haditha Children". This song never really took off, but I still wrote it in memory of those children who faced the horrors of watching adults murdered before their eyes. While I can fully understand the trauma breaking point, especially in a time of war, I weep for those little children.

Top Book Reviews, Jan 2012 - Meditations To Heal Your LIfe

Meditations To
Heal Your Life
Louise Hay

I really love this book by Louise Hay.  Meditations To Heal Your Life has been around for sometime and my copy dates back to 2002.  Many people I know have enjoyed the book as one that really speaks to them.  It is filled with positive messages of light and hope.

One thing that I love to do with this book is whenever I feel prompted or led to pick it up, I randomly select a page in the book.  Often I just allow the book to open to whatever page it does and then I read the contents of the page.  Usually, the page I read is something that I need to see at that particular point in time.  I'm always amazed at how this happens.

I'm sure that there are people that think it is just coincidence and probability for the right page to open at the right time.  I guess if one wanted to, that belief could be valid.  However, when you see this happen over and over again among many different people, than I would begin to rule out  that it was the luck of the straw.  Whatever someone chooses to believe reading this review is completely up to them, but I know deep within me the results that I get.

Thank You Atlantis and NASA

I stand in awe of what was accomplished by the people of NASA throughout the history and especially the space shuttle program. I'm inspired by all that they accomplished and all that we as a civilization learned from their experiences. The learning has not stopped because it will carry us into the future of our world and beyond.

I am saddened that today has come but I hope that this difficult time will lead to many more discoveries ahead and into worlds that we cannot even imagine. I hope that we will learn more about the possibilities that are beyond our comprehension and come to understand the things we all reside in, known as our body. May our minds never cease to stretch the boundaries and limits of all that there is. May we never stop reaching for the points that cannot be seen.

Photo by NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org.




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog Post & Images (c) 7/21/11 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/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reason For Challenges

The reason for challenges is to help us grow and evolve.

Sometimes the statement above is a very difficult thing to hear especially when you're in the midst of challenges. After you've been beaten and bruised to the bone, it is almost difficult to think of something good coming out of the challenges. Yet, we all know that this is true.

If you're not following me, then think back to the times you've gone through some of the most difficult times of your life. Picture all that it was about and focus on how at the time you thought there was no end in sight. You didn't think you were going to make it.

Now contrast that to this day (hopefully there is a difference to where you are now). Take note of how things appear now as you look back at the situation compared to how they were when you were going through it. You made it through that time, didn't you?

Our human nature and courage is very strong and no matter what, we find a way through things. Yes, there are stories of people giving up but humans have a way of finding the path forward for the most part.

So, if you're in one of those moments where things look dark, just compare and contrast. Know that this too shall pass if you just keep trying to put one foot in front of the other. Don't give up on your courage or your hope that things will improve.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog Post & Images (c) 5/10/11 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/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------