Talk therapy keeps us in our heads. Like you, I figured that out by talk therapy. Not sure if I should add a sad or happy face emoji here. I discovered Kundalini Yoga in the early 90's and it was not an easy path, which is why it worked. I began teachers training in 2006 and traveled to Rishikesh, India to complete my studies. The mother of all yogas takes us out of our heads and into our hearts. The combination of postures, kriyas, mantras and mudras move the energy up the spine and we breathe it out. In other words, we let it go.
That’s exciting- love that you are forging ahead with EMDR. People have told me for years I should do it. From everything I hear, it can be incredibly effective. I love that life keeps moving us forward, and that sometimes things we thought never could change, change. We are not static beings and we continue to have a symbiotic relationship with life in all its forms. Xxoo
Talk therapy isn't for me. It just retraumatizes me. However, I'm open to EMDR and cognitive behavioral therapy or any therapy good for trauma recovery.
EMDR helped me with trauma resulting from a very bad car crash. The methods applied by your therapist are similar to those used by mine. I, too, was surprised that talking about the trauma, outside of my therapists office, was not necessary. Until then, I believed that, "talking about it," and "not keeping it bottled up," was the cure. I hope it continues to work for you Allison. Cheering for you . . .
EMDR, and artmaking, have been mercifully effective and beneficial for me. Waaaaaay better than talk therapy--which rewounds, and is so so frustrating! With EMDR, the not talking about the details has been such a relief, as has being able to get right to getting its benefits for healing. That said, journaling is also still helpful as a method of self-listening—so consider the process of writing your book as having been a structured outlet (lest you are having any regrets about spending those 5 years writing it). The process was probably helpful for recognizing your feelings, for realizing reasons for those feelings, and in readying you for now. Even if the journaling process doesn't clean house completely and fully purge the stuff, it is a great intermediary or supplemental step, like a workshop or waiting room or pantry—organized and on hand for when ready for release/use. Your book helped me in my own healing process because I relate(d) to your experience of trauma, if not to the same traumas you experienced. That familiar recognition of symptoms in itself was healing because I felt seen, heard, understood, connected—not alone. We have something in common, in our cores, heavy though it is, it is also met with inner resilience and determination. Though the cause of injury is different, the symptoms are the same, as are the effects. I never met someone who could relate to my experiences, but, feeling heard, feeling understood, and understanding why and what trauma symptoms are has been enormously gratifying, freeing, and healing. So, again, thank you for sharing that (I thanked you in person a couple of years ago). I am glad you found EMDR. May it bring you relief. (Yay neuroplasticity!) I wish you well in your journey.
I think it's okay to express how you feel .whatever the situation..I wouldn't say talking keeps the trauma 'activated' as you say..it's okay, to talk, to cry ,to get angry, write a book or song..its your path..whatever you're feeling that day or moment...is okay..stop and smell the flowers or throw a rock..
Everyone heals differently..
Some are talkers .some are there to listen quietly while someone vents. . ..it s okay to wallow sometimes just don't stay there too long ..dust off keep moving forward.. it's okay to reflect on the past to remind ourselves how far we've come.j7st don'tstay too long...tell your younger self.. look we made it we're okay. All those traumatic events have made you the wonderful person you are today....
I am very pleased that you are find the therapy beneficial. I struggle sometimes with the trauma from my stroke. In fact, I hate calling it “my”. Trauma is somehow part of my life experience but I don’t want it to be a crutch.
I will do some of these with the serenity prayer - yes! I did that one to hang in my studio, but I will include a few of them in the next collection I put up. Thank you, Gay.
Wow, Allison. This is so good and just what I need. I have been carrying a huge load. I wrote you a couple weeks ago about my brother taking his life, recently, and the violence is rough to deal with. On top of that, I'm trying to keep a toxic relationship with my father, and he just unleashed a lot of hate on me, disowning me, two days ago. I have been trying to help him all these years, getting nothing but shame and intimidation in return. I'm feeling free from it all, and reading that it's good not to try to keep figuring it out, plus the guilt because he's old now... wow, thanks for sharing. Perfect timing.
I too find that talk therapy alone is just reiterating over and over and over the same pain and Trauma and makes it a present day occurrence over and over. Fascinating and scary all at once to realize this and at the same time I'm not ready to let go of my therapist that I just found again. But it's true sometimes I come out of therapy feeling worse than it when I went in. I'll have to look into EMDR. Thank you,, AM.
I think it’s a good tool to go along with talk therapy - I’m going into my therapy from this point on to deal with the effects of it all, not going through it all again. That’s what I thought I’ve been doing, but not really, despite that thinking. I am reframing my relationship to it. And I really like my therapist too. Best I ever had. Truly.
Allison: I love you. I hope that you find peace however you can find it. The events in your adolescent life might have sent many people on a path to kill that pain by whatever means they could find, many of which lead to lives of an additional hell of substance abuse and the secondary health problems that inevitably develop as a result. The fact that you are seeking a solution rather than adding to the problem is in my opinion a miracle in and of itself. Nothing about that initial tragedy was your fault. It was not your fault. You are by everything that I gather from following you, a REALLY good person who lives a spiritual life who, chooses right over wrong to the best of your ability. Once again, I hope that you find peace. You deserve it. I love you to the moon.
A really good songwriter, I forget her name, wrote "I don't know much, but I know that". Hopefully it is sunny there today and there'll be no need for an umbrella
Dear Allison: Jesus said, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, 'I say, you are gods!" God's omnipresence means that He is present everywhere, all the time. His presence is not limited by zeitgeist, which is the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time and space or dimension.
Those who believe in Creation and a Supreme Being believe that everything belongs to God. And all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made you perfect through pain and suffering. Because as you walk this human path you learn to follow Jesus who is leading His children toward salvation and allowing them to share in His glory.
For those who believe, God created the universe, "He is above all things and holds all things together." (Colossians 1:17). Those who don't listen to Jesus voice are, in plain terms, "owned" by someone else, and create their own "gods" who they choose to serve even without knowing they have to serve somebody.
God said, those who have the message of the Scriptures are said to be 'gods,' which may offer an explanation of why God is omnipresent. He is us. And we are One with Him. So, to a believer, there is no doubt about the fact that God is present everywhere, and is always present within themselves.
If humans are indeed "gods," they share the original Metaphysical Energy of God. Therefore, when their physical energy leaves their earthly "shell" or body, they rejoin God. This may be what Buddhists believe about "Nirvana," the state to which all Buddhists aspire, the cessation of physical desire and the end of suffering.
Those who achieve Nirvana are believed to join God and merge their atman (pure self) in perfect communion with divine life. In this state, there is no ego or desire, and the atman is free from any kind of earthly manifestation, for they are one with eternal peace and perfection.
In Christianity, heaven is traditionally the location of the throne of God and the "Civitas Dei" (city of God) where righteous Spirits rest eternally in the afterlife. Heaven is believed to be a place of peace, love, community, and worship, where God is surrounded by His creations of heavenly beings.
"Ignatian Spirituality is a spirituality of action: to labor with Christ in building the Kingdom of God. Once a person responds to the call, St. Ignatius invites a person to pray to come to know Christ more intimately, love Him more ardently and follow Him more closely."
However, Evil comes to steal metaphysical perfection, and to kill and destroy God. Suffering is a product of Evil, a consequence of human sin against God. Much suffering is in our lives because some of us choose to live in a broken world. Therefore, some suffering is due to our sinful and wrong choices. But some is due simply to the world falling from grace by corporeal temptations.
When Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd” He implies that there are some bad shepherds. A bad shepherd who is not concerned about the well-being of the sheep, exploits them. A bad shepherd comes to steal and rob the sheep of God's grace. God does not take kindly to shepherds who exploit or abuse the sheep.
God is present everywhere. He sees everything. And while it may seem that God is hidden in the ordinariness of everyday life. According to Siddhartha Buddha, the cause of human suffering is a mind that is not free from physical desires. So, it is our own mind that causes delusions, pain, distress and suffering. However, "Ignatian Spirituality" helps us to have a sensitivity to God's presence and God's grace even in the small matters of life. So that we may choose, with our own free will to live a good life.
“For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.” Devoting yourself to God in life is the way to live an honest and happy life. All the choices you make in your life should be made to honor Him. Be healthy, happy, successful, blessed and safe always, Allison.
You sound accepting. You seem calm. I want your heart and mind to be at peace. I watched your interview with Anthony Mason just yesterday. My heart is filled with joy for you today.
Allison after what you and Shelby lived through my lord I'd be looking for someone to ease the pain but you live your life with grace and I so admire that
Talk therapy keeps us in our heads. Like you, I figured that out by talk therapy. Not sure if I should add a sad or happy face emoji here. I discovered Kundalini Yoga in the early 90's and it was not an easy path, which is why it worked. I began teachers training in 2006 and traveled to Rishikesh, India to complete my studies. The mother of all yogas takes us out of our heads and into our hearts. The combination of postures, kriyas, mantras and mudras move the energy up the spine and we breathe it out. In other words, we let it go.
That’s exciting- love that you are forging ahead with EMDR. People have told me for years I should do it. From everything I hear, it can be incredibly effective. I love that life keeps moving us forward, and that sometimes things we thought never could change, change. We are not static beings and we continue to have a symbiotic relationship with life in all its forms. Xxoo
Talk therapy isn't for me. It just retraumatizes me. However, I'm open to EMDR and cognitive behavioral therapy or any therapy good for trauma recovery.
“Imagine me not being in my head — whatever shall I do?”
If I had a Sunday List, this would be my quote for the week. So, relatable. I find myself in that space too.
Love & peace ☮️
EMDR helped me with trauma resulting from a very bad car crash. The methods applied by your therapist are similar to those used by mine. I, too, was surprised that talking about the trauma, outside of my therapists office, was not necessary. Until then, I believed that, "talking about it," and "not keeping it bottled up," was the cure. I hope it continues to work for you Allison. Cheering for you . . .
EMDR, and artmaking, have been mercifully effective and beneficial for me. Waaaaaay better than talk therapy--which rewounds, and is so so frustrating! With EMDR, the not talking about the details has been such a relief, as has being able to get right to getting its benefits for healing. That said, journaling is also still helpful as a method of self-listening—so consider the process of writing your book as having been a structured outlet (lest you are having any regrets about spending those 5 years writing it). The process was probably helpful for recognizing your feelings, for realizing reasons for those feelings, and in readying you for now. Even if the journaling process doesn't clean house completely and fully purge the stuff, it is a great intermediary or supplemental step, like a workshop or waiting room or pantry—organized and on hand for when ready for release/use. Your book helped me in my own healing process because I relate(d) to your experience of trauma, if not to the same traumas you experienced. That familiar recognition of symptoms in itself was healing because I felt seen, heard, understood, connected—not alone. We have something in common, in our cores, heavy though it is, it is also met with inner resilience and determination. Though the cause of injury is different, the symptoms are the same, as are the effects. I never met someone who could relate to my experiences, but, feeling heard, feeling understood, and understanding why and what trauma symptoms are has been enormously gratifying, freeing, and healing. So, again, thank you for sharing that (I thanked you in person a couple of years ago). I am glad you found EMDR. May it bring you relief. (Yay neuroplasticity!) I wish you well in your journey.
Thank you for all of this. And for reading. 🤍
I think it's okay to express how you feel .whatever the situation..I wouldn't say talking keeps the trauma 'activated' as you say..it's okay, to talk, to cry ,to get angry, write a book or song..its your path..whatever you're feeling that day or moment...is okay..stop and smell the flowers or throw a rock..
Everyone heals differently..
Some are talkers .some are there to listen quietly while someone vents. . ..it s okay to wallow sometimes just don't stay there too long ..dust off keep moving forward.. it's okay to reflect on the past to remind ourselves how far we've come.j7st don'tstay too long...tell your younger self.. look we made it we're okay. All those traumatic events have made you the wonderful person you are today....
I am very pleased that you are find the therapy beneficial. I struggle sometimes with the trauma from my stroke. In fact, I hate calling it “my”. Trauma is somehow part of my life experience but I don’t want it to be a crutch.
Px❤️
I’m with you. I hate “my” damage. I prefer to say the damage I sustained. 🤍
The Serenity Prayer on your artwork was a sweet discovery
I love it Allison
Would this particular piece be for sale in the online shop?
🌸
I will do some of these with the serenity prayer - yes! I did that one to hang in my studio, but I will include a few of them in the next collection I put up. Thank you, Gay.
I would definitely like to purchase this particular one Allison
Thank you
See you in Nashville with Shelby 🥰
Wow, Allison. This is so good and just what I need. I have been carrying a huge load. I wrote you a couple weeks ago about my brother taking his life, recently, and the violence is rough to deal with. On top of that, I'm trying to keep a toxic relationship with my father, and he just unleashed a lot of hate on me, disowning me, two days ago. I have been trying to help him all these years, getting nothing but shame and intimidation in return. I'm feeling free from it all, and reading that it's good not to try to keep figuring it out, plus the guilt because he's old now... wow, thanks for sharing. Perfect timing.
Dear Angie — I am so sorry about your brother. I know your family is in tremendous pain. May you all find some comfort however you can 🤍
I too find that talk therapy alone is just reiterating over and over and over the same pain and Trauma and makes it a present day occurrence over and over. Fascinating and scary all at once to realize this and at the same time I'm not ready to let go of my therapist that I just found again. But it's true sometimes I come out of therapy feeling worse than it when I went in. I'll have to look into EMDR. Thank you,, AM.
JB
I think it’s a good tool to go along with talk therapy - I’m going into my therapy from this point on to deal with the effects of it all, not going through it all again. That’s what I thought I’ve been doing, but not really, despite that thinking. I am reframing my relationship to it. And I really like my therapist too. Best I ever had. Truly.
Allison: I love you. I hope that you find peace however you can find it. The events in your adolescent life might have sent many people on a path to kill that pain by whatever means they could find, many of which lead to lives of an additional hell of substance abuse and the secondary health problems that inevitably develop as a result. The fact that you are seeking a solution rather than adding to the problem is in my opinion a miracle in and of itself. Nothing about that initial tragedy was your fault. It was not your fault. You are by everything that I gather from following you, a REALLY good person who lives a spiritual life who, chooses right over wrong to the best of your ability. Once again, I hope that you find peace. You deserve it. I love you to the moon.
Thank you, Kenny. 🤍
I love you. What can I say. You are the embodiment of good. I can tell.
A really good songwriter, I forget her name, wrote "I don't know much, but I know that". Hopefully it is sunny there today and there'll be no need for an umbrella
Dear Allison: Jesus said, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, 'I say, you are gods!" God's omnipresence means that He is present everywhere, all the time. His presence is not limited by zeitgeist, which is the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time and space or dimension.
Those who believe in Creation and a Supreme Being believe that everything belongs to God. And all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made you perfect through pain and suffering. Because as you walk this human path you learn to follow Jesus who is leading His children toward salvation and allowing them to share in His glory.
For those who believe, God created the universe, "He is above all things and holds all things together." (Colossians 1:17). Those who don't listen to Jesus voice are, in plain terms, "owned" by someone else, and create their own "gods" who they choose to serve even without knowing they have to serve somebody.
God said, those who have the message of the Scriptures are said to be 'gods,' which may offer an explanation of why God is omnipresent. He is us. And we are One with Him. So, to a believer, there is no doubt about the fact that God is present everywhere, and is always present within themselves.
If humans are indeed "gods," they share the original Metaphysical Energy of God. Therefore, when their physical energy leaves their earthly "shell" or body, they rejoin God. This may be what Buddhists believe about "Nirvana," the state to which all Buddhists aspire, the cessation of physical desire and the end of suffering.
Those who achieve Nirvana are believed to join God and merge their atman (pure self) in perfect communion with divine life. In this state, there is no ego or desire, and the atman is free from any kind of earthly manifestation, for they are one with eternal peace and perfection.
In Christianity, heaven is traditionally the location of the throne of God and the "Civitas Dei" (city of God) where righteous Spirits rest eternally in the afterlife. Heaven is believed to be a place of peace, love, community, and worship, where God is surrounded by His creations of heavenly beings.
"Ignatian Spirituality is a spirituality of action: to labor with Christ in building the Kingdom of God. Once a person responds to the call, St. Ignatius invites a person to pray to come to know Christ more intimately, love Him more ardently and follow Him more closely."
However, Evil comes to steal metaphysical perfection, and to kill and destroy God. Suffering is a product of Evil, a consequence of human sin against God. Much suffering is in our lives because some of us choose to live in a broken world. Therefore, some suffering is due to our sinful and wrong choices. But some is due simply to the world falling from grace by corporeal temptations.
When Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd” He implies that there are some bad shepherds. A bad shepherd who is not concerned about the well-being of the sheep, exploits them. A bad shepherd comes to steal and rob the sheep of God's grace. God does not take kindly to shepherds who exploit or abuse the sheep.
God is present everywhere. He sees everything. And while it may seem that God is hidden in the ordinariness of everyday life. According to Siddhartha Buddha, the cause of human suffering is a mind that is not free from physical desires. So, it is our own mind that causes delusions, pain, distress and suffering. However, "Ignatian Spirituality" helps us to have a sensitivity to God's presence and God's grace even in the small matters of life. So that we may choose, with our own free will to live a good life.
“For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.” Devoting yourself to God in life is the way to live an honest and happy life. All the choices you make in your life should be made to honor Him. Be healthy, happy, successful, blessed and safe always, Allison.
I always enjoy your comments. Thank you. 🤍
You sound accepting. You seem calm. I want your heart and mind to be at peace. I watched your interview with Anthony Mason just yesterday. My heart is filled with joy for you today.
Thank you, Connie.
Allison after what you and Shelby lived through my lord I'd be looking for someone to ease the pain but you live your life with grace and I so admire that
Grace. Absolutely.
And most definitely write that book for all the people who need to read it
I will find my way to #3 eventually. It won’t be about going over anything, I hope, but about letting it go. Hell, it might be a novel! Ha!!
I think a book.sounds like a great idea it would be very cathartic