Beautiful, Brave, Badass

March 3, 2019March 3, 20193 Comments

I’ve been avoiding this space for almost an entire month. I have been busy filling my time with things other than being still. I’ve missed blogging and thought about it almost daily. I just haven’t quite been able to sit down with my laptop. Last night I went to the big city of Wilmington for Ecstatic Dance. So. Much. Fun. While I was there, I met a woman who said she knew me. Our mutual friend told her she knew me because I am FaceBook famous. FaceBook famous is our joke. This woman said no, she knew me from reading my blog. Her therapist had sent it to her and told her she should read it. She told me how she knows EVERTHING about me now, which was weird and awesome all at the same time. She said she loves my blog. That was the final push I needed to get my ass back here. I love it here. The last time I was here I shared that I was finished with therapy. I’m sure I called it being kicked out of the nest, because that’s how it felt. It took me a day or two to get over that, but I’m ok. I have all the tools I need. My therapist was right about that. That push may have been exactly what I needed to do the work I had been avoiding with her. I work best alone, but I also want someone to check in with. I still have that support system in a million different ways. The first thing I did was sit on my dock and journal all the feels of “being alone.” Which I’m definitely not. Then I decided the time had come for me to be an artist. I went to Pinterest to compile a list of all the things I would need to start an art journal. The next morning I went shopping. And just like that, I AM an artist. Most of you saw the photos on FB, because you can’t be FB famous if you aren’t posting there. I spent that entire weekend with my head down and ALL IN some art journaling. I’m so grateful that I worked through The Artist’s Way last year, because it really made it ok for me to just do my thing and not judge my work. Honestly, I art like a 5 year old, but I am totally OK with it. I spent that weekend doing the thing that I wouldn’t do in therapy. Writing my trauma story. It was awful and I hated it, but it’s just what happened on those pages. I didn’t buy the journal and art supplies with that intention at all. Once that came up, it wouldn’t stop. The beauty of the art journal was that I immediately painted over those awful words. I covered up those horrible things that I never want to see again. Not that I covered it up to make it look pretty, because that’s not where I was in that process. The act of writing it was huge and something I have avoided since I started dealing with repressed memories resurfacing. It was huge because once I started, it just flowed so fast and wouldn’t stop. I could have left the words in the journal, uncovered, but what would be the point in owning all those art supplies? I can’t quite express how it made me feel to be all up in the art process, but I think that’s why art exists. To express what we can’t put into words. Those pages of paint are exactly that. It was so powerful and so cathartic. Brave. I felt brave sitting through all those emotions as I worked in my art journal. I felt like a beautiful, brave, bad ass. I knew I was going to be crafty, but who knew I was going to be an artist? 😉 That’s a new tool for me and I am loving it. After a weekend of intense writing in that journal, I ended the process with a Monday morning dance party in the studio. Such a wonderful way to move through the emotions of the weekend. When I left the studio that morning I felt so much lighter. I’ve been back in the art journal a few times since then and have every intention of sticking with it. The thing about writing a “trauma story” is that it triggers new memories that I get to process. But it’s not all gloom and doom. Some of those pages are pure joy. I just show up to the pages exactly as I am and then it somehow all sorts itself out. Some days I don’t know until it’s on the page. It’s so different than anything I’ve done before. I definitely see the value in it. But it’s messy and not as quick to access or clean up as a journal. I can write anywhere, anytime. And I do. I haven’t had a healing session of any kind for almost three weeks, which is unheard of for me, but guess what? I feel great and I don’t need a thing. Well, I probably DO need a massage and since March is here, I know I have some energy work and “woo woo” appointmens on my schedule. Oh. And there was that Shamanic Journey I went on with Roger the Shaman today. 🙂 I have my meditation practice, I practice yoga, I write, I dance, I take ALL the baths. I go to meetings. I have moon circles and women’s circles of every kind. I was asked to be the speaker at an AA meeting this month and that’s the ONLY thing affecting my mental health. I have anxiety about it already. Oh the irony. My mental health game is strong and if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have left therapy. I know it was time. And now my Wednesdays are open for giant Goddess lunches and cacao ceremonies with circle dancing on the beach. I know how to fill a void. Believe that. I know how to fill it with beautiful and loving things today. ♥️

So Grown

February 8, 20192 Comments

I keep sitting down to write and then deciding that I don’t want to share my feelings with the world. I have been in protection mode lately. Protecting my heart. I am ready today. These past couple of weeks have been so full of growth for me. I spent a weekend at a women’s retreat. I had been looking forward to this retreat for months. I was the first person to register when tickets went on sale. I was so excited about the whole experience. It began on Friday evening with a cacao ceremony and Qoya. How could that not be fabulous? And it was. One of my favorite friends was there with me for the weekend and she experienced these two things for the first time. I loved being there to share that with her. A Qoya class has 13 pillars. One of them is dancing with your shadow aspect. Embracing rather than repressing our humanness. I found myself triggered in this piece and had a difficult time integrating my light back in. We left the studio at 9:15 that night and went to the Airbnb we rented for the weekend. I was up until almost 11. One would think that’s no big deal, but one would be wrong. I woke up Saturday morning already tired before we started our day with a 7:30 am yoga class. I don’t function well when I’m tired. I’m like a 5 year when it comes to sleep (and food). I was irritated and I began to close off and shut down. My intention for the weekend had been to remain open and be a part of. I was so looking forward to being a part of rather than leading. I was there, I was in it, but I was resisting every thing about the weekend. Partly because I wasn’t in control. Maybe fully because I wasn’t in control. I found myself being judgemental toward myself and toward the whole experience. The things I normally love, I had an aversion to. So. Fucking. Weird. But at the same time, the experience was beautiful and just what I needed. How much sense does that make? The entire weekend I was acutely aware of my shadow aspect. The fear, the judgement, the insecurity, the anger the need to control and my lack of trust. All of it showed up and stayed with me. I showed up and stayed with all of it. I lived and I learned and I met a bunch of amazing women. I processed the experience for a week. It’s a sacred act to sit in circle with women you don’t know and be open and real and vulnerable. I see women do this in my circles all the time and they are my heroes. I thought I was ready and I would be WIDE open, but that’s not how my weekend went. I was disappointed in myself. It’s still difficult for me allow myself to be seen and heard. I was in my comfort zone of a circle of women, but out of my comfort zone by not being in charge. It’s a control and trust thing that I obviously need to work on. And I will. Possibly forever. That was two weeks ago. This week the growth is still coming. I went to therapy (for the last time?) on Wednesday. My therapist let me know that if I was going to keep coming into her office, she needed to feel as though she was being of service to me. And she no longer does. What this means is that I am making good choices, I’m processing my own shit, I have no super secret life on the side and I am SO FUCKING GROWN. I got kicked out of the nest. It happened so fast. I think we both knew it was time, but she is better at assertive and saying what needs to be said than I am. So she said it. And I rolled with it because I trust her. But, I was super sad when I left her office and scared that now something horrible is going to pop up that I can’t handle and there I’ll be, alone in the world. We ALL know this isn’t true, and I’m not alone, but it’s how I felt. Now that I have had a few days to sit with that, I’m OK. I’m learning more about my need to cling and how it doesn’t serve me. More space has been created in my life and the good things will flow in and fill that gap. I do not doubt that at all. Now I wait. Patiently. Without clinging. Remember that time I choose the word ALLOW for my “One Word?” I’m putting that into practice on so many levels.

Letting go

January 23, 2019January 23, 2019Leave a comment

Ahhhhhhhh! I am out of the weird ass moon energy and back on top. Where I like to be. One might think that after two years of living in sync with the moon cycles, tuning into them and paying attention, I wouldn’t be so surprised or knocked on my ass by a big super moon eclipse. One would be wrong about that. Because whoa. I know I wasn’t alone in that. I heard it at my moon circle from other women. I saw people freaking out on social media. I felt it in my soul. Lost. Lonely. Off. How fortunate that I have so many practices to keep me “sane,” and so many friends to keep me grounded. When I remember to lean on those supports. I’m out of my bathtub now and living in the big world again. It feels great. When I wrote my Sunday blog, I said that my week had been uneventful. That wasn’t entirely true. Last week a 7 year relationship with a very dear friend switched gears. I would say we are finished being friends, but that is a bit extreme. Our roles in each other’s lives have changed dramatically and I’ll be way less involved with this person and vice versa. It sucked and made me sad during an already (overly) emotional time. After years of knowing this needed to happen, my heart and my head were finally in alignment at the same time. The moon??? After a long conversation with my friend, the letting go happened. Just like that. It needed to happen so my soul can grow in other directions. This doesn’t make it hurt less. I know that “when we let go of the things that no longer serve us, we create space in our lives for that which inspires us.” We create space for growth and joy and life. I know this. I teach this. Somehow, I’ve been forgetting to live this. For years…..That letting go left me feeling more lonely and more lost….but I sat with it. I sat with not feeling centered and not feeling OK. I sat with lonely and lost. I set an intention for the feelings of Calm Abiding to wash over me and hold me. Taking it back to basics and knowing that this is the soil I need to be rooted in so I can grow. I’m growing. On Monday afternoon I connected with a friend in Wilmington. We hadn’t seen each other in a year or more. She and I did yoga teacher training together. Anyone who knows that life knows it’s a true bonding experience. We had lunch and talked about our teacher training experience, among other things. Life things. I mentioned that I might want to write my own Yoga Alliance program and become “a school” to lead teacher trainings. As it happens, my friend has done that and IS able to lead teacher trainings. She said she wasn’t feeling quite ready to do it on her own. We briefly discussed the possibility of doing it together but made no plan. We finished lunch and headed out. On my hour long drive home, I let the thought roll around in my head. I pictured what it would look like and how it would feel to lead a teacher training with her. By the time I got home I KNEW. I knew it would be intense. I knew it would be a learning experience. I knew it would be fun. Guess who loves intense? Guess who loves to learn? Guess who loves fun? This girl does! All the details will be available soon as we are just starting to put our heads together. I can tell you that it’s coming in April. A 3 1/2 week immersion. Yoga for Inner Peace. It is in complete alignment with who I am and what I teach. Our special focus will be “Nurturing the Inner Self.” A beautiful co-creation. I am so excited! Once again, I am amazed at how quickly the Universe responds when I get out of my own way. I AM connected and divinely guided.

Dream World

January 20, 2019January 20, 20192 Comments

I published a post on Wednesday that touched a lot of people in a lot of ways. It became clear that I am not alone in feeling lonely. It became clear that perhaps I was throwing a little shade. It became clear that I was blaming others for my hurt feelings. It became clear that people have a desire to “fix” me when I am feeling less than joyful. All of these things are fine. I’m down to do the work I need to do around my hurt feelings and shade throwing. We all have a shadow side. It’s not a problem unless we deny it. I know some shit. I show up and write what’s in my heart and on my mind. Not what I think people need to know. I love that people read my words and FEEL. What they do with those feelings is completely out of my control. There is FREEDOM in that. I am not here to hurt feelings. Ever. I am not here to be fixed. This is my space. I appreciate everyone who takes time to read my words. What you do with that is NOT my business. I am thrilled some of you have therapists. I am NOT a therapist. My therapist has reminded me of that a time or two. Or three. 🤣 I wrote my last blog right before a therapy session. The one about loneliness. Something magical happened in that. I named it, claimed it and tamed it. I am sure we talked about those feelings. I don’t even remember now. And life went the fuck on. As it has a tendency to do. My week was uneventful, but here I am sharing my uneventful week anyway. Because it’s Sunday and it seems like the thing to do. I journaled more than a 13 year old girl this week. Most weeks really, if I’m honest. I’ve just switched up my journaling routine from morning to night. Holy Shit! It’s like another world. Night time journaling has opened up some portal into my dream world where a lot of serious action is taking place. This week (in my waking hours) I spent some time trying to decide if AA is still my path. I sit in those meetings some days and laugh at how weird it all is. Not that I am opposed to doing weird shit. I do plenty of it. The topic of quality vs quantity comes up from time to time in meetings. I live in an area where most of the population is retired. In the sober community, that means I am in meetings with people much older than me with a lot more sober time than me. And yet some of them are still so miserable. Miserable could be a stretch, but there are a lot of them who still haven’t figured out how to be happy, joyous and FREE. They have quantity, but are clearly lacking quality. I am not lacking in quality. After 5 years I am still not comfortable sitting in a meeting and sharing openly. It’s something I rarely do. Maybe if I got past that I would feel a shift in my attitude. I don’t know. There are lots of people I love in AA, but the meetings, not so much. And I wonder…….. AA was a great place for me to get sober. The 12 steps were a beautiful launch pad out into a much bigger spiritual world. But does it still belong in my life? My AA friends will say it absolutely does belong in my life, and perhaps I just need to switch my meetings up. This week as I was rolling that around in my head, NOT going to meetings and night time journaling about it my dreams came at me. Alcoholics have “drinking dreams.” I am not sure if people who don’t have a problem with alcohol have those or not, but I am guessing not. I dreamed that I sent my husband to the store to buy me a bottle of bourbon. He asked if a pint would do and of course, it would not. I would need at least a fifth. In real life a half gallon would have been called for, but anything can happen in the dream world. He then asked why I was still going to those meetings if I am still drinking. I wasn’t exactly sure why. I just knew it was what I do. He asked me if I planned to pick up a white chip. A white chip means surrendering and choosing to live a sober life. The start of the journey. Basically, a white chip would mean I had to start over at day one. I don’t do white chips. I was always one to bedazzle mine. Another story for another time. Dream me said a big Fuck NO to him about picking up a white chip because although I was drinking, I wasn’t getting drunk. In my mind, there was no reason to pick up a white chip. I can rationalize anything, Even in my dreams. Drinking dreams suck. I know this one came from all of my recent questioning. These questions aren’t really new to me. I have spent the better part of a year wondering if I I want to continue going to meetings. I don’t have to figure it out today and chances are, I’ll be drinking coffee with old men at least one day this week. Maybe that is the solution. The real movement and processing that’s happened in my dream world this week has been in the form of my little sister. Who doesn’t exist. But she exists in my dreams and I KNOW that she is me. Little me. All thanks to going back and taking another stab at inner child healing. And night time journaling. I tend to go hard at Inner child healing (like I go hard at everything I do) but when I touch on something painful, I stop. After seeing the group that’s working through this process in my studio, I decided to take another crack at it. I love watching the women in the group connect and grow. I can SEE how much this group is helping them heal. I also know that the group in the studio wasn’t the time or place for me. But, I definitely see the value in it and KNOW it’s something I want to keep at. I bought the book they are using and I enlisted a far away friend to work through the book with me. We connect weekly and discuss. I have my therapist to help me process what comes up and she has hers. (Although hers sucks and she needs a new one) I know it’s going to take us a little longer to get through the book, but it seems safe and comfortable to me and my inner child. She needs that. I won’t be blogging about those dreams, but they are powerful. Powerful and private. THAT is what it’s like to pay attention to my inner child. I’m learning to listen to her more and more. When I use that term inner child, I know there are tons of them, pieces of me that I haven’t connected to yet. But I’m getting closer every day. Yesterday I taught my 8 am class how to chant “fuuuuuuck.” It might have been my greatest teaching moment ever. Pretty sure that was my inner 15 year old Rebel girl. I know her well. 😂

Hiding from the world.

January 16, 2019January 22, 20195 Comments

We are well into Janauary and this is my first blog. I think I’m hiding from the world. In my bathtub. I have been avoiding the process of sitting down to write out of fear of sounding like a whiny baby. But whatever. I have been in a weird space since 2019 started. I know I won’t stay stuck in it, but I have also learned to honor my now and allow myself to be where I am. I’ll tell you where I am. Lonely. I am in a perpetual state of loneliness. Not sad. Not depressed. Just lonely. I’m surrounded by a tribe of amazing people in all of my communities from home and outward into the real world as well as the virtual world. It would seem lonely isn’t something I “should” ever feel. See those quotations around “should?” That’s because I do know should is a bullshit word and my feelings are valid. So there’s that. It seems the more connected I am, the more alone I feel. My brain knows that I am NOT alone. My heart is learning that not all of my relationships are real. I am a sensitive soul and lately my feelings are getting hurt left and right. I’m not exactly sure what that’s about, but I suspect it has a lot to do with actually paying attention to my feelings. That’s therapy working. As of late it’s becoming clear to me that some people want to be around me because they think I can do something for them. Add to their status or popularity. And it hurts my feelings. That seems childish as I read it, but I’m also someone who is learning to tune in and pay attention to my inner child. Again, valid. It’s not such a big deal when it comes from someone I don’t know that well, but when it comes from someone I love, it sucks. What hurts worse is when someone who IS my friend and I know loves me blindsides me with a passive aggressive comment about my happy life. I imagine that happens to everyone? Jealousy? Envy? Those words are hard to say and sound harsh, but I can’t find any other words that seem right. Yesterday I saw my favorite Woo Woo Witch Healer and she informed me that it hurts because it’s opening an old wound that hasn’t fully healed. The wound of being used? Or jealous people? I’ll have to dive into my journal on that one, but I have no doubt she’s right. I learned from trauma informed yoga training that “if it’s hysterical, it’s historical.” If something is triggering us today, it is coming from our past. It seems I will never run out of “work” to do on myself. Soul Detective work. I have put a lot of energy into building a loving and supportive community for myself. In the early days I called this Team Shannon. I still have my team. I have come full circle in that area and now I get to be on other people’s teams. Cheering them on and supporting them. I find that to be meaningful “work.” I love to see others succeed. Seems everyone doesn’t feel that same way. Lately the word “discernment” has been appearing in my life on repeat. This is the lesson I am getting hit with hard this January. Learning how to discern my circle. I have never been that person who needs everyone to like me. In fact, I have been the opposite. Quite content to push people away. That’s the exact reason I don’t have many friends from my childhood or even my life pre-sobriety. I never learned how to build healthy relationships. Sobriety has given me that gift. Sobriety and a spiritual path. I don’t need everyone’s love and friendship. I am not for everyone and everyone is not for me. I’m just trying to figure out who gets to sit at my table. I also know that when I am feeling lonely, it’s the time I most need to be alone. The Divine is present within me and I am NEVER alone. And there it is. There’s my aha moment right there. THAT is the connection I am seeking. Funny how putting my thoughts down in a blog can bring me clarity that a journal can’t always bring me to. Beautiful. And now I’ll just be over here, practicing discernment, connecting with a power greater than myself and finding my way.

Allow

December 30, 20181 Comment

In 2018 I chose the word “learn” as my one word mantra. This has been my year to learn on so many levels. With all of that learning came a lot of leveling up. This was my year of cacao, kirtan and dancing. Opening my heart more, connecting to something greater than myself and being FREE. This was my year of the inner child. Listening to her and helping her feel safe. This was my writing year. So. Much. Writing. A year of finding my voice. A work in progress, but I have made giant leaps. This has been a year of healing old wounds. An ongoing process I am sure. This is the year I learned that I am an artist simply because I allow the creator to create through me. I am always creating. This was my year of connection and community. I have a full understanding of how important community really is. This is the year I learned to truly get out of my own way and stop doubting myself all the time. My year of listening to my intuition which doesn’t seem to steer me wrong. This is the year I allowed myself to show up and be seen in my ALL of it. This has been a powerful year full of learning and lessons simply because I was paying attention. A year of soul growth. The year my faith grew by leaps and bounds. A beautiful year. A difficult year. This is the year of learning to love some people from afar. Boundaries. Something I am still learning about. Most of my big learning moments are right here on this blog and I can see the growth this year brought. Writing has connected me to some amazing people this year who have reached out to me as they began their own “journey to wholeness.” A testament to how powerful our stories are. People are seeking connection and community. I love to watch people grow. I suspect a lot of you love to witness my growth. People are mostly good I think. Sometimes I think my world isn’t actually reality because it’s so magical and full of so many loving and supportive people. Healers of all kinds and spiritual seekers. People who always strive to be the best version of themselves. But it IS my reality and I have worked hard to build that reality for myself. Also, I am deserving of all the blessings that flow my way. I’m not sure I believed that on this day last year, and it is still kind of hard to say out loud, but I believe it. What’s even more special is that I get to share so much with so many. That’s the true gift. My heart is overflowing with gratitude this morning. I will be carrying all the lessons, all the growth and all the gratitude with me into the new year. And I will build on that. New Years is my favorite! I thought long and hard about what my one word would be for 2019. Last week as I was making vision boards with a friend, it became crystal clear to me that my word is “Allow.” Not in a passive or weak way, but as a spiritual practice. There’s not a thing wrong with having a vision, but what I know is that when I ALLOW the creator to create through me, anything I want to manifest, create or experience will show up in my life as it is meant to. I allow things to happen without having to control and manipulate people and situations. When I can do this, the Universe always delivers something more amazing than I could have planned. 2019 is going to rock. 💥

Pure Joy!

December 23, 2018December 23, 20183 Comments

I am not here to write about trauma today. Yay! I am not here to talk about being sober even though that’s always an amazing topic. I am here today to share what feels like some serious healing. Three nights ago I dreamed I was getting ready to teach a writing workshop. I was in a giant building that was obviously NOT my studio. There were tons of people there. There was a little kitchen where I went and made myself a cup of coffee. In the kitchen there was a small child. A tiny toddler who was probably 18 months old. She was dancing and she was beautiful. I walked over to her and put my hands out to her. She took my hands in her tiny hands and let me dance with her. She was looking up at me with the biggest smile on her face. After a few minutes of dancing, I reached down and scooped her up in my arms. She snuggled into me. She loved me. She was beautiful. She had blonde curls and blue eyes. I loved this child even though I had no idea who she was. I carried her around for a while because I just didn’t want to put her down. She fell asleep in my arms. I couldn’t stop looking at her and I wasn’t about to put her down. By this point in the dream, half the people who were there for the workshop I was teaching had left and the other half were restless because I was so late getting to it. But I didn’t care. The only thing that was important to me was this child. I went into the room and taught the workshop as best I could without putting the toddler down. She slept in my arms the entire time. I’m sure the quality of the workshop suffered, but I didn’t care. I’ve learned that dreams have messages for me and while this one is super obvious, it took me a few hours after I woke up to understand that she was ME. It wasn’t until I told a friend about the dream that I understood. Saying it out loud helped me make the connection. It felt a lot like some serious healing and it brought tears to my eyes, which doesn’t happen for me often. She was me and I loved her so much. I could feel that love in my dream and when I woke up I still felt it. Powerful. My therapist refers to “the inner child” as that part of us that is untouched and unharmed by outside influences. The part of us that is pure joy. That’s exactly who this child was and exactly what I felt while I was holding her. Pure love. The exact same love that I feel when I am with my own children. I am certain it’s the dancing that’s bringing her out. We danced together in the dream. I *think* I am getting ready to go a bit deeper into that journey of healing my inner child, but I know that it’s all the play time that connects me to her. Get ready world because I am about to take a trip to Michael’s and get crafty! My child wants to create for some reason and I am going to let her! Should be interesting since I am the least “artistic” person I know. But, if you know me, you already know that I will put everything I have into it. I will be the craftiest person EVER! LOL Get ready to see some shitty art on the internet and tell me it’s beautiful anyway! 😊

The Work is Never Done

December 16, 2018December 16, 20182 Comments

When you are on a “journey to wholeness” the work is never done. (Here. Listen.) That doesn’t mean that I always want to do the work. Because, honestly, some days and weeks or months, I don’t want to. So I don’t. I am rolling into the third week of mentioning repressed memories that just came back to me and I still haven’t done anything about them. My therapist really wants me to write about them to help me process them and move on, but who wants to do that? Not me. Not lately. Plus, I’m a busy person with a life to live, a business to run and a family to take care of. She suggested to me that I am scared to sit down and do it. It would be great if I just used my time with her to do it, but I can’t. I freeze and nothing comes out. That leaves little to work with. And if I don’t do the work on my own, it doesn’t get done. But I’m busy, remember? Also, I really don’t want to. Yesterday, I received a text from a friend. Or, as I like to call it, a loud and clear message from the Universe.

How funny is that? I am surrounded by so many amazing people and I just need to remember that I am never alone in my struggle. None of us are. It sure feels like we are when we are going through some shit, but I have learned that if I open my mouth and speak up, I will find someone who says “Me too.” Always. I live in this world where it’s usually easy for people to open up and share their struggles with me because I am so open about mine. On the internet. If you know me in real life, “I’m fine.” I am always OK. It was only last night while I was journaling that I realized this. I always throw up the I’m fine wall. It’s probably not a secret to those who know me and my therapist will probably laugh that I am just figuring this out. I’m OK when I know I’m not but I don’t take the time to identify what I am feeling. I wrote myself a little “Notice That” with an asterisk in my journal. I guess that comes from a lifetime of numbing myself out. Whew. Always learning. The work is never done. But, now that I have this new information, I can work with it. One would think with ALL the meditation and yoga and “noticing that” I do in my life ALL DAY, EVERY DAY that I would be an expert by now. But, it seems, “notice that” is as far as I have ever gone. Not “identify that.” Identify that could be a game changer for me. I tell my therapist all the time that I may be slow, but I am oh so thorough! And really, what’s the hurry? As far as I can tell, this is a lifetime path. I can be healed and still healing. Someone once left a comment on my blog that I am a “Soul Detective” and that was my favorite thing ever. If it was you, you should tell me so I can hug you. 😊 I am still my favorite project but you should know that if you are on this path, and lean on me for guidance and support, chances are you are my other favorite “project.” I root for you and want to see you win. Complete strangers root for me and it’s the coolest thing ever. Sometimes those strangers become my friends. Have you ever talked to or hung out with someone you know nothing about but knows everything about you? I have and I do often and it’s weird as fuck. At the same time it’s completely liberating to have nothing to hide. Boom. This is me. And you’re still here. It’s our humanness that connects us all. Our “not having it all figured out.” Our “still learning and still growing.” Our struggle really is our strength and when we share that we open the door for powerful connections. And suddenly I am no longer afraid to sit with my deep dark shit and sort it out on paper. I know someone will come hold my hand or just sit with me if I need that. I also know that I know how to take care of ME and that I will feel so much better once it’s done. I’m not saying it will get done today, because I’m busy. Remember? 😂 But I’ll do it. And then I’ll burn that shit.

Living, Learning and Loving my life

December 9, 2018December 9, 20181 Comment

It’s funny how when I am going through a rough patch I am sure it’s going to last forever. I know in my head that it won’t last forever, but my heart and my body feel stuck and trapped. I was in that place last Sunday and by Monday morning, I was a completely different human. Fascinating how that happens. I give dancing all the credit. Last Sunday I wrote about repressed memories that have been resurfacing for me and all the ways I was going to let them go. And I did none of those things. No writing. No burning. But, I did do a lot of dancing and that made all the difference in the world. I got a tattoo in January that says “Learn.” Learn is my “mantra” word for 2018 and let me tell ya…….I have learned SOOOOOO MUCH. I joked when I got the tattoo that it was the short form of “what the fuck am I supposed to learn from this?” I think the lesson for me in 2017, is that there’s really nothing I can’t handle. Every time new pieces of my past have been revealed to me this year, I have came back to that tattoo and just thought Wow. I am really learning. I look at that tattoo and giggle. Not unlike that time I got “Calm” tattooed on my wrist and the Universe gave me Opportunities to practice being calm. Maybe my tattoos are like a vision board. On my skin. I saw my energy healing, shaman, witch/healer this week and she told me that I was a warrior in a past life. 7,000 years ago. She also told me that I have carried that energy over through lifetimes upon lifetimes. How cool is that? I left there feeling incredibly empowered. Now, Every time my husband asks me to do something I don’t want to do, I just remind him that I am tired from being a warrior for 7,000 years. That’s the greatest information ever! And it brings me right back to “There’s nothing I can’t handle.” And all that shit I wrote about last week doesn’t even seem like a big deal today. Today I want to write about some awesomeness. I made a vision board a few months ago. I’m bad about making vision boards and then sticking them in a closet. A vision board is supposed to be out where it can be seen. I made the vision board with a friend. It was more about introducing the concept to her than it was to actually creating my own vision. BUT, as I pulled that vision board out of the closet and inspected it, I see that almost everything on the board is coming into my life already. On this board I am playing more. I am connected to my inner child. She is hiking in the woods. She is dancing. On this board I am leading a retreat. A large retreat and I am positive I am leading people in dance at this retreat.

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Now, here’s the “super secret” that I haven’t publicly announced. Two of my Kirtan singing friends have asked me to co-lead a retreat with them in the spring of 2019. The retreat will be in June at the Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, NC and I couldn’t be more excited. We will hike, we will sing, we will dance, and we will yoga! When I say I am connected and Divinely guided (and I say that a lot), I truly believe that. I am in this flow of attracting all the amazing things into my life. I am in alignment with my divine assignment and I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing. The official announcement will come soon, and I hope I’m “allowed” to talk about it now because I am. 😊 Leading retreats is one of my favorite things to do. I am a dreamer and a planner. I love the play factor involved in planning. I took a step back from it in 2018 because I wanted to use that time to learn. I will never stop learning. It’s time to lead again.

All the Feels

December 2, 2018December 2, 20182 Comments

I am in that weird space of having a million things to write about and yet nothing comes up for me. My thoughts are scattered here there and everywhere. The “problem” is that more and more people are reading my blog and I get in my head about it. Am I oversharing? Will my readers like this? The truth that I need to remember is that this blog is for me. It’s a great tool to look back and see how things are unfolding for me. So here I go.

Yesterday was such a weird day for me emotionally. I joked about everyone crying in yoga, and maybe they needed that, but it was me who I was really talking about. I was on the verge of tears all day. But they didn’t come. I have written about repressed memories coming up for me in the past. And I processed those the best way I could. I really figured that was it and I was done with that. Life is great. Things are flowing my way effortlessly and easily. I AM connected and divinely guided. So when more shit from my past pops up, it knocks the wind out of me. Last week I sat on my therapist’s couch with my journal of “all the amazing things” that are going on in my life. The amazing things are always the things I want to talk about. When our time was almost up, I blurted out “want to do the therapy now?” And of course she did, because that’s her job. I told her that I have had more memories of childhood sexual abuse surfacing. When she asked me if I could talk about it, I just looked at her and said nothing. We both chuckled a little and she told me that “was an invitation.” My response to her was that I obviously couldn’t talk about it. Because nothing was coming out. So weird because I do trust this woman so much. I have spent some time on this and perhaps it’s the office and the couch that get me. Like “white coat syndrome.” Maybe I should ask her to sit on the floor with me. I bet she would. She’s cool like that. Since I wouldn’t or couldn’t talk about the memories with her, she offered up some suggestions as to what I could do to move through it. Dance it out, write it out, yoga it out. The things she knows I am comfortable with. The first time, back in the spring, when she suggested “dance it out” I thought she was nuts. And now, well, we all know how that ended. What I was looking for was a definitive answer about why this is happening again and when will it end. The why is simple. She’s explained it before, but she explained it again. Because I am strong and healthy and have all the support in the world. And because I have everything I need to look at these things when they come up and then let them go. The when will it end isn’t as simple. I read everything I could find about this subject, but there are no concrete answers. Unfortunately we live in a world where this is fairly common. I reached out to a friend who I am able to be completely open with and talked to her about it. She has her own experience with this exact thing. Which is what I needed more than anything. Someone who has been where I am. Someone with personal experience. This is what I gathered from our conversation. Something in my present moment experience triggered these memories. They are there to teach me something. And I guess as the healthy adult that I am, it’s not really a big deal. But, it feels like a big deal to me when it happens. Talking to my friend helped more than anything. She told me there really is no specific end date. No magic time. Healing is a lifetime process. More than anything, just knowing that I am not alone in this experience was helpful. The specifics aren’t important and I don’t need to share with everyone or maybe even anyone. My plan is simply to honor the path that got me to where I am today. I keep telling myself to write it down and burn it. A ritual. I love ritual. Not that I have done it yet, but it’s coming. The gift in this is that it never crosses my mind to hide from it. It never crosses my mind to numb myself. What I have done is take 1,000 baths. Maybe I am subconsciously trying to crawl back into the womb. Whatever. It feels good and it soothes me. The bathtub is where I spent all of my free time when I first got sober. It’s still a go to when I am emotionally triggered. And honestly, I have been super sensitive lately. OR, maybe I AM super sensitive and I have been allowing myself to experience that. I don’t know. What I do know is that I am human. A human with ALL THE FEELS who doesn’t have everything figured out and probably never will. The good news is that I am surrounded by healers and sensitive souls who will hold my hand when I need that. The reality is that I really do have everything I need already available to me and I can handle whatever comes my way. So I lean in to the uncomfortable until it passes because I know for sure and certain that joy is waiting for me on the other side. I AM a warrior.

Sober Yogi

My journey to wholeness