At times, someone who is on a healing journey is told that in order to heal, they have to eliminate their “shadows” and have and project “only love and light.” This is not the case. The parts of you that are sometimes labeled “shadows” are, often, the parts that have been the most damaged by your experiences. Seeking to eliminate or deny those aspects doesn’t move you toward healing; it simply furthers the rejection and…
In some corners of the spiritual community, practitioners claim that in order to heal, you have to think “only positive thoughts” and feel only positive emotions. They preach “love and light” and even go so far as to tell trauma survivors that they have to stop thinking about the past because they’re lowering everyone else’s vibration. Yeah. I’ve actually had that said to me when I tried to explain one of my triggers. “You aren’t…
In a healing journey, it’s totally fine to seek support and guidance from others. Someone who isn’t you might have a clearer view of what’s holding you back and how to progress despite the obstacles. But when you turn to others, just as it’s important to trust yourself when you feel like they’re incorrect, it’s also important to be aware of when you’re resistant to or just don’t like what they’re saying. Not liking what…
As we work to heal from our pasts and progress in our lives, sometimes we seek help and advice from external sources. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this. Having someone outside ourselves telling us what they see and think can help us determine the best course for our journey. But when we’ve experienced trauma, sometimes we put other people’s words ahead of what we know within. A practitioner tells us something that feels…
When you’re on a journey to heal from past trauma, sometimes your present environment interferes. Maybe you feel uncomfortable in your home because of the noise around you, or you live with someone who doesn’t respect or doesn’t understand your need for boundaries and privacy. Maybe something in your current environment reminds you of your past, or even is the same environment in which the trauma occurred. I met and married my current husband while…
Happy New Year! 2020 has definitely been one heck of a ride. At this time last year, I sat here making plans for expanding RiverEvolutions, for services and workshops I wanted to offer and for how to bring more visibility to what I do. And then there was a pandemic. Instead of being a year of attracting more clients, 2020 was a year of attracting fewer. But it was also a year of taking better…
As a child, I was taught not to use my voice, especially when it came to speaking about the things I knew to be true. My mother became easily overwhelmed when I talked “too much” (meaning, talked the way a young child typically would), and my father was horrified and upset if I talked about magic, having invisible friends, trees talking to me, or any of the other things that made up my world at…
Four years ago, I had what I describe as a dedication ritual. It wasn’t intentional or planned on my part. My partner took me to a place that is very energetically entwined with the elements and with magic in general, and while there, beings spoke to me and guided me through a rebirth of sorts. I consider this the beginning of my study and following the path of witchcraft. During this process, the beings told…
Over the weekend, I had something like an epiphany about the way I conduct business and what role my truths and beliefs play. I’ve always had strong opinions and beliefs, but I’m not always good at expressing them. Sometimes it’s due to not having the words I need; other times, it’s out of fear of what other people might think. I turned 50 years old last week. It’s well past time to stop worrying about…
As the changes in our world continue, we see more and more that the “normal” we once knew might not come back anytime soon, if it ever does. And that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Most of us have activities and people in our lives that are currently out of reach for us because of the pandemic that, in some places, still has us confined to our homes. Even in places that have begun to…