"whole body approach" emotional/spiritual awakening - anyone else?

Started by Honour, August 09, 2016, 08:50:38 AM

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Honour

Hi There

So at my last psychology appointment it was recommended that I take a "whole body" approach to healing. I LOVE this concept and have dived in head first.

I made an appointment with an Osteopath who i have seen previously after a traumatic birth experience. After explaining my recent "emotional awakening" he pointed out that I said I felt a sudden surge in love, empathy and compassion and to him this appears to also be a kind of spiritual awakening and an opportunity to ditch the ego and become one with my "true self". He said it could possibly be the silver lining in what appears to be a very traumatic and difficult experience.

I have done some research and after reading the 21 symptoms of a spiritual awakening I can honestly say that I identified with all but one or two. He recommended readings by Adyashanti which I have been exploring recently. I've also started a beginners course for yoga and meditation which has been mind blowingly helpful in beginning this recovery and healing journey. I've also started journalling and mindfulness art.

Has anyone else felt that they might have experienced some kind of spiritual awakening throughout this healing journey? I'd be so interested to hear from someone else... ANYONE else!  :wave:

sanmagic7

i have firmly believed in the mind/body/spirit connection for a long time.  to tell you the truth, i feel like several very important parts of me have been awakened as i've been moving along this particular recovery journey.  i'm feeling stronger, healthier physically.  i'm getting more in touch with my emotions than ever.  more grounded, less floaty.  more mindful.  more considerate of others.  and, absolutely, more knowing of me.

one of the things i read about healing from c-ptsd is that it needs to be attacked from different avenues, angles, directions.  talking to a therapist, journaling, funerals for my losses, visual images to coincide with general feelings, pressure point massage to release stored toxins, emotions, feelings, and a stronger spiritual reliance/alliance have all been put into play in this battle for me, and they've all been doing their job in zeroing in on some aspect of this traumatic wounding i've experienced.  i do some eft tapping, some emdr techniques, a little yoga, some energy work, and some physical movement as well.  plus, i've been sharing and responding on this forum, which has been an immense help.

if i can't permanently slay this beast, i at least want to cut it down to the size of a puppy, which i will be able to manage much more easily.   so glad for you that you've found your spiritual awakening, and that it's made a positive impact on you and your life. 

Honour

sanmagic7 thank you so much for taking the time to respond!  :cheer:
I really appreciate it! :-)

I only had my "awakening" 8 weeks ago so this is still quite new to me. I'm reading and researching as much as possible! But I have two small children so time is a huge factor! I just want to hit the "pause button" on life so I can catch my breathe and get on top of this "journey"! May i please just have an 8th day in the week!?!? haha

My full frontal attack consists of:
Journalling
Therapy - Psychologist (who's profoundly amazing!!)
Psychiatrist to monitor medication
Meditation
Yoga
Osteopath (energy healing)
This amazing forum!
Regular massages

So a similar approach to yours!?!? What kind of physical movement do you do? I'd be interested to learn more about that! funeral for losses? like a ritual of some kind??? and visual ques? that sounds interesting?

Shrink it down to a puppy!? I like that analogy! Its nice that you're giving yourself a realistic goal instead of thinking "I must slay this beast permanently otherwise its a failure!". Such an inspiring approach and one that i will be keeping in mind.

Honour

sanmagic7

hey, honour,

yep, it sounds very similar, what we are doing.  there are so many levels to this, it made sense to me to incorporate as many different levels as possible toward recovery.

by movement, i simply meant walking or dancing.  i do these in the house (i live in the desert and it's too hot for me to go out), just walk back and forth in front of the tv when i'm watching a show - about 1/2, when i can manage it - or, if we're watching a concert on tv, i'll just get up and dance!  back to my hippie dippy days, just move around to the music.  i've also started lifting weights, light, about twice a week.  i used to lift regularly at the gym, 25 yrs. ago or so, loved it, then got too sick and i stopped.  now, i do armchair lifting, lol!  still, my muscles can feel it, and it feels good, and i'm just glad to be able to do something!

visuals - i've done various things visually to help me remember, reminders of what i need, what i'm feeling, what will help.  a few months ago, i decided to begin looking up images on the internet of things that i needed, and copied them to my word processing program, (journal)  wrote the words i needed, printed them out and hung them on the walls here in my little computer room at home.  i needed a guardian angel image, a symbol of something more than me who would watch over and take care of me.  i also needed a protector image, someone who would get me out of harm's way, show me the way when i got lost.  these two i've had in my head for a long time, but decided to find images so that they'd be something concrete for me to look at.  the third was for my inner child, an angel who looks sweet, gentle, caring, kind, and is holding a baby in her arms.  they're all women, the protector is fierce-looking, and i think they're the true representatives of the religious 'holy trinity' that i was brought up with (but never got any comfort from) that i've needed.  those from the church never worked for me.  i actually felt a sense of spirituality for the first time in an AA meeting.  so, i knew religion wasn't cutting it, and i eventually dropped out of that scene.

i also believe in 'kid power' - i used to work as a therapist with troubled adolescent girls, still have a few things they made for me hanging around the house, decorated my office with their stuff, and i've got pictures that other kids have made for me hanging up as well.  for some reason, kid power feels strong and pure to me.  when my daughters were young, i asked them to draw me a picture of themselves, framed them, and hung them in the living room.  i thought they were much more creative and impactful than any artist's renderings.  and, i allowed them to paint, draw, mark, write (nothing nasty, tho) on the walls of their bedroom.  they loved it, and when friends would come over, they'd invite their friends to make a picture as well.  it sure didn't look like anything out of a magazine, but it was personal, and something that all their friends loved, and even envied.  (i've never been big on having a perfect-looking house.  never had enough money to buy matching pieces, so i just made the pieces that i had fit together.  and invited my daughters to join in the fun.)

my grieving rituals are what i call my funerals.  when i decide i need to grieve something that i've lost or something that i've needed but never got, i look online for 'funeral arrangements' (there are thousands, i think) and find one that suits me for what it is i'm grieving.  i then set this as my computer's desktop, and also copy and paste into my journal (i type it now, but i used to hand-write a lot of things, too, especially anger journals.  and, those i specifically used red pens for, filled a notebook, then walked it outside to the garbage can.  pretty vile stuff in there, and i didn't want it in my house) and begin typing everything that comes to mind, everything i think, feel, wish were different, realizations (lots of those come up) emotions, whatever it is, i just let it out, and at the end i say good-bye.  if emotions come up, i express them appropriately.  usually it's sadness or anger.  if i get sad, i let myself cry.  if i feel angry, i go pound on my bed till it's out of me - there are usually quite a few juicy expletives that go along with that!.  and, i leave the funeral flowers on my desktop reminding me of what i've lost, what i've never had until the punch is gone from it.  usually it's a couple of days or so, and suddenly i know that the funeral is over and it's time to move on.

and, often after a funeral, i take a bit of a break from the emotional work, and replace the funeral flowers on my desktop with something beautiful, restful, calm, like a cabin in a woods on a lake, or a bouquet of summer flowers, or, well, i love flowers, so i'll often find flower images in a color or type that suits me for that day.  and, i leave that up, or change it as my mood changes, or until i'm ready to do another funeral.  i've done about 20 so far, and i know there are more to come.  i don't know, unconventional, maybe, but it all works for me. 

and, yeah, having little kids can definitely put a crimp into your time.  and energy.  i'm retired, my daughters are grown (one has been one of my narcs, had to nc her last year, am not quite ready to do her funeral yet.  that's gonna be a tough one!)  so i'm sure i have more time than you.  do what you can, what seems important to you.  it sounds like you're doing a great job, tho.  you are definitely coming at this crap from a variety of ways and means.  and, i don't blame you for wanting an extra day!  that would be great! 

for only going at this for 8 weeks, i think you're doing a bang-up job!  we will keep on keepin' on!!! 

theaquarist

Hi I found this thread while looking for yoga as a practice for processing trauma. Do you have an update to share since it has been a few more weeks?
I was talking to a friend last night who is a yoga teacher for autism. I have also tried "yoga therapy" along with other types of natural practices like herbal tea and foot zoning, a variety of things.
She recommended kundalini yoga for trauma specifically. She said with kundalini yoga she had been able to experience her own grief to leave her body. As for me, I feel like there is a graveyard of grief inside of me and I want so badly to let it pass through me, I'm tired of the lingering.

Sanmagic,
Your practice of using images for grounding and for grieving sound like they could help me a lot. I find images very powerful but I haven't gotten myself to commit to displaying them. I have the same problem with music for the last few years. Can't get myself to commit to music in a real appreciative way. No wonder I have so much grief in me. Thank you for your inspiration, you both.

Dutch Uncle

Quote from: Honour on August 09, 2016, 08:50:38 AM
Has anyone else felt that they might have experienced some kind of spiritual awakening throughout this healing journey? I'd be so interested to hear from someone else... ANYONE else!  :wave:
Hi Honour  :wave: and welcome. I'm sorry to butt in a bit late.

I must say I'm a bit skeptical about "spiritual awakening" itself. What exactly does that mean?

The phrase:
Quoteto him this appears to also be a kind of spiritual awakening and an opportunity to ditch the ego and become one with my "true self".
does makes me wonder: what is the difference between the ego and the true self? As far as I understand, the ego IS the true self. But perhaps you could elaborate on both concepts. What constitutes as "the ego" (which I admittedly only know in the Freudian concept of "the I" (das Ich in German, as used in his original work) ) and what constitutes as the "true self"? (perhaps you, or your osteopath, could elaborate on this?)

In a more concrete answer to your question (instead of me asking you questions   ;D ), my awakening over the past years, coming out of the FOG and all that, has only solidified that it's down-to-earth-me who should stay awake, despite many efforts to get me into 'higher' states of awareness.
I don't see how a "true self" ascends an "ego".

sanmagic7

theaquarist:  kundalini yoga for grief?  never heard of that, but i think i'm going to look into it.  sounds interesting.  at this point, tho, my grieving is so many-layered, which is why i have separate funerals for every piece of it i think of, and i'm guessing the yoga teacher was grieving one specific incident.  maybe not.  still, worth looking into.  thanks.