healing-the-emotional-self

A broken friendship that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was.

Always _ but especially when suffering - surround yourself with those who inspire you to lose yourself more honestly, to love others more thoroughly, to live life more fully, and to trust God more wholly. Huddle with those who care for you and those who are exemplary in their encouragement, patience and understanding of others. Hang out with those who strive to put God and faith at their center. Pray for peers, friends and mentors who will not only encourage you to be your best independent, strong, and vulnerable self all at the same time _ but also sincerely humble. Pray that their angel dust will transcend you when even the smallest flecks of their contagious warmth and permeating beauty fall upon you. Then ever pray that you may have the opportunity to likewise ease and nurture others in such authentic ways; thus honing such a charitable, other-oriented nature of your own, _ a miraculous healing balm _ a buffer of pain if there ever was one. Know this is the most powerful antidote for fear and sorrow; the most effective _ and addictive _ cure-all known in all of creation; an elixir for that otherwise, elusive kind of happiness _ the kind that weathers, endures and remains in all seasons and conditions.

Trauma is personal. It does not disappear if it is not validated. When it is ignored or invalidated the silent screams continue internally heard only by the one held captive. When someone enters the pain and hears the screams healing can begin.

Tolerance was like one of those soothing creams__t drew out inflammation, it did away with the pain.

Using your imagination means that you are using your most powerful tool of creation, manifestation and modification

Spirituality isn't some quaint stepchild of an intelligent worldview, or the only option for those of us not smart enough to understand the facts of the real world. Spirituality reflects the most sophisticated mindset, and the most powerful force available for the transformation of human suffering.

Past traumas are like old scars on tissue that never quite healed properly _ they occasionally must be cut open, re-examined, and sutured anew.

Don't stay too long in the shame-filled grounds of relapse. Fertile soil awaits your return and your recoverying.

You are strong enough to overcome the situation!

Hope is an act of faith. Great faith, great hope.

Love mercy, love kindness.

Dissociation can enable us to withstand pain and loss under which we would otherwise break. It enables us to survive and pull through. But, a habit of continual dissociation _ especially after the trauma has passed _ leads to the shut-in feeling I was experiencing. While I imagined I was being strong in the face of pain, in reality, I was merely hiding.

My only regret is that no one told me at the beginning of my journey what I'm telling you now: there will be an end to your pain. And once you've released all those pent-up emotions, you will experience a lightness and buoyancy you haven't felt since you were a very young child. The past will no longer feel like a lode of radioactive ore contaminating the present, and you will be able to respond appropriately to present-day events. You will feel angry when someone infringes on your territory, but you won't overreact. You will feel sad when something bad happens to you, but you won't sink into despair. You will feel joy when you have a good day, and your happiness won't be clouded with guilt. You, too, will have succeeded in making history, history.

God is able to do more than you ever imagine!Keep trusting God. Your miracle will surely come true.

Hope is affirmation of positive thoughts.

...I realized that rewards are not the goal- if one seeks the ultimate it will elude you. The reward is life itself, in its richness, in its sadness, and joy.

Generally the rational brain can override the emotional brain, as long as our fears don__ hijack us. (For example, your fear at being flagged down by the police can turn instantly to gratitude when the cop warns you that there__ an accident ahead.) But the moment we feel trapped, enraged, or rejected, we are vulnerable to activating old maps and to follow their directions. Change begins when we learn to "own" our emotional brains. That means learning to observe and tolerate the heartbreaking and gut-wrenching sensations that register misery and humiliation. Only after learning to bear what is going on inside can we start to befriend, rather than obliterate, the emotions that keep our maps fixed and immutable.

If the parent represses the girl's anger not just once but over and over again, a deeper injury occurs: the girl will eventually dismantle her anger response. Ultimately, it's safer for her to cut off a part of her being than to battle the person on whom her life depends.