Visionnaire
Do you remember the time when you lived in what seemed to be an eternal dream-like state? Do you reminisce simpler times and listen to simpler tunes when… when we were innocent and untouched? Do you still hold the vision of limitless imagination in a world where everything is possible? Do you recall the name of your imaginary friend who walked you through the magic of the universe waiting to be discovered only by you? Those were magical times, far from the noise of our acquired cynicism over the passage of time.
In a world that is obsessed by original sin, I am here to unearth our original innocence.
Nature and its creatures are the greatest guides and teachers. They will help us on the journey of post-traumatic growth, if we become receptive to them,
My dog, Vincent, taught me:
To succeed at this life, we have to have a backbone, a dancing bone, and a funny bone.
My dog and I lived in a country that is hostile toward animals and women alike,
When he passed on to the rainbow bridge, my spirit fell to its knees.
Stuck, and alone, in a treacherous environment, I call on his guidance that he often sends through other pets, early morning musings and mysterious, intuitive signs.
Animals and trees have been my saviours. We are not separate from all of Nature, yet most humans have cut themselves off away from its abundance. This is why I always seek out animals and trees for further instructions.
A tree never grows in a barren land. Every life can thrive in the right soil. Humans are the same way.
We have roots and shoots, leaves and fruits. It is our task to water and nurture them.
When we restore our emotional and mental health, we become more resilient to external harm, but the reality is, it takes a great deal of our energy to combat hostile environments every day. On survival mode, we become incapacitated to create, align, or succeed. It is imperative to be in the right soil, and when we are stuck someplace, we must find a way to minimise its damages by creating a safe environment within ourselves, until we are also physically freed.
Vincent filled the void within my heart. I had to learn how to stand without my old patterns. I was ready to embrace joy, and take a real shot at life. The worst type of death is the death of purpose and joie de vivre.
A purpose is always about contributing to something larger than us, while victimhood is inherently self-obsessed. I came to the conclusion that my biggest crime is the loss of my sense of humour. Life was unbearable without a funny bone. Watching Vincent, pushed me into one joyful moment into another. Self-destruction is one of the dumbest practices I subconsciously gave in to, until I became aware of my own stupidity and decided to excise the dramatic obsession with the past, and shifting my focus back to the moment.
Vincent taught me how to keep it simple, creative, fun, and full of purpose. Those who have a purpose don’t have time to be victimized.
I started looking for answers that society couldn’t provide. So, when I turned to the Animals and the Trees. They said, “Just write… write what we are about to say… Then, pay it forward.”
I learned that in everyone, there is a teacher. When you extract the lessons from the worst among us, then it wasn’t a total waste.
Anything that destroys us has the potential to push us back into our hearts.
I learned how to find connection without attachment, and non-attachment without detachment.
ANIMAL GUIDES
An invocation: As I walk upon this earth, I am open to receive the guidance of spirit, knowing my spirit animals are here to protect me from harm.
Shadow Animals
Our Shadow Animal Spirit represents the darker side of our personality. Using your shadow animal offers deeper insight into your behaviour in times of darkness.
Soul Loss: Dark Night of the Soul
When the soul escapes, we enter the dark night of the soul. But if it wasn’t for the darkest hour, the soul would have no time to rest.
Call your soul back home.
Humbled by the majestic creatures, leading with my animal totem, the wolf, I surrender to the process.
Life moves in Spirals. No matter how much I know about something,
I always tell myself, pending further information.
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The Unfolding: A Journey of Involution
SURVIVAL MODE
People, like all animals, are most dangerous on survival mode.
Survival mode is being in a perpetual state of fear, even in the absence of a real and immediate threat. In this state, adrenalin, the stress hormone, peaks. We are not equipped to live in this state consistently. Looking at the world around us, most of us reset into the four types of fear responses:
Fight 2. Flight 3. Freeze 4. Please (Fawn)
We are all traumatised in one way or another. Post-traumatic growth cannot begin until our survival mode is switched off, and put back in its original function, that is, to be only available when truly needed as opposed to being set on default.
THE POWER OF EMOTIONS
We are as sick as our unprocessed emotions.
There are two root emotions from which all others stem:
Love and Fear.
We are driven by one or the other at a given moment. It is easy to distinguish the root of your emotions when choosing between the two. Some characters are clearly acting from a place of fear, while others are mostly acting from a space of love. We can, of course, swing between both; however, most individuals tend to sway more towards one over the other.
It is amazing how emotionally illiterate we have become. To heal something, we must, first, correctly define it.
Forgiveness: The most misunderstood emotional action
Forgiveness is the ultimate gateway to well-being.
Forgiveness is releasing yourself from the chains of the past. It does not mean that what was done is ok, nor does it mean letting yourself or someone else off the accountability hook. Forgiveness means that what was done to you will no longer have power over you. It will not dictate your future behavior, or cause negative emotions to have a permanent residence within you. It is about releasing bitterness, resentment, regret, and anger. Refusing to forgive someone takes away your power. Refusing to forgive yourself depletes your life force. Refusing to forgive a situation makes you a hostage.
Vulnerability
Vulnerability is beautiful and honest, they said. It's being strong, some said. I am, a walking open wound, my ego said. I am..., my soul said. I’ll keep you safe, the divine said.
Vulnus in Latin means wound. Vulnerare is the verb, meaning to wound. Vulnerability is the susceptibility to be wounded.
It takes great courage because it carries great risk. Dr. Brené Brown is the ultimate researcher of our time on this topic. After listening to Dr. Brown, I was perplexed by the number of people shying away from vulnerability. I spent my life carrying my vulnerabilities on my forehead. It was as though I was flaunting my wounds. When people took advantage of that, as they often did, it did not deter me. I thought I was being kind and courageous. In truth, I was subconsciously looking for connection, not realising I was inviting psychopaths and narcissists into my life. After a while, it took a serious toll. There is so much heartbreak we can endure before we collapse. I would not recommend being recklessly vulnerable. As Dr. Brown reminded us, “Not everyone has earned the right to hear our story.”
But then I learned something from a tree.
Vulnerability is authentic power. When you become so comfortable with your wounds, they become your lighthouse guiding others, and your acceptance leaves nothing for haters to attack. You stand in your power, wounds and all. You are removing the buttons that others try to push. Your fragility can become your strength. The stronger your light, the more you expose how insignificant your haters are. This is why they spend their lives trying to dim those powerhouses. They do not want to be exposed. They do not want you to know the worth and potential they see in you, and are threatened by.
Integrity
Find yourself... Find yourself... Find yourself and you will find me...
Integrity is when your mind, body, heart, and soul are in full agreement. The root of many people's lack of fulfillment is when they become torn between listening to one part of themselves while denying the other. Cognitive dissonance is the disease of our time. Often, what the mind is saying to us is based on past experience, or based on what others are telling us to do, think, and feel. They continue fighting against their own natural flow. We are meant to flow with all of Nature, and it is often known through intuition.
Fighting against Nature’s flow proves painful and futile. Going with the flow means answering your own natural flow that is naturally aligned with Nature’s flow. Don’t let people shame you for not going with the flow to get you to break your boundaries for them. When each of us aligns in full integrity in our own right, we will naturally flow together, in Nature’s concert.
I go with Nature’s flow, not yours.
Shame
Our worth is inherent, and; therefore, is never on the negotiation table.
Shame is a violent, spiritual assault against others and ourselves. It attempts to eradicate someone’s worth. Everyone is worthy under divine law. No matter how big the mistakes you've done, your worth cannot be part of the equation.
You can lose your social value, but not your worth. The tape of shame is defining someone as a mistake. It does not separate the person from their behavior. We all make mistakes. Surely, some are bigger than others. Some are detrimental. Sometimes someone’s actions irreversibly impact someone else’s, as is the case in murder. Everyone has to answer for what they have done. But that does not always mean they have to answer to us. We do not have the right to hold them hostage to a mistake, forever.
Your past does not have to be a life sentence, especially when it does not involve a crime against another. I am specifying crimes against others because every culture has its own set of rules. A crime in one culture may be accepted or reversed in another. Anyway, even murderers deserve to be treated with dignity, while behind bars. I know it is a tough thing to accept. But what would be the point of rendering ourselves into the same monsters we are attacking?
We all deserve forgiveness and dignity. This means, you preserve yourself the right to hold on to your own dignity, and refusing to become bitter. We live in a shame culture. The more pain people feel, the more likely they are to point the finger outward. We are either harsh on other people, while taking it easy on ourselves, or vice versa. The theme here is, we rarely have an accurate perception of ourselves and others. So, to use shame as a weapon based on questionable perceptions is in itself a serious crime against humanity. It is such an arrogant judgment as though to say the Universe made a mistake.
We have a tendency to sum up someone’s entire character by one truth. We define their lives in one mistake. We condense their entire story in a word.
It is time to release the toxicity from within you and around you. It isn't always about other people. Sometimes, we are the culprits, and that is ok. Give yourself and others a much-needed break. Allow people to grow and create a positive change. It is thanks to our mistakes that we learn. Don’t try to take away anyone’s dignity. You cannot do so without denying yourself your own. This is a spiritual hostage situation.
One of the common behaviors that boggle my mind is how malicious people can get on social media. They pounce like hyenas on an opportunity to publicly humiliate and shame someone. Instead of addressing their feelings about someone's behavior, they, instead, target an individual with the sole intention of taking them down.
While many narcissistic abuse victims are shamed by society, many of their advocates still use disempowering language such as discarded, hoovered, and objectified, Our language must change.
You are not an object to be evaluated, a doormat to be hoovered, or trash to be discarded.
You just walked into a circus, witnessing a performance by a clown and their flying monkeys, and you can figure out how to walk out as safely as possible.
Shame is deeply embedded within us. It is the real nuclear weapon. They shame you, then you continue to carry that shame with you throughout your life. It eats away at every corner of potential within you.
It is a dangerous act of dehumanization, which is the basis for all kinds of evil acts in the world.
Time to put down that shame, and you will put down all other poisonous emotions.
Envy caused by a scarcity mindset that intensified by social media.
Someone's great blessing has sprung from a pain that you may not be able to endure. So, envy not the blessings they have unless you are willing to take on the curses too.
THE EMOTIONAL GYM
Emotions are, both, a language and a muscle. They need fluency and fortitude.
They are fortified or weakened by the quality of our thoughts.
Empathy
Without empathy, all will be eventually destroyed. It is the pathway to understanding ourselves and others. It is our compass towards our destination. We must make sure it’s pointing in the right direction. Once you surrender to higher consciousness and free yourself of emotional prisons, you will also end the Toxic Healing. What good is the Law of Attraction, when you bypass the 11 others?
Put down the weight of constantly needing to heal by futile means. Replace your shame with genuine self-empathy.
Unfold all that is making you sick and inauthentic.
Enough, with all the healing; let us embrace the perfect mess we are.
It is time to unearth your soul, true heart's desires and purpose, so you can look towards the future you were born to create and the purpose you are meant to fulfil.
It is time to answer your highest call.
Life is not a journey of becoming, but one of Unfolding.
