Happy Autumn Blessings! This is absolutely my favorite time of the year, for many reasons. I love the cooler weather and the beautiful colors of nature. For me, this is a slow down time every year. The busyness of summer has fizzled out and the bustle of the holiday season hasn’t quite taken off. It is an atmosphere of peace and contentment.
This year in particular, I am welcoming the slow-down of October. There has been a lot going on! We purchased our forever home and did a complete renovation of this little farmhouse. (It’s still a work in progress.) I expanded my business and now have a local studio location for Bodywork. (Have you checked out that tab yet?) I headed many community projects as I’ve been absorbing myself in the local rural area where we’ve chosen to settle down. Including starting a digital newspaper, which is in large part why my blog has been so quiet all summer. Writing and editing a newspaper takes a chunk of time each week! I also birthed another dream as a branch of my business in Whole Well Women and we just wrapped up the completion of our first ever women’s conference!
To say the least, I’ve been busy. I don’t recommend doing everything you possibly can in life all at once. It’s exhausting! I am ambitious and I took the bargain of a season of hustle to bring me to the point where I can hopefully step back and nurture these things with much less stress. I am incredibly proud of myself for pulling through this year. I know, it isn’t over yet. I still have a book to publish that took a back seat for a while and I am returning to my commitment of regular publishing here. This serves as an update to catch you up on all that’s been pulling me away and let you know, I’m back!
So much more is coming soon! If you haven’t heard it lately, let me remind you- pursue your passions! Create your dreams and show up for your life- the one you really want.
Everywhere from social media to mainstream media, people are talking about trauma. Like no other time in history, we have access to an abundance of trauma-informed care options that range from self-help to professional help. Even the term, trauma-informed, is a cultural norm in 2022. So where did all this trauma come from? Are there really so many people with trauma?
Traditionally, trauma was viewed as a major, life-altering, negative event. War, natural disaster, death, loss, divorce, abuse, etc. were all the well-known causes of trauma. Today, it seems like anything can be considered traumatic depending on what definition you apply to it. There is some truth to this. How we experience an event can mean much more than the event itself. That’s why a group of people can go through the same disaster and come out with very different effects. Yet, if state-of-mind determines if something is traumatic, then being stuck in trauma response would logically create more trauma with new situations. Seems like quite the cycle.
When I embarked on my journey as a counselor over a decade ago, my vantage point was a trauma-informed therapist. My own life story contains the pain which lead to me wanting to help others. Not only did I have first-hand experience, but I trained and studied in the various theories and modalities that would help me to help others the way I had been helped. At some point along the way, as trauma became a mainstream concept, I started to pull back from seeking out the trauma in others. Honestly, it is overwhelming to be aware of and intimately involved in the pain and healing process of others.
Recently, I have come to accept that the things which were healed in me, still exist in me. Even though triggers lost their power and coping was replaced by understanding, I am shaped by my experiences. Both the undoing and the rebuilding are mine. Life takes me through cycles where I find a sensitivity, I deconstruct the ideology which is causing me pain, I heal and define my own understanding, and I use it to help the next soul who is brought my way. Today, like so many years ago, my passion to heal the world starts with healing a newly uncovered part of me.
Since the word March is both the current month and an action one can perform, it seems fitting to make this month all about movement. (Yes, I am a grammar nerd.) In this 2022 series, last month we talked about embodiment which includes how we move in and live in our bodies. This month I want to talk about movement because it is absolutely foundational to health and wellness.
If you fail to move, you will allow disorder in the body. Most people who encounter disease give up movement in the process. It is cyclic cause and effect. Even the “mental health disorders” directly affect physical movement. Depression generates lethargy. Anxiety gives rise to “freezing” or feeling paralyzed to act or move. Psychosis can in fact lock someone in their head, causing dissociation from the body and mental absence from the present moment. When movement ceases, the many systems of the body deteriorate and create complex issues. At this moment, I want to say that if you are struggling with a mental or physical ailment that resonates with this idea, please seek professional help. You must have support and a process to get healthy again.
For those of us who fall into the range of normal in our health and wellness, even if there is room for improvement, let’s talk about how we are moving. How active are you? Do you move from one place to another throughout the day with little to no physical activity? How often do you exercise for pleasure? Something strange has happened in our culture where exercise became a dirty word and people who are physically unhealthy look down on people who do it. I believe we need to get back to exercise being the norm. Not necessarily going to a gym or artificial movement, although for some that is a great outlet. We need to learn to find our natural movement and embrace it. We are alive and should be active!
Over the upcoming weeks, if you follow me on social media, I am going to be sharing little thoughts and tips all about movement. I hope you will check it out and actually ponder each concept. If you identify an obstacle in your mindset or motivation about movement and increasing your physical health, connect with me. I’d love to support you and provide accountability in your journey.
The beginning of January has been a time for reflection on what I did well last year and where I fell short. Anyone who values progress should regularly take time for such reflections. In both my personal life and professional endeavors, I accomplished some great new horizons in 2021. Overall, it was a fantastic year!
Part of the progress I made last year came with realizing some weak spots. I am now aware of where I fell short, what my obstacles were, why I became stuck or stagnant, and where to go from here. This week I spent time choosing wise goals and planning for my success in the year ahead. I’m going into some new adventures, picking up some plans I have laid down over the years, and ultimately authoring my own success. This is my life and only I can live it.
At the core of my passion is walking through this process with others. If you are struggling with a lack of clarity, stagnation in personal development, problematic relationships, or confusion in career development, it is essential to use reflection to become aware and then set wise goals to move forward. I know it can feel overwhelming, especially if you don’t know where to begin. Having a professional partnership for your success and accountability for your course can make all the difference. If this resonates with you, let’s connect.
“She is a wild, tangled forest with temples and treasures concealed within.” – John Mark Green
It was the beginning of December, an end in itself. I was in the hustle and bustle of a high school basketball tournament in Indianapolis. The Pacer Athletic Center has eight courts which were all active with games all at once. Every squeaking shoe, dribbled ball, yelling teammates and coaches, whistles, buzzers, cheering fans by the hundreds; pure noise, amplified. It’s enough to make your head pound, your ears hurt, and you find total exhaustion after many hours. Still, somehow, when you get into a game all the noise blends together and you can get so in the moment and be present court side for your team.
That’s where I was, completely absorbed into a game for the varsity girls, when my healing journey brought me to a new, deeper level of spiritual awakening. I had no idea that basketball could yield a spiritual experience. It can be emotional to watch a game when you are connected to the players. There is tangible energy in the flow of teamwork, success, and setbacks. Certainly other parents and fans can relate to feeling a rush of joy when points are scored or the frustration when a skilled opponent gets the gain. On this particular day, something much deeper stirred in my soul as I watched 10 young women fight for a victory on the court.
There was a distinct moment when I did not see us versus them. The colors of the uniforms didn’t matter and the numbers on the score board were irrelevant. I realized I was surrounded by, and affected by, pure feminine potential. This isn’t to discount the boys in any way. Rather, it’s personal and profound that I recognized and tapped into the energy of what these young women are doing. I’ve been walking out a part of my own journey where I am facing and dealing with some childhood attachment issues and inner child wounds. I had once thought that I had adequately dealt with these layers until I recognized that you can remodel an entire house but the foundation remains and it will need a little work from time to time.
In the weeks before this moment, I recognized that I was grieving. I did not want to be, but I needed to release the pain and that’s what grieving does. I was grieving losses; of people, relationships, broken dreams, missed opportunities, and most of all parts of my identity that I had either sacrificed or never realized. Heavy stuff.
Grief, doubt, insecurity, and all the negative emotions we carry are not visible. On a basketball court, even the least confident player appears poised and capable to the average onlooker. As I watched the girls playing their hearts out, I saw confidence, intelligence, grace, assurance, dedication, and real, raw beauty. Honestly, I saw so much more than words can describe. They were flawless. They possessed the spirit of divine potential. For the first time in my conscious awareness I scanned a crowd and thought, “This is how God sees people.” I felt an overflowing of love and care for these beautiful ladies and there was not a shadow of doubt in my mind that they can do anything they desire.
I wished that they could feel for themselves what I was feeling for them in that moment. Connecting with my own inner child has revealed to me that I often felt I wasn’t loved for who I am so much as for what I could do or provide for others. So, I hid away the parts of me that were unlovable or unwanted. I created a version of me that made people happy, and I played the role of the people pleaser to keep from making waves. I allowed stagnant water by damning up my potential where there was meant to be a mighty, rushing river. Now, I look around and can see others who have done the same. Healing might require clearing away the sticks and logs a little at a time. Imagine what might happen to the world if we would free up and flow in the divine potential we were created with. If only we would get in the game of life like these ladies do on the basketball court.
Have you heard aboutInspired Brush Strokes the new therapeutic art workshop I am offering? This is an amazing opportunity for community connection, emotional release, and Spirit filled worship through the gift of artistic expression. Don’t think you have artistic talent? Let me show you what you can do!
If you know me, you know I am an artist at heart! Some of my favorite expressive tools are music, paint, photography, and the written word. I use all of these and more in my work and personal environment. So often what I do with people is verbal; we talk. Language is a powerful tool for processing deep things. Sometimes, there is something deeper than words can express. Some pain that is buried may be too hard to speak of. Some joy that is under the surface needs a way to flow out! I have found that the fluid, malleable nature of paint is a perfect medium for wordless expressions.
God can touch the heart, in the depths of places where people can’t reach. Healing can happen in an environment of true worship and reverence to the Creator of the creative! That is the inspiration for Inspired Brush Strokes. It’s a partnership with the Holy Spirit in which we dive deep into worship and allow the fullness of free expression to flow through the brush. I have seen amazing things happen! People find peace and renewal. Chains of guilt, shame, condemnation and fear are broken. Healing happens and relationships are mended. Purpose is found. Grace is received.
This is a local workshop available to churches, businesses, and groups. If you would like to host a workshop and invite me to lead this experience, please contact me at sanders.connected@gmail.com
I love plants and life. We can learn so much from all levels of life, including our life-giving green friends. Let me be honest; I wish I were more of a gardener. I’ve had moments in life where I’ve had my hand in growing things and making beautiful life bloom. More often though, I fail at keeping little chlorophyll darlings alive. It’s really hit-or-miss for me. In the wild, where only God gets the credit for what grows and thrives, I love being a mindful observer.
In some ways we are a lot like plants. God gives as a start, roots, and nurtures us to grow. We need Sonlight and the flowing water of the Holy Spirit. We must be pruned in order to produce good fruit. And if God chooses to uproot us and transfer us somewhere else, it is in our best interest to not resist but to trust him, take root, and grow through the changes.
Sometimes we need to just be where we are planted and grow. In fact, much of life is a matter of growing as we go through both times of downpour and drought. In my life, I have many moments of feeling stuck in a certain place where growth was hard and painful. I also have many moments where growth was a freeing as wildflowers, and maybe just as beautiful. The parts of my story where there was uprooting, transplanting, and going somewhere different; in every case it made me stronger and more able to see the Father’s love for me.
Mellow Moment Holistic Wellness 