more about WEAVING THE SHREDS OF TRAUMA WHOLE AGAIN
with three substack friends who will wake your body up
There are some fantastically brilliant writers on this platform, but few touch upon the somatic aspect of healing trauma. Those of us who do will attest, as i stated yesterday, that:
TRAUMA IS EMBODIED. IT’S NOT JUST A MENTAL TRIP.
So, healing trauma must be an embodied process as well.
i’ve covered this in several other posts, and in my book; but today i want to present the voices of other writers who move and inspire us with their tenacity, body knowledge, and creative approach.
In yesterday’s article, i proposed initiating neurogenic shifts with sustained attention - roping in the wandering mind by focusing on one task for a period of time. In truth, sustained focus is meditation; and meditation is sustained focus on one image, sound, or idea.
i said:
Meditation - or depth of focus on any one subject over a period of time - re-generates brain tissue in these four simultaneous ways:
1) Neurogenesis- the birth and bubbling forth of new brain cells
2) Synaptogenesis - the steadily expansive branching out and interconnecting of new neural circuits into heightened ever increasing cognition and creativity
3) Neuroplasticity - the brain and nervous system’s ability to reshape and reformulate its tissue structure and function based on what we learn, study, and focus on.
4) Mastery - imagine anyone you might admire who is at the peak of their game.
Who among us would not desire that, especially if it was as easily within our reach as our own skin?
It’s a veritable light show when nerve synapses fire and new cells and circuits grow and expand!
And we make this light show quickly by getting our body involved.
WRITERS WHO TEACH THROUGH SOMATIC (body-based) AWARENESS:
i first subscribed to Gary Sharpe’s stack because Gary was the only one besides me writing clinically and therapeutically about the brain, in profound detail. Gary “does his homework” too, diligently researching deep body psychology and working on himself every day.
Gary’s scintillating mind and attention to detail will captivate you.
Just TRY underestimating or ignoring your body after reading this:
Sabrina Page won me over with her whimsical and poetic treatises on the magnificent human body and nervous system, in eternal partnership with the natural world. Sabrina loves - and learns from - trees, just like i do; and her photos will carry you away. But pay attention to her exuberant way of teasing you to dance with her in the sand, and don’t wait too long, for her fairy wings may just whisk her away.
Every post by Mare Hieronimous seizes your heart with the elegance of hard truth told from the vast consciousness of Love. Neither these times, nor the subjects we must wrestle each day, is a walk in the park. Mare is direct, brutally honest, and fully embodied - yet alight in the poetry of the awakened heart.
Take the time to read deeply; imbibe the essence of their methods and ideas; and invite your body’s trillions of cells to join the healing dance of Life!
(and of course, don’t hesitate to subscribe so you never have to miss anything from them again)
Meditation - or depth of focus on any one subject over a period of time - re-generates brain tissue in these four simultaneous ways - also love this section,
Thank you Yolanda very generous of you. And your writing is brilliant. I am excited to read Gary's and Mare's writing as well.