What Is My Part and What is God’s In Healing Woundedness
Earlier this month, I shared my Survivor to Thriver Healing Story. It involved:
– listening to helpful, encouraging voices,
– recognizing that ignoring past trauma is not healthy, and
– choosing to grow and heal with the help of a somatic therapist and embracing the truth that I am worthy of thriving and that God would help me along that path.
You may wonder, “What does that look like?” I will share some of my healing steps in this blog.
The Healing Journey – Examining Woundedness with Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy, which recognizes that a person’s inner feelings and trauma impact their physical form, was an essential step for me. By releasing pent-up trauma from the mind and body, healing occurs from the inside out. This unique approach combines mindfulness, grounding techniques, and traditional talk therapy. Otherwise, our bodies truly will “keep the score.”
Allowing my body to release, allowing my body to know, and learning to be present to my pain were essential. Releasing this pain and learning to be still in my body opened me up to mindfulness, meditation, and the ability to feel present and centered.
How Somatic Healing Works (source – Psychology Today )
Somatic therapy emphasizes helping patients develop resources within themselves in order to self-regulate their emotions.
- The goal is to move out of the fight/flight/freeze response and into a higher-functioning mode where they can think more clearly and engage more fully in life.
- The awareness of the mind-body connection helps to release the tension, anger, frustration, and other emotions that remain in a patient’s body from past negative experiences.
Aspects of Somatic Healing
- Physical awareness is a key part of somatic therapy. This means noticing what it is in their body that tells them they are upset.
- Centering is a foundational practice in somatic therapy in which a patient develops a calm home base in the body, often through deep breathing.
- Bodywork is also a part and involves a practitioner working with the motion of a patient’s body, and can also involve breathing patterns and guided meditation.
The Healing Journey – Letting God In
As we invite God in, we begin to do the healing work to understand and overcome emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental pain. This naming and claiming approach took me to a new level of meaning in my life.
Open your mind, body, and spirit to God
- Start by taking three deep breaths and notice your body settling. If you still notice tension, imagine yourself breathing deeply into that part of your body.
- Create a safe space to be still and bring your questions and your pain to God, where a deep level of healing happens.
- Open your heart to know that God is with you, always ready to be drawn into that sacred space. Imagine that heart space with a golden light growing as you envision God’s presence with you.
- Mindfully invite God into the healing process and listen deeply to God’s discerning voice to bring increased peace and direction. What does your heart want to share with God?
- Breathe deeply as you share your hurt, pain, feelings, concerns, and wondering. These could be thoughts or just words.
- Be still and listen.
Hands-on Application
Find a piece of paper and something to write and draw with. If you have colored pens, crayons, or markers, that will allow even more creativity.
- Take your piece of paper and draw a circle, maybe the size of a small dish, in the middle of it.
- As you sit in your quiet space, allow yourself to consider words that come from your woundedness.
- Maybe they are words like my “unworthy” or maybe they are just feelings that come up.
- Write those words in the middle of the circle on your paper. If you have colors available, consider what color would best represent each word.
- Now consider God as a powerful, loving resource to you. Think of words that come to mind for a beautiful source of healing available to you.
- Write those words around the circle on your paper. If you have colors available, consider what color would best represent each word.
- Some “starter words” could be: Healer, Sustainer, Nurturer, Abba, Holy One, Almighty, Comforter…
Listening for God
- Sit with your creation.
- Invite God into this reflection. “Is there something you want me to know?”
- Quietly listen to see what insight may come.
- Use the word for God that means the most to you and ask to feel his/her presence.
- Thank God for being with you even when you may not have felt it. (If you are not in a place where this feels authentic, do not force yourself.)
There is no specific outcome for this exercise. It is an invitation to offer your pain and woundedness to God. Feel free to sit with your Word Creation and add to it in the coming days.
May you feel God’s presence in your healing journey,
Tambry
Embracing the Healing Journey
If you are interested in stepping into your healing growth, expanded space, and collaboration with God’s spirit, I would love to share a free chapter of my book. In it, I provide other exercises to free you from deeply rooted limiting beliefs created by trauma and nurture healthy, life-giving beliefs to open you up to a whole new chapter in your life. Contact me at tambry@survivorstothrivers.com.
I also welcome the opportunity to work with you to claim your exciting next chapter by transforming unhealthy patterns into life-giving ones that manifest your thriver self.
Sending you love and light,
Tambry
Talk To Tambry
I am glad you have taken the time to engage with this blog. Sometimes it is helpful to process new insights that emerge. If you would appreciate brief time with a someone who understands, our Talk to Tambry offering is for you. For 30 minutes, you can receive support from Tambry who is a certified life coach, spiritual director and a survivor who has been on the journey as well. This is offered at a reduced rate of $50.
