WomanHeal: Therapy for Women

31/08/2021

We moved into the 21st Century over two decades ago. It's time that the insurance companies and licensing boards catch up with the technology so mental health care can be more accessible. Share and sign please.

16/07/2021

Share and pass the word about an incredible resource for high-functioning female survivors of sexual abuse. The Haven Retreat offers a diverse array of services, education and support during their four day retreat at no-cost to the participants. https://youniquefoundation.org/the-haven-retreat/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwub-HBhCyARIsAPctr7zDc7rrEau8mS7AqnxY7tP_b-CTvlwNaZRelytFo8imM-qUte_J0QQaAga_EALw_wcB

We host female child sexual abuse survivors at The Haven Retreat. Apply for free recovery program provided by the Younique Foundation

01/07/2021

Power and Truth

One of the most common mantras that I repeat to myself and to others is “Take your power and express your Truth.”

Too often, we're afraid of how someone will regard us if we dare to share our true feelings, needs, limits and desires.

And so we adapt to how or what we think others may want us to be.

Or we fly under their radar, being who we are and doing what we want, without risking being “found out.”

With both responses, we deprive others of knowing who we truly are.

And, we give our power away to some unknown entity.

How is that?

We base our statements and behaviors on that which is outside of us.

Someone else.

And, not necessarily on how they will respond to us but instead on our perception of how we think they'll react.

And, guess what? We. Live. At. The. Center. Of. Our. Own. Universe.

We live our own lives.

And we are the nexus of power and choice in our lives.

Power resides within us in the present moment.

The past is gone, the future not yet here, and others are beyond our realm of power and choice.

They. Feature. At. The. Center. Of. Their. Own. Universe.

When we reclaim focus on ourselves, we have the opportunity to know our internal experiences and thus share what we know about ourselves with others.

To share who we are with others.

And in this way, we bring ourselves into relationship.

Articulating our needs and even possibly getting them met!

When we present our censored or adaptive selves into relationships, we present our reactive, not authentic selves.

Let's also acknowledge that when we hide or censor ourselves as a means of protection from the possibility of judgment or criticism, there is simultaneous comfort and discomfort.

Comfort in avoiding conflict.

Discomfort and dissonance in being who we are NOT allowing ourselves to be.

Tension in this conflict denotes a desire to break free,

To break free from our internal constraints and feel the comfort of embodying who we authentically are.

If we're able to extend compassion to our fears, they have less of a chokehold on us, which then frees us to express them to others. And to express our yearned-for needs and desires.

For example:

“I'm afraid if I tell you__________, that you'll judge me.”

Or,

“I care about you and our relationship and need more __________.”

The inner polarization between fear and desire projects into a perceived polarization between self and other.

The meeting place is within.

Once we feel compassion for ourselves, we can extend ourselves to others with compassion.

Once we get clear within, we can present ourselves clearly to others.

Once we take our power and express our Truth, dissonance and discomfort wash away and we're home at last!


Blessings,
Benita

25/06/2021

There are no limits except those we allow the mind to impose upon us. More often than not, we buy into these limits, thus empowering them to confine us. With awareness we can see them for what they are: untruths.

24/06/2021

IMMERSION AND EMERGENCE

This past week I “primitive” camped with some friends. No internet or cell phone reception, no electricity or running water, no showers or sh****rs.

I aligned with the natural rhythms of Mother Earth and myself.

Awakening at dawn break with the song of birds.

Eating when hungry.

Napping when tired.

Heading to bed after dinner and nightfall.

Last week, I wrote about Solstice, its message becoming clearer with the arrival of the theme of Immersion and Emergence.

And continuing with tonight's full moon which will emerge and immerse the night sky with its radiance.

We are being called to shine our light within so that we may emanate light and love in the world.

And this precisely is my fear, to shine my light, to be seen.

Excuses abound.

I'm an introvert.

I've worked one-on-one for decades.

I'm comfortable behind closed doors.

I'm comfortable serving others.

But, last week's email was my directive to immerse and see the frightened girl within.

My soul recognized the danger she had experienced in having allowed herself to be seen.

I saw her need for acknowledgement and her yearning to emerge, be herself and shine her light.

And I saw the irony of locking her away within the recesses of darkness.

The time is now for us all to emerge.

Humankind is suffering with unrest, confusion, divisiveness.

Conflict, anger and blame ensues.

We cannot sustain this dynamic. We are harming one another, destroying our home.

Our suffering is calling to be healed and we must do something different, something effective.

Our work is to redirect our focus from outside. To immerse within the internal, tap into our individual guidance and aid in our own healing and the healing of humanity and our planet.

On my trip I was immersed in darkness within the heart of the forest. Upon turning off my headlamp, fireflies emerged, surrounding me with a symphony of light.

They blinked in unison.

And then they all paused. No pulsing of light for several beats.

And then again they shown their lights.

In synchrony, unity.

Community, communication and communion.

Let us plunge into the interior realms of our own darkness so that we can harness the Source of light within, unite as one and emanate love and healing worldwide.

Join me by engaging in this process of Immersion and Emergence and heal oneself and humanity.

Blessings,
Benita

31/05/2021

Remembering

Today is Memorial Day and I find myself both enraptured by the beauty of the day and saddened on personal and global levels.

For whatever reason, I felt compelled to go through old photos and letters and while undergoing this process, I'm remembering my pain, challenges, accomplishments and growth.

And it seems no happenstance that I do this on Memorial Day.

I give thanks to those who have served and are currently serving our country. I send love and prayers to those who underwent and are undergoing the trauma of warfare, injury, death and loss. I place my personal template of remembering upon the world as it is today and regard where we were decades ago: still there is war, terrorism, genocide, racism, homelessness, so many horrors of the ego and its desire to dominate and control others.

Despite my sadness, I am heartened at witnessing my process plus those of my clients, friends and loved ones, all of us who are doing what we can to improve our lives and our world.

Challenges serve to mobilize and strengthen us if we take responsibility to do what we can. It begins with a process of self-exploration, to look at our shadows and to develop our ideal selves and present them to the world.

In reviewing my history, I bear witness to those aspects of myself which attempted to protect me, to convince me of blamelessness and accuse others of their wrongdoing. I thank them for what they tried to bring me: power via protection.

Yet, the greatest power we possess is at-Onement with Source.

Vying for domination, blame and control is a misdirected attempt to gain authentic power.

And so today, I send out love, not only to those who make sacrifice to our country, but to those considered the enemy. Do you care to join me?

11/04/2021

Don’t miss it! - Register now!

29/10/2020

Sad but true. https://www.wellbeingjournal.com/psychiatric-drugs-children-marketing-madness/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editor%40wellbeingjournal.com%2C+chrism%40wellbeingjournal.com

By Gwen Olsen The explosion of mental illness diagnoses given to children in the US in the past twenty years is unprecedented anywhere else in the world. Millions of children have been labeled with childhood mental illnesses and are taking prescribed medications. The extent is pandemic in the US, as...

10/10/2020

Today is World Mental Health Day. And, we could all use a mental health day. It's raining here in Asheville and I'm taking care of my mental well-being by hunkering in and snuggling with my pup. What are you doing to give yourself a mental health day?