We Are One Human Wolfpack: Group Reading, Channeled Messages, and Activities to Ready Us for Our Peacemaking Mission (a Fundraising Circle Benefitting the Wolf Sanctuary of PA)

We hear the drum beats and trumpet calls of a potential civil war when we check social media or peak at national news. We’ve witnessed people taking sides, and we quiver at the power of impassioned outrage to pull us in and participate.

But when we chime in, our hearts cry out and our intuition sounds an alarm, warning us that the train carrying the peacemakers and way-showers to humanity’s highest potential is about to leave the station and embark on a mission we know deep inside is ours.

We freeze at the platform, conflicted. Our egos tells us that if we truly care we’ll grab a sword, that the way of peace is for the woo who bury their heads in crystals and sage. News breaks. Words like weapons fire from the left. Return fire from the right kicks up dust, and we lose clarity. Before we know it, we’re triggered, hypnotized by the cadence of battle.

One more warning whistles to hop on the way-shower train. What will you choose?

Circle online with Rachel Grundon, psychic channel and medium, and Allison Brunner, psychotherapist and coach for sensitives and empaths (see full bios below), on Wednesday, September 2, 5:30pm to 8:30pm EST, for tools and hands-on learning on how to step out of judgment, duality, and conflict and see through the lens of your heart to ready yourself for your soul’s purpose, shine your light in this collective dark night of the soul, and steer humanity to the next level of our evolution.

Rachel, intuitive/holistic health care practitioner, psychic channel, and clairvoyant medium, will offer a group reading and insight on what we might expect in the months to come. Allison, owner of Body Talks Therapy and Coaching for Sensitives and Empaths, will guide us through experiential practices to help us expand our vision to perceive all humans at the level of soul. (See below for more details.)

All proceeds from this meeting will be donated in full to the Wolf Sanctuary of PA, hard-hit by this year’s statewide lockdown and social restrictions. The suggested cost of this meeting is $30—but you may may offer more or less depending on your circumstances. We’ll call on Wolf medicine for courage in stepping into our roles as teachers, guides, and path-leaders; for trust in our psychic senses and mysticism; and for the ability to see all “others” as ourselves and part of one human pack regardless of backgrounds and beliefs.

Attend the first circle only, or sign up additionally for weeks two through four of the series for an additional $111. (If you feel especially called to this work but cannot pay full fee or prefer to make two smaller payments, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Allison.) We’ll connect from 6pm to 8pm EST during weeks two to four on Wednesdays, September 9, 16, and 23.

In these online circles, we will:

Week One:

• Call in wolf medicine and the six directions and archetypes of the ancient Andean mystical tradition, particularly jaguar and hummingbird to steady ourselves amidst conflict and see each other at the level of soul.
• Receive a group psychic reading and channeling on what’s to come.
• Experience in real-time a sense of oneness with fellow participants.
• See through the lens of the heart, the seat of our intuition.
• Honor rather than vilify the ego and the ways it has helped us as it now shifts roles in the days to come.

Weeks Two through Four:

• Learn how to step off of the Triangle of Disempowerment and back into our sovereignty.
• Engage in shadow work to retrieve the parts of ourselves that feel powerless and afraid.
• Participate in fire ceremony and medicine-stone healing.
• Journey to and receive messages from our Higher Selves and the Higher Selves of those we’ve deemed Other.
• Use our words to uplift, heal, and bring people together.
• Affect change from our center vs leaving our body-mind-spirit and creating more drama.
• Claim the lessons from the many lifetimes we’ve lived in duality for the expansion of our soul’s wisdom.
• Use the power of observation to bring out the best in ourselves and others.
• Become a Divine Witness to and transmute the suffering of those struggling through The Great Awakening.
• Shift our energy to create that which we want to see in the world.
• Commit once and for all (if you’re ready) to the positive, service-to-others polarity and experience all that we came here to create (oneness, unity, balance, and unconditional love) in this lifetime.

RSVP for Week One here. RSVP for Weeks One through Four here. Make a donation to the Wolf Sanctuary of PA here. Any questions? Send an e-mail.

Thank you in advance from the bottoms of our hearts for not only your donations but for your willingness to carry out one of our most important missions ever in the history of this planet. We cannot do this without you!

Much love,

— Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy, and Rachel Grundon, Lotus House of PA.

Rachel Grundon is a psychic channel and medium who has been pursuing her desire to help others using her healing gifts as a clairvoyant, clairaudient, and clairsentient. Developing an intuitive connection with her clients, Rachel facilitates deep-healing through self-actualization and self-empowerment. She fully acknowledges the lack of personal fulfillment in those entangled in the “daily grind,” and works with individuals to uncover their true life’s purpose. 

An evidential medium, Rachel is also able to connect with loved ones that have passed on from their physical bodies. She focuses on providing evidentially detailed psychic information for her clients to bring healing and confirmation.

To contact her with questions, or for information on private sessions, e-mail luxconvergence@outlook.com

Allison Brunner, LCSW, of Body Talks Therapy, facilitates deep healing through guided shadow work, shamanic energy healing called Illumination, and somatic, experiential psychotherapy or coaching for highly sensitive people and empaths. She’s an old soul big sister, guardian human, and rebirth midwife to old souls experiencing personal growth and sacred transformation.

Until she realized and cultivated her personal power, Allison struggled with trauma and embodiment on what felt to her like a dense, violent planet. She experienced extreme mental and emotional distress, not realizing that at times she was inadvertently taking on the suffering of others. As a shaman’s apprentice in the ancient Andean mystical lineage of the Q’ero, she created a map to assist others in finding their way back to themselves and the remembrance of their power and divinity.

To contact her with questions or to schedule free phone or video consultations, visit bodytalkstherapy.com.

It’s OK to Feel Afraid: Fear Is Not a Four-Letter Non-Spiritual Word

(Continued from yesterday’s post, Tele-Therapy Discount And an Important Announcement Regarding COVID-19)

While it’s true that fear does compromise your immune system, do not be ashamed of feeling afraid.

If you’re not afraid, though, great! I celebrate that! My personal intention is to fear not. In meditation, I keep getting the message that the fear that is arising for me and for all of us is a collective healing of fear programs.

But it is entirely normal to feel fear in a situation like we’re all in REGARDLESS of statistics, and regardless of whether or not the media is engaging in hype. Logic and emotion do not go hand in hand. Many of us have histories in which we have not felt safe as a result of some trauma. Current events can trigger old trauma. So be kind to yourself. Have compassion for what’s coming up for you emotionally these days.

Don’t let anyone bully you into feeling ashamed of how you feel. The truth is, there are people in the world right now who are bragging about their lack of fear in order to earn your approval and admiration. Others are disconnected from their own emotions and look down on those experiencing fear, because they haven’t acknowledged their own shadow. They weren’t allowed to show or feel emotion (or it wasn’t safe to do so) when they were growing up.

Still others engage in spiritual bypassing. For them, fear is a four-letter dirty word. They hail love and light and suppress their lower emotions.

Fear is not a sign of emotional or spiritual weakness. It signals that you are human.

Now read this carefully and notice how your body and emotions respond to the following words:

IT’S      OK      TO      FEEL      AFRAID.

I promise. It’s OK. Take a breath. As you exhale, send roots from your tailbone into the Earth.

You’re not alone. A lot of us are concerned—including those of us who don’t buy into the media hype.

Resistance to what you’re feeling creates more of what you’re resisting. In this case, fear increases (even if only subconsciously) and can show up physically (through belly aches, heartburn, etc.) or emotionally (like when you snap at someone or break into tears over something unrelated).

Love is the antidote to fear. So grab an object that represents any fear you may be feeling (I recommend a pillow). Hold it. Listen to what the fear has to say. Talk to it. Don’t try to convince it not to be scared. Acknowledge the fear. Say it’s OK to feel whatever it feels. Tell it you see it, you’re with it, and you’re going to take care of it. Ask it what it needs from you. Stay out of your head. Be in your heart.

Just so you know you’re not alone, I will share with you that I am afraid. The idea of being in quarantine triggers the heck out of me. I experience anxiety around doctors, pills, and hospitals. I’m afraid of a panicked public and empty store shelves.

I was so “off” on Sunday, I struggled to enjoy the warm, sunny day. So I called my sister, who struggles with anxiety, so that I could be in service and get out of my own head.

You know what happened? She answered the phone in a calm voice and began to tell me funny stories about people carrying cases of toilet paper from the grocery store to their cars. Rolls fell onto and all over the parking lot. Shoppers could barely fit the tissue in their vehicles, so they tied them to their roofs.

We giggled, shaking the fear from our nervous systems.

She shared that she was inexplicably centered and certain that everything was going to be OK. My nervous system calmed. I felt reconnected and was able to settle down and go to sleep.

You see? Love is the antidote to fear.

Call a friend or loved one. Hug your dog. Engage in a random act of kindness. Offer someone help, support, or assistance. Comfort someone else who is afraid. Heck, gift someone with a roll of toilet paper or a homemade bottle of hand sanitizer!

Be extra kind to yourself these days. Eat healthy. Sleep well. Laugh more. Minimize stress.

Take epsom or sea salt baths. Get outside. Take walks. Meditate. Watch a funny movie.

Naturopathic doctors are prescribing antiviral supplements and herbs like Sovereign Silver, Cat’s Claw, L-Lysine, and lemon balm. They recommend increasing your intake of fresh vegetables and fruit, supplementing with Ester-C, B-12 and Folate, as well as Zinc. But ALWAYS, always, always, check with your doctor to ensure that it’s safe for you to take any natural medicine or supplement, especially in combination with allopathic or other prescribed medicines.

One thing I know: we will be changed by this experience. We’ll be wiser. In fact, I consider this virus my newest teacher.

Never before have I ever felt more connected to my brothers and sisters around the world. We’re all in this together. And we have an opportunity now, all of us, to learn so much.

I personally am being shown how I can improve my grounding and centering practices. I’m learning patience with the people who lash out when under stress. I’m realizing it’s time to surrender my ideas of how the world should look and the way it ought to be. I’m intending to trust more and to have faith.

This is our opportunity to extend a level of compassion to ourselves and to our fellow humans regardless of race, color, creed, and yes, even political party. Perfect timing. Perhaps it took illness for us to see.…

So send love to each other tonight. For this is the next stage in our evolution.

All of you empaths out there, stay tuned: I’ll be posting here (and on my Musings page at BodyTalksTherapy.com) about how to ground and release the fear that is not yours. I gotta admit: I’m having to use my tools every few hours. The collective fear is a doozy energetically!

You’ve got this, my friends.

All my love,

—Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy

Don’t Distract From Feelings—Listen to This Guided Somatic Exercise

You know the ache or fluttering in your stomach, the tightness in your chest, or even the lump in your throat that you notice over the course of a busy day? That feeling that something isn’t quite right beneath the surface as you run through a list of things to do or thoughts about why you’re actually fine, should be OK, or will be alright once you do this thing or get that thing?

And no matter what you do, those physical sensations are still there. The longer you ignore them, the more persistent, bothersome, or chronic they become. You begin to feel anxious, admit that you’re down or even a little depressed, and suddenly you’re diagnosing yourself with a mental illness.

But nothing is wrong with you. Quite the opposite is true. Your body—and your emotions—are speaking to you, and you’re not listening. They have something important to tell you. The further you try to distract yourself from them, the more persistent (and uncomfortable) they become in order to get your attention. As my own clients can attest, when you turn towards what’s bothering you, your symptoms can, in many cases, dissipate almost immediately. Continue over many months or years to repress them and they could eventually fit the criteria for a mental health diagnosis.

Don’t take my word for it, though. Listen to this mp3 I’ve created which guides you inward, inviting you to be present to your experience and receptive to any messages from your body (the portal to your subconscious).

A quick note to readers who don’t quite feel safe in their bodies, feel flooded by your emotions, or who have experienced a great deal of trauma in your lives, I ask you to wait for next month’s post; I’ll create an mp3 just for you, integrating special grounding and resourcing techniques so you can ease your way inward more slowly and at a pace that is more supportive to your needs.

—Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy

 

Indigo Is the Empath’s New Black: Sport a Light Bubble to Maintain Your Vibe

“How can I protect myself from other people’s energies?” I’m often asked in sessions with Highly Sensitive People and empaths.

The answer is that you don’t need to protect yourself; energy is energy. It’s neither good nor bad, positive nor negative, light nor dark or heavy. Labeling it as such gives it power over you.

Energy vibrates at varying frequencies: the energy flowing through each of us can move more slowly or quickly depending on our beliefs, thoughts, and feelings. No particular frequency is right or wrong, better or worse. We each get to choose which to experience. (To read more about the vibration and frequency of emotions, read Be the Joy You Wish to See in the World.)

When you’re in the presence, though, of someone or a group of people whose energy vibrates much more slowly than yours, you may feel it—and yes, you may not enjoy the sensation. And that’s OK; it’s as normal as preferring a temperature of 75 degrees versus 95 Fahrenheit.

So step inside your own emotional-climate-controlled light bubble.

Harnessing the tremendous power of your mind, visualize an indigo-colored light bubble around you. Take your time and see it all around you, extending above and below and to your sides. Look out beyond it and notice that you’re perceiving the world as though through a colored lens. Notice your energy and the way that you feel and set the intention to maintain your vibe.

Make this as real for yourself as you can with all five of your senses and refresh it again later in the day, if necessary.

Take long, slow, deep breaths, imagining that each time you inhale you draw on qi, chi, or the Source of all life. You become bigger and brighter; each time you exhale you breathe that Source energy out into your environment. Feel that power and coming into and leaving your body; you are the conduit.

You are setting the energy temperature of the room rather than being a victim of it.

————————————

In a future post, I’ll offer tools for how to deal with people who unknowingly try to suck energy from you rather than source it themselves.

— Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy

Sit With Desire: A Tool for Empaths and HSPs With Food Cravings and Other Urges

Before I knew I was an empath, I used to think that I had an addictive personality. When stressed or overstimulated, I craved sweet, high-carb foods and alcohol—or anything to take the edge off of the way I was feeling. It wasn’t until I began exploring my emotions more mindfully that I realized that I’d been, without realizing, absorbing into my body the energy of distressed people with whom I worked closely. Regardless of how well my life was going or how much I loved my job, I often felt anxious, depressed, and overwhelmed at the end of each work day.

What I understand now is that emotional empaths and many highly sensitive people inadvertently pack on weight in order to protect themselves from negativity and the emotions of others. Food grounds the energetically sensitive person. Alcohol can reduce stress. It’s also a sedative that depresses the central nervous system and makes us vulnerable vibrationally to situations, people, or entities that could bring trouble.

But there are healthier ways we can cope and even break small addictions before they become big problems.

Allow self-love and compassion to motivate your desire to change. Guilt only compounds the stress that triggers cravings and the desire to engage in behaviors that aren’t for your greatest and highest good. Your worth as a human being is inherent; nothing you do or don’t do alters that. Commit to the following practice because you want to and deserve it—not because you should.

Decide in advance that you’re going to allow yourself 20 to 30 minutes to fully feel the desire to drink, smoke, overeat, engage in a toxic relationship—or whatever the behavior is—without giving into it. (If the desire to indulge hasn’t lessened by the end, then try again on another day or consider getting professional help if what you’re dealing with is chronic—but this strategy has also helped people in recovery.)

Observe and let go of thoughts and avoid labeling your experience. Don’t try to problem-solve the situation. Simply allow whatever arises from within.

Notice the physical sensations associated with the emotions that are present. Get curious  and place even more awareness into the center of them. Notice whether they remain stable, intensify momentarily, or dissipate.

And breathe long, slow, deep breaths.

If you need to cry, go ahead. If you you’re agitated or irritable, squeeze your pinky fingers with the thumb, ring finger, and middle finger on the same hand (your index fingers are free) or try putting stronger emotions in your big toe to slow them down and release more slowly.

Say to yourself that there is nothing wrong with feeling. It’s OK to feel what you feel. You don’t have to act on it. You’re OK. You’ve got this.

Keep breathing.

This is the process of releasing. Remember, as I’ve pointed out in previous blogs, emotions move in waves. If you don’t grab onto them by thinking about and engaging with them and instead speak kind, soothing words to yourself, they will pass.

Next month, I’ll share with you more tools for standing in your own energy without taking on other people’s “stuff.” Meanwhile, check out  “Own Your Own Space,” a guided meditation, published in my September 2017 blog post., “Hold Steady the Light: How Empaths Can Impact the World More Powerfully.”

— Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy

Hold Steady the Light: How Empaths Can Impact the World More Powerfully

You and I have realized either in childhood or not long ago that we’re on the planet at this time for a reason. I’ve heard many of you say you’re compelled recently to arise from your yoga mats and meditation cushions and do more than cultivate a practice of inner healing and personal transformation; you’re ready to take action.

Meanwhile the noise of our external world seems to have reached a crescendo—enough to make this empath want to hide in a corn field most days and ring in autumn with the crickets. In this era in which the brightest and the darkest in all of us has risen to the surface, it can feel increasingly uncomfortable to engage with people—especially amidst so much suffering. If we don’t know how to stay centered, we can get lost in the drama and aren’t much help then to anyone.

What I hear many of you asking, whether rhetorically or directly in our one-on-one coaching sessions, is how can we as highly sensitive people maintain a healthy nervous system as we go out into the world and carry out our missions, whether in our careers, volunteer work, or while simply walking down a city street?

I’m relieved we’re having these conversations. Now more than ever, I sense the urgency of pausing, taking a breath, and responding in a conscious, more deliberate way versus reacting in a manner that creates more chaos and conflict. More important than what action we take these days is how we move forward.

“Stay centered, do not overstretch. Extend from your center, return to your center.”    —Buddha

From my days as a highly sensitive child, I rushed to the scenes of people in need or stepped into the fires of conflict and tried to mediate. Worse, I didn’t know what an empath was or understand that I was one; when I’d hear that someone was in pain, I’d take it on unknowingly by running their energy through my own body to try to prevent them from feeling it. Half the time, I interpreted what I felt as personal mental illness. I operated this way until burnout rendered me exhausted, sick, and chronically depressed in my late-thirties.

As many of you know, I spent much of this summer alone, engaged in a personal retreat. During this time, I learned how to manage my energy by holding steady the light so that I could impact the world more powerfully. I promised to share what I learned, with the help of Jim Self’s Mastering Alchemy courses, by summer’s end. I’ve never found tools (including the shielding and grounding strategies most empaths have been taught over the years) more helpful than these for myself and for my clients. These days, I feel stronger, more capable, and more energized.

I now practice twice daily, a couple of minutes in the morning and again in the afternoon, or as needed (e.g., when entering crowded public spaces, speaking with an unhappy customer service representative, or being exposed to TVs broadcasting bad news). After familiarizing yourself with the techniques, you can practice them just a couple of minutes on your own.

On the evening of the solar eclipse, I created “Own Your Space,” a downloadable mp3 you can access here. The thunderstorm you hear in the background is not ambient; it’s real, so enjoy!

 

—Allison Brunner, LCSW, RM, Body Talks Therapy

Ditch Doom & Gloom and Birth a New World While Living It

A friend observed recently that I smile most of the time and seem “oddly at peace” in the midst of what feels to him like the Apocalypse.

“What Apocalypse?” I asked. I pointed to the lush green countryside, to squirrels chasing each other up a tree, and to orange lilies blooming near a horse pasture.

While joking, as many people have, that my head must be in the sand, he pulled out his iPhone and tried showing me CNN’s web site.

I held up my hand, assuring him that I know well that current news reports a plethora of horrors each day. I don’t deny any of it or pretend it doesn’t exist. I know that people are suffering and that others are freaking out. Polarities (good/evil, kind/cruel, conservative/liberal, war/peace) have become more extreme.

What lay hidden in the collective, residing formerly in the world’s subconscious, has begun to shift into our conscious awareness so that it may be acknowledged, healed, and brought back into balance. This process, whether personal or large-scale, can look wild and messy, or even frightening. Meanwhile, entire systems are crumbling, creating space for those that better serve our highest good to arise. Whereas in the past we waited for others to lead us out of despair, we’ve become the leaders proposing heart-based solutions aligned with our noblest and wisest intentions.

When I utter these truths, some people insist that I must express concern over current threats to our safety, sovereignty, and basic humanity, lest I be deemed callous or privileged. “Aren’t you worried that XYZ issue will affect you directly?” Or, “You’re lucky you don’t have to care.”

In fact, I do have to care. What affects the least of us affects us all regardless of the way we categorize ourselves. I care so much that I’ve dedicated my life purpose to designing a brighter tomorrow. But I’ve chosen a new manner of engaging, and it’s one I share with you here in case it resonates. I invite you to try it to heal yourself personally, as a community, and to impact others globally without having to take on the heaviness of the planet.

Years ago, I read or listened to hours of news each week, educating myself on the problems of the world. I immersed myself in humanity’s miseries, believing that if I felt others’ pain it meant I cared more deeply. I brooded with like-minded friends. Unified in our outrage, we insulted privately and on social media the intelligence of peers, family members, neighbors, coworkers, and strangers alike who disagreed with our views. We argued, resisted, and protested our way through conflict, believing our cause was just and our strategy true.

My friend James came to visit me one day in 2010. “You’re listening to the news,” he said when I opened the front door. When I asked how he knew, he said, “I could hear from outside [the anchors and pundits] yelling.” When I turned off the TV, my ears rang in the silence. I stood motionless for a bit, noticing how tense I was and how much anger my body held. My forehead and temples throbbed most times I tried tuning back in again thereafter, so I ditched my cable TV subscription and stopped listening to NPR during my morning commutes.

As my nervous system recalibrated over the next half-decade, there was a slow and deliberate adjustment in my attitude towards other human beings. I understood that we’re more alike than different, unified in our desire to feel safe and loved—even if our ideas of what the means or the end look like are different.

Neither humankind nor my physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual health were any better for my former us-versus-them mentality. It took me several years more though to admit that in my self-righteousness, I’d created little of service to the greater good. Rather, I’d mostly added fuel to the fire.

Fast forward to the Presidential election campaign of 2016, when people played the game of duality by aligning with Red, Blue, Green, Independent, Progressive, anti-Trump, Hillary haters, pro-Earth, anti-establishment, conspiracy theorists, Tea Party, etcetera. They vilified each other, bickering, name-calling, tweeting, blaming, and shaming on Facebook, podcasts, and other media outlets paid to shock and awe us into a perpetual stupor of conflict and battle.

I was disturbed by the division and tried pointing out how destructive it all was, thereby drawing more attention to the problem.

“What you water grows,” a mentor told me once. I thought of her wise words when I realized that no one paid attention to or wanted to hear my Chicken Little rants about how we were all creating the very thing that we hoped to avoid.

So I considered instead the seeds I wanted to scatter, ones that would blossom into a world beyond winners and losers, filled with unity, harmony, peace, and love. Instead of talking about these qualities, I needed to embody them as best I can; it’s a daily practice of being the change, one in which I’m imperfect (and that’s okay). When the road gets bumpy or I’m feeling out of alignment with what I’m creating, I simply acknowledge what’s present, give it space to be felt without reacting from it, and then shift my attention back to my heart center.

We live in a realm of infinite possibilities; within them, in each now-moment, we have choice regarding which reality we want to create. There are some complexities to this, of course, but for the sake of this essay, allow me to demonstrate what I’m talking about.

Become cognizant for a moment of how you long for our world to look in 5, 10, or 20 years. Anchor it by visualizing and feeling it.

Peek then at a mainstream national or world news Web site, for example, or turn on the news for just one minute. Glimpse briefly at the social media pages of your like-minded friends who are the most outspoken on political matters. Notice the emotions that arise from within you and their associated physical sensations in your body. I wonder, from your current experience, do you feel inspired to create what you desire from a place of joy, happiness, or inner-peace? What would you end up creating from that space?

Alternately, I invite you now to become aware of your breath. Take a few moments to come back to center, remembering all that you love about your life and the people who are part of it. With your eyes open or closed, begin to notice everything that is already in alignment with your dreams. Mentally, emotionally, and physically note the ways in which the world is already exhibiting that which you envision. Keep a checklist as evidence, and seek out data to add to it each day.

Imagine moving from here toward that which you wish to birth; as you do, notice your experience. How does it compare to your experiment with the former example?

Play with the latter daily. Give yourself a few weeks and reassess. You may or may not experience symptoms like those of a detox or withdrawal from the drama and noise or the ego gratification of touting how “right” you are (I sure did!). This is normal, and it’s more tolerable when we note the extra time available to play, have fun, hold doors for people, send love notes, exercise, and make people laugh.

How has your perception of the world changed? Do you feel more empowered, connected, and motivated to lead a movement toward the one you intuited lay just beyond the horizon? Does it feel as though you’re already living it now, and can this help you build momentum? What changes do you feel called to make in your life in order to sustain this state of bodymind?

Ask yourself now about whether or not you need to keep hearing the “bad” news and debating with people who have different opinions or viewpoints than yours. Do those behaviors still serve your purpose? It’s OK to be honest; your experience may be different from mine; it’s not right or wrong.

Feel free to send me a message describing your discoveries or whether you’ve begun to perceive through new lenses, seeing pots of gold where once there was gloom at the end of your rainbows.

— Allison Brunner, LCSW, RM, Body Talks Therapy

A New Way to Love: Put Yourself First and Allow Others Their Journey

— Allison Brunner, LCSW, RM, Body Talks Therapy

Connect to the “Now”-Moment to Soothe Your Nervous System

What happens when you simply notice a sound or two as far away from you as possible? Or if you’re in a room filled with noise, connect instead to the sound inside of yourself. Try it now for just a few seconds. Then notice your breath, and deepen your inhale and exhale if you’d like.

Come home to yourself, to your body, in this moment. Allow everything to be as it is. There is no tomorrow, no yesterday; sit with “now.”

What just happened to your nervous system? Did you notice a shift?

Photo by Amber Johnston Photography

For the 15 to 20 percent of the population deemed Highly Sensitive People (or HSPs), some type of mindfulness practice (including the simple one I’ve just described) can increase the likelihood that our sensory processing sensitivity trait feels more like an asset than an annoyance.

HSPs are much more aware of our surroundings than our peers. We’re more easily stimulated and expend more energy processing what we perceive—thus increasing the release of stress hormones (including cortisol and adrenaline) into our bodies. While this can serve us in many ways, we also need to relax and recharge in order to maintain overall balance.

Another of our tendencies  is to wander off in thought, coloring with our rich imaginations all sorts of scenarios. On one hand, we’re more creative as a result and can foresee and address problems before they arise. On the other, we risk becoming anxious or paralyzed with inaction. It all depends on whether we’re able to return to center.

“With the act of breathing in mindfully, you go inside. Your body is breathing; and your body is your home. In each breath, you can come home to yourself.” —Thich Nhat Hanh

Among the services Body Talks Therapy offers to support your nervous system is Mid-Day Mindfulness, a 20-minute practice in which we can participate together, Tuesdays at 12:30pm, either in-person or online via Facebook Live (in the closed Body Talks Therapy: HSP Community group). If you’re busy at that time, you can watch the videos later.

Unlike formal sitting meditation, in this practice you’ll be guided on where to focus your attention (whether on physical sensations, body parts, watching your breath, connecting to your five senses, or witnessing thoughts and emotions). From time to time, I may also suggest we tune into images or consider ideas to address some of the psychospiritual or emotional issues we’re facing as a collective. (Watch or follow along with the video below for an example.)

You’re welcome in advance of each session to cue me in on a topic you’d like me to include in our sessions.

To join me in person at 237 N. Prince Street, Suite 303, RSVP here. Otherwise, I’ll sit with you all in cyberspace. 🙏🏻

—Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy

Highly Sensitive Mystics’ New Moon Meetup Starts Next Week

“One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul,” wrote Clarissa Pinkola Estés, poet, Jungian psychoanalyst, and author of Women Who Run With the Wolves, in her Letter to a Young Activist During Troubled Times. “Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it.”

You, members of the Body Talks community, are beacons of light. Some of you have been seeking opportunities to join forces with like-minded folks to beam more brightly in what a few of you have described “a tough time to be highly sensitive.”

Join me to do just that, during the moon’s darkest phase of the cycle, at the Highly Sensitive Mystics first New Moon meetup, Friday, January 27, 7:15pm to 8:30pm. There are four spaces remaining for those who want to meet in person at 237 N. Prince St., Suite 303, Lancaster (above the Lancaster Trophy House). Ten additional, from San Francisco to Philadelphia, may participate live online.

photo by Amber Johnston

We’ll start the evening by introducing ourselves, then open sacred space in the manner taught to me by one of my teachers, a shaman and practitioner of the sacred energy medicine ways of the Q’ero and the Machi and the female shamans of the Chilean Mapuche. We’ll read poetry (bring your own or a song if you’d like), bless the Earth, and engage in meditation similar to Tonglen to benefit those special to us and to beings worldwide. We’ll hold space for each other and set intentions and burn them in fire, close the circle, and sample a little food and drink.

This will be a smaller, more intimate gathering. As our community grows, we’ll move into a larger space. Until then, please be sure to R.S.V.P. here whether you’re joining us in-person or via Google Hangouts; your payment of $5 reserves your spot. (If you’re a part of my Meetup.com group, I’ve already received your R.S.V.P.). You may also contact me to place you on a waiting list should one participant cancel in advance.

Reach out to me by Wednesday with any technical questions regarding Google Hangouts (make sure you have a Gmail address, and then meet us here a few minutes prior to the start of the event).

In the mean time, I leave you with more from Estés: “I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because, the fact is — we were made for these times.”

That includes each one of you.

—Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy