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Say Goodbye To 2020 With Ease

Are you ready to say, “Goodbye 2020” with ease? It has certainly been a year to remember, or is it a year to forget?

A Dual Focus

As we near the end of 2020, there will be a bombardment of the highlights of the year. It seems there was both good and bad in past reviews in the media. Will that be true for 2020?

I’m proposing a different perspective to say “Goodbye 2020” with ease.

Rather than look at the headlines, consider looking inward to your personal experience. The duality of any year retrospective might be:

  1. What are you grateful for?
  2. What do you want to release?

I’ve done this before with Connie Chapman’s 21-day end of the year journaling class, but this time was so different.

Intention Within Ritual

Let’s get started:

  • Find a quiet place to be alone
  • Gather paper and pencil
  • Sit upright with your feet firmly planted on the floor
  • Close your eyes and place your hands atop your heart
  • Take 3 deep breaths in through your nose, out through your mouth
  • Say, “I am ready to remember all the good and release all the pain of 2020.”

Open your eyes. Now we begin the actual process by writing a love letter to 2020.

  • Start your letter with “Dear 2020,”
  • Now write out everything you give thanks for during 2020
  • Next express everything you want to let go of from 2020
  • Include anything you wish to complete before 2021
  • Sign your letter as you would any other love letter

Take your time with this exercise. Close your eyes and wait for the words to come.

What if You Get Stuck?

If closing your eyes doesn’t help, perhaps you need a few hours or a few days of self care. Yes… you are worth it. You can refer to my article on self care for some ideas.

Don’t give up on this. Remember that small steps result in big change over time. If you can come up with only one thing to give thanks for during 2020, that is your first step.  It’s okay. Then go to the next step. Perhaps you’ll find ten things to let go of from 2020. It’s okay.

How Did That Feel?

For me, writing the thank you list felt like I was filling my body with sweet gratitude. Then writing the releasing portion, I felt the energy of each declaration physically leave my body. Some were much more intense than others.

There is a ritual I added to say goodbye to 2020 with ease. I tore the letter up, cleansed my area with sage and burned the pieces of my letter safely in a flameproof bowl. To prevent burning my fingers, I used a long butane lighter. Sitting at the breakfast bar didn’t seem right at first. Quickly, I turned away thoughts and focused on feelings. The burning ritual felt peaceful; no anxiety, no joy, just neutral.

Although not optimal, the breakfast bar was good enough.
I am good enough.
You are good enough.

What About 2021?

As you might have guessed, there is another ritual to help prepare for the new year, 2021. Rather than start a second ritual right now, let’s sit with this one a few days.

As always, I invite you to comment below. If you want to be sure to get all my articles, please sign-up for my newsletter

Preparing for a new year,
Dawn

From a Suicide Survivor to PTSD Diagnosis

When I wrote my suicide survivor article a few weeks ago, I had no idea I would go from a suicide survivor to PTSD diagnosis so easily. Although the likelihood you or a loved one will develop PTSD from any traumatic event is small (6.8% according to a 2020 Psychology Today blog), it is important to recognize the symptoms.

WHAT IS PTSD?

The acronym stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was first brought to light in 1980. Yet, some World War I survivors in the early 20th century were known as suffering from “shell shock”. Today, we realize it was PTSD.

Although the trauma typically associated with PTSD is extreme, as in combat, it can also occur from many other types of trauma, such as long term abuse. This Psychology Today article covers the basic information about PTSD in much more detail.

HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE?

Complex disorders like PTSD have a long list of possible short term and long term effects. The full list is included in another article.

A PEEK INTO MY THERAPY SESSION

As you might imagine, my therapist (I’m using her first name, Mary) asked me questions, allowed me to ‘tell my story’, took notes, and led me down the path of discovery.

When I used trigger words, like shame, she asked me where I thought that came from. I’ve been on my own path of self-discovery, so sometimes her questions were easy to answer.

“Shame was instilled in childhood by my parent,” I replied.

”Hmm.”

I continued my stories, clearly illustrating my PTSD symptoms with flashbacks followed by sudden emotional outbursts that I quickly quashed. There were many more nuances of my illness that Mary picked up on.

Near the end of the session, she took out a small book, which was a pocket handbook of PTSD symptoms. Reading each one, she noted her observations that matched my exhibited behavior. Thankfully, I didn’t exhibit every single symptom.

”Ahhhh…”

A huge sigh of relief escaped my body.

I had found the right therapist, there is a name for my suffering, and we will work together on a solution.

HOW IS THIS THERAPY SESSION DIFFERENT?

Unlike some therapists I’ve had in the past, Mary got to the root of the cause quickly. As I pondered the session this week, I believe there are a few clues about why this therapy session was more useful vs. past less useful sessions.

  1. I understood I had a problem.
    • I’ve allowed my intuition to guide me when I faced my sudden teary outbursts over the last few weeks rather than stuff down my emotion.
  2. I acted on my perceived problem.
    • Writing about the teary outbursts in an earlier blog resulted in research, which brought me to a suicide survivor group. The facilitators recognized my PTSD symptoms and recommended I seek out a therapist who specializes in trauma therapy.
    • A search on Psychology Today led me to a local therapist who specializes in trauma and PTSD.
  3. Finally, I was ready to acknowledge my true condition in order to grieve and come out of this.
    • My openness, honesty, and choice to not hold back during the session have developed over many small steps of journaling, seeking holistic and spiritually based avenues to peel away layers of self protection.

This list illustrates, in the bullet points, how small steps are truly the key to developing a life of fulfillment.

NEXT STEPS

This opportunity to share parts of my mental health journey is too precious to ignore. I invite you to join me as I move beyond viewing this week’s reality from a suicide survivor to PTSD diagnosis. In contrast I want to also share the many everyday discoveries that make us smile and keep us moving forward in difficult times.

By signing up for my newsletter, you will always receive the information in my blogs along with glimpses into more joyful moments of my life.

Hanging in there,
Dawn

Human Design is Your Next Step

This past week I realized why Human Design is your next step.

WHAT IS HUMAN DESIGN?

Simply stated, Human Design is a User’s Guide to your life. Like Astrology, it is based on the date, hour, minute and location of your birth. Unlike Astrology, which gives you an understanding of how the position of the heavenly bodies affect our world and ourselves, Human Design reveals your uniqueness, helping you find your own truth.

ASTROLOGY VS HUMAN DESIGN

Most of us have read the horoscopes in a magazine or newspaper. We looked up the one that corresponds to our birth sun sign. For me, I was born a Sagittarius. However, within my seventh year, my sun sign had changed to Capricorn. I never knew about this until I had my natal chart created in 2014.

HOW HUMAN DESIGN WORKS – A CHILDHOOD EXAMPLE

What if my parents had my Human Design Chart when I was born?

My Manifestor Human Design Chart

They would have then known that my way of being in the world without resistance is to respond. I am a Manifestor. My perfect childhood would have included a lot of freedom of movement. In contrast, my childhood had more restriction than my Human Design needed and it resulted in a passive nature at home. The one place I could live my strategy to respond was in school. I loved it and excelled.

HOW HUMAN DESIGN WORKS – A RELATIONSHIP EXAMPLE

As a Manifestor, being alone is just fine. However, a peaceful relationship involves practicing politeness and informing.

“I’m going for a walk in nature at Bok Tower Gardens, and then stopping at the grocery store on my way home.”

Ahhh. That feels good as I head to my car for some alone time. I’m living my natural path. My independence is intact and I have informed my loved ones where I will be.

YOUR NEXT STEP

If this sounds intriguing, I invite you to check out The Jovian Archive. You can get your free Human Design Chart, which will give you all the information about your specific genetic design.

Likewise, You Tube has many videos on the Jovian Archive channel. One place to start is to listen to An Introduction to the Human Design System.

When you are ready, The Definitive Book of Human Design, The Science of Differentiation awaits you. All you need to know why Human Design is your next step, lies within these pages.

Happily informing,
Dawn