Tuning In 9.27.2021

Each week I post an update called Tuning In on what I'm up to and ideas for grounding, connection, and discovering vitality in your life. Most of the links on this post are informational only, but a few are affiliate links that help me keep up my website. 

Events:
September 28th, 2021 - Voter Registration Day 
September 29th, 2021 - National Coffee Day 
September is National Suicide Awareness Month and National Self-Care Awareness Month 

Ideas for Grounding: Take time off work. If you have the privilege of being able to take time off work, allow yourself to step away. Even if it is just for one or two days. The work will get done when you return. I'm taking this week off work to reground and recenter. 

Ideas for Connection: Something that has become popular during the pandemic is Netflix parties. There's a website called Teleparty that allows a group of people to sign into their individual Netflix accounts (or other streaming services) and then watch a show at the same time. There's a feature on the side that allows you to chat throughout the movie. It's a great way to connect when you don't feel like getting webcam ready. 

Ideas for Creating Vitality: Even though the leaves on the trees are dying and falling to the ground, fall is a season of vitality. In many of the conversations I've had recently people tell me, "I love fall." There's a familiar scent in the air and stoops fill up with colorful pumpkins. Find energy in the changing of the seasons and the mysterious magic of fall. 

Why grounding, connection, and vitality? Because these are the ways we regulate the nervous system. Spending intentional time in a regulated state allows our nervous system to wire in the direction of safety and aliveness. In other words, it's a big piece of the puzzle of how we repair the survival response of trauma.

A boat off the shore at Seahurst Park in Burien, Washington

What I'm Reading Related for Therapy: What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD & Oprah Winfrey

"Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain development and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry discuss the impact of trauma and adversity and how healing must begin with a shift to asking 'What happened to you?' rather than 'What's wrong with you?'" 

Relational and Body-Centered Practices for Healing Trauma: Lifting the Burdens of the Past by Sharon Stanley 

My Somatic Transformation consultation group is re-reading this book and doing a study group. Every time I pick up this book, I discover something new. 

What I'm Reading for Fun: I just finished The Last Season by Eric Blehm, "Randy Morgenson was legendary for finding people missing in the High Sierra. Then one day he went missing himself."  It's the story of a missing back country ranger and the search and rescue operation to find him. What will stay with me is the descriptions of the barely touched expanse of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 

Up next I'm starting The Bowl of Light by Hank Wesselman, PhD. 

"Ancestral Wisdom from a Hawaiian Shaman" 

(I'm a proud member of the sloth reading club, so what I'm reading will not change weekly.) ​

TV Show or Movie I'm Watching: Metal Shop Masters on Netflix. 

Song on Repeat: "Beautiful" by Carole King 
​
Projects I'm Working On: Self-development book on trauma and worthiness, book of poetry, ongoing content for various publications. Considering next steps in career training—psychedelic assisted therapy, biblio/poetry therapy training, or yoga teacher training. ​

The beach at Seahurst Park in Burien, Washington

Poem: 

Conversation in Isolation
Harryette Mullen 

Neighbors nail the planks
dividing their yard from mine.
Our durable fence.

I walk half a block
before realizing I’ve
forgotten my mask.

One ant following
another, trusting we all
are going somewhere.
​
Stretched between two poles,
clothesline outside my window,
a robin’s rest stop.

Lemons fallen on
the sidewalk to be rescued
for my potpourri.

No one and nothing
touches me but this blue wind
with cool caresses.

Meme of the Week: 

Quote that is Inspiring Me: “As water takes whatever shape it is in, So free may you be about who you become.” - John O’Donohue 

​I'd love to hear how you are grounding, connecting, and creating vitality. What is helping you feel calm and alive? Or comment below on what books, podcasts, songs, shows, poetry, or quotes are resonating with you right now.  ​