Unravelling the many layers of chronic pain stored in our mind, body and spirits. Just breathe addresses fractional healing and why so many people have difficulty letting go of pain on these levels. This holistic healing pocket guide offers proven strategies, methods and techniques through the authors lived experiences from being hit by two cars while walking 39 years ago, from near death experiences, to carving a new life with enrichment on every level.There is no book in existence like Just Breathe
What you are about to read, chronicles my journey of self-discovery and the process of discovering and connecting life experiences, particularly those related to chronic pain. From a young age, I was intensely curious, always asking "why" about everything around me. My mother, overwhelmed with other responsibilities, often gave me brief answers, while my father encouraged my curiosity, promising to find answers when he didn’t know them.
Around the age of 18, I started to notice a pattern of connectedness surrounding life and death forming in my life, especially after a series of near-drowning experiences while swimming or doing water sports. These incidents made me realize how close I had come to tragedy. The first time was at age 10, when I was thrown into a river by older kids who assumed I could swim. I couldn’t, and I remember sinking into the muddy bottom, struggling to reach the surface, and finally making it to the shallow shore, gasping for air. Seven years later, the second incident happened while waterskiing with my boyfriend, Harry. His friend, who was supposed to be watching me, was distracted, and I lost my grip of the water ski ropes at high speed. I tumbled across the water, my wetsuit tore, and I was trapped, unable to move my arms. I blacked out briefly and woke up in excruciating pain and had to be rushed to the hospital. I was lucky to survive with only bruises and shock, but this was my wake-up call, a true lightbulb moment. Through almost dying, I realized the fragility of life and the preciousness of it, much like a beautiful and delicate strand of pearls.
These experiences were not always at the forefront of my mind, but they lingered. As the years passed, I became more aware of these patterns. By the time I was 29, after a life-changing accident with my husband Stephen, I was forced to confront my own darkness, chronic pain, and every significant experience related to it, every day for the rest of my life. As a result, it was not a question of whether I would write this pocketbook, but when I would be ready to do so. Living with chronic pain can feel like a death sentence, like losing your freedom, your quality of life, and the person you once were - all at the same time. This pocketbook demanded to be written, especially as people began telling me how remarkable my story is, how I continue to help myself, and how I can help others.
In this pocketbook, I will show you how I stored these events, peeled back the layers, and found the connections between them. I think of them as a string of pearls. Each experience is a pearl; all connected on one single strand. Sometimes the pearls are too hard to hold, some may need to be restrung and some need to be remembered but together we will find them, connect them, polish them and learn how to store them in a way that empowers and protects us.
As a disclaimer, if your own experiences are recent, you may need more time to heal before diving into this pocketbook. But what I have learned is that by breaking down these events by age, perspective, who was involved, and the circumstances, we can better understand and accept them. It is not an easy task, and I encourage you to determine your own current state of wellness before continuing with any of the techniques mentioned here. For example, we may realize we were simply young and curious, in the wrong place at the wrong time, or that we need to take responsibility for our actions – these realizations are challenging but even though you cannot change the past there is a way forward. The important thing is that these experiences have shaped who we are today. There is no shame or blame here. This pocketbook is about clearing a path to a stronger, better you, by putting your experiences in perspective, and regaining control over your mind, heart, and spirit.
Remember, this is not a quick fix. Some people may heal quickly, while others need more time and practice. Just as it took years for these experiences to accumulate, it will take time for you to identify and thread each new pearl on your string. Chronic pain can cloud our memories and make it hard to see things clearly, but with patience, resilience, dedication, gentleness, forgiveness, and self-love, you can make progress. Slow and steady wins this race, so let us begin this journey together.