Transforming Grief (2026)

12/08/2024

🩵✨️ Love is a journey ✨️🩵

True, deep, unconditional love is nothing short of extraordinary. It's the kind of love that transforms us, the kind we often find in our connection with animals. They see us at our most vulnerable, our most authentic, and they love us without question, without hesitation. It's a love that feels so simple, so pure, and yet so powerful. 🐾🩵

But with that love comes the inevitable truth of loss. To love is to open ourselves to the risk of losing, and when we give our hearts to our animals, we know that loss will one day come. It’s a loss that shakes our world, leaving us in a pain that feels unbearable.

In those moments, it’s natural to want to protect our hearts, to close ourselves off from ever feeling that pain again. But love—true, infinite love—doesn't just disappear. It transcends the boundaries of time and space, living on in the lessons our beloved companions taught us.

Our purpose in this life, I believe, is to learn to love as they did—fully, openly, and without fear.
To shut ourselves off from that love is to deny the gift they gave us, and to deny ourselves the chance to live a life filled with love once more.

Yes, loss is painful beyond words. But how we choose to move forward—whether we allow that loss to define us or whether we allow love to guide us—is the difference between a life diminished by grief and a life enriched by the memory and the love that endures. 🩵🩵

Which path will you choose?

06/06/2024

🫂🌼 Finding Safety and Solace Within: The Power of Somatic Safety in Grief 🌼🫂

As we navigate the choppy waters of grief, finding a sense of safety within our bodies is crucial. Somatic safety isn't just about feeling physically secure - it's about creating a sanctuary within ourselves where our emotions can be held with compassion and understanding.

When we're grieving, our bodies carry the weight of our emotions. Physical symptoms like tension, fatigue, or even pain become commonplace. And this is where somatic safety comes into play. By tuning into our bodies and learning to recognise and honour our felt sense, we can begin to process our grief in a deeply healing way.

Imagine having a safe space within yourself where you can gently explore your emotions without fear or judgment. This is what somatic safety offers — a refuge where you can connect with your true self, acknowledge your pain, and slowly, tenderly, begin to heal.

Through practices like compassionate inquiry, grounding techniques, and mindful movement, we can cultivate this inner safety. These tools help us to regulate our nervous system, release stored emotions, and grow our capacity to hold and feel our experiences fully, and in this way, our journey through grief becomes one of profound growth and transformation, as we learn to trust and support ourselves in new ways.

If you're ready to explore how somatic safety can support your journey through grief, I invite you to join my upcoming webinar, "Finding Safety and Solace Within", where we'll look into practical techniques and insights to help you find comfort and strength within your body, even amidst the deepest sorrow.

🌻 **Sign up now** and take the first step towards healing with grace and compassion. 🌱✨️

https://elmlink.co/safetyandsolice

21/05/2024

🔥🔥🔥WAHH! I'VE GOT SOMETHING BIG TO SHARE🔥🔥🔥

I’m preeeettty excited to make a BIG Announcement tomorrow night! (No, I'm not pregnant!!)

Something that has been a while in the making...something that brings all of my training and so much of my own life experience together, to create something that really lights me up and something that is going to change lives ❤🎉

Tomorrow night at 7pm AEST, I will be sharing more, stay tuned ✅ ✅

05/04/2024

🌱✨ Becoming Real Through Healing ✨🌱

"You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand." Margery Williams - The Velveteen Rabbit

In the journey of healing and growth, we often discover that becoming our most authentic selves is akin to the tale of the Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. This story reminds us that becoming 'Real' isn't a process that occurs overnight, nor does it happen without its share of trials.

As we navigate through the complexities of growth, trauma resolution, loss, grief, learning and letting go, we might find ourselves feeling 'loose in the joints' and perhaps a bit 'shabby' from our battles. It's important to remember that these signs of wear aren't marks of failure but badges of resilience and growth. 🌟

True healing teaches us that our worth isn't defined by our scars but by the depth of our authenticity and presence in the world. To be 'Real' means embracing our vulnerabilities, knowing that our true essence shines brightest not in spite of our trials, but because of them.

So, to anyone walking the path of personal development and growth, know this: Your journey, with all its ups and downs, is what makes you beautifully, unapologetically Real. And in this authenticity, there is an indescribable beauty recognized and cherished by those who truly understand. 💖

Remember, "once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand." Let's celebrate our journey towards becoming 🌟Real🌟 embracing every moment of growth and presence. 🌿

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02/04/2024

💔😭 Many of us experience emotional hurt in childhood - in fact, I'd say all of us do. 😭💔

Whether it was big hurt (big T trauma) in the form of abuse, which sadly so many children endure, or "smaller", more subtle hurt (little t trauma) from emotionally unavailable parents, teachers who didn't understand the impact of teasing, other kids whose words were not meant to be painful and were, the impact of hurt is still deep.

Unnoticed, un-acknowledged, and unprocessed, the pain we experienced as children develops into behaviours that are rooted in childhood responses.

🧠 How often are you aware of the choices you are making? How often do you pay attention to what your next move is?

❓️Can you say, honestly, that your life is playing out by making, and taking, adults decisions and steps?

Whilst I don't believe that people are broken, more adapted to survive the environment they experienced their pain in, I do believe that so very many of us are living our childhood behaviours and playing them out from within grown bodies.

I did this for years. Getting upset at things that really, from an adult point of view, didn't make sense, yet they felt like real life because I validated every feeling based on the hurt I had experienced.

I wonder if you're game enough to take a step back, look at your decisions, your words and your behaviours, and ask yourself if you are really making adult decisions.

I wasn't. Are you?

27/03/2024

✨🛡 "The beauty you see in me is a reflection of you." - Rumi 🛡✨

When Iived in the Middle East, when I said something was beautiful, I was often met with the response "That's because your eyes are beautiful". I didn't understand it at the time, did I ?!

I have learnt the beauty, and the truth in what my friends said to me. Rumi, and my experiences in personal development rooms, have taught me how this concept, is really one of the most profound ideas to bring awareness to our selves.

This timeless insight from Rumi isn't just about recognising beauty; it's a deeply important lesson in perception, projection, and protection on our journey of personal development. 🌿🔍

How we perceive the world around us shapes our reality. When we see beauty, strength, and grace in others, it's a reflection of our inner world, our values, and our own potential. This perception acts as a shield, protecting our growth and nurturing our spirit. 🌱🛡

It's a dual path—by fostering positive perceptions, we not only protect our well-being but also encourage the growth of those virtues within ourselves. Every act of recognition is an invitation for those qualities to flourish in our own lives. 🌺💫

However, this journey also calls for introspection. It challenges us to question: What am I choosing to see in others? In the world around me? And how does that reflect my inner state? Embracing this reflective practice can transform our perception from a mere shield into a powerful tool for personal evolution. 🌟🧭

I wonder if we could commit to seeing the best in others, to protect and project the best within us (and as I write this, I think of the Care Bears, hence the picture!). As we do, we create a ripple effect of growth, beauty, and strength that comes back to us in manifold ways. 🌊💖

In the end, Rumi’s words are a call to action—a reminder that the world is our mirror, and we have the power to shape what it reflects. Through perception and protection, we navigate our personal development journey with grace, resilience, and an ever-deepening appreciation for the beauty in ourselves and in the world around us. 🌍❤️

26/03/2024

🌟 🤸‍♀️ Discovering the Here and Now: The Role of Your Nervous System 🧠🌟

Have you ever felt stuck in a loop of stress or disconnection, as if life is passing you by? This could be a sign of nervous system dysregulation. Here's how it pulls us away from the present:

🔁 Eternal Alert Mode - When your system is constantly on edge, it's like living in a perpetual state of anticipation for the next threat. How can we cherish the moment if we're always looking over our shoulder?

🌫️ Foggy Reality - Stress and anxiety can cloud our perceptions, helping us stay stuck in our unconscious stories and making it hard to see and appreciate the beauty of the now for what it really is.

🚀 Flight, Fight, or Freeze - These responses are life-saving in danger but exhausting in daily life. They can make us react to the present as if it were a past trauma, stealing the joy of now.

❄️ Numbness - To protect ourselves, we sometimes numb our emotions, which also dims the vibrancy of the present moment.

💡 **Living in the Present** - Balancing your nervous system isn't just about reducing stress; it's about opening the door to truly experiencing life. Through grounding techniques, mindfulness, and perhaps guidance from a professional, we can recalibrate our nervous system to embrace the present.

The last 12 months especially, with a lot of loss in our family, grief and the subsequent joy (🙄) of guilt, have taught me the importance of becoming more present. Too much of life passed me by and experiences and connections were left unhad. And that *really* hurts my heart. For a long time I was too caught up in what I now realise was still low-level dysregulation, and despite doing a whole lot of embodiment work alongside regulation techniques, I've learnt my mindset wasn't in the right place for those techniques to have the impact they could have had. I wasn't practising true mindfulness. I was still focused on the past (healing) and the future, not right now.

Let's breathe. Let's ground ourselves. Let's learn to be more present 🍃

Ask yourself, "What's one thing I can notice and appreciate right now?"

This moment is alive with possibilities. Are you truly living it?

25/03/2024

In my last 12 months of experiencing and embracing my oceans of grief, I've dived (dove?! I never know!) to the absolute depths of my emotions.
It has been hard, and exhausting, really uncomfortable, and I've had to learn how to be vulnerable. I think I've also uncovered a profound capacity for growth, presence, and connection. This journey, marked by heart-wrenching pain, has paradoxically taught me the true value of each moment, calling me to live more fully and cherish the now.

As many of you know, I've learned that grief is not just a route through sorrow but a testament to love, a deepening of empathy, and an awakening to life's fragility and beauty. It has prompted me to reevaluate what truly matters, leading me to want a life where every interaction, every moment, is infused with deeper meaning and connection. ❤️✨️

Navigating my grief, I've found strength in vulnerability, embracing my emotions with courage and allowing them to guide me toward a renewed sense of purpose. I'm learning to become more present, not just for myself but for those around me, forming connections that are rich and more authentic.

This journey, while uniquely mine, shares universal threads of the human experience—reminding me of the dichotomy of life, that in vulnerability lies strength, in sorrow lies love, and in presence lies healing.

Let's honor our grief, not as a shadow that dims our light, but as a teacher who, through pain, shows us how to see the beauty in the world with clearer eyes and love with a fuller heart. Here's to embracing the depths, to growing, to loving, and to being profoundly present in our beautiful, fleeting lives. 💫❤️✨️

21/03/2024

Watching the gentle dance of waves touching the shore, the nature of our emotions is reflected. Each wave, a feeling. Each retreat, a moment to breathe and prepare for what comes next.

Just like the ocean, our emotional landscape is vast and varied. It's filled with moments of both light and heaviness—none inherently good or bad, just different experiences of being alive.

🌿 🌊 As we witness the serene flow of the sea—we're given the gentle reminder that our emotions, too, ebb and flow naturally. By becoming the safe haven for our feelings, we allow our body to embrace each emotion, understanding that the path to healing is through feeling.

So, let’s give ourselves the time, space, and grace to fully experience our emotions. Let's learn to ride the waves of our feelings with compassion and curiosity. After all, it’s through this journey that we find healing, growth, and deeper connection to ourselves.

Remember, you are your own safe house. Your capacity to feel is your strength, your guide, and your way back home to inner peace. 🌊❤️

If you're not sure how to create that safe space within you, my messages are always open. There are some great techniques that you can practice alone without needing to be guided ❤️

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20/03/2024

Hello, beautiful souls! 🌟 Let’s sit down and take a mini dive into a topic that touches us all: trauma. 🍵💔 It’s a word that’s as complex as life itself, carrying our deepest wounds and stories. But have you ever paused to think, what trauma really is?

It’s not just about those moments that shake us to our core; it’s about how our bodies and minds carry those moments forward, often feeling stuck in a loop of fear and reactivity. 🌀 With guidance from the brilliant minds of Bessel van der Kolk, Gabor Maté, and Stephen Porges, we’re on a quest to unravel the true essence of trauma - from the silent echoes it leaves on our nervous system to the quiet ways it reshapes our view of the world and our place within it.

But here’s where our journey takes a hopeful turn. 🌈🌿 Through the healing paths of somatic therapy and cultivating inner resilience, we find ways to gently reconnect with our bodies, make sense of our behaviours, and warmly embrace our own growth and healing. It’s about turning our battle scars into badges of strength and wisdom.

🌟 Let’s explore together how understanding trauma is the first step on our path to resilience and recovery.

Swipe left to join me on this journey from understanding to healing. Whether you’re navigating your own path or walking alongside others, remember, you’re in good company. Together, we’re uncovering the strength and resilience that’s been inside us all along. 💪🌸

Transforming Grief

12/08/2024

06/06/2024

21/05/2024

05/04/2024

02/04/2024

27/03/2024

26/03/2024

25/03/2024

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20/03/2024

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