Dear Brave Soul, as we share our stories, we show each other how to heal. Thanks , , and all who tuned in to the live video with . Check out our Creative Healing video above, transforming trauma to truth through a fascinating Canyon model; tune in for Part 2, this Wed, April 2.
It’s brave to share the depths of your story. And it’s an honor to be trusted with such a story.
That’s why I felt tears of gratitude arise as Jay Siegmann and I opened our live sacred space. Their story moves me. It’s inspiring to see what is possible in the realms of our imagination: to heal, to grow, to find our way through pain to new possibilities.
I bet you’ve had times when you lost your sense of self. You wondered who you are. Felt like you don’t belong. Perhaps you were subjugated and harmed by others.
Still, some of us - like Jay - experience much more than ‘ordinary’ levels of pain and trauma. While it’s happening, we’re not aware of the far-reaching effects. It’s simply the air we breathe. We adapt; we do what’s asked. We’re highly effective actors who perform a role, or many roles, to survive: a false self.
“Trauma is not what happens to you, it’s what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you. — Gabor Maté, “The Wisdom of Trauma”
What if intense feelings of loss are an initiation?
These intense experiences can wake us up to what’s true. In our conversation, Jay follows a path of discovery, venturing and mapping the depths, heights, and structures of their canyons. This leads to deepening self-awareness and compassion.
We’re pleased to announce Part 2: A Creative Healing Integration Story
In Part 2 of our conversation, we’ll adventure further into Jay’s Canyon. Join us to discover how the canyon provided a home for self-care modalities, from shadow work to somatic bodywork to Alexander Technique. Learn how Jay restores their true self, building a relationship that allows them to express their authentic power.
Here’s what’s next, from Jay:
“I’ll take you deeper into my Canyonlands, and show how the Canyon Model can help make sense of your own past. How the inner landscape, once feared, can become familiar. Mapped. Illuminated. Not to erase what’s been—but to reclaim it.
If you're standing somewhere in your own canyon, unsure of the path—maybe my story can help you find a light of your own. Let’s keep walking.”
Join Us Live for Part 2! Wed, April 2 :: 2 pm PST / 22:00 CET
If you’re a subscriber to one of our Substacks, you’ll get a push notification or an email. Click the link to join us via live video. Or, download the Substack App (make sure live video notifications are turned on.)
What’s YOUR healing environment?
I love Jay’s canyons! However, my healing world is water. I just saw “The Outrun,” a 2024 story of a young woman’s creative healing. Filmed in Scotland’s Orkney Islands —home to selkies and seaweed — the ocean's depths reveal her outer AND inner landscape. Much like Jay’s canyon, it’s her place of transformation:
“In grandiose moments, high on fresh air and freedom on the hill, I study my personal geology. My body is a continent. I grind my teeth in my sleep like tectonic plates. And when I blink the sun flickers. My breath pushes the clouds across the sky and the waves roll into the shore in time with my beating heart. My freckles are famous landmarks. And my tears, rivers.”1
Join us! Dive into ways the environment and imagination can heal us.
🗣️ Your turn: Do you have a favorite place that sustains you? Where in nature do you feel most alive? If you identify as a trauma survivor, how has your healing journey made you stronger?
Thank you for being (Mostly) Brave, and for being You. 💗 Please like this post, comment, or share with a friend so more of us can feel braver in these times.
More to come,
A multi-passionate former creative director, my work has appeared in Time Magazine, feature films and television, newspapers, YA fantasy novels, and on west coast stages. My creative tool decks are found in therapy offices & bathrooms across the US. 💗 HeartsQuest.com.
“The Outrun,” Directed and written by Nora Fingscheidt, adapted from a memoir, The Outrun by Amy Liptrot.
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