Welcome to the Community Creativity area.
This is where I collect others’ artistic creations that I love and appreciate – creations that I find and get permission to share or that people send to me.
If you have anything you have created about your experiences with trauma and would like to share, just get in touch – my email is heidi maria hanson at gmail dot com.
My Eyes Still Work
Our very first contribution is a beautiful poem called “My Eyes Still Work.” This poem is about the experience of living with dissociative identity disorder (DID), generously shared with us by Anna D’Jiata.
I’m copying the text also into the body of the page so search engines can find it 🙂
My Eyes Still Work
You think because my brain is broke, that my eyes no longer see.
But my eyes can see the way you look, cause you’re looking right through me.
My eyes can see the way you stare, wondering who’s at hand.
My eyes can see the way you doubt, who I really am.
You think because my brain is broke, my heart won’t feel the burn.
But my heart can grieve a thousand losses, that my head will never learn.
My heart can love, unabashedly, no care and no concern.
My heart can learn what my head can’t feel, cause it’s too broke to be concerned.
You think because my brain is broke, I can’t hear what you’re trying to say.
But my ears hear every word and they tuck every thought away.
My ears can hear your whisper, as they hear your rolling eyes.
My ears can hear your silence, and it is fear’s lullaby.
You think because my brain is broke that I can’t understand.
That I can’t somehow be reached, as if in a foreign land.
But my eyes, and heart, and ears can comprehend what my brain cannot.
For they compute the greatest pain and understand a lot.
My eyes and heart and ears, do so much more than just my brain,
for they are my greatest sense of knowing, through the confusion and the pain.
I can see when you are looking and find me come up short,
I can feel that you are worried and wonder what you should retort.
I can hear the confusion in your own mind as what to do with me.
Although my brain is broken,
all I need,
is to see and hear and feel,
your love, loving me.
by Anna D’Jiata
This poem was written by a person with DID (dissociative identity disorder). It is an expression of her struggles with the world’s perception of her and all her alters.
Escape
And next up we have a work entitled “Escape” submitted by Amy Doerwang. Amy created a sculpture / conceptual art piece and then wrote a poem to accompany the art. Thank you so much for your creativity Amy. ♥
When one person gives a voice to something it helps others find out if perhaps they have similar parts of themselves that want to say the same thing. Have you ever needed an escape?
Escape
Little hands, little feet, little she can do.
No chance to be held, no place to feel heard,
Nowhere to escape to.
Tiny dolls and tiny toys, fill her heart with joy.
They do not mock, they do not laugh,
they do not talk about the boys.
Her little magic land, where she is in control.
Where she can be herself, where the toys hope she will be bold.
There she sits, day after day,
With all her tiny toys.
She imagines a place where she matters,
just as much as all the boys.
Little Girl is getting older now,
still longing for escape.
She finds a bike and rides it off
praying, no more heartache.
Each day upon the bicycle
A little more freedom felt.
She rides into the sunset
As her tears begin to melt.
Little Girl has found escape
It’s freedom in the wind…
It’s the laughter of the little toys
beckoning her to ride again!
It’s freedom from the chaos
It’s freedom from the noise
It’s freedom from what lies within
It’s escape inside her toys.
By Amy Doerwang
A Healing Mantra of Loving Kindness for Your Inner Child
by Ginger Dawn Harman
“I was inspired by a loving kindness meditation when I created this journal page. Part of healing is connecting to the past. Embracing that hurt little girl inside me and telling her that she is loved, healing, and together as one we survive. I want to be a advocate for using your voice and as a trauma survivor, I hope I can help others be brave. ” – Ginger Dawn Harman
My Comments:
When I read this mantra I feel a powerful sense of connection to my inner child, and I feel an opening to the possibility of bringing peace and serenity into the turbulent and tumultuous world of childhood traumas.
In this mindful loving kindness mantra, the link between the adult and child self is deep, confident and full of love. This connection is symbolized by the telephone – the smiling, shining confident adult is sending her message clearly through to the child who is attentively listening. The telephone line, colored gold, crosses right over many red and blue lines that look discordant – so it passes over allll the discord and frightening chaos, traumas and confusion, to give this little one the peace and hope that she so badly needs. The telephone line is the only gold or yellow element – gold is sometimes associated with the higher spirit/higher self and yellow can bring up ideas of light, insight, sunshine and happiness. Red sometimes is related to anger and blue sometimes is related to sorrow.
This piece asks us – can you cultivate a direct way to talk and give love and loving words to the past younger self inside you, who may still be feeling all alone?
Sometimes we don’t realize how much we as adults actually can give to the little child within, because we stay disconnected. Once the connection is made, it can dawn on us that we actually have a lot to give – we can give love, protection, comfort, words of kindness, listening and words of hope to that young vulnerable child.
I feel a deep sense of renewed hope and strength, and a lot of care for my inner little one, when I read the mantra.
By the way, mantras are supposed to be repeated while in a state of meditation. So this contribution relates to mindfulness practice as a form for enabling healing to take place. Mindfulness practices can enable deep healing because going into a trance state can open up parts of the unconscious mind. This mantra is a gentle and safe type of message to bring into a mindfulness practice.
Thank you so much Ginger for your contribution.
(And here it is in the body of the page for search engines)
A Healing Mantra of Loving Kindness for Your Inner Child
Oh little girl, you are loved.
You are free from the suffering of
fear, anger and abuse.
You will cultivate
loving-kindness, compassion,
sympathetic joy and equanimity.
May we live in peace and harmony
with all beings
just as we are now.
You will find forgiveness
for the unavoidable harms
that others have brought upon you.
Ginger Dawn Harman
4 Responses
Hello Heidi, The modern psychology suggests that trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder are the main responsible for most psychological challenges, but what if that’s partially wrong, and the real problem is something else? Do you ever wonder why certain mentally unhealthy behaviors persist despite so many years of therapy and personal work? As an expert in the mind and emotional behaviors, would you be interested in exploring with an open mind, some of my work on Adult Emotional Dependency (AED)? In my opinion, AED is the main reason for the actual emotional crisis. We can relieve the world of this syndrome in a very short time by teaching emotional independence, that’s why I created an online solution that does just that, a result of over 30 years of studying and practicing out of the box with thousands of clients.
If you like to know more about AED https://lucabosurgi.com/adult_emotional_dependency/
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Thank you for reading!
Luca Bosurgi
310.623.7289
luca@mindfitnesslab.com
lucabosurgi.com
Thank you so much for your comment, Luca. I really appreciate your sharing about the healing work that you do. In reading over your website, I feel like the emphasis on emotional independence is a little bit out of alignment with what most trauma therapists would focus on when helping clients heal from trauma. Emotional independence would be considered an abnormal adaptation to a toxic and dysfuncitonal environment in which there was not enough nervous system co-regulation and embodied experiences of the healthy “we,” “us,” and existing within a healthy unified “togetherness.” Dysfunctional relating in childhood and in adult relationships would have impaired or ruptured all the relational skills and capacities needed to create a true “us” experience of healthy interdependence, the felt body sense of being able to sink in to another’s support, to trust and rely on those you are closest with, and exist within a constant ongoing secure attachment bond with significant others. All these healthy relational skills, co-regulation skills, experiences of relational safety, consistent social engagement, and the actual holding field of secure attachment are essential for trauma treatment. So, most trauma therapists would never try to teach anyone emotional independence. Rather, they would work to heal people from emotional dependency and emotional independence both, with the goal of achieving a state of true interdependence or relational “dancing,” characterized by living at all times within a secure attachment system that is always active, a true and deeply embodied experience of the “we” or “us” that is much greater than the parts, constant nervous system co-regulation, an experience of being able to sink into someone’s support and rely and trust in them, and ongoing consistent social engagement. None of these healthy relational skills is “emotional independence” although emotional self-reliance eventually comes from the internalization of the healthy relationship between client and therapist. And emotional self-reliance can be learned as a way to cope until you meet people who are able to engage in healthy, secure-attachment-based interdependence. An emphasis on emotional independence would be considered going towards psychological sickness and dysfunction, or on teaching people coping mechanisms to be strong enough to survive until good relationships can be built in their lives. Eugene Gendlin has talked about how much of an influence the relationship with another has on the healing process; the experience of being in connection while in emotional pain rather than being alone with emotional pain changes things immensely and is an important and essential component of healing from trauma. I’m just being totally honest about my understanding of the topic but feel free to correct me if I’ve misinterpreted it. Many Blessings.
I enjoyed your “Help Now” poster. I am interested in your relationship with the Trauma Resource Institute which developed this approach. Do they get a percentage of your sales?
Beneficial data, With thanks!