Community

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.