It wasn’t until I went even deeper within myself more than ever before and continued the journey of examining issues within my core— issues around self worth, feeling good enough, the shame and blame for existing, dealing with my wounding around my mother and father; and lastly working on my extremely sensitive nervous system that I started to see a change.

As I did this, I had to sober up and get real about what foods worked for me and what foods did not. I am an indigenous Samoan woman with a family history of drug addiction, alcoholism and inherited trauma that runs along both sides of my family; my liver and chemistry can not handle a lot of foods and I had to learn to accept that and also listen closely to what my body actually needed; beyond what diets were in or out at in any given moment.

Finally, I had to get conscious and sober around the concept of self, of having a self, and to own what I am and what I am called to do; healing any pockets of fear that would have me continue to hide from my sacred mission and purpose. For so long I just didn’t really think I was allowed to be here. For so long I couldn’t see how to feel SAFE enough to exist with a body. I had such a deep and long history of leaving my body that to come home to it was down right terrifying. When I think about the agenda in which my mother conceived me, this body from the beginning was never mine. I was created to serve her and my father’s purpose. Either I stay loyal to them or die. Literally. In having children, they never considered that they would have independent spirits, with minds and souls that would want to live a life of their own choosing. And their life of addiction and narcissism made the possibility of freedom nearly impossible. And yet, as Jeff Goldblum’s character states simply in ‘Jurassic Park’, “Life finds a way.” (lol). Truly.

While I am still in the process of taking shape in the way that I choose, for me and me alone, my personal journey coupled with the my professional experience working with patients with similar issues gives me the opportunity to open up several portals that we can now walk through together.

I fundamentally believe that journeys such as these are best embarked on with a group of likeminded folks who are being challenged with related themes. Though the journey of the Spirit is ultimately one we take alone, the parallel journey on this plane can be done with accompaniment and encouragement. Please join me as we experiment and play with what it means to be free on this plane, with your spirit and your body working as one cohesive whole. They say that the worlds beyond is the art gallery and that here is the workshop; well friends, let’s have fun in this expansive workshop called life and celebrate being alive!