Healing the Heart Through the Creative Arts, Education & Advocacy

Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars”. Kahlil Gibran

The Surviving Spirit Newsletter January 2021

“May 2021 bring everyone Joy - Peace - Hope - Love - Good Health - Renewed Faith - Inclusiveness - Empathy - Understanding - Kindness - Acceptance - in a Safer World. May we spend more time & energy celebrating what we have in common & realize we can agree to disagree & still work & live together in our communities. Happy New Year!!! Happy 2021!!! Shalom!!!” - Unknown

Hi Folks,

A New Year with new beginnings and lots of possibilities for all of us. Wishing everyone, Hope, Healing, Peace and Joy in your lives.

Back in the late fall of 2006 I was one of several keynote presenters for a conference held by the United Nations, The State Department and Georgetown University on the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children and adults. The conference also addressed modern day slavery. I was stunned to learn that there are more slaves today in the world than there were at the height of the slave trade.

I would like to draw attention to January's raising awareness of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month - United States Department of State

Every year since 2010, the President has dedicated the month to raising awareness about the different forms of human trafficking, also known as modern slavery, and educating people about this crime and how to spot it. In January, the Department of State raises awareness of human trafficking domestically and abroad through U.S. embassies and consulates. We also celebrate the efforts of anti-trafficking organizations, communities of faith, state and local law enforcement, survivor advocates, businesses, and private citizens all around the world to promote this important cause. Everyone can play a part in ending human trafficking.

The History Behind the Month - The significance of January originates from the Emancipation Proclamation, which President Abraham Lincoln issued on January 1, 1863, declaring 3.1 million slaves free. In 1865, Congress passed and the states ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, officially outlawing slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.

More than 20 years ago, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 enshrined the United States’ commitment to combating modern slavery domestically and internationally. With this bipartisan law, the United States reaffirmed the fundamental promise of “forever free” enshrined within the Emancipation Proclamation.

In 2010, by presidential proclamation, January was declared National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Since then, eleven presidential proclamations have followed. These proclamations not only raise the profile of the issue, they are also snapshots of global trends and challenges, and significant U.S. anti-trafficking policy achievements.

As Amy Goodman said, “Go to where the silence is and say something.”

Take care, stay safe and stay warm, Michael

Newsletter Contents:

1] Making It Through a Trauma Anniversary by Lilly McGee - Viva Center

2] In Denmark, Empathy Is Taught As A School Subject That Kids Must Learn From A Very Young Age

2a] Thinking Minds – Educate yourself

3] Rise Resilient on Apple Podcasts – Epidsode 3 - The Role Social Relationships Play In Transforming Stress: Practicing Resilience for Self-Care & Healing - Hosted by Agnes Chen

3a ] Rise Resilient on Apple Podcasts Hosted by Agnes Chen

4] Peer respite homes aim to be alternative to psychiatric wards by Sarah Kwon @ Los Angeles Times

5] A Place to Stand - Video Project - A Film by Daniel Glick and Gabriel Baca

5a] A Place to Stand - Official Trailer - YouTube 2:12 minutes

5b] Jimmy Santiago Baca - I Am Offering This Poem - YouTube 1:19 minutes

5c] New Mexico in Focus – Interview with Jimmy Santiago Baca: Words Have the Power to Change The World - YouTube 19:50 minutes

6] My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem, Paperback - Barnes & Noble®

7] APA's Apology to Black, Indigenous and People of Color for Its Support of Structural Racism in Psychiatry

8] 9 Types of Muscle Tension Caused by Trapped Emotions ⋆ LonerWolf

9] MOOJAG and the Auticode Secret by N.E. McMorran / Publisher Spondylux Press

9a] Spondylux Press - is an independent publisher of own-voice stories

10] RUMBLE - The Indians Who Rocked the World - Independent Lens

10a] Link Wray - Rumble - Recorded Live: 11/12/1984 - Capitol Theatre - Passaic, NJ

10b] Rumble: the story of the Native Americans who shaped rock music by Katie Bain @ The Guardian

“Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone's face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.” -

Henri Nouwen

“The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician. Therefore the physician must start from nature, with an open mind.” - Paracelsus

http://newsletters.survivingsp...ter_January_2021.pdf