Author: To read Sonali Kolhatkar's article, please click here. For generations, Indigenous communities in the United States have protested Columbus Day—a centuries-old observance in the United States—and for decades have led a movement to rename the second Monday in October from “Columbus Day” to “Indigenous Peoples Day.” Today, more than a dozen states have formally embraced Indigenous Peoples Day as part of a process to recenter Indigenous communities and end the glorification of settler...

The Surviving Spirit Newsletter September 2021 Healing the Mind, Body & Spirit 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 Hi Folks, Twenty years ago today at this time of the morning I was getting ready to leave for Ellenville, New York to perform and speak at the Annual New York Association of...

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 August 2021 Hi Folks, Welcome to the month of August...from my part of the country here in New Hampshire-land it is a time of summer and heat...but the whole month of July and coming into August has been more...

The Powerful Connection Of Music With Michael Skinner - Cybertrap 60 Published on July 20, 2021 Here's the latest episode of "The Cybertraps Podcast," co-hosted by Frederick Lane and Jethro Jones. Michael Skinner is an award-winning advocate, educator, writer and critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, guitarist, addressing the issues of trauma, abuse and mental health concerns through public speaking, writing and his music. He has spoken at the National Press Club, was a keynote presenter...

Coronavirus has exposed all the things we knew were broken down and somehow could never find the time, money, or political will to fix. Now, there is a cascade of collective breaking—our cities, our bodies, our minds, our hearts. More optimistically, the global pandemic is revealing all the unprecedented opportunities we will have for fixing. Though, of course, whatever we fix will always, by definition, mark prior brokenness. Mending our clothes is not going to bring the wheels of the...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1523601442 "Healing the Wound That Won't Heal: the Reality of Trauma." This book chronicles my work to uncover and understand the trauma of my infancy. My father was suffering extreme shell-shock from WWII. He was too ill to be left alone, yet I was left with him every day while my mother worked as a waitress. When I was thirteen-months-old I watched him die on the floor in front of my crib. I am having a very difficult time right now. I have emotional flashbacks,...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1523601442 "Healing the Wound That Won't Heal: the Reality of Trauma." This book chronicles my work to uncover and understand the trauma and neglect I experienced in infancy. My father was suffering extreme shell-shock from WWII. He was too ill to care for himself, yet I was left with him every day as my mother worked as a waitress. When I was thirteen-months-old, I watched him die on the floor in front of my crib. The cover photo is myself and my father, taken a...

From UMass Medical School Communications, July 15, 2021 The American Academy of Pediatrics has published Childhood Trauma & Resilience: A Practical Guide , written by UMass Medical School child trauma and treatment experts Heather Forkey, MD, and Jessica Griffin, PsyD, along with co-author Moira Szilagyi, MD, PhD, president-elect of the AAP. The new resource for clinicians and caregivers provides guidance on trauma-informed care and the protective power of resilience. It details the ways...

Surviving not only Auschwitz but also a difficult childhood, this courageous woman's story reveals much about healing from Adverse Childhood Experiences.

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 June 2021 http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2021-06-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_June_2021.pdf Hi folks, June is NATIONAL PTSD AWARENESS MONTH I thought I would share a few of the resources that have...

Breaking the Cycle illustrates our capacity for breaking our current Cycle of Competitive Detachment and returning to the pattern of 95% of our human history: a healthy, peaceful Cycle of Cooperative Companionship. Breaking the Cycle is based on the multi-award-winning book, Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture and Wisdom, by Darcia Narvaez, PhD.

Every day, our guts and minds are busy having hidden conversations. Normally, we don’t care about the details of those conversations. However, according to Emeran Mayer, MD, a gastroenterologist, neuroscientist, and research professor at University of California, Los Angeles, we should pay attention to the communication occurring in our brain-gut-microbiome axis—our health and emotional well-being may depend on it. Despite the prevalence of digestive problems, irritable bowel syndrome, and...