June 2022

The Peace and Justice Institute at Valencia College is dedicated to furthering community healing and resilience - a goal that continues to be realized through its convening of the Creating a Resilient Community (CRC) Network . This movement has grown to include over 400 local community members. After the group's most recent annual conference in April, PJI has intentionally continued furthering this work both in the community and at its home institution, Valencia College. PJI believes that...

COVID and Hybrids and Change, oh my! It’s no news that learning how to navigate in our current world is challenging. It can be mind-numbing at times. And our workplaces are no exception. We no longer have “silver bullets” that are used to help lead and navigate our way through this chaos. There is no direct cause and effect correlations between action and results – if we do this, then that will occur. The VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complexity and ambiguous) world doesn’t allow it. But we...

“ Music can heal the wounds which medicine cannot touch.” - Debasish Mridha The Impact of Trauma Upon Our Lives - Healing Childhood Trauma in Adulthood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx1k_oEZ4oc&t=15s 1] How Artists Can Turn Childhood Pain into Creativity - https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_artists_can_turn_childhood_pain_into_creativity Some performers are able to transform childhood trauma into intense creativity, suggests a new study. Whether their success was in...

Hi Folks, The June Surviving Spirit Newsletter – sharing Hope and Healing Resources for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is posted at the website – http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php It can be read online or Subscribe via – http://ml.survivingspirit.com/dada/mail.cgi/archive/newsletter/20220613164651/ or this – http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2022-06-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_June_2022.pdf To sign up for an e-mail copy, sign up @ Website via Contact Us or...

Hi Folks, My latest sharing - I read my chapter from the book, " You Can Help - A Guide for Family & Friends of Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Assault " by Rebecca Street. Honored to be a part of this book along with the other 19 survivor/thriver contributors. I also share some words from Rythea Lee's book - " Trauma into Truth - Gutsy Healing and Why It's Worth It " - The healing thoughts and wisdom from both books are applicable to all survivors of trauma and abuse. How You Can Help -...

“ There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.” - Nelson Mandela “ Anything that has real and lasting value is always a gift from within.” - Franz Kafka “ Staying quiet about one’s struggles limits that person’s ability to seek proper help or treatment.” - Sarah Bregel Michael Skinner: "Brush Away Your Tears" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SpYYc6tl4s “BRUSH AWAY YOUR TEARS”© Michael Skinner Brush away the tears from your eyes my...

By Christina Caron, Illustration: Chloe Cushman, The New York Times, June 2, 2022 In recent years, the vagus nerve has become an object of fascination, especially on social media. The vagal nerve fibers, which run from the brain to the abdomen, have been anointed by some influencers as the key to reducing anxiety, regulating the nervous system and helping the body to relax. TikTok videos with the hashtag “#vagusnerve” have been viewed more than 64 million times and there are nearly 70,000...

Hi folks, Some more thoughts and resources to counter the hurtful phrase - Just Get Over It - Part 2 . Also address the maligning labels placed upon trauma and abuse survivors. Sorry for the technical glitch of the smaller screen. Will resolve to fix that going forward. Healing Childhood Trauma in Adulthood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EgIkkKgJoE&t=36s “ Healing doesn't mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives."”- Unknown “ There are wounds...

I'm grateful for the awareness on post traumatic stress - but I hope someday they drop "disorder" from the language and use "injury" or some other word - just feels stigmatizing, like we are defective and lends credence to the stigma & discrimination we face when trying to heal from things that were done to us, experienced or that we observed. Take care, Michael. Support Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month & Learn the Signs of PTSD - ...

After three days of working with the mothers on post-traumatic stress, they invited me to take a walk with them to feed the horses. We climbed a hill behind the center in Romania where they have been staying since they evacuated from the region around Odessa.

In early May, the Community Resilience Coalition of Guelph & Wellington launched the “Building Connections for Resilient Kids” campaign about the importance of connections during childhood. Connections with adults help children develop resilience to face life’s challenges. These connections can be small actions that adults don’t realize have a big impact on a child’s wellbeing. The Coalition released a series of 8 short videos illustrating stories from community members about adults who...

Illustration by Edson Ikê Author: Bhante Sumano's article, The Power of Silence As practitioners, it’s important to make the distinction between the kind of silence that liberates and the silence that imprisons. Silence has the potential for lasting transformation, but it can too easily be weaponized in service of greed, aversion, and delusion. That’s why it is so important to understand the difference between noble silence and its shadow, ignoble silence. What Makes Silence Noble? Almost...