Ever wonder why you yawn during deep emotional moments? It's not boredom—it's your body signaling profound shifts, especially during trauma recovery. Discover how yawning helps transition your brain from tension to relaxation, and how it reflects deep work in your nervous system.

Introspection is a natural process where our minds reflect on ourselves, but it often leans toward negativity due to our brain's survival instincts and external influences. However, exploring our sensory experiences can help us understand our thoughts and emotions better. By being curious and embracing this journey, we can grow and become more authentic. Introspection isn't about getting lost in negativity; it's about understanding ourselves deeply.

The belief that "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" doesn't always hold true for trauma survivors. Trauma can lead to behaviors like excessive accommodation, tolerance of negativity, emotional clutter, quick forgiveness, and difficulty asserting oneself. Loved ones should encourage survivors to express needs, set boundaries, and be patient. Survivors may also face challenges in speaking up, excessive sensitivity, trust issues, and navigating relationships. The path to healing involves understanding these changes, fostering open communication, and providing support for a balanced and fulfilling life.

Diving into the idea of your opposite self is a fun trip into “What if?” land. It’s about being curious enough to flip your view around, just to see what’s on the other side. Give it a shot - Ask yourself, “If I were totally different, what would I do?” You might be surprised by what you find. There could be brilliant sides of you waiting in the shadows of the unconscious mind ready to say, “Hey, where have you been?”

In this post, I share a personal journey of transformation through life's hardest moments, from losing a job to the deeper pain of losing a loved one. It's a story of how these experiences have reshaped my understanding of the unconscious mind, leading to growth, resilience, and a newfound depth of empathy. Join me as we explore the hidden lessons in life's challenges.

As the strong, silent type and a devoted executive and family man, my dad dedicated himself to self-improvement and our family's well-being. He actively worked on his marriage and was a constant in our lives despite a demanding career. After his passing, I uncovered his deep-seated struggles through a letter about my childhood abuse. This revealed his inner conflict and regret for not protecting me more, shedding light on the complex emotional challenges men face in balancing societal strength with vulnerability. His journey deeply resonates with me, highlighting the intricate dance between masculinity and emotional openness.

I recently joined Mollie Sommer's podcast to discuss my journey of self-discovery and resilience, emphasizing the rediscovering a love for learning, transformation, positive decision-making, finding joy and self-expression through dance, exploring alternative change modalities like NLP and hypnosis, and truly go through the journey of Getting Past Survivor.

Every day we have decisions, questions, quandaries, dilemmas to figure out, understand. Here are some questions that can help enlighten the process.

Imagine this: a battle within, one part cheering, "You deserve the best!" The other whispers, "No, you don't.” You try to believe, to break free from doubts. Looking back, you long for that confident step into a fulfilled life.

Ever notice resistance holding you back? What if you could let it go, embracing your truth and transforming your life?

The next time you experience a vivid dream, a sudden memory, or a strong gut feeling, don't push it away.

Welcome it. Sit with it. Understand it.

These sensory experiences are like messengers, bringing forth insights from the depths of your unconscious mind. Learn more about how to connect more deeply with yourself.

This blog post explores two mindsets: "go-getter" (enthusiastic and goal-oriented - moving towards) and "avoider" (cautious and problem-focused - moving away from). Let’s talk about the importance of language patterns in shaping our reality and encourage a balanced communication style that considers both pursuing goals and addressing challenges.

Nagging feelings like emptiness, fear, and overwhelm are signals from our unconscious mind, urging us to explore and understand ourselves better. Through self-reflection, we can decode the messages behind these feelings and make positive changes in our lives.

When my children were growing up, our dinner table was a special place. Each night, one of them would be the moderator, asking questions that brought us closer together. We shared the best and worst parts of our day, what made us laugh and cry, something we learned, and our favorite memory. These conversations created a bond that will forever be cherished.

You’ve heard of the fear of success, but what about the benefits of not succeeding? Looking back at your life, where did holding yourself back actually seem beneficial to your unconscious mind? The unconscious mind is there to serve you, but all too often it has the wrong idea. In this case, for me, it was all about changing my mindset to embrace that as much as I held myself back, I truly did want to succeed.

Over the last few years I had resolved so many things but didn't recognize that there was a part of me that was still needing to be addressed, cleared, resolved, loved, and that was my 7-8 year old who had to leave Belgium, had to leave the life where she finally had her first friends, first real relationships.

What does hope mean to you? How does it show up in your life, in your healing journey? Do you have hope for yourself? I didn’t for a long time, even though I was determined to find it. And when I did find it, I found me.

People say it's not the destination, it's the journey. But when it comes to Getting Past Survivor, it truly is the destination.

Change can feel like moving to a foreign country. Not knowing the language, the customs, the culture can be daunting, but support such as a translator or tour guide can make the transition less overwhelming. You can find similar support to be helpful when making internal changes like learning your own intuition and understanding your view of the world. Hiring a guide or travel agent in this inner journey can make huge differences in how well you navigate your internal change.

You've put a huge amount of effort into healing yourself, but something still doesn't feel right.

Here’s what I've found with pretty much everyone I know who's experienced healing and other significant events their lives.

The Expanded Wheel of Life I refer to is shared in the link below.

Life is full of chaos. And that’s a bad thing, right? Or is it? Reframing what we perceive as negative into something that’s positive will shift your focus into finding the bright side of life!