This provoked some fun stuff up and down my chakras. Happy summer solstice. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
Sunday mellow music
One Nation, Under Sedation
The title from the ProPublica article from the other day was too good to not highlight and share. What does it mean that we are, indeed, a nation under sedation? I think it means we are not awake to what is going on around us in far too many ways and that we'd better take heed. I'm just sharing a link to the article and then cutting and pasting my benzo page below it. The benzodiazepine information page takes a critical look at the prescribing of benzodiazepines and offers suggestions about how one might free themselves if one already takes and is perhaps addicted to the drugs. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
7 Billion Paths to Awakening: healing from what is often called psychosis
In the diverse array of terms now used - extreme states, madness, spiritual crisis, kundalini, psychosis, crazy, shamanic initiation - I see my own experience in all of them. To me, they’re all expressions of what I call Shades of Awakening. Each one with it’s own flavor, meaning and transformational path to recovery. -- After over a decade of soul searching, a new question emerged. How can I support others who are integrating to find their own truths, their own narratives and their own answers? (Be sure to visit the Shades of Awakening series page to learn about Dabney's free series of interviews with many folks who've moved through spiritual emergence (which often otherwise gets pathologized by psychiatry) and are now thriving.) … [click on title for the rest of the post]
Welcome the fear, the anxiety and thus transform it
Anxiety is basically a clinical term for fear which everyone at one time or another experiences with or without a diagnosis of some sort of anxiety “disorder.” Psychiatry pathologizes much of the normal human experience and in opposing fashion fear and/or anxiety is often referred to in Buddhism and other alternative philosophies as normal. A normal form of human suffering. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
“I am as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best”
I had the good fortune of studying Walt Whitman as a student in college. I cannot say I understood what I was being presented with at the time, but I can say that he got into my cells even then, without my knowing, and now I can begin to appreciate the genius that he's imparted to anyone who takes the time to feel into the magic of his words. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
Link found between brain, immune system: significant for those with protracted psych drug withdrawal issues
This link is important to know about for many chronic conditions. -- I have lived experience of this reality. I know it. Immune system and nervous system are totally linked...I can feel it. -- Folks in the chronic illness circles are all saying the same thing as well...we feel it...and those of us with protracted psychiatric drug withdrawal issues are also impacted...This is not news to us. Still, it's important information for the scientific and medical communities. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
What It’s Like To Be Intersex?
Below is a beautiful short little video that helps illustrate the fact that gender and sex are simply not black and white. Intersex people are born with biological elements from both sexes. These beautiful young people share what they know from having been born that way. Those who would hate such people need to see this video. -- I post this because the legacy of homosexuality having been in the DSM and also what is called gender dysphoria (which is still in the DSM). Issues of sexuality that often get highly pathologized. Sexuality and gender both, like so many things, can often be considered in terms of a spectrum and can also be very fluid and changing in pretty much anyone, really. The more we appreciate these natural variations the more we can open our hearts to all the differences among us human beings. … [click on title to read and view more]
Life is so good, so sweet… (our animal companions help underscore that)
(THE VIDEO IS ABOUT A MAN AND HIS DOG) Sharing a beautiful video of love and companionship. "There's no easy way to say goodbye to a friend, especially when they've supported you through your darkest times." -- It made me think of my time with my kitties...Jezebel in particular was my medicine cat through the darkest times. Kali of course inspired me in other ways. … [click on title to read and view more]
Rep. Tim Murphy’s Bill Promotes Forced “Treatment” over More Effective and Less Expensive Voluntary Care
On June 4, Congressman Tim Murphy introduced legislation (HR 2646) designed to dismantle the federal mental health authority – the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – which has successfully promoted recovery and community inclusion for individuals with serious behavioral health conditions for 25 years, as called for by President Bush's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. The bill would replace SAMHSA with a new Office headed by a politically appointed government official, controlled by Congress and robbing people of their civil rights through forced treatment and increased institutionalization. … [click on title to read and view more]
My life bound friend… (music and sound healing)
Sounds and vibrations of many kinds have helped me find different sorts of profound healing states. For me this has been one of the joys of becoming sensitive. I put this song on loop once and listened to it in meditation and contemplation for hours. It was a healing experience. … [click on title to read and view more]
Everything Matters 
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