11.25.2011
bon anniversaire
highlights included recognizing the end of the line as a hoarder and purging over half of my belongings, chopping over two feet of hair off (collectively through four haircuts, both the first and last given to myself, by myself) and singing in the wedding of a couple i considered to be cherished and close friends, who i haven't heard from since.
yesterday was thanksgiving - a holiday i have no respect for and can't, for the life of me, understand why people still celebrate. that said, i was wishing for the opportunity to gather with friends or family and give thanks. as i attempt to live every day in a heightened state of graciousness, i found it ironic that for a variety of challenging moments yesterday, i was bitterly disappointed and biblically covetous. the programming of my upbringing often leaves me feeling rather lonely on holidays that don't really compute with my adult belief systems and yesterday i was beside myself with longing for my sons to be together. due to losing our house, they haven't seen eachother in almost seven weeks. they have never been apart for more than two weeks since joshua was born. i would have given anything for a place to bring them together in asheville this week, but am thankful we will have a new home together soon.
christmas has a similar feel, although the act of giving gifts makes all types of confusion more bearable. i am looking forward to having a live tree again this year, my favorite shared tradition of christmas and solstice, that will fill our new home with the piney scent of the surrounding woods. combined with cinnamon, nutmeg and apple cider brewing on the stove i can spend several weeks swimming in the fondest of my childhood memories. i am looking forward to the next month of baking and crafting with the children in my life and manifesting a good man to rock in the new year with.
i enjoy the pagan holidays with their unassuming rituals and lack of mandate the most. i appreciate cultural traditions that bear no judgement and leave room for creativity. i am most thankful that we have a home to celebrate solstice in next month and look forward to this winter bringing a deeper understanding of myself and a more balanced approach to my environment. i welcome the opportunity to practice my social skills while pushing myself to practice and perform more in the coming year. from solstice to imbolc i will be constructing the bouyant foundation necessary to surf into the new world.
this time a year ago i was planning my 40th birthday party and falling head over heels in love with one my oldest and dearest friends. he disappeared more quickly than he manifested and left me broken and confused. i allowed myself to fall deeper into the confines of being a mistress while fabricating elaborate excuses for my behavior. the summer provided two flights of fancy to fondle my fragile mind. not one, but two hustlers, reflecting my own distorted views of companionship and loyalty. one man, my age, who turned my world upside down for two weeks leading up to independence day and then disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared. he allowed me the perspective of becoming professionally proactive without the burden of financial concern. independence, in deed! that, and the seemingly endless orgasm of our physical relationship, were phenomenal gifts. his disappearance also pointed out the fact that i am susceptable to playing the blind fool. this awareness was immediately tested by the touch of the second hustler, under which i was quickly branded a failure, once again. hopefully, i have since extinguished any willingness to play the fool. or the town crier. or the clown. damn that warren haynes song and the deeply penetrating influence of one dead-but-risen relationship with one ever-attentive piedmont man. i must have sang it, and believed it, one too many times. "and i'll be the one that used to worship you...."
the significance of the second hustler, and the inspiration for writing about holidays, is that the submarine window of time we were interwoven, 8 hours, was on the anniversary of my marraige 17 years earlier. (17 ~ 8) it was also a shocking and unexpected union after having taken an intense and varied interest in said hustler 8 months earlier. since it had never occured to me he would take a sexual interest in me, my fantasy had been to write and record an album with him. i was calling it "gem.in.eyes". in the days before we came together physically i was working up a proposal to get involved with him professionally as a booking agent, promoter and/or choreograper. tragically, instead, we shared a bed. it was over the subsequent aftermath of confusion and disconnect i learned that this man had given up celebrating holidays for his intimate partner. no birthdays. not hers. not his. no anniversary of their love. no remembrance of st. valentine. no day of the dead, with all it's sane significance in his story. this was unfathomable to me, the holiday girl of yore. what i eventually realized is that many people give things up for love. same sex friendships, career aspirations, favorite pieces of furniture, holiday orgies and even the celebration of the anniversary of the consummation of that love. instead of seeking the love that gives without end, many settle for companionship in it's most comfortable form and give up what is deemed necessary to maintain that illusion of security. god, i decreed, don't let that be me.
so today i remind myself that every day i wake up is a reason to celebrate. that you don't need the name holiday to find a reason to gather and toast to life. that denying any reason to celebrate is an invitation into the darker side of existence. that there should be no excuse to commemorate the mistakes, failures and incarcerations of life - especially by denying those dates that remind us we are good and that we have found other sources of goodness. the day someone makes you feel undeniable love is a day to be remembered. a day when someone professes their love to you or claims you are an inspiration to love or makes a commitment to love you....all of these shall be celebrated.
today i remind myself that there is no need for shame in maintaining any existence. just as there is no call for pride. that appearing hidden is to hide. that when i am called to love, i will love unconditionally and without fear. that as sure as i'm born and feel your breath on my ear, your presence is near.
the captain of my cruise will knock on my door. he will show me what our love is for. he will take me to the stage from the dance floor and we will travel the world on tour. of all this, i am sure.
happy birthday.
you are love(d).
8.25.2011
silence
i have silenced myself again, because she doesn't deserve my truth right now. not to mention, she can't handle the truth. obviously. she never has been able to - striving for the norman rockwell moments in life, she seems to have natural blinders to the hard stuff. sometimes i wish i had them, so i could plough through the responsibilities of adulthood and parenting. i wish i hadn't broken my fingernails trying to claw hers off her face. but she just keeps rebuilding that crystal palace where things don't get dirty and voices don't get raised. maybe children don't get molested there anymore either. one can hope.
i am in my cave. i am alone here, except for the child. the child i focus each day to protect from the world at large. sometimes by denying us both that world - but i don't think it misses us. we are the ones missing out, but i tell myself it will be safe soon. or someone will come to guide us. to protect us. someone will come to raise me, so that i might better raise him. someone will come.
and then the silence will end. and we will hear music again.
we will dance.
8.17.2011
peaceful easy feelings
i am constantly reminded, as we enter a significant election year this autumn, of the variance of beliefs and opinions found in our small community of music and art minded folks. not everyone believes in unity. in my experience, not even all those who promote the concept of unity live by it's standards. while i love sport, i don't believe in competition. i believe there is room for everyone at the table. i believe in balance and inclusion and equality, which all support the concept of unity. the human race is the solitary race. any dissent that doesn't include thought-provoking, rational debate is simply spew - fear is debilitating.
the above sentiments encapsulate all three things on my mind this evening. one is the upcoming presidential race and the social and performance politics that will come up in our village. it is a time ripe for music and art as a primary tool. i hope the creative masses of asheville will not be afraid to step out and step up. act up. activate change. i hope that my own fear won't keep me in a box.
i am also thick in a mental aftermath of a night which included too many crowns and being forced into unexpected treats. that is not a complaint by any means. i was thankful for the opportunity to get out. to hang out with a man i love and respect. i was also incredibly thankful for the agreement to not hang out at one stop and go down the street to.... well, anywhere but the onestop. it's a lovely place - especially the floor - and the sound is fine for the space and there are always lots of good people there, but i don't need to invite drama into my life, and when someone clearly doesn't like you it seems stupid to hang out at their establishment. so, my dear man accommodated my need for speed and we sped away into that good night. i was blessed to see some of my favorite women watching the screaming j's and thankful for a few drinks with good people.
at that point, i'm sure we should have gone home but i was outvoted 3-1 and returned to the onestop. fully prepared to be asked to leave. but adults behaved like adults and somehow we were there long enough for a few more drinks. in rare form, i lost count. i will cosmically thank the management for allowing me to be present. i had a great time and was gracious, as always, to watch some of my favorite musicians funk it up. mr.'s bjorlie, knorr, hovey, mason and more. it had been way too long since i'd heard an instrument being played live, other than my plunking away on mine. which is so not the same thing. oh, for the day when i can sing while they play ((((((O))))))
i only feel a smirk of what can't even be described as guilt for loving another woman's man. the feeling is like a suspension of disbelief - and guilt, well what is that anyway - more negative judgement that in my god's name must be declared unnecessary. this feeling of appreciation is only slightly tainted by the illusion of our ability to be together. except there is no illusion. we are honest with eachother and when we're together, we are together. what of those around us, that judge me for loving you and judge you for betraying her? i wish i cared more for their projections but i just cast them back as reflections. it confuses me but it doesn't upset me.
if only your sordid tales of swinging didn't taint the spiritual objectives of a more puritan concept of the open relationship. if only you would approach the topic with her. discretion is not ill advised, but certainly goes against the grain conceptually. which is why people who label themselves swingers can sometimes be so painfully outspoken. my hypocrisy knows no bounds, but i'm painfully outspoken for different reasons. one of them is because i find it difficult to trust people who are so very good at keeping secrets.
another big shift that occured this week is that mark griffith switched his alias to his real name on facebook and one of joshua's random searches last week brought them book to book. he sent him a friend request and wrote him an email and has been patiently checking only once a day. he seems content with the finding. "even if he doesn't respond, atleast i can find him there". joshua doesn't know what blocking is, hopefully neither does his father. my greatest prayer is that he will reach out to him there. i hope every day is the day he knocks on the door and introduces himself.
so in flight tonight, we unify. i am spending a decent percentage of my days right now in meditation and psychic connection. it is a time to be vigilent with the tools that keep you whole and connected. to your body, your gods, your people, your world at large and the oneness of the human race. it is a time of death and growth simultaneously in every given moment. we must embrace these changes in order to outgrow them. the next year is an incredibly important time to activate your deepest desires and to share your greatest visions. i recommend you watch your volume and enthusiasm in public, hang with people who get it and moderate your substances. love. peace. unity.
all situations fixed.
8.12.2011
the stillness in the dancing
now i look out onto a fresh horizon. noone to disappoint. nothing to hold me back. i wonder what my children will think when they look back from the future, but i believe they will understand. i believe it will be a different world. i know that judgement has already been passed, so now the only limitations are my own. i will always know what is real. i will laugh at their perceptions and only cry alone.
you are wandering toward a certain destiny, aimlessly and carelessly, but with unrelenting purpose. you laugh at your loved ones and find yourself more and more alone. you are envious of those who look up to you. they have so much more than you had even dared to desire. you wonder if they pity you. you wonder if your loved ones laugh at you. you know that they do.
in time, there will come an equality. i ask my heart to beat balance. i feel my space unify and strengthen my resolve as i move through it, dancing for your heart. listen to it's beat. it's yours. yours alone. i can hear it. like a child who rests on it's mother's soft bosom, i can feel the silk nest of your chest against my cheek and my ear and i know that your heart beats in time with mine. listen and you will find me.
you can have it all. i can as well. we already have it all. it is there for the taking as soon as we reach for it. can you hear the silence in the music? can you feel the stillness in the dancing?
i was always there. you have never left.
8.11.2011
hunger
Found in a draft folder from 8.11.11:
"i wake up daily with my belly growling and satisfy it with glasses of water and fiber tablets. i worry about my son's headaches as i ration out cheese and peanut butter and pear slices. i wonder why my head is throbbing and i remember that i drank dinner because it's easier to get people to buy you booze than food. i thought our $120 in food stamps would be available two days ago but i forgot they changed the processing date this summer. we have four more days and then we can go buy some food. every day seems longer than the one before it. we'll be careful and only get what we need, and we'll keep rationing to try and make it last a whole month. we'll go get the most affordable groceries, provided we can get to the grocery and back after putting $3.45 in coins in the gas tank yesterday. the gas light is still on. i wonder how i might get a storage unit for a few things if we get evicted. i wonder how i got here. i wonder if there is a time in my future where i don't feel totally and completely alone. i don't know how to move. i am stuck in this body with this mind. i am frozen in fear and loathing, wishing for a string of men, who will pay me for my time and my touch and my nakedness. i have already crossed all the lines in my mind and now i'm just biding my time. my body aches for food and affection. i don't care anymore about the consequences. i just want to survive."
Almost 7 years later, 3.3.18:
I lost my home 2 months after I wrote this. I took my son to my mother's home & lived in my van for 2 months. After 18 months of vomitting every time I brushed my teeth.... due to PTSD and the surfacing of repressed memories, some of my teeth began to fall apart.
I received Section 8 and found an apartment to bring home my youngest son. So much loss in the previous years (2008-2011 was a severe period of my life) leading to so much healing and growth.
By 2012, I had found resolve. I practiced acceptance daily. As I repaired my affordable apartment I began my journey with EMDR. Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing has healed my brain in many ways and empowered me to transform my life.
Today I return to Austin, TX for the first time in 16 years. I am heading to one of the most rewarding conferences in the entertainment industry, SXSW. Platinum pass for this leader in Edutainment. I am in graduate school, healthier than I've been in almost 20 years. My son is thriving. I launched a podcast last month, Full Disclosure Asheville. I love my life.
So here's the thing. Embrace your plight. Write and sing your prayers. Believe in yourself. Hold on. Time does heal all wounds. Travel in multiple dimensions and seed your wildest dreams.
Hold on to your hunger, and allow it to feed your soul. You are full of breath and life. You shall overflow ((((((((O))))))))
beer and self-loathing in ashevegas
we sing our own praises and perfect all the tricks. we are providing a place where the party is always available. where freaks are bred like heirloom tomatoes and boundaries are clarified just to be crossed. rule breakers toast drinks with rule makers and you don't need a full set of teeth to express an opinion on world finance.
asheville, stop repeating yourself. you're not convincing anyone who's going to be around to support your preposterous notions when the snow is falling in a few months. sit back and enjoy the moment. you've created something that entertains all your whimsy and fanciful notions. you can have an upscale dining experience or pbr in the streets with the same state of bliss. both are likely to include dancing. recognize the beauty in authenticity and stop projecting the facade of plenty. most of our population is struggling. and those who aren't are the conservative vote. they could give a shit if another burlesque dancer is out of her retail job or some single mama can't afford the mortgage her ex-husband left when he went to california two winters ago and never came back.
i'm told my younger son's father owns a lot of land in west virginia. that he lives a good life, with his wife and two kids and their incredibly profitable farm and i wonder what karma lies in not sharing. i wish i had been better at sharing. both times, i suppose. one extreme or the other, as they say. the irony of two fathers named mark. one a condescending prick at the federal building, proudly displaying his choice to denounce me as useless, even dangerous, and another who lives underground in fear of me. both small-minded and weak. i dominated both of them as sport and loathe who i was when i did so. so full of hot air i should have floated away, but instead preyed on what was available and was grounded by that universal sense of humour called offspring. now i long to be dominated. or at the very least, to be advised. guided. supported. grounded.
grounded. grounding. i was grounded by my parents often in my youth, but had no concept of what it meant to be grounded the way i more commonly use the word now. i wonder what getting grounded would have been like, if i'd had actual tools for grounding. what would my teenage world have been like with meditation, sage to burn or vetivert to rub on my feet. i suppose i unknowingly used tobacco and journaling, possibly in excess, as that was what was available: grandma's cigarettes and the words flying around in my head. get grounded asheville, before some higher power grounds us with water, wind or fire.
thank you for your acceptance and your tolerance. i will choose whiskey and self-love any day of the week, but i will embrace your beer and self-loathing if you promise to pitch in on the chores. there are people here doing amazing things. they come and they go. some say they will never leave, but everything is changing. many will go back to where they came from. some will go anew, to explore the changes. the rest of us have nowhere else to go - we are road bound with roots - we belong here, nesting and creating in this valley. we have to work together so, enough with the hate. let's clear the plate and work together and grow. i may be scratching at the belly of the underdog right now, but i'll be back to ride on his brow. i stay plugged in, even when i'm cast aside. i know i can sing and i strut when i stride, but i will also admit that i'm dying inside. your hoops become boring after so many years, what's fresh to your ass is just another cheap beer in another odd year and i'm an old bitch so i can smell your fear. i wish i could tell you i loved you my dear. i know you're just hoping that you can fit in - you are going to break if you don't learn to bend. you're right in the middle - these are your friends. yet you look out at me and still need to feel big, so you kick like a donkey and snort like a pig.
deflect the hot lights and make a big stink: "please direct your attention to the lady in pink. you know her, she's crazy, she played here last year. just don't get too close or she'll bite off your ear. she loves like van gogh because we painted her so, it's amazing what projections can form, don't you know.... " and i can be one in your stable of fools, because that's what you do when you're young, rich and cool, right? surround yourself with a circle of jewels. other young talent with promise and hope. be careful, lest you end up with far too much rope. like santa on easter with halloween elves, i hate it when the chosen go and hang themselves. the brain goes insane from too much refrain, so please keep it fresh and tighten the reigns and don't let the horses get put up so wet, you'll be living out songs and grasping forgrets, wondering how everything got so over the top and wishing the carousel knew how to stop but the horses go up and the tigers go down and the ticker tape paper blows all over town.
wake up asheville. the smoke has cleared. there's no room left for fear. especially of each other.
8.10.2011
what now?
your dice, your wad. my own vice squad.
for years i've walked the line and danced in a ring of fire, but now my innocence is dead and i have my own desires. i don't need your pity and i don't care for your disgust. i will still be watching when you begin to rust. i notice when you look at me from across a crowded room and i wonder when our paths will cross. we could fuck in an alley at noon. i hate the way i want you as you stagger out the door and wonder why we ever met and what that night was for. you took my breath away and planted seeds of deprivation. you cultivated cravings that reflect this dying nation. secrets rife with greed and need and playing dangerous roles when open doors and open lives are the saviors for our souls. so instead of cumming into your life willing to implore, i will cast myself as mistress mary, temporary whore. you will be my passcode and i'll call out your name and none of them will realize their pawnship in our game. don't deny your starring role, own your inspiration. soon you will come to harvest the fruits of your creation.
8.06.2011
excuse me while i kiss the sky
worked myself into the script
but now the time has come
that we all need the script to be flipped
i let myself stand in the wings
but that was in the past
one long ass mistake i let myself make
and now you all want to see me typecast
i don't know why committed men
seem to make me rhyme
i do know that i just go with the flow
and in my mind love is blind
and now i hear of another girl
somehow looking down on my friends
and i ask myself "ashevillage -
when does the bull shit end?"
i don't even know you
but i do know that you're kind
and i don't wish to hurt anyone
by admiring what isn't mine
but people need to recognize
and open up their eyes
and shovel out their own stable
and give up the ghost that lies
i never hit on anyone
or flashed booty in nobody's face
i'm just a woman on my own
looking for a place
a place where i can get in, fit in
maybe even stay
a place where i can mostly work
and that would be okay
a place where i am met with smiles
invitations to walk on stage
a place where i can play and dance
and sing and love and rage
a place where visions come to life
lifted off my page
a place where i can support my family
with more than minimum wage
and i just like his smile, his eyes
but mostly his open mind
the way it pours into my heart
riding on the wings of the rhyme
but i don't have to tell you
you hear his voice every day
i'm sure it makes you hot like a tater tot
or some fireworks on freedom day
and it is not my aim to fix what's workin'
'cause if it's workin' it don't need to be fixed
but unless it's open for everyone to read
there's always gonna be tricks
my advice to you is to own your spot
project what's true and don't believe what's not
instead of snatchin' hats when you're not that stealth
walk up and introduce yourself
could've nipped it in the bud 8 months ago
but instead - i don't even know you, yo
i wish i had somewhere else to go
but this is my home through heat, sleet and snow
the only place i'm going is on the road
so better get together and work on your code
a code of ethics so that noone gets hurt
when everyone's messy, playin' out in the dirt
it needs to cover locals, not just bitches on the road
and atleast two people who respect the code
namaste from kid and play
we cain't help it - we was born this way
8.04.2011
aurean hymn to dionysus
8.02.2011
have i told you lately that i love you?
she also told me she wished i would try medication, so that i could get along better with my teenager (he is a teenager) and my employers (most of whom have been just as certifiable as i am) and her, of course. because medication works so well for her. she's anxiety ridden to the point that she's had a headache for the last 5 months. i don't want to take one pill to get along, then another to sleep, then another for the mess in my stomach that the first two pills are causing. i've watched countless people choose or be put upon that path and i've NEVER seen it work long term. i know NOONE who is happier or wealthier or more anything than they were before a year or ten years of prescription drugs. i have watched alot of people become very ill after many years and some people get crazier when it comes time to ween off the crap. i had one family member that, after an amazing life 50+ years long which included a beautiful wife and four great kids, was put on anti-depressants for the first time in his life just over a year ago. less than a month later he hung himself. i'm not taking meds, mom. you must accept that.
in the near future, medicinal marijuana will be available and you'll finally start to see and hear testimonials to natural self-medication. as needed. right now, i'm going to stick with holy basil, meditation and screaming bloody murder when the urge strikes me. i will continue to let out my rage in the healthiest ways i know how and process the memories as they come, but i will not numb my mind to make the process more bearable. while i would love some emotional support, i can handle it. i firmly believe the universe doesn't deliver anything we can't handle by our own evolutionary powers, until it's time to give up the ghost and get back to the real work on the other side. i also believe every death holds it's purpose, which means that last task we couldn't handle was designed with just as divine a purpose as every challenge that stretches and shapes us into our authentic selves while we are alive.
so.... at the end of that conversation i told her that she was welcome to give up on me but that i would continue, every day, to open my heart to her and hope that our relationship would eventually heal. i told her i would try again tomorrow. the next day i called her. and the next day i called her. and then today, after a week struggling not to be depressed that she wasn't making any attempt to contact me via phone or email, i called again. she answered.
she proceeded to tell me that she was disgusted by me and that my writing was pure filth. that she didn't want to talk to me or for me to write to her and that while she would really like to talk to joshua and to see him she could not look at me. wow. the only phrase she brought up was from a facebook note where i expressed a fantasy of sodomizing my ex-husband with a dildo. i didn't use the word rape and you couldn't convince me he wouldn't enjoy it on some level. sick, vile pedophile that i presume him to be. she said i needed to censor myself to protect my family. where was she when i was campaigning against censorship with ian on my hip? i was reminded of when she saw my first tattoo, japanese symbol for the word "poetry" and no bigger than a quarter, and proclaimed that "only sailors and whores get tattoos". i wish i'd been clever enough to shout back that i wasn't ever going to join the navy. instead i just laughed and walked away. i was eighteen and she'd just ripped a band-aid off my arm in front of my friends. it was, in fact, comical.
i pray to the powers of the universe that my mother can have some sort of awakening. something that allows her to see my mental health issues as real concrete results of my childhood abuse. that she can understand that the things i do and the way i handle things is not unique, or even crazy, but common among the faction of humanity that has experienced the same or similar experiences that i had while in her care. i pray that she will see that i do accept my part, that i daily take responsibility for my children and the way my process and lack of skills has affected them. that i take responsibility for breaking the chains. i pray that she will realize writing about bending someone over is healthier than bending someone over against their will - or sometimes even with their consent, if they give it out of fear or obligation. i wish she could see how hard i have worked to stop spreading the poison i was programmed to spew. i wish she could understand how difficult it is to reprogram trauma and to break the generational chains of abuse; to end the domino effect that victims can perpetrate in their communities. i wish she would hold me and nurture me and encourage me. i wish she would tell me with conviction that everything is going to be okay. i wish she could take responsibility for her part in this play.
The following is taken from a website for a women's treatment center (www.wiit.com):
The women who come to WIIT for incorporation therapy are often very frightened by what is going on inside themselves. They are depressed, angry, hurt, confused. They suffer from anxiety and panic attacks, they have trouble sleeping, they see pictures or hear voices, they make unhealthy relationship choices, their marriages or families are in trouble. Some have been involved with drugs, alcohol, sexual acting out, bingeing/purging, compulsive spending, etc. Most are bothered by suicidal thoughts or feel very tired of life.
What is dissociation?
Dissociation is a gift that everybody has to help them survive overwhelming events. It is a separation of the body and mind which occurs as a result of trauma... the body is trapped in the traumatic event, but the mind escapes. This is a highly developed survival skill which is recognizable from outside the victim by a fixed gaze with a slow or non-response to external stimuli or a marked change in mood, affect, and/or behavior.
What is "Incorporation Therapy?"
Incorporation Therapy is a proactive approach to the stabilization of the internal crisis and chaos that is the hallmark of those suffering from Dissociative Disorders. The approach is two pronged. These are very intelligent and creative people. It is their very intelligence and creativity that allowed them to "escape within themselves" when they were small and physically defenseless. So there is a strong didactic component to the program which helps them to understand how and why they got the way they are. This accomplishes a number of things. To begin with it helps them to begin to realize that they are not "crazy" and that they might possibly be able to get well. It also starts to take some of the terror out of their experiences and frees them to begin to talk about what's really going on inside them. At that point they can begin to learn some techniques to help them stay grounded and present... On the other hand, since these women have relied so heavily on their cognitive system for survival, it is best to work with them therapeutically from an emotional approach. Incorporation therapy focuses on the loss of self in the trauma episode. Therefore, the identification, acceptance and forgiveness of self are important if the patient is to gain a healthy internal relationship with self... In the final stage, Incorporation therapy is a patient driven revisiting technique that allows an individual to recover what they had lost during a traumatic event and to resolve the emotional component connected to a memory of traumatic loss.
i include this excerpt, as opposed to just linking to the website, because i think this passage explains alot, in layman's terms, about the experience i've had. in addition, it discusses some of the modalities i've received in the last eight years, as well as the type of self-therapy that i engage in daily. i am fully aware that i have a dissociative order to contend with. i started leaving my body at a terrifically young age. i can't be exactly sure but i believe by age three or four. several of my therapists have said since the first incident. it was explained to me that because i was so young - only a few months old - i had likely not lost the skill yet of astral projection. it is one of the gifts typically unlearned as we are experientially integrated deeper into the physical plane.
this is their treatment philosophy at WIIT:
We Help Women Reclaim Their Lives. It is our belief that while the women we treat are suffering and in many ways have become dysfunctional, they are strong, intelligent and creative. Our goal is to help our patients recognize and experience their strengths and talents, which up until now have been invested in a survival effort which often relates back to childhood. We then focus on teaching them how to redirect their strengths and talents towards reclaiming themselves and building their lives.
We Foster a Positive Atmosphere. Atmosphere is very important to our program. Our women's unit is small and maintained separately from the rest of the hospital. The unit is not run in a strictly traditional manner. All of our patients are voluntary; there are no restraints used and there is no time out or isolation room. We treat the results of trauma in women: Depression, grief, loss, compulsive behaviors, self harm, Dissociative Disorders and PTSD. We support recovery and 12 step involvement for those with addiction or eating disorder problems, but we do not do primary treatment in those areas. We do not initiate abreactive work on the unit. We do not allow acting out or self destructive behavior. This is accomplished by making our standards known and having the patients contract with us regarding their behavior. The peer experience on the unit is positive. The grouping with other motivated women with similar problems helps them to "share the secret(s)."
i include this one on the off chance that my mother might actually read it and it will offer some sort of focus on how to understand me and my healing process enough to desire a relationship with me. that it might encourage her to learn something about my issues and how professionals recommend dealing with them, instead of just wishing i could wiggle my nose and move forward, without another thought of the past. my favorite statement on the website is "our goal is to help our patients recognize and experience their strengths and talents, which up until now have been invested in a survival effort which often relates back to childhood". i wish she could recognize my strengths and talents and understand that so much of my mental and physical energy has been spent in an effort to survive.
she would like me to suppress, as i did most of my life, as opposed to purging and healing. the reality is i will no longer suppress, because suppression of toxicity causes dis.ease. plain and simple. i am healthy and intend to stay that way by continuing to address my mental health as needed. it has been nine years since what i refer to as active recovery began and twenty-three years since the first time she and my father drove me to a therapist against my will and addressing my mental health is still a daily requirement. i use the term active recovery because anything i did before my source memories surfaced wasn't actively addressing my real problems. talking about rape and divorce and bad relationships was never going to heal me from childhood sexual abuse if i couldn't acknowledge that abuse as the root of all the other problems. daily self-care is worth the time it takes to not use prescription drugs and continue to get healthier every day while experiencing the full range of emotions i was designed to experience. an hour or five - it is worth every minute to me.
someday i hope my mother can respect that. someday i hope she will be able to encourage me along the path that i pave and occasionally even visit me and walk with me there. someday i hope she will realize that mine is a beautiful life with nothing to be afraid of. someday i hope she will find her way back to the source of unconditional love. and i know it's a long shot, but someday perhaps she will even find something about me that fosters respect. on this day, i respect myself and that's all i have control of. i do so love this life. enough that even in times of little companionship and even less compassion i will march on. left. right. left, right, left. breathe. strut. breathe, strut, breathe.
8.01.2011
mad men and watchdogs
i hope his careless lies don't deliver his sudden death
like drunk drivers in the 70's with kids playing in the floorboards
your ignorance is no less dangerous than women keeping scoreboards
your bark was completely absent and now so is your face
i hope you enjoyed your 15 of fame 'cause you aren't welcome back in this place
you could have raised another one, maybe a daughter called destiny
but i won't do it again alone, letting you take the rest of me
you think you and chance will be close after his moms done raising him
chance knows his own reality and that you just drift while she can swim
your lies and deceit build your house of pain
your denial of me drives you insane
i somehow felt safe when you said my name
never crossed my mind i was only a game
i know that i am a lone bitch still searching for my pack
i believe you are a coward and have no defined skills of attack
your safety is just an illusion and your heart is bound in fright
i pray that you will find someone to get you through the night
i will accept my own tragic gullibility and be thankful for the two weeks of bliss
i will forget the month of loneliness and attempt only to remember your kiss
i have to assume all your words were lies but i know what i felt was the truth
i forgive you your absence and childish fear
you forgive the death of our youth
i know that when i bark, it is only a taste of my bite
i watch as much as three eyes can with vision that lights up the night
if you ever come near me again my eye teeth will make you bleed
you will then know the pain that she will feel as i cast out your seed
7.31.2011
O say can u see how he triggered me?
this brings to mind my recent theory that my inner child is finally a teenager. i don't care what you think about inner children or if you entertain yours or deny it. i will say denying your inner child may leave you eternally neglected and therefore, difficult to live with. i used to make fun of such notions, but when i began heart centered hypnotherapy in 2003, i was informed that my inner child was still a toddler. where most people become emotionally stunted or psychologically scarred around the 7-11 age range, i had barely gotten my emotional psyche out of diapers. my therapist told me that if i ever hoped to have functional relationships i better focus on maturing what i had just referred to, jokingly, as my inner bitch. not old enough to be considered a bitch, she was just lonely, hungry and mean.
so over the last eight years, with a roll call of therapists and invaluable friends, i have raised that little hellion into a hellish teen. i told my seventeen year old son recently that he's likely still a couple years older than me, emotionally, but that i'm working double time and should finally catch up in my 40's. hopefully, by the time i have grandchildren my inner child will be a responsible adult.
recently i behaved in a way that i would not classify as being a responsible adult. possibly a carefree one. possibly a very stupid one. i pushed some boundaries against my better judgement and invited some psychological stretching that i hadn't bargained for. i have never had anyone tell me about their significant other and then advance physically. when i offered the security of a crashpad, i was still just hoping to share a caravan induced meal on the road the next day. jaded by a professional crush and already wet from the signature scent of a working man's sweat, i was surprised by how incredibly turned on i was by a man i had just watched puke his guts out an hour earlier. somehow my pussy was throbbing for someone with little to no concern for karmic retribution and no obvious inclination to treat me with any modicum of respect. i found myself wondering how the sound of someone's voice could outweigh the words they choose? i will say, in support of any new experience which transcends your previous concept of norms, my sexual psyche has opened up to a whole new vocabulary in the last week or so and to very positive accolades. words that i used to find offensive i have now considered tattooing on my body. things i would never have thought i would enjoy have been finding their way into my fantasies. phrases like "suck my cock, evil cunt" have taken on a whole new meaning. not that he said anything that offensive, just that my mind has now gone there with easy abandon. that's the part that has caught me off guard - the psychological aftermath has been on par with a week in detroit rolling like a rock star with joey mac, his gorgeous baby blues and that massive amount of manhood. hours of evolutionary ecstasy over the last week or so, inspired by nothing more than a little harmless petting. well harmless, except for the foul sentiments and attempted roughness, shockingly interspersed with gentle reassurances, erotically charged massage and the sweetest arms i've ever slept in. those eyes don't hurt either. or i meant, they don't help. because aftermath class is over. the teacher has left the building.
the triggers were things like being told to be quiet in a hotel room. i'm a woman who can make some noise. the presence of a third person in the room, sleeping or pretending to sleep is irrelevant, is it not? it's still landing on the decadent, potentially disrespectful side of the line. i'm pretty sure the last time i fooled around with someone else in the room, not a consenting participant, i was 16. then there were phrases like "you know you want to....", "you can't tell anyone, do you understand me?" and the refusal to accept my simple "no" as a simple truth. there were other things, but i don't wish to embarrass anyone. really. the reality is i was, and am still, turned on by the incident. i can't shake the sensation of hot breath on the back of my neck when i hear his voice. i can feel his fingertips digging into my shoulder. i can still smell him because the experience was so psychologically charged.
it was a night full of intense triggers and at one point i even had to display weakness, which really pissed me off. he said "that's a good girl" which brought back a rush of fuzzy memories with renewed clarity. noone had ever pulled that trigger before. the third time he said it i resisted the temptation to remove his knee cap with my bare hands and quietly asked him not to say it again. it was in his favor that i had refused to put my mouth anywhere near his penis or he might have a few less inches to work with.
his ability to not utter this phrase again only encourages my desire to get past myself and be a good girl for him. i told myself the next day i would work that trigger myself, so that if we ever came together again i could beg him to say it. in defiance of myself and his expectations, over the last couple of weeks i've been a childish, judgemental bitch who amplifies her presumed loneliness by isolating herself even further. it's much easier to be presumptuous and condescending to someone than to be authentic and rejected. being a bitch often seems like the safest route for me. i am comfortable with isolation. despite displays of aggression and dominance, the reality is this man displayed such depths of self-control as we lay together in those few short hours that i am inspired to be more like him. taking what he wants, without expectation, judgement or fear of consequence. knowing securely when he's right and when he's wrong and being equally comfortable with both. it's not a bad gig if you can live with it.
i wonder sometimes if my abuse will always be triggered. i believe that a solid partner is in my immediate future and that when i explore my sexuality with the same man for a decent period of time, i will be healed. i believe a tortured soul can be fully healed. i believe in enlightenment. i have come farther than i ever would have thought possible, so i know the journey will continue to evolve with growth and confidence. as a professional, the healing process that i have learned to facilitate through being a client of so many amazing therapists is one of the greatest gifts of my journey. the amount of knowledge that they have collectively shared is immense and only compliments my path as a practitioner. the grateful reality of my personal life, is that every relationship i've ever had has been better than the last. as long as life continues to get better, can you really be brazen enough to complain? even my clandestine relations with that man on the rise.... when he was my boyfriend years ago, the sex was great, but our involvement over the last year has been even better. it may be the decadence of the situation or it could be attributed to having other lovers with other skills, but you get the point - i can't really complain. companionship with someone intelligent and funny is invaluable, and if you get to have sex there's an added bonus. intimacy only enhances your connection and someone who stimulates you to think and to laugh can only serve your evolution as an intelligent, humorous being. sexual transmutation is not only a tool to think and grow rich, it is one of the most powerful keys to our evolution as a species. the person you have sex with every day is either driving you toward your destiny or standing in your way.
the only thing i ask for is someone who understands my desires: to perform, record and travel while blazing mental fires. an outlaw who's mind and manhood merge to ignite me with precision, while harnessing my passion, riding me to develop a vision. i would like to travel the world with a strong man in my day to day, sharing some time in the spotlight and believing by pointing the way. i would dance for a rhinestone cowboy who surprises me now and again, by knowing what triggers to pull - which ones, how hard and when. click. boom. pow. how ya like me now?
the future of sex
i know that i will likely always reside in the leftist extreme of society, but i do know a few folks who are more comfortable living all the way to the right. this causes me to attempt to atleast visualize a happy medium, even though i may never embrace it as a lifestyle. within the realm of sexuality, we need new boundaries for affecting all the many aspects of life that our sexuality affects. most in need of reform are media and education. both of these factions are immense and profoundly affect our future by shaping our youth.
we can no longer afford to entertain people afraid of talking about sex with children, while we pump it down their throats on the boob tube. we are currently living in a world where predators are spoon fed victims. it is time to let go of the idea that subliminal sex is anything less than blatant programming. the boundaries must envelop what has been learned about the brain - researchers are willing to share information with parents, as well as advertisers, so don't allow yourself to be complacently ignorant or you are a huge part of the problem. did you know that the part of the brain activated by heightened action in movies (horror, explosions, suspense) is the same area stimulated by sex scenes? the earlier you activate this part of the brain, the earlier you are inviting a myriad of attractions and interests. my advice is to teach children how their brain works, as well as practices like meditation, breathwork and tantric yoga so that they might learn to harness and control their own natural, organic urges as they develop.
we must also educate entire communities about the presence and proper treatment of sexual predators. the signs of potential abuse are easy to read and communicate, once you know what to look for. and for the record, incarceration nor castration solve the predator problem. every predator is also a victim. productive rehabilitation is founded on compassion and understanding the root of sexual issues. it requires custom combinations of treatment modalities with progressive minds, creating a safe environment to address mental health; but that's a vast topic for another day.
regarding a more balanced sexual culture, the media could also choose to respect brain development, as well as the neuroscience of the adult brain, instead of using our brains against us, so to speak. to respect the media's indomitable influence on the future and place that as a priority over the current state of the dollar when developing marketing resources would be an evolutionary jump. stations could begin to explore finances that favor therapeutic and preventative solutions to optimum health over pharmaceutical solutions to a wealth of maladies: locally grown food providers over fast food chains. commercials for books and records as often as commercials for movies. programming that raises the quality of life by expanding consciousness. the explosion of programming does provide more choices and the real solution is choosing your media wisely. choose to pay $10/month for netflix and avoid commercials all together. choose to buy magazines that advertise products that strive to co-create a future you are aligned with. conscious consumerism is the single most important thing you can do to level the playing field and save this country. some might say save the world.
the highest future we can imagine values the common consciousness while celebrating the unique perspective. it allows for each of us to live in the present moment and celebrate the bliss that becomes available in any given scenario. this opinion breeds open mindedness beyond what some of us are currently capable of. i prefer to respect the organic growth of attraction wherever it sprouts and explore the depths of mutual awareness. the universe orchestrates nothing by coincidence and creates a fertile environment for constant evolution. if we deny the things that transform us transcendentally, we deny our ability to evolve. many presume hedonism is only about fulfilling the desire for physical pleasure, but pleasure begins and ends in the brain. sometimes placing boundaries, even choosing monogamy, provide a bliss that is secure and comforting beyond physical companionship or orgasm, so i would prefer not to be misunderstood regarding my opinions on monogamy (closed relationship) vs. polygamy (open relationship) or the validity of either.
the future should cover obscene amounts of pleasure while respecting the innocence of the young and curious. this is far more simple than some would have you believe. the future must also provide acceptance for whatever defines pleasure for any individual at any point in their journey - provided, of course, that all shared activities are consensual. there are a huge amount of human beings alive right now who are not able to experience pleasure - this void contributes to most of the maladies that plague our world culture. i believe most of these blockages toward pleasure are the result of suppression, neglect or trauma experienced at an earlier time. in our current culture, many people are plagued by elements of shame. by definition shame denotes pain, the opposite of pleasure but often a stop along the way. the body holds emotions like shame and allows them to affect our daily lives, much like a text book can contain lies that shape future generations. most of us agree that our history defines our future. i also believe that history can be redefined within the body. i have experienced extreme healing by reprogramming physically stored memories that are causing chronic physical conflict/pain. these are exercises that not only release pain, but in turn heighten pleasure. in a form of make-believe, we can make what we choose to believe about a traumatic event and release ourselves from debilitating circumstances. it will never change what happened, but it does change our physiological response to it.
our journey to sexual wholeness through the pleasure principal may have some surprising stops along the way. some of you might mock the idea of what others find pleasureable. i can give a myriad of examples of odd fetishes that you think you couldn't possibly wrap your mind around, followed by an explanation of how that fetish developed and develop such a sense of compassion in you, that you just might want to help that freak heal their way to ecstasy. you might not, of course, but i've seen it happen. let's take a mainstream example that usually brings extreme reaction - anal sex. now if you bring up anal sex in a group of people, you'll see two faces - embarrassment mixed with disgust or horror and a few sheepish grins. those who judge deserve to be taken - anally, of course.
the reality of anal sex is two fold positivity that i hope i can explain without disturbing anyone. the current statistics reflect that many of the people who crave it and find enjoyment of it, are attempting to heal. they are scratching a justified itch, if you will. a large percentage of those sexually violated were anally molested or penetrated.
note: one in three humans between the ages of 4 and 14 are sexually abused - that discludes cases like mine that began in infancy, as well as those that begin during puberty, dismissing alot of step-parent/teacher/mentor scenarios that occur between ages 14 and 24. also, it is becoming obvious that as many boys as girls are sexually compromised in their youth. and with the example of anal sex, you have to include prison sex which encompasses a wealth of grown men, some of whom were never molested as children or young adults. being anally penetrated without your consent is extreme trauma. just in case anyone wasn't clear on that.
the body ultimately only releases physically stored trauma through reprogramming, so both receiving anal stimulation helps release stored trauma (by addressing an area of the body that is holding trauma in a loving and accepting way you provide cellular release of the blockage or stigma) and playing out your trespassers role in a different manner (with consent) can bring psychological peace. if you can recreate something that was violent, like rape, or mentally compromising, like incest, and make it a peaceful and loving act then you have created an entirely new awareness around the event. this includes acts that some might find violent or disturbing. if your first sexual impulses were felt, involuntarily, when being stripped and spanked - this is not unusual in a generation where this disciplinary practice was common - then getting spanked can be a real turn on.
let's take it even further - people who pee on one another freak you out, right? how does it change your perspective to learn that the guys dad used to urinate on him in the middle of the night, drunk? or that the girls mother beat her every time she had an accident over the age of five, so she would hold her bladder to extremes, even on road trips at the age of eleven or twelve because her father wouldn't pull off the road and her brothers had no trouble peeing in bottles. so the conservative secretary with her shirt buttoned all the way up likes to pee on her attorney boyfriend in the shower - why do you care? it has nothing whatsoever to do with you.
understand that our sexual preferences are constantly changing throughout our lives. something that turns you on like clockwork now may repulse you ten years from now. something that you hated last week, may be your favorite activity by next month. the universe cast seeds with purpose and when you're the gardener you get to reap what you sow.
in the past, present and future, one of the advantages to keeping a committed relationship that satisfies you sexually is that you have that safe place to explore your boundaries and let go of inhibitions while heightening your ability to experience pleasure. nobody knows you quite like the person willing to explore your sexual boundaries on an ongoing basis. in a more perfect world we could build these committed sexual relationships while giving one another the freedom to explore our attractions and reflect the talents of others. in a perfect world, we would create safety while recognizing that variety is the spice of life.
which brings us to the second fold of my anal sex example, which should be making the entire topic less taboo on a daily basis. that is the fact that without anal exploration of your male lover, you're never going to find the male g-spot. on that note, i realize the g-spots deserve their own blog post.
i hope this discourse has atleast inspired you to think about the future of sex. how to teach your kids about it, how to talk about it at a cocktail party, how to be overtly sexual without disturbing your neighbors.... whatever needs to happen, just don't leave sex out of the equation as it is a crucial factor of success. there are a growing faction of people that would have you believe in places like hell and would like you to give money to a church and read the bible daily instead of visiting your local sex shop and devouring some tome on awareness and ecstasy while fantasizing with your lover. they would have you believe that all they need is a few weekly (or monthly!) visits behind closed doors in the missionary position while their kids are at youth group or grandma's, when we all know that one or both of them has a secret stash of stimulators or a special steward on the side. almost 60% of people admit to infidelity (54% of women, 57% of men) and that's the ones who are willing to admit it. they can't all be leftist liberals or we would have control of congress.
the truth is - i don't care what kind of closet you're living in, it's way past time to take down the doors. know what you like. talk about it. be willing to listen and learn. that's what i say anyway. the future is upon us. let the games begin!
7.30.2011
lay low lay
the best news of this week is that my step-mother, well "ex" step-mother, got custody of my brother. for those not in the know, i will briefly catch you up. just over a year ago my step-mother left my father. just under a year ago she came out of the closet and moved in with her lover. in january i helped them get custody of my sister, but my brother chose to live with my father. this has been a concern to me ever since. after only a few months, my intelligent, black, texan brother in all of his 16 years of despite-being-raised-pentecostal-wisdom realized he would be better off to leave his friends behind on the coast and start over near austin with sabrina, d'anne & hannah. i am eternally proud of him. and wish our dad didn't owe him almost a grand. but i suppose it could be worse - it could be twelve grand.
the next concern on my list of "why didn't i press charges and let him die in prison years ago?" is the fact that my father has been hired by some company, in new jersey of all places, who hire nationwide for mall santas, and the only requirement is that you grow a beard! said company then pays to ship you across state lines and house you while you play santa for six weeks, in a town where you know noone and then disappear never to be seen again. really? this seems so blatantly stereotypical that i have to assume i was right about why joshua has never dared near a santa of any sort. it epitomizes the holiday obsession i grew up with and terrorizes my hope for the future as i imagine hundreds of children lined up to sit on my daddy's lap.
on a positive note i have two leads on venues where i can eradicate havoc with restoration and creation. with various levels of work offered, i look forward to exploring a host of modalities that assist the body in releasing blockages, increasing flexibility and accessing pleasure zones and life principles that will revolutionize your bliss. i have spent many hours this week studying old notebooks and reading new material, exploring deeper levels of ecstatic healing than i had previously thought possible. not only are sessions proving to release chronic pain, but are accessing new portals of energy in areas which were pain free. until a public space is available, i am making house calls. i am also applying for certification as a sex educator and studying to enhance my path as a sacred bodyworker by adding the skills of a dakini or tantrika. the forties are about hot shoes, top shelf booze, rockin' blues and doing whatever the fuck you choose. so saith the white trash goddess.
and yes, hater, i do believe i am a goddess.
i even believe your sorry ass is a goddess, too.
and his beautiful, sane wife whom you so lovingly refer to.
she's a goddess of fear for little people like you.
bless you, boo.
and your little heart, too.
sex, drugs, rock & roll
my name is christina and i live in asheville. north carolina has become not only the state in which i was born and raised, but a symbol for higher expectations in the new world. i believe in the soil where i plant my seeds. i believe there are many here who will see 2020 and be influential in shaping a new way of life for humanity. i don't care to make this a chronological history lesson on why i am what i am. i don't care to make excuses for offending you or to offer explanations for my sometimes warped perspective. i do vow to tell the truth on any given day as i see it through my unique set of balls. my eyeballs are my only organic set, but i have a nice collection of ebony and steel.
between piles of laundry that breed like catholics and beanie babies by the dozen displaying adventure scenarios in every room, i live in a rock and roll fantasy. just outside the picture window in my den, cow fields become stadiums all over the world and the best of the bovine raise their lighters when i do that one ballad about how you wore a muumuu the first time we made love. you know who you are. i write songs with a full band in my mind and i'm constantly changing the line-up. it's so much easier to roll over personnel without having to actually get attached to their quirky awesomeness or fire them face-to-face. since they never knew they were your star bass player, they're not disappointed when someone else suddenly is. someday perhaps i'll get out of my head and actually sing with a band.
the drugs aspect of my life isn't nearly as exciting as it should be, but this isn't amsterdam. of course, neither is amsterdam for much longer. the only thing i can say on a personal front is that i'm 100% for the end of prohibition against marijuana and believe the insidious plague of prescription drugs that, more often than not, inhibit the body's natural ability to heal should be inserted anally into any right-wing, homophobic, racist nutjob you can hold down long enough. that's right - the entire plague - that's a little bit of every blue, pink and purple pill that over half the nation is taking ground up into one junkie's dream of a suppository. wham. bam. thank you ma'am.
speaking of sex, i'm in a renewed place of exploration. a third of my life has passed and i realize i still haven't realized so many simple fantasies. after a decade of virtual calm in the bedroom i have been re-introduced to the sexual revolutionary i claimed to be in the late 80's and early 90's. in reigniting conversations and interests after so many years the most blatant realization is that our world is still stuck in a proverbial chokehold when it comes to sex. if anything, i think our culture may have regressed; and the illusions of rom-com cute meets and life long monogamy are more disturbing to me now than they were 20 years ago. somewhere between bending my ex-husband over and fucking him up the ass with a 12-inch black dildo and raising a man who would hopefully never warrant such a fantasy against him, lies a starving musician with grey streaks in her hair and a serious interest in the male multiple orgasm. the xinaphiles are not to be taken lightly, but you shouldn't ever take them too seriously either. mature audiences only.
i am an anti-feminist raising two men in a world that values brawn and bosom over intellect and supports a system led by greed and mass programming of mass confusion, while exhibiting a work ethic that resembles futility. some days i am suicidal. some days i am homicidal. every day, i believe humans are designed to overcome trauma, oppression and challenges of the natural world with fundamental skills that allow the mind to control the matter. i believe physical maladies are the direct result of emotional issues that the conscious mind is refusing to address. i believe i have initially failed at most of the things i have attempted, but through patience and perseverance have learned countless skills and experienced extreme successes. i believe i have a perspective that has the power to comfort, heal and hopefully amuse. welcome to my world.