Supernatural Recovery

There is a time for physical healing and a time for metaphysical healing. Both come alive in the journey of supernatural recovery, a resource that combines both the inherently natural and supernatural. “Natural,” in this case, refers to holistic or “whole body” healing, dealing with the physical, psychological and emotional healing of an individual. These practices focus on the here and now of healing, such as meeting the body’s various physical and emotional needs. The word “Supernatural” refers to the energetic body and the ability to access varying states of consciousness to achieve deeper states of healing. This book is the place where practical knowledge about caring for your body, mind, and spirit meet ancient traditions of ritual, visualization, and meditation. This book will teach anyone looking for hope and healing from addiction, trauma, or any harmful coping mechanism how to transform pain into power, with a heart centered whole body approach to healing. Natural and supernatural practices helped me to personally elevate my self-knowledge and self-care through my own battle with trauma, addiction, and recovery. A combination of caring for my physical body, healing from extreme emotional trauma, and exploring mindfulness began a chain reaction of growth and healing. I began to learn how to self soothe, and how to practice compassion with myself as I stumbled along the path to recovery. When I stopped drinking, I found myself unable to commit to the literature of the traditional Twelve Step programs and began to forge an individual path for myself. I felt there was a void in the recovery community. I found no literature and no community for highly sensitive people, empathic individuals, and others who may be on a spiritual path. I set out to fill this void and reach others who feel alienated by the literature by traditional recovery models. I developed an ever expanding curiosity on the many paths to healing, and I began practices of movement, breathwork, and awareness that became the driving forces on my healing journey. The final stage of my healing has been to give a voice to these practices and bring them to you here. This book is for those who seek tangible, heart-centered exercises to heal the deep wounds of trauma and begin building a life without toxic substances and behaviors. First I will guide you through my personal story to help you understand the path of the healer, and how what I have overcome has given me the strength to guide others to healing. Next we will explore the benefits of a “supernatural” recovery over traditional recovery methods, and who might benefit from this type of work. The second part of the book is the bulk of the work. Although broken into four main processes, these are not steps that need to be completed in any particular order. In fact, once you are familiar with the four pillars of the healing process, you will find you are visiting each of them daily, throughout your ordinary routines. These do not have to be done in any specific order to be effective, and can be tackled at your own pace, even learning some of them simultaneously. First, we will visit overcoming triggers. I have triggers broken into two main identifying parts: physical and emotional. Some triggers are caused by hunger and exhaustion, and others are echos of trauma memories, or an inability to process stress in a healthy way. For this chapter I have revisited a well-known recovery acronym “HALT” (hungry, angry, lonely, and tired) and reworked it as HIDE (hunger/hydration, impulse control, disconnection, and exhaustion). These physical and emotional triggers can be dealt with once you learn the proper tools. The next process in the book is releasing stress and trauma that are held in the body. I will walk you through the body’s stress response system, the definition of post-traumatic stress, an introduction to trauma’s physiological effects on the body, and various practices to release the trauma. Some of these practices require a session with a practitioner, and others are exercises you can do on your own. Next, I will focus on calming your nervous system. This chapter gives you a list of ways to self - soothe during heightened activation such as anxiety or panic. These methods will take you through your six senses to find ways to self - soothe, ground yourself, and feel calm without using chemicals such as alcohol. Finally, we will discuss the importance of shifting from a fear - based mindset to one of loving kindness. This focuses largely on forgiveness and self-compassion, as guilt and shame play an interwoven role in the addiction cycle. The ability to break free from negative self-talk and self-shaming is an integral part of the recovery process. These methods will help you soften your inner critic and open your heart to love and accept yourself more fully. We will discuss the importance of detaching from an identity of victimhood. I will guide you through the transformational practice of gratitude, and how it can bring you to a place of more love and compassion for yourself. Finally, I will offer exercises to help you embrace and celebrate your inner child. Throughout these chapters, you will see a sprinkling of “Explore Deeper” exercises containing affirmations and meditations to help you embody the teachings. A more comprehensive list of meditations, affirmations, and writing exercises is available in the Appendix at the end of the book. It is my sincere intention for these pages to reach other sensitive souls who are struggling in the darkness and bring them back into the light.