When I first saw the title of Loraine’s book; Amazon Wisdom Keeper: A Psychologist’s Memoir of Spiritual Awakening, I instantly hoped that she would agree to be one of our proud #Emergees. I am delighted to be welcoming Loraine to the #Emerging Proud community in a 3 – part blog series featuring her personal story, work, and then finally, delving deeper with a live interview…

This is no run-of-the-mill Psychologist. Loraine was clearly a wise keeper of intuitive knowings since childhood, something which so often resonates with sensitive Empaths.

She talks about how leading others to freedom is the key to unlocking the door to incredible inner strength, which is the aim of this campaign; as we speak out and help to lead others to their authentic freedom, the stronger we in turn become. Alone we are nothing, together we are everything.

Here Loraine describes her incredible awakening journey, so far…

My Initiation and Emergence

Around age 7, I started to fantasize about running away from home. Every time my matter-of-fact, junior-high-school-principal mother and I had gotten into a conflict over rigid rules that made no sense to me—which happened almost daily—I dreamt of living in the jungle, like Mowgli, where I’d be protected from the harmful influences of humans and modern society.

On weekends, my family retreated to our orchard, a few acres of land on the edge of the Amazon rainforest in Suriname, the most tree covered country in the world according to the World Bank. I loved our visits to this restorative sanctuary, where even my mother relaxed, and I felt safe, free, wild, and swept up by the mysteries and magic of the natural world and the abundant beauty all around me. I played hide and seek with critters, birds, monkeys, and imaginary friends, Anne Frank, Helen Keller, and Joan of Arc, who validated my premonitions about my purpose and inexplicable, passionate impulses and feistiness.

Our Maroon housekeeper, Elfriede, my confidante and sensitive, nurturing caregiver, offered me a bridge to my West-African maternal lineage. She supported my natural abilities in communing with nature spirits, the same ones that protected the indigenous tribes and descendants of runaway slaves from brutal slavemasters for centuries. I also felt an ageless, otherworldly bond with freedom fighters and tribal medicine men while watching low-budget, lengthy documentaries about their healing practices with my father.

A revolution broke out when I was 10 years old, and three years later, I lost my lifelines to my nature sanctuary and my close-knit community when we moved to Miami. I dallied in darkness for years in dire situations that significantly threatened my safety and future, and almost cost me my life.

After many twists and turns, I rediscovered my senses, inner wisdom, and mission and enrolled in a doctoral program in clinical psychology. About three years in, I experienced my first mysterious call—drumming sounds. I feared that they would be pathologized as auditory hallucinations if I told anyone, and while flipping through the DSM, often worried if I suffered from delusions, anxiety, obsessive compulsiveness, borderline lability, paranoia, and grandiosity because the descriptions fit me so well.

My childhood advisers appeared. Anne Frank reminded me to keep my feelings a secret in unsafe situations and to write about them instead. Helen Keller had taught me to trust my intuition, and Joan of Arc showed me that leading others to freedom unlocked the door to incredible inner strength.

This is what I accessed when I wondered how a client could possibly trust her or himself when I, a powerful insider, still had so much trouble trusting myself and my healing power. It gave me to the courage to deeply examine problematic mental health processes by treating myself as a case study, tracking my spiritual emergence journey and unique biases and life experiences from my childhood all the way up to my first years in private practice in my book, Amazon Wisdom Keeper: A Psychologist’s Memoir of Spiritual Awakening. This journey has laid the foundation of my next project, a guide book and online course entitled: Soul Sanctuary Alchemy: Expand with Grace and Guidance from the Sacred 7 Directions.

In part 2 of Loraine’s blog, she’ll be spilling the beans about her ‘Soul Sanctuary Alchemy’ course, before we finally get to hear from her, in a live interview coming over the next couple of weeks…stay tuned; you are not going to want to miss it!

Loraine holds out her hand to humanity through her powerful poem…

You Can Be ONE Too

 

I am an incubator for love, freedom,

and the mysterious.

A prism of safety for all of our rainbow colors

and shades of gray, depending on orientation

or the day.

 

A general contractor of unfinished business,

mending short-circuited wires

blown by fear and despair

with the infinite glue of our hearts and tears.

A pot made out of clay,

earth, air, fire, and water,

filled with ancient wisdom

and modern knowledge

to support and feed shaky

and starved human portals.

A sacred well of fierce and skilled navigators

not daunted by annihilation terror

while crossing the dark sea of the soul.

​

A fiery cauldron and crazy alchemist,

brewing and spewing potent potions and soothing antidotes

that salve and salvage

connection, clarity, and hope

out of sinister algorithms, twisted cynicism,

and hollow tropes.

I am an incubator for love, freedom,

and the mysterious,

called to re-Mind and reveal to others

how they can be ONE too.

​

~ Loraine Van Tuyl

To find out more about Loraine and her work, go to: www.theSacredHealingWell.com

With so much gratitude to Loraine for opening up her heart and her story for us, we look forward to hearing more very soon! ❤

“I have heard the stories you tell. You are the one who transforms, who creates.
You can go out into the world and show others.
They will feel less alone because of you, they will feel understood, unburdened by you, awakened by you, freed of guilt and shame and sorrow.
But to share with them you must wear shoes, you must go out,
You must not hide, you must dance…
The shoes are for dancing, not running away.”

Francesca Lia Block

Are you ready to put on your dancing shoes and come out of the spiritual closet?

It’s time to stop hiding in the spiritual closet… CONTACT ME HERE to #Emerge Proud and let others know that it is safe to speak our truth; your soul and the world are waiting for you to be brave ❤

Dear Emerging Kind Friends,

I am seeking local and global collaborative event organisers for the 2nd International Emerging Proud day on Sat the 12^th May to ensure that our message delivered is as loud and impactful as possible.

It’s easy and FREE to organise an event! 

I’m interested; What do I need to do? 

• Go to http://www.so-me.org.uk and register your name and location
• Download all of the FREE resources, you will also be sent an instruction email
• Source a venue to hold your event; preferably in a public place, e.g. library
• Recruit Volunteers who are willing to talk about their personal transformation story
• Prepare all of the material needed for your big day; Volunteer Profiles etc
• Promote your event to your local community using this ‘trending topic’;

‘Reframing mental distress as a possible transformation process’

• On Sat 12th May hold your SoMe Emerging Proud event; ENJOY!
• Return feedback from your Message Board after the event to take part in the research evaluation and the Emerging Proud 2018 International Report

What is involved in an #Emerging Proud  SoMe event? 

 ‘So –Me’ story sharing events will take place in public community spaces in multiple locations all over the world in order to re- frame mental illness.  

The ‘trending topic’ of the day will be;

‘Reframing mental distress as a possible transformation process’

 Volunteers who resonate with having experienced their own crisis as a catalyst for a meaningful life transformation will engage in conversations with interested strangers in public places all over the world, with the aim to change perceptions that experiencing emotional distress can actually lead to the start of a new, more positive and authentic life…

At an event there are three SoMe spaces: The Wall, The Chat Room and The Message Board.

The events are based on social media concepts, but are live and in- person!  

The Wall is where SoMe volunteers display their pre-written ‘profiles’. These are A3 sheets, printed and laminated, containing some basic information including their interests, favourite books/films etc., along with a quote they have written about the experiences they are prepared to share. This quote must comprise 140 characters or fewer, similar to a Tweet on TwitterTM. Event organisers help volunteers to create their profiles beforehand, and visitors to the SoMe event are invited to look through the profiles and choose one a SoMe volunteer to talk to in the Chat Room.

The Chat Room is the space where SoMe volunteers and visitors sit down and talk. Profiles can be used to prompt and stimulate the conversation, which can be challenging but always respectful. Once the conversation has finished, the visitor is asked to visit the Message Board.

The Message Board is a space where visitors can evaluate their experience, also in 140 characters. Once written, their message is added to the board, which creates an ongoing, ‘live feed’ evaluation of the event and attracts other participants.

The outcomes from each event location Message Board will be collated after the 12th May to produce the 2nd International Emerging Proud report. 

 Why are we doing this? Predicted Social Impact;

·      Raised public awareness of the positive transformation potential contained in crises 

·      Increased public ability to listen to subjects they may find challenging 

·      Increased communication in local communities 

·      Increased hope for those who may be struggling with mental health issues 

·      Decreased prevalence of suicidality 

·      Research study outcomes – A UEA Professor has agreed to source a student to support the event and provide an evaluation report on the Feedback from the day from all locations involved. We will therefore have tangible academic outcomes to use for funding future projects for indicated needs. 

We are keen to work in collaboration and would welcome your input in a way that feels authentic to your own experience; you can make your event your own, as long as it’s run under the same ‘trending topic’ and guidelines of the SoMe event template…

What are you waiting for? SIGN UP HERE!

I first met Phil Borges, Producer of CRAZYWISE, in Brazil in 2014 whilst trying to make sense of my own spiritual journey, long before I had #EmergedProud. This was my first major ‘coming out of the spiritual closet’ on camera, but being in an environment where ‘anomalous experiences’ were openly accepted made it so much less scary…

Not everyone has the privilige of travelling to make sense of their journey, and so I am really excited to be welcoming Phil back, not only to the UK, but to my hometown of Norwich, Norfolk, where we’ll be screening his documentary CRAZYWISE on Sat the 17th March at the Puppet Theatre…

CLICK HERE TO BOOK A TICKET

Providing a space where these issues can be openly discussed is so vital…

This was a dream for us both 4 years ago; that Mental Health Clinicians, Peers, Carers and Alternative Therapists (Energy Workers / Shamanic Practitioners) could be together in one room to discuss how we can better approach mental distress in an integrative way in the West.

If you’re interested in finding out more about how having a Shamanistic approach to mental distress can provide hope, come and listen to Phil talk about how his 7 year journey making CRAZYWISE led him from spiritual cynic to believing in the powerful impact of having an open -minded approach to psychiatry… 

BOOK YOUR SEAT!

We look forward to seeing you in Norwich! ❤

It is a familiar story that led Kelly to experience her NDE; repressed trauma culminated in a suicide attempt which, thankfully for the world, catalysed a passion in Kelly to work for positive change. Kelly and I will be sharing an interview with you all next week to talk about how her journey to deaths’ door led her to publishing a book and setting up her not-for-profit organisation, the Love, Care, Share Foundation, aimed at positively impacting chilren’s lives all over the world…

Here Kelly gives you a glimpse into the pain that initiated her emergence;

“My family think I am crazy, my brother has disowned me and the only person who ever really understood me, my dad, hung himself in 2015.  He, like me was a sensitive soul.  In many ways I believe he had been dealing with his own supressed trauma combined with a spiritual awaking since childhood.

At times I feel lost, lonely, and misunderstood. However I have to remind myself that no matter how vulnerable I feel at times, it is important that I stand tall and proud and continue to share my most sacred, at times scary, spiritual experiences.

It is only in the love, care, sharing of these experiences that we begin the collective process of changing the world.  

My spiritual awakening began in October 2009 and it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences ever since. Following years of mental anguish caused by my own suppressed trauma I took a huge overdose and tried to end my physical life.  In theory I should be dead or have severe organ damage but Divinity had other plans. In hospital I had a profound near-death Experience, travelled through 7 dimensions, experienced the oneness of the universe and the Power of Divine Love and was told that it wasn’t my time, I still had important work to carry out.  My earthly mission was not yet accomplished.  The message I was given is that Love will heal and transform the world.  Self- love being the most important of all.

I came around from my experience with my arms crossed over my chest and opened them in slow motion and proclaimed that I had met God and Angels.  The following evening I had a vision and shouted out “Like minded souls will collaborate to change the world”.  I was so euphoric and shared my experience with anyone who would listen, however I don’t think I was taken too seriously as I was on a psychiatric ward at the time.  A week later I miraculously walked out of hospital, fully healed. Physically restored by Divine Love but with mental, emotional and spiritual healing still to do.

I now reflect on the years since my Near-death experience and realise I have been on a deep, at times painful and profound, healing journey back to the love I experienced in spirit.  I still have my dark times, like we all do but in those moments I remind myself that the light loves us all beyond any love you could possibly put into words.

I believe its simple desire is that one day we will all see ourselves and each other as our true soul reflection, which is pure Divine love. On this day we will be released from all manmade fear, rejoice in the reality that heaven is already here, and with that level of consciousness ultimately create Peace on Earth.

What I find fascinating is that my late father David Walsh used to talk about seeing the number 33 and a green cross since he was a little boy.   I had my NDE at 33!!!! The significance of the green cross is yet to unveil itself but if anyone reading this can shed any light on it I would greatly appreciate it.  Even my little puppy Coco has got in on the spiritual action.  We chose her 3 months after dad’s transition.  I felt such a special connection to her.  When we picked her up we discovered she was born on the anniversary of my NDE, 9th October.  I knew in that instant she had been sent as a gift from the heavens to aid me with my healing.  However what still flabbergasts me to this day, is that not long after getting Coco I was beginning work on a book project with Doctor Penny Sartori on the Transformative Power of Near-Death experiences. I had just turned on my lap top to start working on the book proposal when she jumped on the sofa, ran across the lap top keyboard and a website appeared and froze on my screen.  It simply said ‘ Gods New Message to the World!’  Seriously you can’t make this s**t up!!!!! No wonder at times I am perceived as crazy because even I find some of the things that happen completely bonkers but rather than doubt ( as I often do) I have to keep trusting that these occurrences are my spiritual satellite navigation system from above.  Easier said than done at times, but I guess one I will look back on the journey, join the dots and it will all make sense.”

Website: www.kellymichellewalsh.com   Email: info@kellymichellewalsh.com

CLICK HERE TO BUY KELLY’s BOOK

Follow the blog to hear Kelly bravely talk about her experiences in the coming week. Welcome to the #EmergingProud community Kelly; we are so very proud of you ❤