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Healing from the epidemic of loneliness with small group workshops.

Healing the Loneliness Epidemic: Small Group Workshops for Social Connection

09/11/2023

The Loneliness Epidemic This year, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the United States Surgeon General, made a public advisory about an “Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation”. He states that “approximately half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness.” Seen as an urgent, widespread health crisis that “has profound consequences for our individual and collective health and well-being”, this announcement about the epidemic of loneliness made headlines across all major networks. The surgeon general has created a National Strategy to Advance…

Stacey Couch at home with her son as part of her sharing her story about having the chronic illness, ME/CFS.

Chronic Illness: The Stamina to Keep Caring

05/12/2023

Contemplations & Meditations

World ME/CFS Awareness Day is May 12th. This time three years ago, I shared about having ME/CFS and how I make meaning in it. The reality is that this is a chronic illness and there is no cure. I feel it’s important to post occasional updates to be real about my long-term residency in the kingdom of the sick. What is it like to make a home here? Those of you with your own residency cards know what I speak…

SNOW LEOPARD Spirit Animal

05/03/2023

Mammals, Spirit Animals

Snow Leopard Spirit Animal Ghosting and Going Unseen Known as the “Ghost of the Mountains”, snow leopard spirit animal teaches us how to be elusive. Her camouflaged coat, quiet movement, wary habits, and vast, inaccessible home range make snow leopard sightings extremely rare. Snow leopard spirit animal carries the ghost archetype. She’s an expert at ghosting. Challenges come with inhabiting the ghost. You can feel in between worlds. Be apart from the world. This is isolating and lonely, like haunting…

Little Briar Rose asleep on a bed of roses with a spindle propped against her head waking to be woken from her creative sleep.

Cycles of Creativity: Little Brier Rose

02/13/2023

Contemplations & Meditations, Fairytale Wisdom

Little Brier Rose – Cycles of Creativity Link to the story of Little Brier Rose and others of this tale type: https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0410.html Meaning of the Spindle The spindle is a symbol of lengthy and monotonous hard work. A recurring symbol in European folktales, the spindle is long rod with a pointed end and made of wood or metal. A ball of wool (or flax) is spun into yarn around the spindle by hand. This is simple technology, but ridiculously time…

seven ravens initiation into mystery wisdom for the soul

The Seven Ravens: Integrating the Spiritual Life

09/23/2022

Contemplations & Meditations, Fairytale Wisdom

Original artwork by Stacey Couch © 2022 Summary The wisdom for the spiritual life that the fairytale “The Seven Ravens” teaches is: How to integrate your spiritual life into your daily life. It involves bringing the masculine and feminine into balance and experiencing all the sides of yourself and your life, including the hard parts. We all experience the pain of illness and loss. Suffering continues with burying the pain of loss. Entering into the mystery (raven symbolism) and unveiling this…

image of full moon over water prayer for releasing emotions

Releasing Emotions that Won’t Go

08/22/2022

Ceremony & Prayer, Contemplations & Meditations

Repressing Emotions is Unhealthy A practice of releasing emotions before they build up can be helpful. Why is this? Because stuffing difficult emotions is harmful to our health. The bottled up emotions (anger, frustration, sadness, grief, fear) make their way back to the surface eventually. The eruption of old feelings can come in an uncontrollable torrent of expression at an inopportune time. This is harmful to the health of our relationships, jobs, and sanity. The old feelings can also manifest…

Watercolor of crown, pea and mattresses for Princess and the Pea Story

Princess and the Pea Story: Valuing Sensitivity

05/19/2022

Contemplations & Meditations, Fairytale Wisdom

Princess and the Pea Story The Princess and the Pea story is a tale about a young woman who is too sensitive… Right? This sensitivity seems to get her in trouble. Do you cringe at the prissy princess who is easily wounded, never comfortable, and always complaining? Doesn’t this story perpetuate the misogynist myth of the feeble female who needs to be coddled and sheltered? As a child I saw the princess as a wussy, and secretly vowed to be…

Femme Fatale Archetype

01/25/2022

Archetypes

The Femme Fatale Archetype The Femme Fatale archetype’s name is a French term meaning “fatal” or “disastrous” woman. Other names for the Femme Fatale archetype include: temptress, seductress, siren, harpy, black widow, man-eater, and succubus. Superficially, the Femme Fatale archetype comes across a dangerous seductress who lures men into her clutches. Society tends to view her as an attractive and powerful woman who relishes the destruction of men. She is a favorite screen character contaminated by host of stereotypes that…

Don Juan Archetype

01/23/2022

Archetypes

The Don Juan Archetype The use of the name “Don Juan” in reference to a womanizer began in 1630 with a play called The Trickster of Seville written by Tirso de Molina in Spain. There are many names for the Don Juan archetype including Casanova, ladies man, womanizer, lady killer, Lothario (which comes from the novel Don Quixote), Libertine, Romeo (thank you Shakespeare), playboy, and philanderer. All of these names originate in the 16th and 17th centuries, which means the…

Finding Accessibility

07/12/2021

Contemplations & Meditations

Seeking Accessibility Yes, that’s me … in a wheelchair. I’m still getting used to the idea. I came to a point of no longer being able to leave the house. Being on my feet more than 10 minutes at a time and walking any distance at all became impossible. I can manage a trip to the grocery store once a week if I can be dropped off at the door and I am able to rest the remainder of the…

Blog

Healing the Loneliness Epidemic: Small Group Workshops for Social Connection

Chronic Illness: The Stamina to Keep Caring

SNOW LEOPARD Spirit Animal

Cycles of Creativity: Little Brier Rose

The Seven Ravens: Integrating the Spiritual Life

Releasing Emotions that Won’t Go

Princess and the Pea Story: Valuing Sensitivity

Femme Fatale Archetype

Don Juan Archetype

Finding Accessibility

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