Allison Creech, M.Ed, ND. Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine

Too Much Once upon a time there lived a girl. A little girl with a big voice, she loved to belt out the tunes. "Quiet down! You're too loud, I can't hear myself... think!" yelled her mother. At school answers came easy, outside the classroom more difficult. "You're too smart, if you dumb down they'll like you better." whispered one of the girls. Running through the house, eyes brimming with excitement she bumped a shelf. Mum's favourite vase came crashing down. "Slow down! You're too excited!" She wore her heart on her sleeve and broke it wide open often. "Stop crying. You give away your heart too readily." As years passed she was called Too tough Too sensitive Too bold Too scared Too complicated Too easy Too crazy Too straight Too fat Too thin Too outspoken Too reserved Too lazy Too driven Too bossy Too demanding Too submissive Too compassionate Too selfish Too Too Too Each Too created a Not Enough. The Not Enough's became Wonderland's magic shrinking drops. Until one day she couldn't find herself at all. The young woman wandered lost in a maze. Stumbled into a carnival of mirrors, but who could find themselves in those distorted images? Eventually she found herself beneath a tree by a babbling brook. Beside the brook a small rock pool beckoned. As she stared into the water a shimmer of recognition passed through her. She remembered the owner of those haunted eyes. "I'm lost" she croaked. The brook babbled. Big fat tears spilled from her eyes into the pool. Each tear's impact created a new ripple and soon the surface of the rock pool was alive with intricate patterns of dancing ripples. The brook babbled. Night fell. The White Lady rose in her glory, her reflection merging with that of the woman. "Why do you cry Beloved?" she asked. "I'm too much." The words escaped her lips unbidden. "And not enough." "Look again" implored the White Lady. As the young woman watched the ripples glisten in the moonlight, Too Muches and Not Enoughs fell like sparks into the pond and sizzled. And she began to grow. ~ Rowena Coshan 2016 Look again, beloved community. You are Perfectly Enough. You are not TOO anything. But these sad old stories have been "making a comeback" in many of our psyches. We may wonder, "Why am I dealing with stuff that healed long ago?" The swirling intensity of these times has re-awakened many old wounds and traumas and has worn down many a brave soul. And so, we have the opportunity to heal again. Please don't move too quickly to the positive affirmations. Linger a bit and embrace the pain of the old story. Let your Younger Self know that her hurt was real, that you wish you could erase it from the past, and that you've got her back now and forever. Where are you struggling lately? What's helping? How have you passed along your learnings to the next generation? Remember: You do not need to be fully healed in order to offer support and guidance to young people. Katharine Krueger, Director ~ Journey Of Young Women Learn to offer Mentoring Circles for girls and others JourneyOfYoungWomen.org/Mentoring-Girls-Certificate-Training Art by Lucy Campbell

NEGATIVE SELF TALK This is a big one for me , something I've been working on for a while . Working on noticing when the negative voice creeps up.... Working on being kind towards it. Working on understanding where it comes from. Working on putting it's fears to rest. Working on giving a new positive voice strength. It's a work in progress. Something that's helping me immensely on this journey is the MINDSET focus of the HOLISTIC HEALTH PROGRAM we as a family have been following for a while. The new NAKED MINDSET GUIDE that has been recently launched is already my favourite resource. And what I am looking forward to the most is the 6 week group online coaching with Author, Success & Life Coach, Cathy Feenan. So grateful for these opportunities and connections I am making. If you would like to know more about our journey or like more information on the program, you are welcome to DM me anytime. Do you struggle with Negative Self Talk too ? What's something that's helping you with it ?

really feeling this today. we are full of power. what i’m trying to do every morning is close my eyes. tap into that power by being still. acknowledge my power. step into my power. know that i am not lacking. and then start my day.

When a person finally feels safe enough to talk about their trauma openly- or even speak admissions privately to themselves- a bold and powerful moment is born.... And in the midst of these initial breaths are the tender, courageous steps towards healing. Opening typically comes organically in nature, yet I have seen it rushed before its time. I have seen unseasonable temperatures press the fragile bud to break too early. When the air gently warms the supple heart, it will open in its own way. The heart knows when it feels safe and warm enough to unfurl. (~written by Susan Frybort... www.susanfrybort.com) See more

You will teach them to fly, but they will not fly your flight. You will teach them to dream, but they will not dream your dream. You will teach them to live, bu...t they will not live your life. Nevertheless, in every flight in every life, in every dream, the print of the way you taught them will remain. Mother Teresa #neurochild #children #imprint

Self-regulating when our children are dysregulated can be challenging. It isn't our fault when we feel dysregulated. There are so many reasons why we feel what ...we do. Our system is simply trying to protect us from perceived threat. As adults, it is our responsibility to practice managing our behavior and understanding the role of all emotions so the big ones are no longer perceived as a threat to our safety and connection. Brain research proves that habitually uncomforted distress leaves a child with toxic levels of stress hormones washing over the brain and throughout the body, whereas regular nurturing during distress helps children develop vital stress-regulating systems in their higher brain, relieving the body of the toxic stress. Simply put, children who are punished, ignored, or purposefully isolated during distress struggle to manage stress in a healthy way later in life, whereas nurtured children learn to comfort themselves and others through empathy and logical thinking. Self-regulation, or the lack thereof, influences every single area of our lives. It is possible to rewire the brain later in life, and many of us are accomplishing this by nurturing and parenting, as we nurture and parent our children. Through conscious communication and compassionate connection, we strengthen ourselves & children, as we practice moving from temporary states of dysregulation to more regular traits of regulation. Give yourself and children plenty of nurturing. Remember this is a life-time practice made more natural with every second we choose to pause and respond with safety and connection. Emotional intelligence will flow more naturally for our grown children. We are sowing the seeds and they will continue to water them to reap the harvest. With love, Lelia www.leliaschott.com Parent Nurturing / Coaching

Raising Humans Kind: http://t.co/T8goym3P6Z FREE print provided by @little_truths_studio Click here to download: https://littletruthsstudio.teachable.com/p/f...ree-printable-q Please respect the work of authors, photographers, and artists. You are welcome to share provided you include appropriate credit and do not crop out author’s names from quote memes. Thank you. #thegentleparent #peacefulparenting #parenting #children #life #kindness #Jesuslover #humanlover #feminism #socialjustice #equality #globalresponsibility #humanity #peace #sexualassaultsurvivor #cancer #NETcancer #cancerwarrior #books #coffee #quote #LRKnost www.LRKnost.com . Fighting a rare, incurable cancer, but I'm still here! L.R. See more

These words. . . QUOTE @lrknost @little_truths_studio

Each of these came up as I researched my book. Each of these plays a holistic role in our wellness. There are many things we cannot control. The truth is we are... not on even playing fields access matters. Limitations exist. AND, we human beings are incredibly resilient. Our genes are not fixed, they’re impacted by everything around us. Our body is always seeking to heal. Our brain adapts + changes through life able to create new neural pathways if we commit to practice. We have been conditioned in medical systems that tell us we cannot heal ourselves. Yet, we can make choices. A series of small choices that with time become transformation. This is how we create our future selves. We are not destined to faulty genes. We are not destined to a life of patterns of re-living trauma. A decade ago, I sat in my New York City apartment calling 911 in the midst of a panic attack. I spent the next several years on several medications diagnosed with OCD, panic disorder + generalized anxiety. Trained in the standard medical model, as a clinical psychologist, I only knew management of symptoms. Until I began my own healing journey. Until I began to take responsibility for my choices. Until I began working through everything I spent a lifetime distracting myself from. I’m still healing still growing. Still learning how to take care of myself. Still learning how to own myself how to return to who I truly am underneath trauma + conditioning. Still forgiving myself. Still learning (through conscious awareness) what brings me into safety + wellness, + what takes me father from it. What’s the ONE thing you feel impacts your mental wellness most? #selfhealers

And if it doesn’t feel good, it’s not the truth and it’s time to let that belief go! After all, you are a piece of the puzzle of Heaven on Earth! Xoxo Jenn