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Holistic Wellness:  Finding Balance in a Busy World

A spiral of sand with a black stone beside a white stone, and a swirl of blue smoke leading up from it. The word balance is above it

Have you felt as if time is moving faster?  Do you sometimes feel that you blink and it is Friday again?  In today’s world, our lives are constantly in motion.  With our global connectivity, and devices that allow us to continue from one activity to the next, we often become unaware of where we are […]

Words Matter: How Words Shape Your Reality

Gemstones in a wooden bowl with words on them - smile, laugh, serenity, Hope, love, trust, believe, joy

Our lives are composed of words.  We think in words, communicate in words and experience life through the words we know. Words can heal and empower us.  As we connect our words, starting with our thoughts, we build a path forward – for the day and beyond.  Using negative language and careless words, one finds […]

Mindful Moments: Quiet your mind and renew your energy

A butterfly perched on a stack of grey stones, surrounded by soft sand. A person sits in meditation in the right corner

We are thinking beings, collecting and collating information all day long.  Our minds are constantly thinking, sorting through data collected, and assessing what needs to happen next. In our busy world today, with so many sensory inputs, we are always switched on and constantly mentally running.  Being in this state adds stress to our nervous […]

Holistic Healing: Internal and External Healing

A cluster of crystals at the foot of a large tree trunk with light in the background

In this time of shifting energy, we get to claim our healing.  Healing is gift we give ourselves to give to others.    As we become whole, we bring our full selves to every interaction.    Our internal healing ripples out to the world.   We don’t rely on others to feel fulfilled and whole, because when we […]

Solstice Healing

A journal with gemstones and a gemstone circle with a candle on it. In the background a bright sunlight day

With the June solstice coming up soon, bringing us the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, we can use this as a catalyst for renewing our energy, and resetting ourselves and our year. When life feels like it is on a loop, using energy shifts like the solstice, is a powerful way […]

Reflect and Renew

Pause& Reflect Blog 1 June

Life is constantly busy and, as we settle into our routines and responsibilities, days seem flow into each other, blending into weeks and months.  In business, taking stock ever so often is recognized as good business practice.  We do this for our own careers when seeking a promotion or growing our own businesses, looking at […]

It’s Time: Embrace Who You Are

On a pink sky background, sits a wooden sign post with the words "Embrace who you are", and next to it "you are perfect just the way you are."

We come into this world with a knowing about who we are and what matters to us. As children, we begin to define who we are based on the perception of ourselves we were given by the adults in our life.  As we hear what is said about us, or see ourselves the way our […]

Choose your Reality

Left side is a green tree with green grass, on the right, a bare winter tree with cracked dry ground. A note with the words true and false and the option to check the box sits in front.

We are taught from a young age to acknowledge and own the limitations we perceive as true – those about ourselves personally, and the limitations of a given environment. We are given parameters about who we can be, based on what the adults in our lives perceive as true about us.  We often unconsciously internalize […]

You Were Born to Stand Out

Why fit in when you were born to stand out

We live in a world where we are encouraged to fit in and keep up with current styles and trends.  We learn at a young age that being different means being teased or put down. Careless phrases we heard as children, or as adults from colleagues or in our personal relationships, may still be having […]

Why you say NO to yourself

Say yes to yourself why you say no blog 2 may

How often do you talk yourself out of things?  We are taught from a young age that putting ourselves first is selfish and that we need to earn the right to go after an opportunity.  This teaching creates the mindset that, for example, we are not enough to go after that dream job, or that […]

This debut memoir chronicles a woman’s spiritual exploration and growth as she overcame a disturbing childhood and helped others heal.

Brought to America from the Dominican Republic as a youngster, Molina-Marshall should have led a happy life. Her father was a diligent worker, and his large family wanted for nothing. But the author recounts that her dad had a drinking problem and was a serial philanderer. Molina-Marshall’s long-suffering mother left him for a woman. Then it was all downhill for the bright, 12-year-old girl, who was shuttled between foster care and relatives. According to the author, she was sexually abused by the husband of one of her siblings. This resulted in Molina-Marshall becoming alienated and moody. By 15, she simply tried to survive. In her favor were grit and a restless intelligence. She quit school, rented a room, and found a factory job. Time went by, and for a while she was happily married. Yet when her husband left her, her life truly began. She turned to religion for answers but decided that blaming God for her woes was a cop-out. 

In this absorbing and moving memoir, Molina-Marshall’s vivid storytelling is fearless. She frankly discusses the truths she discovered and the indignities she suffered. These admissions are disclosed with a touch of resignation and plenty of bite. However painful, everything she experienced was a lesson, and she bravely realized that she was part of the problem: “The fear of being hurt, rejected, or abused often led to me feeling lonely and misunderstood. No one knew the agonizing pain I felt being trapped in my thoughts and anger. I was becoming my biggest threat.” 

The author skillfully recounts her intricate spiritual journey. To deal with her psychic wounds, she searched for an inspirational system. Her open-mindedness led her to the interfaith concept—cherry-picking from various religions and spiritual movements, yoga, and Indigenous beliefs as a way of finding peace. Along with her female partner, she built a therapy practice, making use of every spiritual element that aided her and others. The road was bumpy, and she found that women of color in same-sex relationships were not welcomed everywhere. To do good works—and finally live on her own terms—she effectively overcame bigotry.

An engrossing, cathartic account of empathy and success through determination and confidence.

Pub Date: May 3, 2022   |    ISBN: 978-0-578-38315-6  |   Page Count: 264    | Publisher: From Trauma to Triumph  |   Review Posted Online: June 13, 2022