Tiger in Tivoli

​In his book Waking the Tiger, Peter Levine, a pioneering researcher and psychologist in the trauma field and founder of the concept of somatic experiencing, writes, “Today, our survival depends increasingly on developing our ability to think rather than being able to physically respond. Consequently, most of us have become separated from our natural, instinctual selves--

van Dernoot Lipsky, Laura. Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others (p. 44). Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Kindle Edition.

＼(▽￣＼(￣▽￣)／￣▽)／ﾔｯﾀｧｰ! 

I have been leaning on Levine since forever! I've given away more copies of his book; I even dropped one at the office of the VA ABQ Psych who formed the first PTSD treatment program in the country with me. This is the philosophy I teach my children when coping with the initial impact of traumatic situations... go out and shake it off... then deal with the emotions. It's something we did intuitively in the military.

Ready for another horrific/triumphant chapter in the story of my life? I introduced the philosophy to Jamaica immediately after the Tivoli Gardens Massacre. It was such a hugely traumatic event that we all needed to do something to rock our worlds back into something with some sense of safe reality. While i was there, they taught me how to cope with an onslaught of almost daily violence in life (sad Jamaican reality). It's about keeping the faith, staying close to family/friends and searching for fun moments in every day. My host and his family preserved the moment with photos http://www.nannymaroon.xyz/news/follow-mi-famili