from Trauma to True Love Archives

Podcast & Blog

Setting Boundaries

Setting boundaries is essential for everyone healing from childhood sexual abuse. Understanding the importance of boundaries and learning how to set

June 13, 2024

From Trauma to True Love: Finding Freedom from the Impact of Sexual Abuse, is my podcast inspired by my book, “Freedom from Shame.”

I invite you to join a space dedicated to healing, compassion, and triumphing over trauma. In each episode, our discussions, rooted in the wisdom of my book, create a groundbreaking environment for survivors, allies, mental health advocates, and even those who have caused harm, to navigate the complexities of the healing process. Through candid conversations, expert interviews, and personal narratives, we illuminate the intricacies of childhood trauma and it’s impact on our adult relationships, weaving in the principles of restorative justice to foster understanding, empathy, and constructive dialogue.

From Trauma to True Love is more than just a podcast; it stands as a sanctuary of support, guidance, and hope for those touched by the shadows of this deeply sensitive and impactful issue including individuals on all sides of the healing process. It serves as a beacon, providing a roadmap for resilience and the journey to reclaim one’s life after such profoundly impactful experiences. Join me in this transformative journey toward reclaiming lives together.

Explore My Website

Take a look at my recommended reading list for the best books on personal growth, child behavior, and emotional healing. You can also check out The Freedom Project, a heart-led initiative that’s all about bringing people together to evolve beyond the impact of childhood sexual abuse.

Archives

The Law of Responsibility

The Law of Responsibility will give you incredible freedom. It may seem counter-intuitive, but truly taking responsibility for yourself begins with recognizing that your choices shape the way your relationship looks and feels. In fact, practicing the law of responsibility helps you realize this more deeply. At the same time, many people point fingers at their ex-partner, claiming it was entirely their fault, while others turn the blame inward. However, here’s one thing we know for sure: if you blame others, you are not taking responsibility for yourself, and you cannot heal or move on while seeing yourself as a victim. What does blame sound like? Internal dialogue running in the background… As you reflect through the lens of the law of responsibility, does this scenario sound familiar? It’s all my fault! I’m such a failure. If only I did it differently. If only I was prettier, nicer, sexier…. Blah, blah, blah…. He ruined my life. She betrayed me and now I’ll never trust again. Blah, blah, blah! Remember, embracing the law of responsibility means letting go of these unhelpful narratives. Blaming does not serve you, and only indicates that you are in a victim mentality. With the laws of acceptance, surrender, and Divine guidance you will understand that taking responsibility is not about blaming…others or yourself. This is a key aspect championed by the law of responsibility. Blaming does not work. It does not change your circumstances and it does not make you feel better or motivate you to make necessary changes. Blaming your ex-partner will not bring you the peace you’re looking for. The Law of Responsibility requires that you end the blame game and take responsibility for what you’ve created. For many, adopting this law is a challenging step, but I can help you take this important step in healing your heart. When you take responsibility, you acknowledge how powerful you are. Be assured that as you take responsibility for what you’ve created, you will not be asked to condone inappropriate behavior or justify abuse. This distinction is at the heart of the law of responsibility. That is NEVER okay! Be honest with yourself! After all, the law of responsibility starts with self-honesty. In this process, I will ask you to be brutally honest and ruthlessly compassionate with yourself. By following this law, you will discover key choice points in your relationship that contributed to the necessity of a heart healing.</p> Many people find that living by the law of responsibility is a powerful turning point in their life, for it is in taking responsibility that you reclaim your ability to consciously create. Take responsibility—this is the foundation that this law stands upon. Laura Silv a is referring to teaching children to take responsibility for their choices. We could learn from her wisdom about the law of responsibility as it applies even to the youngest among us. =”480″ yoastmark=”” />h=”” yoastmark=”” class=”yoast-text-mark” />eigh=”” yoastmark=”” class=”yoast-text-mark” />t=”295″ /> My Heart Heals With The Law of Responsibility | My Heart Heals.
read more...
3 Ways to Expand Your Perception and Create Happiness After Divorce

After Divorce, You need to think differently! The only way you’re going to have an experience after your divorce that is different than pain, is if you let yourself think differently about your circumstances. You can look at all the drama and trauma of what is wrong about your situation, and how it’s not supposed to be like this, but you will only prolong your suffering. People come to me because they’re tired of hurting so much and for so long. Your first task is to infiltrate your mind with newness. New thoughts and ideas that empower you to see potential in your future instead of more of the same struggle you might be experiencing today. There are many sides to a story! And not one of them is any more true than another. That means your story of what is happening to you, is simply that. A story! It may be a compelling story that has victims and perpetrators, good guys and bad guys. But it’s only a story. Each story is told from a specific perception. Here’s an exercise to see how your story is preventing you from being happy. Expanding Perception Exercise #1 Take a moment and tell your story from your perspective. Write it out in a paragraph or two and then set it aside. Now, this is the hard part. Write the same story from your partner’s perspective. What does he or she think about the situation? Who does this person blame and for what grievances? How do they see the problem and who do they cast as the victim? What would be the best next step from this perspective? Do this again from at least three different perspectives. If you are able to put yourself in the shoes of other people…. I mean, really put yourself in their shoes, you will see that you have increased your perspective. You may not like it or want to go along with what you discover, but that’s not the point… it’s simply to expand your perception and see possibilities that didn’t exist before. Being able to step out of your shoes and into another’s will give you a unique perspective that gives you access to new ideas that you could never, ever see if you were tied into only one way of perceiving a person or situation. After Divorce, you need to Speak Differently! I have found that the way we speak has a lot to do with how happy or unhappy we are. Bring conscious awareness to the words you speak to yourself. You might not even be aware of how harshly you are berating yourself. Maybe you’re not so hard on yourself, but even those clients I work with who are incredibly on-top of things and making all the ‘right’ choices have negative self-talk. Your perception will change when you bring your awareness to everything you are saying to yourself about who you are, what you’re capable of, and your general sense of worthiness. Expanding Perception Exercise #2 Stop yourself several times a day and write a short paragraph about what you’re telling yourself in an internal dialogue. See if you can start to catch yourself as you tell yourself negative messages. This exercise is only about expanding your perception around how you are treating yourself and the repetitive negative messages you tell yourself. Once you have an expanded perception of what you’re telling yourself on a regular basis, you can consciously choose to speak more kindly to yourself. Yup! It’s like setting a boundary with someone who isn’t nice to you. After Divorce, you will need to Act Differently! Thee is no other time when your behaviors will be as important to your future as when you are going through a divorce. Most people (not all) tend to keep patterns of behavior that no longer serve them. You may need to set stronger boundaries, or you may need to access a strength and courage inside of you that you didn’t know was there. You might need to take risks to meet new friends and try new things. Taking new actions will expand your perception and enable you to see new ways of behaving in the new world you’re creating for yourself. Expanding Perception Exercise #3 Notice the behaviors that you engage in that are routine and see if you can mix them up a little. You don’t have to cut the ends of the roast off any longer. The world is big enough for you and your bold life. It’s time to start living it. Take at least ONE new action each week. Try a new food, pick up a new hobby, meet a new friend. Write about what you notice as a result. Expanding your perception will bring you happiness! At the beginning of Brene’ Browns TedTalk on vulnerability, she explains how her research expanded her perception in ways that completely changed the way she lives, loves, works, and even how she parents. Staying tucked into a metaphorical box of limited perception will only give us more of what we’ve already created. If you’re not 100% happy with your life, then do everything you can to expand your perception of your circumstances. Think about it… there is a huge difference in perceiving your relationship breakup (or challenges) to be a huge failure instead of thinking of it as opening you up to a new wonderful experience of your life. Which way of walking through the fire do you think will bring you more happiness? Are you a victim or your circumstances? Or a powerful co-creator with the Divine? You choose!
read more...
Samurai and the Inner Critic

Setting a boundary! In the many years I’ve worked with people who are going through a traumatic relationship breakup, I’ve discovered that everyone has an inner critic. Sometimes the critic can be helpful, but all too often it’s a destructive force that needs putting in its place. Just like a samurai confronts challenges with discipline and precision, we must address the inner critic in the same way a samurai would tackle it. An out-of-control critic leads to depression! If you let your inner critic have its way, it will eat you alive. The critic can be relentless in blaming you for your breakup. You can recognize an out-of-control critic if you hear messages like these running through your head: If only you had….. It’s all your fault! You’re so _____ or too ______! The out-of-control critic will beat you down telling you that you’re not enough, not good enough, too much, or too little. Letting thoughts of the samurai and the inner critic go on and on will eventually lead to depression. It’s common to examine what went wrong when you’re faced with a breakup, but if you’re wallowing in self-pity and helplessness, you’re doing yourself no good. You can take some time to be sad – that’s totally okay. You should take time to evaluate, assess, and examine, but if you find yourself engaging in this behavior from a disempowered place, you’re likely to only create more suffering for yourself. Without limits and boundaries, the voice of your critic will only get stronger until you feel like you are worthless and there is no hope for your future. You can stop the downward spiral before it takes you down by taking out your sword! Just as a samurai would, confront the critic decisively, much like a samurai facing the inner critic. Off with its head! I discovered this very effective exercise when I was in the depths of despair myself. It’s the only thing that worked to get me out of the depression I found myself in, and it’s helped countless numbers of my clients as well. It works, but only if you are willing to set this very strong boundary with your critic. Here’s what I recommend: Draw a large circle on a piece of paper. On the inside of the circle, write all the things you will allow into your presence. Include things like kindness, love, and care. On the outside of the circle write all the things that you will not allow into your world. Include things like judgment, meanness, blame. Now draw an imaginary circle around yourself and say this out loud to your inner critic: These are the things I will allow in my inner circle (list them). If you are (insert the qualities you expect from your critic), then you are welcome here. If you are (insert the qualities that you no longer allowing into your world), then you are not welcome. Show your inner-critic your sword and let it know that you will cut its head off if it doesn’t respect your boundaries. The moment your critic crosses your boundary, chop its head off! Act decisively against your critic just as the samurai story teaches. You teach people, and your critic, how to treat you Some people have a very difficult time being ruthless with their inner-critic because they don’t want to be mean. But, if your critic has abused you, then the only way you’re going to get it to stop is to make it stop! Don’t worry about hurting your inner critic, it’s not concerned about your well-being. Mine grew a head back every 15 seconds for three months, but today it keeps a healthy distance from me and is very kind. Its head is now the size of a golf ball and it speaks in a high squeaky voice that is difficult to take seriously. And, my critic is just fine. It has the power to deliver messages in an empowered and respectful manner, and if it doesn’t then it knows the consequences, as would the samurai dealing with the inner critic. Divorce Recovery is expedited through clear boundaries and expert support One of the most powerful things you can do to expedite your divorce recovery is to set clear boundaries with what goes on inside your mind. Instead of an uncaring inner-critic, you will need a strong inner-compassion guru. A part of you that will be kind and gentle with you and help you through this difficult time. Schedule some time with me today to explore what kind of divorce recovery support you need to move you powerfully into your new life in empowered and emotionally healthy ways. A study of Spiritual Divorce is starting soon and has helped many people infuse their life with hope and possibility.
read more...
Breakup Music Playlist: Best Songs to Heal, Cry & Move On

Music as a self-care practice! Music is an important part of our lives, isn’t it? There are certain songs that take us back to a specific time of our lives, like our teen years, or an event, like our wedding day. Just like a breakup music playlist can help us heal, my ex-brother and sister-in-law got married to the Beatles song, “Will You Still Love Me When I’m 64?” They’re still together. Creating a breakup music playlist can aid in processing emotions during tough times. I should have known where my marriage was headed when my husband asked the mariachis to serenade us with, “El Asesino”, which, in Spanish, means The Murderer (in case you were wondering). Oh, that should have been a red flag that I was creating my breakup music playlist. And today it makes sense that one of my favorite songs to listen to several years into our marriage was Willie Nelson’s Country & Western hit, “You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, Lucille.” I hadn’t been happy for a long time. Music connects the head and heart! After I left my marriage, I listened to a lot of music that was heart-opening, like “Ra Ma Da Sa” by Snatam Kaur. I was very intentional listening as I engaged in my Kundalini yoga practice. A breakup music playlist often includes songs like these to open the heart and heal. And then I listened incessantly to Michael Franti. I resonated with songs like “Hey World (Don’t give Up),” because I felt like my world was a war zone. It gave me hope and I felt like I was asking the Universe to not give up on me -personally! Oh, and I learned to drum – it was like listening to my own heartbeat that I had lost touch with. A few years later, my lover turned me onto Prog, and the musical bars were raised! Listen to Spock’s Beard’s masterpiece, “The Doorway.” Isn’t it beautiful? Listening to this, can you see how relationships can serve as a catalyst for our evolution? Creating and curating a breakup music playlist can provide a doorway to knowing ourselves more deeply. Music can be irreverent! But, that’s fun! I love empowering music, and one of my favorite singer/songwriters is Storm Large. She’s not for everyone, but she tells it like it is and she says things that most of us would never dare speak out loud. Like this inappropriate song called, “I Want You to Die!” It is appropriate, however, for the angry hurt moments…. She’s a powerhouse who has lived through abuse, neglect, and depression. I love her! And have seen her in concert a couple of times. She has a wide range and is comfortable performing in jeans and a t-shirt or a fancy gown, like when she played Carnegie Hall. I personally think every woman should know Storm. You can check out her racy music, I’ll just share a mild one here that is perfect for getting over someone. The song could fit perfectly on a breakup music playlist. Here’s Storm’s version of “Hopelessly Devoted To You.” Let’s Co-Create a Playlist! Now it’s your turn? Share your EMPOWERMENT music here! What are some fabulous songs, artists, and genres you listen to? Perhaps you have your favorites for building a breakup music playlist?
read more...
3 Tips to Saving a Relationship

Fixing a relationship is much easier when you commit to these three things. These are essential tips for saving a relationship. Most people come to me for one of three reasons. They either want to move on after the ending of a relationship, they want to prepare themselves for a new relationship, or they seek advice and tips for saving a relationship they’re in. The steps are the same for all three circumstances, they’re just applied differently. Today, we’re going to focus on how to fix a relationship with some practical tips anyone can use for saving a relationship. Your relationship didn’t get “broken” overnight, right? Most relationships need fixing because of a long series of choices that span many months or years. hat’s important to know about this is that you’ll need to take responsibility in relationships — acknowledging your part in what happened and choosing actions that move you toward healing — because consciously choosing your actions gives you the power to change your circumstances.. This should give you hope, because consciously choosing your actions gives you the power to change your circumstances. That’s what you want, right? Effective strategies and tips for saving a relationship emphasize gradual change. READ MORE over at Your Tango Here are three evidence-based and emotionally supportive ideas to help you strengthen your connection and restore intimacy; all of these work as valuable tips for saving a relationship. 1. Communicate with Clarity, Not Assumption Many relationship struggles begin not with what we say, but how we listen. Commit to clear, compassionate communication rather than guessing or reacting emotionally. That means: communication is one of the actionable tips for saving a relationship when things feel hard. Speak from the heart, not out of frustration. Use “I” statements (e.g., “I feel hurt when…”), so your partner doesn’t feel attacked. Avoid blaming language and instead invite conversation. When conflict arises, pause first — a cooling-off period can prevent escalation. Why it matters: Skilled communication builds emotional safety and helps resolve conflicts before resentment grows. 2. Reconnect Regularly — Intentionally Even happy couples can lose connection when life gets busy. Rebuilding your relationship means creating uninterrupted time together. Try working together on new habits or activities, as regular reconnection is among the most effective approaches and tips for saving a relationship from drifting apart. A weekly relationship check-in to talk about how you’re both feeling. Scheduling shared experiences — even small ones like a walk or simple dinner together. Celebrating little moments of gratitude and appreciation for one another. Being present and grateful for each other — not just going through the motions — reinforces emotional bonding and reduces distance in your connection. In fact, these simple actions are powerful tips for saving a relationship you value. 3. Understand and Meet Each Other’s Needs Healthy relationships aren’t about perfection, they’re about understanding and compromise. This means: Applying practical tips for saving a relationship involves listening, empathy, and mutual support at every step. Really listening when your partner shares a need. Being open about your own emotional, physical, or practical needs. Respecting each other’s boundaries. Practicing compromise — not giving up your self-worth, but finding a shared path forward. Why it works: When both partners feel heard and valued, mutual trust grows and the relationship feels more supportive and fulfilling. Learning how to balance needs and expectations is an important part of tips for saving a relationship you care deeply about. 💡 Extra Insight: What Experts Say Relationship counselors often emphasize that saving a partnership isn’t just about fixing problems — it’s about renewing connection and rediscovering your bond. Activities like regular check-ins, active listening, and spending quality time together can significantly improve emotional intimacy and reduce conflict long-term. In summary, combining expert guidance with practical tips for saving a relationship greatly increases your chances for long-term success. ❤️ Final Thought Fixing a relationship takes shared effort, honesty, and emotional courage — but it is possible. These three steps — communicate clearly, reconnect intentionally, and understand each other’s needs — are foundational actions that can start you on a deeper path of healing and connection. Put these tips for saving a relationship into practice, and your partnership will be stronger for it.
read more...