Journey of the Wounded Healer: Or, How I Named 'Rebel Resilience...'

© Alex Grey

The wound is the place where the Light enters you.  -Rumi

    Sometime in the cooler second half of 2024, I sat in a local coffeeshop (Hopscotch Cafe), sipping a maple latte, gnoshing on a local Italian bakery pastry, and brainstorming business ideas and names.  A local reiki practitioner and card reader I had the fortune of connecting with on lovely property helped me to feel at ease & comfortable in her cozy den, encouraged me to close my eyes, and I went on a journey where I envisioned my heart as a monstera plant...it was under clear freshwater, and my inner light was shining up towards the surface, meeting the light of the sun as it shone down.  

    At this same healing session, towards the end she (Trista) pulled a card for me from a deck, and it was all about the Rebel archetype, particularly woman rebels.  This very much resonated with me and my life's journey (which I may write about more here in future blog entries).  The 'Resilience' part of the Rebel Resilience, LLC comes from a profound sense of having bounced back from various, numerous (and often early) traumas and upsets throughout life; it was a word I learned the full meaning of only in graduate school at the University of Indianapolis.  Resilience is something I also hope to help foster & encourage in others, by sharing some of my own challenging experiences.

    Having left the stressful and burnout-prone career of social work (before I could gain independent clinical licensure to diagnose as a therapist), I returned to my original love of the alternative/holistic/complementary Healing Arts, particularly to energy work (having trained specifically in Usui reiki).  For years, I told myself that massage therapy was the only method of healing arts that I could practice and earn a living at the same time (especially in the religio-stoic Midwest), as it was literally very 'hands on,' physical, and the results/benefits are clearly obvious to many.  It is also hard on LMTs physically, although I have found ways to maintain for 14 years now, including getting massage myself, constantly rotating the body parts I use so as to avoid overuse strain and injury (ugh, pinched shoulder nerves!).  

    I love connecting with folks (despite being an introvert, INFJ), helping them to feel seen/heard, and then helping these people to feel better physically (and often emotionally); occasionally the Spiritual esoteric/intuitive/New Age/paranormal/sublime comes up, and while I relish these few and far between moments, I typically just focus on the work at hand, and sometimes on things going on in their (& sometimes my) life.  I feel that this is where my true passion lies; toss in a healthy topping of nature, environmentalism (yay recycling!), psychology (yes, Jung!!), TRAVEL (expanded horizons of the Sagittarius...truly a 12/12 Ophiuchus, but we'll save that astrology topic for another day), astral travel/projection, gemstone healing (20+ years of collecting!), the chakras (esp. the lesser-known favorite teal-colored Higher Heart chakra between the heart and throat), empaths (and their troubled relationships with little-n (non-DSM) narcissists, Ascension, Starseeds (esp. Arcturians...and maybe Pleiadians).    

    After having named the company, I needed to come up with a name for this blog; I considered just naming it after the company, googled if I should do this, decided against it and to go with something clever, a play on words.  Quite literally, we empath-identified highly-sensitive (HSP) healers are often 'out of our minds' (Hx of trauma, rejection, abandonment, not feeling understood, walking on eggshells around an early abusive family member, learning to be hypervigilant and observant).  But instead of hardening ourselves and following this ancestrally-passed-down trauma cycle, we break free by processing our pain (more years in therapy than not, and many many self-help and pop psych books later) to become Free Spirits...Rebels against the status quo, expectations, etc.  Some become 'heyoka'-types (a term borrowed from indigenous traditions), or Super-Empaths.  

    I look forward to discussing many of the topics/concepts/theories/ideas touched upon here.  I do not expect most to understand, but hope that some find my writings and feel a sense of connection, community, and support.  Together, we Lightworker-types are ultimately stronger together (although scattered around the globe), holding Sacred Space for others, forming a human-crystal-alien Starseed network of benevolence, kindness, and compassion for the human journey.  I've met many individuals and groups through Facebook.  Some claim to be Lightworkers/Healers yet somehow openly support fascist-regime leaders who disparage minorities, the oppressed, the Queer-identified; even more oddly, some of these are of minority status/identity themselves.  We are living in a time of confusing delusional dichotomy, missing cognitive dissonance, 'hypocrazy,' continued -isms and prejudice/discrimination/fear.  We are better than this (especially the Chosen Ones...meaning not more 'special' than others but as their Souls chose a very difficult path before birth but with great potential/rewards).