I was at the fridge grabbing something to drink when I stood up quickly and whacked my head on the freezer door I’d left open above me. Tears immediately sprang to my eyes as two things happened. I became angry and started criticizing myself for making such a “stupid mistake.” Then I began to reverse-engineer the experience, trying to understand how I’d hit my head in just the right spot to cause such intense pain. That’s when I thought of Charlie Goldsmith and his book, Human Medicine.

I’d finished the book before leaving on vacation and had made notes in preparation for our Zoom gathering this week. It’s why his work quickly came to mind. Charlie’s book is an invitation to notice, name, and embrace the parts of us that were split off during times of intense emotional pain. When we do, we heal past wounds, get unstuck, and generate the kind of solid resilience we can count on. One way we discover these parts is by paying attention to the feelings that occur during present-day situations.

My experience with the refrigerator is a simple example. When I hit my head, I felt instantly vulnerable and hurt, and instead of feeling it, accepting it, and comforting myself, I ejected these parts and became angry and curious. I started berating myself for being so stupid, and I became more interested in how it happened than in what I needed. As soon as I realized what I was doing, I sat down, wrapped my arms around myself, and said, “Sweetheart, it’s okay. I know you’re hurt and I got you.” As the pain subsided (and it did so quickly, by the way), I imagined reaching out to the young girl who couldn’t afford to be vulnerable, pulling her into my arms and folding her into my present-day self.

While this might sound like a silly exercise, it’s a fundamental path to wholeness and healing. Calling back the parts of us that were rejected during intense emotional experiences earlier in life not only makes us whole, it grows us up, and gives us access to the helpful qualities and skills we need as adults. This is the practice Goldsmith writes about in his book (in a very effective way), and we’ll talk more about it during our Zoom gathering this Wednesday.

Goldsmith is an energy healer from Australia, and I began following his work years ago. As someone who has studied energy medicine for decades, I appreciate his gift, his humility, and his desire to bring this healing method into mainstream medicine. Goldsmith is currently involved in several studies to demonstrate the efficacy of this work, and he’s developing an app that will connect healers with those in need of support. I’m excited to share his work with you.

You can join us this Wednesday (7/22) at 3pm ET (12 noon PT) to learn more about Charlie and his plans. If you’ve attended a Zoom gathering before, you’ll automatically receive an invite. If not, you can register here.

Learn more about Charlie Goldsmith and his book here.

Love,

Cheryl