Connect with us

Community News

“Our Fractured Realities,” Shadow Work Journal: A Mystic Guide into Inner Alchemy

Published

9 months ago

on

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Have you stopped to think about the state of our society? It’s like we’re living in a dystopian novel, but the irony is that it’s our reality. The hustle and bustle of city life. People rush by, faces buried in their phones, disconnected from the world around them. We’re constantly connected, yet more isolated than ever. Social media was supposed to bring us together, but it’s tearing us apart.

We spend our lives chasing success, climbing the corporate ladder, but what for? To buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t even like? Our relationships are reduced to digital exchanges. Emoticons have replaced genuine emotions, and the art of conversation is fading away. Our healthcare system is a mess. Access to quality care is a luxury, and millions suffer because of it. It’s a basic human right, not a privilege.

My concern lies with the Caribbean community; we as a people are dealing with layers of trauma, pain fossilizing year after year, generation after generation, and for many, there is no reprieve in sight.

In an article titled, “Impact of mental health stigma on help-seeking in the Caribbean: Systematic review,” (2023), the author explains the increasing concerns over growing rates of mental health conditions that have been identified within the Caribbean community. Traditionally in the Caribbean, poor mental health and expressing emotions has broadly been culturally and socially stigmatized, and are associated with shame, personal weakness, and a lack of commitment to God. This in many ways have acted as a barrier to seeking help.

My research also had me stumble on an article titled, “The effect of parental trauma on child well-being in Trinidad and Tobago: A mixed-methods study,”(2023), where researchers found evidence from a number of countries suggests that the majority of adults have experienced a traumatic event in their lifetime. A person’s traumas effects can be pervasive and can significantly alter the trajectory of a person’s life, even making an impact on future generations. The researchers share that regardless of their intentions, a parent’s experience of trauma can negatively impact children’s well-being in numerous ways, particularly through diminished parental well-being and compromised parenting behaviours.

Yes, we are dealing with a sad state of affairs, but amidst all this chaos, there’s hope. People are waking up, demanding change, and spending more time on healing their minds. Of course, in that healing, many of us are questioning the systems that brought us to this point.

“Dealing with your emotional trauma, it is an accumulation of everything that we have experienced in life that has stained our soul. We have all experienced some type of traumatic event.” Trisha Smith

Shadow work is not a new practice, and I became familiar with it during my studies of Carl Jung in university. Shadow work allows individuals to become more self-aware by exploring aspects of themselves that may be hidden, or denied, usually issues from childhood. This process helps uncover unresolved issues, fears, and desires, leading to a deeper understanding of one’s motivations and behaviors. By confronting and integrating the shadow, individuals can promote personal growth and development, as well as embrace previously neglected aspects of oneself, which leads to a more balanced and authentic life.

I was introduced to the book, “Shadow Work Journal: A Mystics Guide Into Inner Alchemy,” an Interactive workbook for those who are ready for their glow up, starting within. This journal (written by Toronto Caribbean Newspaper’s Spiritual Contributor Trisha Smith) takes you on a journey of the author’s own relatable experiences that helps you to identify and dig deep into your own journey for healing and reconciliation. The time-tested applications that are shared in the journal are an integral part of Trisha’s own healing and she shares them in solidarity with the reader.

“It is the foundation for our quality of life. It determines how we feel when we wake up in the morning.”

“What is the foundation for our quality of life, Trisha,” I asked when I finally had a moment to catch up with her. With the release of the book, she has definitely had her hands full.

“Healing is,” Trisha replied. “Trauma is so common, and we dismiss it. The more you heal, the more you see how hurt people are. I find myself forgiving more, having more compassion, I am not as easily angered. I am not walking around angry or upset anymore.”

Trisha shared with me that since grade two, she has enjoyed writing, and when journaling was introduced to her, she found it to be soothing, comforting. “There were a lot of aha moments, it was an avenue of healing for me. It is healing for me to think about things so openly. People live with so much shame; I curated this journal, because if people who identify with my story see me sharing, it might inspire them to open up and go deeper.”

During our interview, Trisha taught me, opened my eyes up to our history as African people. “During my studies with Shamans from Burkina Faso, I learned that they see individuals who suffer from mental health, as individuals who struggle to exist in two worlds. Ancestral shamans emphasize the importance of seeking guidance and support from ancestors. They may believe that connecting with one’s roots and receiving blessings or insights from ancestors contributes to mental and spiritual well-being.

They incorporate traditional healing ceremonies and rituals into their daily lives, and these rituals are often employed to address mental health concerns. These rituals may involve drumming, dancing, chanting, and other practices aimed at restoring harmony between the individual and the spiritual world.

I come from a family where many of the women struggle with their mental health; what I once found shameful is now a source of power for me. I have taken the time to dig deep, and really hone the gifts that my ancestors were chastised for.”

Self-love = Shadow work

Shadow work can be a tool for healing emotional wounds and traumas from the past. By acknowledging and processing repressed emotions, individuals can work towards resolving unresolved issues and finding emotional healing.“The more you love yourself, the closer you come to God. In order to love yourself, you have to see yourself for who you really are. It is seeing the raw version of who we are. Now we have the power to rearrange the pieces of the puzzle in our lives. Filling that void, of nothingness that many of us are experiencing.”

“Now that you have come face to face with your pain; what next,” I asked Trisha.

“It is about action, and this book takes you step by step through shadow work. Remember, out of chaos, comes order! Darkness is an aspect of shadow work; it is challenging work, but what comes after that is beautiful.”

Ask yourself reader, are you ready, and is it time for that change?

Related Topics:

We, as humans are guaranteed certain things in life: stressors, taxes, bills and death are the first thoughts that pop to mind. It is not uncommon that many people find a hard time dealing with these daily life stressors, and at times will find themselves losing control over their lives. Simone Jennifer Smith’s great passion is using the gifts that have been given to her, to help educate her clients on how to live meaningful lives. The Hear to Help Team consists of powerfully motivated individuals, who like Simone, see that there is a need in this world; a need for real connection. As the founder and Director of Hear 2 Help, Simone leads a team that goes out into the community day to day, servicing families with their educational, legal and mental health needs.Her dedication shows in her Toronto Caribbean newspaper articles, and in her role as a host on the TCN TV Network.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Community News

Hidden Agendas – Bill C-293: The silent Bill being passed right under our noses

Published

2 days ago

on

October 3, 2024

By

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Greetings everyone.

It is always fascinating, isn’t it? How some things dominate the news, get talked about endlessly on our social media feeds, debated over dinner tables, and dissected in countless articles and op-eds, but what about the things that do not make headlines? What about the decisions that happen quietly, in the background, while we are busy discussing everything else?

This edition, I want to shed light on something that has been happening right under our noses. A bill, being crafted, debated, and—unless we take action—soon to be passed by the Canadian government, without most of us even knowing it exists. By the time it hits the public radar, it might just be too late.

Now, I know some of you may be thinking, “What bill? I haven’t heard about any major legislation.” That is exactly the point. While we are kept busy with all the newsworthy controversies, this bill is being shaped in the shadows.

Why hasn’t this bill gotten the same attention? Why isn’t it making headlines? Is it not important enough, or is there something else at play? What this bill will do is undermine Canadian sovereignty by shifting power to unelected, non-Canadian organizations like the WHO and WEF.

You see, it is always the quiet ones, the bills that fly under the radar, that often carry the biggest consequences. The laws that: reshuffle power dynamics, alter rights, or change the very fabric of our society without any of us having a say. By the time we are aware, the decisions have been made, the ink has dried, and we’re left wondering, “How did this happen?”

So today, as I share the details of this bill, I want you to think critically. Ask yourselves why it has not been brought to our attention sooner. Why has it been kept quiet? Most importantly, what can we do as a community to ensure that we are no longer kept in the dark?

It is a move that willfully hands over control of your food, your privacy, and your rights to globalist agendas. You have likely heard of the hard work Citizengo is doing around the world to stop the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Pandemic Treaty.  A treaty that would have countries sign away their national sovereignty and become servantent states under unelected globalist rule, whenever and however the next “pandemic” is called. If this goes through we will see the World Health Organization’s “One Health Initiative” rolled out in Canada. This has dire consequences and will essentially usher in a technocratic surveillance state under the guise of safety and preparedness.

What if I told you that Canada, thanks to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party, have already hatched a plan to surrender our national sovereignty to their authoritarian globalist friends. Let me introduce you to Bill C-293, the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act, introduced by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith. Currently, the bill is awaiting its 2nd Reading in The Senate, under the very noses of every-single Canadian, and this is news for some of our readers right now.

I only just learned about this Pandemic Treaty Bill myself when the team at CitizenGo reached out to me. Shortly thereafter, LifeSiteNews released their article, and I was truly shocked by what I read. “Included in Bill C-293 are provisions to ‘regulate commercial activities that can contribute to pandemic risk, including industrial animal agriculture,’ produce ‘alternative proteins,’ and ‘enable contact tracing of persons.”

In other words, if Bill C-293 passes, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), The World Health Organization (WHO), The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and other unelected globalist international bodies will have unprecedented control over Canada’s sovereignty.

If this bill is allowed to ascend into Canadian law, the federal government would have to listen to these globalist agencies “guidelines” in regulating our agriculture industry all under the guise of something called “pandemic prevention.”

Guess what else falls under this vague label? Promoting alternative proteins like insects while phasing out traditional meat production. Even more alarming, the bill allows for contact tracing, raising serious privacy concerns and enabling government overreach. How many more digital applications are you going to have to pay for, like ArriveCAN, if you decide to travel abroad, or even throughout Canada?

Here’s how Canadian sovereignty will be lost:

  • Global Regulation of Industrial Agriculture will target meat production and give international bodies influence over what Canadians can produce and consume.
  • Promoting Alternative Proteins through the pushing of lab-grown meats and insect farms designed to devastate local farmers and meat producers.
  • Implementing Contact Tracing to intrude upon every aspect of your life. Without privacy, digital IDs and contact tracing tools grant significant power to the government to control individuals’ behaviour, including where you can go through the usage of mandatory lockdowns and “social distancing” style policies.
  • Ceding Control to Global Institutions were Canada’s pandemic response and industries would be 100% subjected to international oversight, ending our national autonomy as a democratic nation that values individuals’ Human Rights and Freedoms.

The Senate was set to resume its business on September 17th, 2024, but here is the reality: this is not an accident. Certain policies are designed to be kept quiet, tucked away, and only brought to light when there is no turning back. Whether it is the complexity of the bill, or the deliberate silence around it, it is clear—the less we know, the less we can protest.

It is not just this one bill. It is a pattern. While we are being distracted by the flashy stories, we miss the subtler, yet often more impactful, moves happening right beneath the surface. What is the strategy behind this? Silence. Secrecy. Control. Before we know it, we are living with the consequences of decisions we never had a chance to discuss, let alone oppose.

Now, I am not here to incite fear. I’m here to inspire awareness, because we still have a say. We still have time. We must start paying attention to these quieter moves by our government. We need to ask the hard questions, demand transparency, and hold those in power accountable for the decisions they make in the shadows.

If we don’t, we’ll continue to wake up to laws that we had no idea were even in the works. We’ll continue to have: rights, freedoms, and choices taken away without our consent. And that, my friends, is a dangerous place to be.

Democracy doesn’t just live in the loud, public moments—it thrives when we shine a light on the quiet ones too.

REFERENCES:

https://www.onehealthcommission.org/en/why_one_health/what_is_one_health/

https://www.citizengo.org/en-ca

https://www.parl.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/bill/C-293/third-reading

https://em.citizengo.org/OTA3LU9EWS0wNTEAAAGVic6AghmKYA6VL35jcL7JwEYFvRucjLnneADAZGHY-8NrORLPoh1N5xgY_bNvOwh7xoMLCzs=

Bill C-293 (International Pandemic Treaty) Revisited: Concerns Raised Over Food Supply

 

Continue Reading

Community News

The drug manufacturer and pusher man: Off with their heads

Published

2 days ago

on

October 3, 2024

By

BY STEVEN KASZAB

Victims of the opioid epidemic have been shouting aloud to the: authorities, addiction/mental health emergency providers, and local governments for help. Asking, pleading, and when action does not happen quick enough protesting the apparent inaction of those who are supposed to be protecting society. There will always be excuses as to why those who manufacture and sell these drugs are not in prison right now. Their legal rights, the police’s inability to soundly find proof necessary to have them arrested, the federal government cannot stop the importation of these illegal drugs illegally, nor the domestic manufacturing of this poison. Aboriginal Rights, personal and privacy rights, international domains, lack of response from India and China’s Security Apparatus in stopping those in their country.

It comes down to the question, if you are addicted to drugs, are you of sound mind and body? Can you think for yourself, or must a public judicator force the addict into rehabilitative care? Often war does not have rules, and the war on drugs has been one sided for a very long time. Those nations that allow illicit drugs to be made in their territory, or transported from should feel the effects of powerful embargos. Let the Foreign Affairs Office do something useful by placing: Mexico, China, Columbia, Burma, and others on an embargo list not allowing them to ship or sell their products to Canada.

Long ago sanitariums were set aside, considered politically incorrect. Now, these same institutions of medical rehabilitation are necessary to hold involuntarily addicts for a three-to-six-month period, where their healthcare, mental health, and addiction therapy can be carried out. Inviting the church organizations to assist with their historical experience can be an asset.

Our society must take the war seriously, or hundreds of thousands of our citizens will perish. Take no prisoners, as those who manufacture and sell this poison know exactly: what they are doing, who they are harming, and what the end game truly will be.

For all those who have not seen someone dying of addiction, being poisoned long term, or it was their very first try…wake up. Decide whose side you are on, the victims and their families, the society you live in that is possibly the best that can exist, or you’re on the side of evil, people who make a living by poisoning and killing others.

Choose, and choose well.

Continue Reading

Community News

Canadian Congress on Inclusive Diversity and Workplace Equity 4th Annual Canada Leadership Summit and Nations Building Award

Published

2 days ago

on

October 3, 2024

By

BY PAUL JUNOR

There will be much to look forward to at the 4th Annual Canada Leadership Summit and Nations Building Award which will be held on Friday, October 4th, and Saturday, October 5th, 2024, at the Hilton Toronto Airport Hotel. The event will be hosted by the Canadian Congress on Inclusive Diversity and Workplace Equity and along with several partners such as: International School of Greatness (ISG), Diversity Institute located at TMU and other strategic partners who have been integral.

The CIDWE is described as the premier global event that gathers leaders from diverse backgrounds, all united by a shared dedication to transformational leadership and tackling today’s most urgent issues through networking, advocacy, and steadfast commitment. An integral mission of the summit is the goal of inspiring participants to rise above: personal, professional, and corporate challenges, and their aim is to ignite the spirit of leadership in everyone and transform those in positions of authority into nation builders.

On Friday, October 4th, 2024, there will be an evening of networking. It is intended to inspire critical dialogue and action on a global scale through strategic learning and networking opportunities.

On Saturday, October 5th, 2024, there will be a Business Breakfast Forum followed by the Leadership and Diversity workshops. There will be a Business Branding and Profitable Growth Workshop. Participants will learn about the Seven Laws of Exponential Growth and how to leverage the Psychology of Sales and Marketing to build generational wealth and achieve global impact.

These series of workshops will focus on: Transformational Leadership, Strategic Management, Social Justice, and Community Development. Some of the speakers include Dr. Wendy Cukier, Dr. Ardavan Eizadirad, Dr. Upiomoh Osholene, Dr. Mary Grogan, Alethia O’Hara Stephenson, and others.

The Nation Builders Award will be given to thirteen inspirational and motivational individuals who have distinguished themselves in a variety of fields such as: government, academia, business, and community service. A nation builder is understood in very specific terms as  someone who actively contributes to the development and strengthening of their country. In addition, nation builders take responsibility for their country’s future, working to create: systems, policies, and cultural practices that lead to long-term success and prosperity. They are visionaries who understand that the strength of a nation depends on the collective efforts of its people, and they work to: inspire, lead and empower others to participate in this important work.

In an email, Nosakhare Alex Ihama mentioned, “Our dedicated committee meticulously selected the 2024 nominees, ensuring that the awardees exemplify outstanding leadership and community service across our nation. With about 100: speakers, panelists, entertainers, sponsors, and strategic partners involved; we are proud to be recognized as a leading platform for national transformation. We congratulate the distinguished 2024 award recipients and eagerly anticipate learning from their insights while celebrating their collective achievements in making Canada truly North and Free.”

Participants will be able to network with the speakers and Nation Builder Award winners. They will have an opportunity to engage with thought leaders and policymakers and be part of meaningful conversations that will shape our collective future.

The titles of the awards and the names of the thirteen recipients are:

  • Nation Builders Lifetime Leadership Award: Senator Wando Thomas
  • Nation Builders Award for Excellence in Black Community Development: Dr. Winston LaRose
  • Nation Builders Legacy Award: Honorable Dr. Jean Augustine
  • Nation Builders Award for Inclusive Government & Policies: Greg Fergus
  • Nation Builders Award in Education & Academia: Dr. Gervan Fearon
  • Social Justice Icon Award: Honourable Michaelle Jean
  • Nation Business Award for Business Excellence: Harriet Thornhill
  • Nation Builders Rising Star Award for Social Justice: Nicholas Marcus Thompson
  • Nation Builders Global Humanitarian Award: Kamala Jean Gopie
  • Nation Builders Award for Inclusive & Equitable Sports: Rowan Barrett
  • Nation Builders Award for National Unity & Harmony: Senator Murray Sinclair
  • Nation Builders Award for Media, Arts & Entertainment: Patricia Babia
  • Nation Builders Award for Law and Justice: Hon. Justice Donald McLeod
  • Nation Builders Award for Youth Empowerment: Diana Alli D’Souza

There is much to expect from the upcoming Leadership Summit and Nation Builders Award. No doubt, there will be many moments of: empowerment, inspiration, motivation, and engagement.

Continue Reading

Trending