By Simone J Smith
What happened to her was a living nightmare. It’s something that no young woman should have to go through.
As I listened to her story, I thought to myself, “She is so strong, so loving and passionate about life. If she had not told me this, I would never know.”
This is why we do it. This is why the team at Toronto Caribbean Newspaper decided over 10 years ago to share the stories of Caribbean women who have historically been marginalized and underrepresented in various forms of media, including literature, film, and television. By telling their stories, we can provide representation and visibility to a group that has often been excluded. It allows other Caribbean women to see themselves reflected in narratives and helps to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions.
This week I am happy to be sharing the story of one of our writers, a woman who I admire, and whom I strongly believe will continue to be a source of wisdom and health to the Caribbean community here in Toronto, and across the diaspora.
Our Woman Empowered is a renowned healer, and possesses great knowledge, skills, training, experience, empathy and compassion. Her personal experience with pain has contributed to her development of empathy and understanding. By trade she is a wellness consultant, but by her soul’s decree, she is a Divine Essence, Healer and Mystic who has been charged with the task to empower, awaken and inspire those who are led to work with her. She takes a full-circle approach to healing, incorporating all aspects of health to restore not only the body, but mind and soul as well.
She offers a unique and diverse perspective that contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the human experience. Her story will inspire individuals to overcome challenges, pursue their dreams, and contribute to a positive change in our world. I would like to introduce our Woman Empowered, Trisha Smith.
“I was born and raised in Toronto and my family moved to Brampton when I was much younger. That is where I spent most of my early life. I lived with my mom and dad until I was five years old, and then my parents split up. My parents were two different energies. My mom was a Christian and my dad was more street, you know the Caribbean man; he loved his drink, he loved the street, and he loved his weed.
The split was difficult for me because from when I can remember, I was a daddy’s girl all the way. He favored me, spoiled me, and loved me. He was my everything. That was my daddy. When he left, it impacted me. We went from a six-bedroom house to a shelter with bunk beds. It was a total 360 for me. This is when life took a turn for the worse, and for a while, life didn’t make sense to me.
I will never forget the day when my mother and I returned from Jamaica, and when we came back the house was empty. My dad had sold the house and moved out. It was a very traumatic experience for me. Even at a young age, what was happening seemed off.
We were in the shelter for six months, and then moved into housing. From six until 16, I was in housing. I still saw my dad, but things were just different. I hated going to see him. Once I got older, we grew apart; I don’t know if I reminded him of her, but he became very miserable. Our visits were always him questioning me and my siblings about what my mom was doing, it wasn’t about us.
I watched my mom slave; I saw how difficult it was for her. Even though I was younger I saw this. I hardly saw mom, and I only saw her when we were going to church. She was very protective over me; I couldn’t have a boyfriend, I couldn’t go out, I couldn’t do anything.”
Trisha’s life became very tumultuous; at a young age she began to feel intense emotional pain that left her longing for connection.
“My mom met someone, and she left us. Yep, she just got up and left, and this is when life went haywire; I started to do everything that I wasn’t supposed to do. I ended up living with my dad again, but that was short lived. One day he came to my room, threw a suitcase on the ground and told me that I was going to live in New York with my mother. I had five days to get my life together and just like that I was living in the Bronx. I finished up the 10th grade in New York.
My mom’s husband did not like me at all; I guess I disturbed their no-child home, so before I knew it, I was being sent back to Canada. I didn’t tell my dad I was coming back, instead I went to live with my sister. I think my mom felt bad, so she came back to give me some kind of stability, so I was with her after that.”
Trisha was developing as a woman, and her feeling of abandonment triggered a deep sense of rejection. She began to feel unworthy, unimportant by the people who were supposed to love her, and this led to self-doubt and diminished self-esteem. It also made her vulnerable to predators.
“I met a Rasta, and he changed my life. I was young and foolish, and I got caught up in him. Next thing I knew I was pregnant, and this man started to beat me. The abuse got worse, and Children’s Aid got involved. It was terrible. I was getting beaten twice a week. My mom actually caught him beating me, and she called the police. He finally got deported.
Life was rough during that time, but it was the genesis of my healing journey. I attended Dominion Herbal College when I was with him. I became a vegetarian and got extremely sick, which led to me discovering the miracle of herbs. I wanted to learn more about my body, so I went to the Canadian School of Natural Medicine and graduated as a nutritionist. I found passion in holistic medicine.
One day my friend invited me to a fire ritual, and this is when everything changed. I learned about my ancestors, how to interact with nature, and learned about the elements. It opened up my eyes to more. I started to get more into African spirituality, and healing. When I met Malidoma, he taught me how to have a more intimate relationship with nature and then I began creating my own concoctions. This is how Adero Herbals was born. I vended all over the city for 10 years, conducted workshops and helped many women through my nutritional consultations.”
Her second evolution was in Las Vegas when she went to a workshop seminar led by Dr Mitchell Gibson, and his wife Kathy Gibson (Solar Rejuvenation).
“He gave us practices that involved rituals around the sun. He spoke about evolution, the soul, the spirit, and how we interact with the spirit world. It was level up for me. I came home and I couldn’t do the rituals, and this upset me. I wanted a way out of the life that I had created. I stopped smoking weed and began to focus on my healing.
I decided to go back to school. I went to Humber College and got my Marketing Diploma, and I started writing. I had always been a writer; it was in me. I started sharing stories in Reggae Exclusive, and other publications. I revamped my business to Sakred Synergi and introduced a new line of tonics and began doing guided meditations and writing eBooks all centered around mental health and women’s health. I am proud to say that I also got my certifications in Reiki and Life Coaching.
My healing journey is still a process and has me working on a shadow work course where I will teach women in a step by step process how to heal from trauma and pain.
I love water in all its forms, deep walks off the trail in the forest, metaphysics, jazz and reggae music, clubs and comedy. Yes! This Gemini embraces her dual nature, and I am always down for adventure and trying new things! Drag racing is next on my list!
My four children keep me on my toes and challenge me to show up as a better version of myself every day.”
http://www.sakredsynergi.com/
