THE POWER OF WORSHIP IN TRAUMA HEALING

Oxford Languages Defines worship as:
The feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.
"the worship of God"

Interestingly, Dr Stephen Porges, founder of Polyvagal Theory has discussed the importance of cultivating a sense of “awe” as part of restoring the health of the nervous system.

As believers, the ultimate source of awe is God Himself. The Bible will often describe this as the “fear of the Lord”

When we worship God, there is a change in the spirit and the body.

In the presence of the Lord a natural surrender occurs in which we may weep, tremble, or move in ways that we do not normally do. Not just the spirit, but the physical body surrenders/yields to the Lord.

Worship is the expression of the awe of God.
When we worship, we are brought into the presence of the Lord.

Here we are in the presence of perfection and purity. We are in the presence of all that is good and true.

This presence is healing &...

I get you. My 5+ year coaching career has been spent helping women just like you at the nervous system level. 

And by women like you I mean: The beautiful, eccentric, high-performing, entrepreneurial woman that you are.

Believe me when I say that I deeply understand that you are different. You are highly skilled and intelligent  in key areas and when you’re operating in those areas you are absolutely LIT UP!

These areas are the God-given gifts that the Lord has given to you. People  are simply in awe of how much you are gifted in that area. 

I know that you’re in your most dialed-in flow-state when you are operating in those gifts and when you’re there - it’s like a slice of heaven on earth.

I also know that sometimes ( a lot of times) that flow-state can feel elusive. And you can feel foggy headed, dysregulated, distracted, and even a deep sense of frustration at times when it comes to putting all the pieces of your vision together. 

Why I no longer teach or work with “Life Force Energy” 

What is Life Energy?

Cultures all over the world have identified a mysterious, spontaneous force that is sometimes called “divine”. They will call this Chi, Prana, Mana, Vital Energy or Life Force - among other names. I have even seen this called the Kundalini. 

The idea in the New Age and alternative healing spaces is that this force can be channeled or used to bring healing and that this force is present in human bodies and that aligning with this force of life can bring healing to the body. And this idea of a force of life present in all things also is closely related to the divine being in and part of all things including humans.

In the somatic healing world, the concept of life energy represents the personal power/vitality of a person and the energy of life that is in the world/universe, patterns of nature and the spontaneous force of healing and life in all things and beings.

This is in...

I just keep walking away… ‍‍‍

And this one feels hard to write.

This month I was scheduled to go to my Advanced Somatic Experiencing Training (SE Advanced 2) in Halifax.

The hotel was booked.
The flight. The train.
The registration.
All set to go.

The final culmination of three years of time and investment, relationship building with beautiful colleagues.

Somatic work has been a pillar in my life for at least 7 years of a 14 year plus healing journey.

I began my SE training already having read and studied the topic intensively for years. Having worked with SE practitioners.

I believed Somatic Experiencing to be the “missing piece” in my life and in the world of personal development.

Through my sanctification process I left behind everything else. The Lord opened my eyes a few months after my salvation in the middle of the night to the spiritual dangers of what I was practicing with the I Ching, Human Design and Gene Keys, Spiritual Kinesiology. I also...

The Somatic & Spiritual Side of Anger 
 

Anger is such an important part of health!

Yes - health.

Without the full spectrum of full human emotions - we are not physically healthy. Our Creator designed our emotional and physical experience to be connected to one another.

So - what happens when we repress? What happens when we grow up in homes and environments where the family pushes back or stifles our valid and honest emotional expression?

Emotional Dysregulation, Chronic Illness, High-Functioning Depression & Anxiety Symptoms, and Dysfunctional relationships,  Toxic Shame to name just a few.

What can also happen is a confusing relationship with God where we feel afraid to express ourselves to Him - to wrestle with Him, to pour out our hearts before him.

We can more easily get into abusive relationship dynamics and unhealthy spiritual communities because we are less likely to speak up, express needs, set boundaries and advocate for what is right.

When I work with...

PRAYERS FOR YOUR TRAUMA HEALING JOURNEY -PART 1

One prayer I often pray is: “Father - make the crooked places straight in my heart”

I get this prayer from the metaphor often found in Scripture of “preparing the way of the Lord”

In the Old Covenant before Jesus came, Prophets would proclaim His coming and they would declare that One was coming who would make things right with humanity. Who would “level the playing field” against sin, corruption and evil.

One who would heal and restore and repair. One who would light the way both in the world and in our hearts.

I love this metaphor because it is so profoundly true in the context of trauma.

Sin & Trauma creates so much confusion, dysregulation and disruption in our hearts and minds.

As a result, we can see things from distorted lenses.

What is safe seems unsafe & what is unsafe can seem safe.
We can be reactive or easily shut-down as a result of our nervous system’s sensitivity.
...

Click here to listen to the episode on iTunes 

Description 

Everyone say it with me: Co-Regulation leads to self-regulation!

This is a key concept for understanding trauma healing at the nervous system level because it teaches us how we can access neuroplasticity with support from other people who have regulated nervous systems.

In this episode, I talk about

• What is nervous system regulation exactly? 
• How does co-regulation lead to self-regulation 
• The Role of Co-Regulation in Neurodevelopment from the womb onward 
• Bottom Up Brain Development (Dr Bruce Perry’s neurosequential development theory)
• Dysregulation, trauma and the healing impact of Co-Regulation
• The Fruit of the Spirit:How the Gospel makes us naturally more regulated and co-regulated
  
  

Scriptures mentioned in the episode: 

• Galatians 5:13-26 
• Matthew 19:13-15 
• 1 Corinthians 13
• 1 Thessalonians 2:6-8 
  
  

  Instagram: www.shylacash.com/growhealchange

  Email me: ...

I’m 33!

Yesterday (Tuesday, Sep 26, 2023) was my birthday.

I became a Christian last year - it’s my first full year as a born-again believer. 

Though I grew up in church I don’t feel that I had a saving faith as my heart did not fully grasp the truth of the gospel.

I had a general revelation of God and His Word but looking back I really don’t feel that I was saved.

The reason for that is because my true salvation last year felt so radical and life-altering that it pierced my heart and changed me forever.

Before I was saved I wandered and looked for truth in mystical traditions and spiritual systems like Chinese I Ching, Human Design, Gene Keys, Spiritual Kinesiology and basically whatever else appealed to me. I was sincere in my pursuit but sincerely deceived.

Until God led me to the truth of the Gospel.

As a result, this year has been kind of wild.

I have made serious changes in every area of my life in response to the Gospel being brought to me by the...

This week is the second instalment of the Theology of Trauma Series - We are talking about the Gospel. 

Specifically we are looking at:
What is the Gospel?
How Do we live out our trauma healing journey with the Gospel in mind?
How is the Believer's trauma healing journey is different from the secular healing journey. 
Common Grace Vs Saving Grace 
A note on religious trauma 

Links
Instagram: www.instagram.com/growhealchange

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/growhealchange/ 
 

Jumpstart Program: www.shylacash.com/jumpstart 
 

Waitlist for The Faithful Trauma Recovery Institute: www.shylacash.com/faithfulwaitlist 

‍ Learning to Trust the Lord ‍

The thing God has been dealing with me most about since I gave my life to Christ last year has been trust.

Trust is a scary dirty word for a lot of us.

Add in a childhood wrought with abuse and neglect or any kind of relational or spiritual trauma for that matter and you compound on the challenge.

In my years of personal trauma recovery, nervous system repair, and formal training - I’ve learned and experienced a lot about the body and trust.

About how the nervous system can be wired for a kind of closed off hyper-independence in which we construct a life where we protect ourselves from the need to trust others for anything.

How the nervous system can learn to be drawn to (and even cling to) what is unsafe in relationships and deeply untrustworthy.

How we can be so cut off from our God-given intuition that we can’t even FEEL the instincts let alone discern and trust them.

How we can feel terrified to trust that which is actually...