Growing up with five siblings in the 1950’s and 60’s in suburban Los Angeles, I was privileged to have enough: enough food, safety, and support for getting a good education. My parents drank, argued, and ignored me, but they seldom spanked. They modeled hard work and education as the tools for getting ahead. But like all humans, I have wounds from my childhood. How else to explain that I obsessed about ways to kill myself from the ages of 16 to 36? Something was broken inside, but I trudged through on.
Distracting myself by focusing on school and planning my escape, I traveled north to a university set in the redwood forests of Santa Cruz, California to study science and begin a career in biological research. In my twenties I found I enjoyed drinking and lost interest in my career. I found and studied many "self help" authors and saw a therapist. I went to live for a time in the early 80's at an intentional community in rural Kentucky called Cornucopia, where we explored new ideas in consciousness and the concept that humans can choose the emotions and life quality we experience, regardless of external circumstances.
Through my studies with A Course in Miracles and other spiritual teachers I have concluded that all humans unconsciously seek the lessons they need to progress in awakening to a deeper awareness of the interconnectedness of all life. I heard and ignored the call of my soul for decades. In 1983 I married and went to work: studying, building a career, raising a daughter, and living cautiously. Finally, in 2020 the COVID pandemic and my retirement brought me a new opportunity to focus on my inner life. I did some inner child work and then I found Gary Craig’s Optimal EFT community. In 2023 I finished my certification and am now a Gary Craig Certified Official EFT™ Master.
I ought to have written a memoir before I began my journey with Optimal EFT, because as I sit and write this text, my past does not look the same. I see that my memories are influenced by the meaning I gave them. I am filled with gratitude for my parents, my family, my surroundings. The hurts, perceived insults, anxiety, and victimhood have eased. I am tuned-in and guided by a deeper understanding and intuition that speaks of truth, with wisdom and love. I know there will be challenges; in our world, so many beings are hurting, and I also have my down days. But with OEFT I have resources and tools to face and thrive in my life. I welcome the opportunity to explore and keep growing as I face what is likely my biggest challenge: my 7th decade, and an aging body.
