Introduction: The Power of Making it Mentionable

The great Fred Rogers, a man who I believe was a healer in his own right, taught a simple yet profound truth: "Anything that's human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable."

For too long, we have treated our triggers and traumas as unmentionable. We bury the pain, pretend it doesn't exist, or shame ourselves for feeling it. We leave it in the shadows. But the energy of what happened remains lodged within us, a silent guest influencing our lives in countless ways.

A trauma is pain from the past that is still affecting you today because it has not been fully seen, heard, or cleared. When a situation in the present reminds your body or spirit of that original pain, you get triggered. You aren't just responding to what's happening now; you're responding with the full weight of unresolved history.

This is a vicious and entrapping cycle. But it is a cycle you can break.

This guide is your tool to finally make your inner world mentionable — first to yourself, and then to the universe. By shining the loving light of your own awareness on these hidden wounds, you begin to reclaim your power. You discover that what once seemed like an unconquerable monster becomes a manageable energy, ready to be transformed.

Your triggers are not a life sentence. They are a call to wholeness. Let's answer that call together.

"Spiritual healing is not about fixing something that is broken. We are not broken. Healing is releasing or transforming... things that are blocking the expression of our true essence."

Step 1: Honor the Signal (The Triggering Moment)

When a trigger hits, it feels like a hostile takeover. The immediate instinct is to fight, flee, or shut down. Our first step is to do something radically different: to honor the signal and create a pocket of safety for ourselves.

When you feel that familiar wave of heat, constriction, or overwhelming emotion, your only job in that moment is to get through it with as much self-compassion as possible. Deep reflection can wait. Survival and safety come first.

Your Practice:

• Breathe: The first thing to go in a state of alarm is the breath. Consciously bring it back. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Feel your feet on the ground. This tells your nervous system that, despite the inner alarm, you are physically safe.
• Use an Internal Mantra: Your mind will be racing. Give it a simple, powerful anchor. Repeat silently to yourself: "I am safe. This is a memory. I am safe right now." This separates the past feeling from the present reality.
• Respond, Don't React (As Best You Can): In the situation that triggered you (an argument, a comment, a stressful event), focus only on what is necessary. You do not need to solve the deep wound in the middle of a conflict. It's okay to say, "I need a moment," and step away. Your priority is to protect your energy.

Step 2: Embrace Gratitude (Shift Your Perspective)

After the storm of the initial trigger has passed, the tendency is to move into shame, blame, or self-criticism. "Why did I overreact?" "I'm so broken." "I'll never get over this."

This is where we make the most crucial pivot. Instead of seeing the trigger as a failure, we see it as a faithful friend that will not let us abandon ourselves. We get grateful.

Gratitude is the most powerful currency in the universe. It shifts our entire energetic state from one of lack and fear to one of openness and resourcefulness. When we thank the trigger, we are not thanking the pain. We are thanking the opportunity for healing it has brought to our attention.

Your Practice:

• Speak Your Gratitude: Find a quiet moment after the event. Place a hand on your heart and say aloud, "Thank you. Thank you for showing me what is ready to be healed. Thank you for guiding me home to myself."
• Reframe the Experience: See the trigger not as a random attack, but as a perfectly placed signpost on your healing journey. It is a blinking light, saying, "Here! The treasure is buried here!"

"Our pain is the doorway to our joy. When we take just a moment to feel our pain without judgement, blame, shame or reduction, we increase the depth of joy we can experience."

Step 3: Follow the Thread (Trace the Roots)

Your trigger is a thread. When you pull on it with curiosity instead of fear, it will lead you directly to the source of the original wound. This is the detective work of the soul. You are not looking to relive the trauma; you are looking to understand the echo.

Your Practice:

• Ask the Core Question: With the feeling of the trigger fresh in your memory, ask yourself: "When have I felt this exact same way before?"
• Let Memories Arise: Don't force it. Let images, sensations, or memories surface naturally. It might be a memory from last year, from adolescence, or from early childhood. Keep following the thread back. What is the earliest memory that carries this specific emotional signature?
• Make Gentle Notes: As these events or feelings come to mind, jot them down. Note the details. Who was there? What was happening? Most importantly, what did you decide about yourself or the world in that moment? (e.g., "I am not safe," "I have to be perfect to be loved," "My voice doesn't matter.")

Step 4: Make Compassionate Contact (Meet Your Wounded Self)

At the root of the trigger is a part of you that was hurt. Often, in a moment of overwhelming pain, we disassociated from that part of ourselves to survive. Shamanic traditions call this "soul loss." It was a brilliant coping mechanism, but it left a piece of our vital essence fragmented, frozen in time.

Your trigger is an invitation to go back and retrieve that part of yourself.

Your Practice:

1. Visualize: Close your eyes. In your mind's eye, go to the younger you who had that initial painful experience. See them clearly.
2. Offer a Simple Hello: This part of you may be scared or wary. Start gently. Just say, "Hello. I'm here. I'm your grown-up self, and I've come back for you."
3. Bear Witness with Compassion: Offer the words that this part of you has been waiting a lifetime to hear:

   "I am so sorry this happened to us."
   "You did nothing wrong."
   "Thank you for being so strong and getting us through that."
   "I am here to listen now. Tell me everything."

4. Listen: Spend some time just being present with this younger you. What do they show you? What do they feel? You don't need to fix anything. Your loving, non-judgmental presence is the most powerful medicine in the world.

Step 5: Reclaim Your Energy (The Mantra of Wholeness)

Healing is not just about releasing the old; it's about reclaiming what is rightfully yours. After making contact with your wounded self and bearing witness to their pain, the final step is to consciously reorganize the energy and call your power home.

This is a declaration to the universe that the old contract is complete. You are no longer available for that pattern of pain. You are choosing wholeness.

Your Practice:

• State Your Intention: Stand or sit with a strong, dignified posture. Say aloud: "I intend to release any energies related to this event that do not serve my joy and highest good. I call all of my own life force energy back to me now."
• Use the Mantra of Reorganization: This mantra is a powerful tool for energetic hygiene. Speak it with conviction, feeling the truth of the words in your body:

  "I recall to me all that is mine, and I return to others lovingly all that is theirs. What belongs to no person I release with a breath of kindness on the wind. I share what is mine willingly with Spirit, and together we lovingly heal and integrate it for the sole empowerment of my highest and best good."

• Integrate with Breath: Take a few deep, powerful breaths. With each inhale, visualize pure, golden light filling you up, calling all the lost pieces of your energy home. With each exhale, visualize the old, heavy energy leaving your body, dissolving harmlessly into the earth.

Your Journey of Transformation

This five-step process is not a one-time fix, but a sacred practice. Each time a trigger arises, you have a new opportunity to walk this path of healing and reclamation. You are peeling back the layers, and with each layer, you reveal more of the magnificent, whole, and unbreakable essence that is your true self.

You are moving from a life of unconscious reaction to one of conscious creation. You are no longer a victim of your past, but the loving and capable alchemist of your own soul.

This work is profound. It is the real work. And you are not alone in it.

This guide is your first step. Healing is a journey, not a destination.