Shake It Out, Shake It Out

Shake it out, shake it out
Shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off

Anxious, hypervigilant, unable to relax, hypersensitive, overprotective, fearful, avoidant. 

It can be embarrassing to admit how much we stuck in emotional chains, no matter how much we achieve, help others, or work on ourselves.

2012 was a year of leveling up for me and many people I know. The end of the world was really more like a significant spiritual shift that forced a lot of us to grow of old thinking patterns.

One of the most important things I learned was that you don't have to be shell shocked or have suffered severe abuse to have PTSD. Most people I know carry with them feelings from difficult childhood situations that they could not accept or release. That is trauma.

Today I'd like to share with you what I find to be very helpful passages about the psychology behind trauma, how it gets trapped in the body, and how it can be released physically.


from Conscious Medicine: Creating Health and Well-Being in a Conscious Universe 
by Gill Edwards

Peter Levine, a psychologist, medical biologist, and former stress consultant to NASA observed that wild animals that have been traumatized into the freeze response, yet survived the ordeal, will always shake violently afterwards. They literally shake the trauma out of their energy system. After this their physiology returns to normal, as if nothing ever happened. In fact, research suggests that trauma builds resilience - and that avoiding change and stress is not necessarily good for us. Both animals and humans become stronger after trauma, as long as it is discharged.

***

Neurologist Bob Scaer, building upon Peter Levine's work, believes that most disease results from undischarged trauma - in other words - going beyond fight or flight to the freeze response and getting stuck there. If it is not discharged, trauma remains locked in your energy system, and you cycle between the fight-flight and freeze responses. You might have emotional symptoms such as being anxious, hypervigilant unable to relax, hypersensitive, overprotective, fearful and avoidant, along with characteristic feelings of shame, guilt and inadequacy.

          ***

So next time you have a shock - whether emotional or physical - let your body shake! And if you have traumas from the past that need to be released, shaking medicine which taps into your innate healing wisdom is one way of removing trauma from your bodymind.

          ***

Put on some drumming or dancing music with a strong rhythmical beat, then let your body do its own thing. Focus your mind on a trauma from the past, then shake to the music.

For me, anxiety, inability to relax, hypersenstivity and avoidance have made it very difficult to fully enjoy the abundance of love, creativity, and freedom in my life. As a writer I am language-oriented and many of my truths come in the form of mental, discursive narratives. But you can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it.

So I have been learning EFT (tapping), writing and dancing to shamanic beats, and of the deep healing available through soul retrievals. I can't wait to tell you more about them in future posts.

What works for you?

Nina Noir, Fictional Editor and Case of the Strange Thing that Actually Works for Aspiring Authors

I'm Nina Noir, Fictional Editor. 

Last week I introduced you to aspiring paranormal romance novelist Buffy Armstrong, whose novella The Dark King's Lover finalled in the 2nd Annual Novellas Need Love, Too contest sponsored by the Celtic Hearts Chapter of the Romance Writers of America in the Paranormal category.

That led up to what I called the "strange thing" I see working for aspiring novelists that has nothing to do with virtuosity, decades of craft development, or industry connections. Believe me, I have an array of clients who run the gamut, but over the years I've started to pick up on a pattern of publishing success that may be truly surprising to you.

So, what is it?

First, let's take a look.

I have some clients who will spend a half-year doing targeting submissions and then give up when their twelve or fifteen queries catch no fish. Other clients who will spend years perfecting a manuscript then submit to a handful of their favorite agents, get no responses then put the manuscript away.

But then there are Buffy ad Lori, one who just finalled in a novella contest, and the other who just landed her first publisher. Of all my clients, these two have seen the greatest Return on Investment for their writing over the past year. 

So, how did they do it?

First, let's look at what they have in common:

• They both happen to be woman doing well in the business world 
• Both spend their days working with deadline-driven project goals 
• Both love to spend their evenings and weekends writing
• Both finish a project and immediately think "Where is this going to go?"
• Both are smart about submitting to publishers in their niche
• Both are willing to invest money in editors, auctions, and contests
• Both women have been submitting their manuscripts, and reworking them based on the feedback they receive, for over a year

Here is what they do differently from each other:

Buffy writes paranormal romance, has an online author platform, and focuses on specific goals: a contest, a pitch session, a submission deadline. And she works on her novels, but she also knows when to kick them out of the door. 

Lori writes romance-suspense, has no author platform, and sends her work out to multiple freelance editors to get a wide array of editing and publishing advice. Then she bids on agent/editor auctions to get her manuscript IN FRONT OF agents and editors who can actually make things happen.

Here is what they do differently from my other clients (and me)

Both Buffy and Lori are competitive, like many of my other clients, but have a more methodical, prolific, and proactive approach to submission. They focus on specific goals and keep on chugging forward. They don't get too bogged down in self-doubt over rejections, or put manuscript away to sulk for years. Maybe it's because their first identities aren't as writers, so they have less ego to wound. 

Either way, what does it all add up to?

Endurance. That's it.

They both set specific publishing goals and don't give up until they meet them.

It goes like this:

You work toward a contest or submission deadline then, when a rejection comes, immediately move on to the next goal. Don't stop after a year of rejections. Keep perfecting the manuscript, but also keep submitting.

So, what can you do?

Find a contest (specific to your genre and subject matter is best) where you can submit your next poem, short story, or novella. There are literally dozens taking place at any given time and can be easily located online with a quick search. Give up the $10 or $25 it will take to enter. The fire that an objective deadline will light in your belly is well worth the cost.

If you have hundreds or thousands of dollars laying around, bid on an editor/agent auction. If you win, they HAVE to look at your manuscript. They might still say no, but you'll be that much closer to getting industry feedback and then you can just try it again. Just as "writing is rewriting," "submitting is resubmitting."

You don't have to spend lots of money, but you do have to keep your eyes on the prize. That is what I see working for my clients anyway. Determination and endurance. It will outstrip everything else. 

And join me in the future for new installments of Nina Noir, Fictional Editor.

Now get outta my office. This dry, dirty vodka martini isn't gonna drink itself.