Just got home from the Voices Conference
MrDon
Registrant
I just got home a couple of hours ago from the Voices Conference which was in Minneapolis. The conference went very well and my workshop on "relaxation" went very well. I also did chair massage and had some awesome experiences with the people there on this. As I touched their lives "literally", they also touched my life in so many ways. It was a very beautiful exchange.
Mike Lew had a workshop that was only 1.5 hours so we couldn't really do a lot of what he would have liked to do. Instead we just shared our stories with one another and even though I've done that before, it is a very powerful and moving experience. I also got to reconnect with Mike Lew which was good for me as the last time he saw me, I was in a much different place in my healing.
Another massage therapist that was there also does Watzu which is a form of water therapy which involves breathing. I actually trusted her enough to let her do the work with me and it was so relaxing and healing.
Jeff and I along with two other ladies went to a mall near by that had a "build a bear" store. We made our own teddy bears. We got to pick out what type of bear we wanted, then we stuffed it, put the heart inside of it before it was sewn up. Then we gave it a name and they printed the birth certificate out on it. It was an awesome experience in more ways than one.
At the talent show, I sat down at the piano and let my hands create music like I do here at home. YOu have to know that normally when I do my music, it is when no one else is around because I have to get in that "space". So for me to be able to relax enough to do this in front of people, is an amazing thing.
There was so much that went on in these three days and it is hard to put it all into a post. Just meeting other survivors and sharing in an intimate way has changed my life.
Male Survivor did get a couple of mentions. One time was at a banquet that Voices had to honor people who were playing key roles in helping survivors and helping to prevent child abuse. Mike Lew of course got an award and someone else from the University of Minnesota. I don't remember who brought Male Survivor up but someone did. Of course the brochures I had from Male Survivor were displayed for everyone to see as well.
Anyway, if you get a chance to go to a conference or retreat that deals with survivors (like the ones Male Survivor holds or even Mike Lew or Voices, or anything else), make sure you go. I know that sometimes it can be pretty scary to go, but your life will never be the same after you go. Meeting other survivors face to face in a safe place will change your life.
Probably will write more as time goes and as I begin to process everything (and of course rest up from this event).
Don
Mike Lew had a workshop that was only 1.5 hours so we couldn't really do a lot of what he would have liked to do. Instead we just shared our stories with one another and even though I've done that before, it is a very powerful and moving experience. I also got to reconnect with Mike Lew which was good for me as the last time he saw me, I was in a much different place in my healing.
Another massage therapist that was there also does Watzu which is a form of water therapy which involves breathing. I actually trusted her enough to let her do the work with me and it was so relaxing and healing.
Jeff and I along with two other ladies went to a mall near by that had a "build a bear" store. We made our own teddy bears. We got to pick out what type of bear we wanted, then we stuffed it, put the heart inside of it before it was sewn up. Then we gave it a name and they printed the birth certificate out on it. It was an awesome experience in more ways than one.
At the talent show, I sat down at the piano and let my hands create music like I do here at home. YOu have to know that normally when I do my music, it is when no one else is around because I have to get in that "space". So for me to be able to relax enough to do this in front of people, is an amazing thing.
There was so much that went on in these three days and it is hard to put it all into a post. Just meeting other survivors and sharing in an intimate way has changed my life.
Male Survivor did get a couple of mentions. One time was at a banquet that Voices had to honor people who were playing key roles in helping survivors and helping to prevent child abuse. Mike Lew of course got an award and someone else from the University of Minnesota. I don't remember who brought Male Survivor up but someone did. Of course the brochures I had from Male Survivor were displayed for everyone to see as well.
Anyway, if you get a chance to go to a conference or retreat that deals with survivors (like the ones Male Survivor holds or even Mike Lew or Voices, or anything else), make sure you go. I know that sometimes it can be pretty scary to go, but your life will never be the same after you go. Meeting other survivors face to face in a safe place will change your life.
Probably will write more as time goes and as I begin to process everything (and of course rest up from this event).
Don
