I have surrendered my life to the power of Jesus Christ and in so doing, I have relieved myself of daily anxiety and panic attacks. This is why I am not worried about the Coronavirus outbreak. In fact, I believe it be to an orchestrated event by the major pharmaceutical corporations that have our country in the palm of their hands. The big pharmaceutical companies have the government by their shorthairs. I believe the virus outbreaks are being led by the very companies who are producing the antibodies and vaccinations to control it. I think it’s been going on for decades. Remember SARS? Everyone was panicking about that virus outbreak. Yes, some people died and perhaps those people were in the demography of those susceptible to the virus. In any event, I will not panic or alter my life in any way, except maybe extra care washing my hands, which I do a lot of anyway.
I’m not one to discuss politics and I have turned all this stuff over to God. I deal with my small world, compared to the world in general, with the resources God has given me to do life. Panicking about the “virus outbreak”, as some look at it, will do nothing more than holding a grudge against someone else. It is on the grudge-bestower that finds strife and struggle in their heart and mind. Just because you’re in a panic, that does not mean that I, too, should panic. It’s like forgiveness. Not forgiving someone just hurts yourself, just as getting in a panic about the spread of disease will not help yourself.
If you truly believe in our Creator, our Lord and Savior, then you aren’t afraid and you are not panicking. The Bible prophecies about these types of world events. It is all because evil runs our world but those who do not succumb to it will inherit a crown in heaven.
All we can do is take care of ourselves and be smart and practice proper hygiene. This is the way I can control my own small world around me. If people would just understand that, they would not panic. Are you dying of coronavirus? Is a close family member or friend dead because of it? I am deeply sorry for your loss but panicking will not make any difference to you. My panic will not bring back your loved ones.
So, it came as quite an annoyance that my dance therapy class I was prepared to attend in April, has been rescheduled until August. This caused me to have to cancel my flight reservations and my AirBnB reservations. I am hoping for a full refund from AirBnB because it was not my choice to cancel my reservations. Southwest Airlines has given me a credit for the two flights I had reserved for the weekends of the class. I would have preferred to have a full refund because I am not so sure I want to continue on this certification track. Regardless of whether or not the American Dance Therapy Association gives me the credentials as a dance therapist, I will still be incorporating somatic psychotherapy into my practice as a mental health therapist.
Somatic comes from the word, soma, which means body. So somatic therapy is body therapy, therefore, Somatic Psychotherapy. There is even a book to guide me as I implement the principles of movement in my therapy sessions. I discovered this week at my job that one of my co-workers has a degree in dance therapy from UCLA. UCLA used to have a Dance Therapy department but closed over a decade ago. So, my co-worker got her degree, apparently, before UCLA cut dance therapy from their curriculum. So, she introduced me to the book, which I have ordered from Amazon.
I am already using sound therapy in my sessions with clients and have been deciding ways to begin implementing movement in the sessions, as well. I am not certain what I am going to do about the class in Berkeley. It is a very political thing with the ADTA and there are harsh penalties, legal ones, if I call my work dance therapy or refer to myself as a dance therapist. I am not making any major decisions at this time but suffice it to say that I am not happy about the class getting canceled for April. I was actually looking forward to it because it was dealing with high-functioning adult clients. I counsel only adults at this time and I was looking forward to learning how to use dance therapy with adults. My last class dealt with children and adolescents. I can specialize in somatic psychotherapy and use the same tools and principles as dance therapy
The Lord has provided me with a co-worker who I can bounce ideas off of and learn from as she is a seasoned addiction counselor. So, I am still working on a plan to incorporate movement in my sessions. I have to meet the clients where they are at and some of them are not so high-functioning, so the class I was about to take, may not have worked with my clients anyway.
Also, since I have only three weeks on the job, I wasn’t happy with having to ask my supervisor if she would support my leave from work for a couple of days. So, it is all working out and I am NOT panicking. She was supportive but she’s happy now that I don’t have to take time off work.
I am fasting from violent movies and shows in honor of Lent. I have not been watching shows like Homicide Hunter, Forensic Files, and other real-life murder stories. And, it is interesting to note that I am much calmer and have a more positive outlook on life in general. I also don’t get sucked into binge-watching television anymore and I’ve been studying my psychotherapy books instead. I’m also resetting my head to where it was over a decade ago now. I’m choosing to cut anything out of my life that draws me away from God. I guess I had backslid a bit.
But… I am back. I have been redeemed by the power of the Lord. The picture posted above was taken on the way home from work one day. Praise the Lord!
GodStrongDance 