Brilliant describes the trail this morning, air invigorating and countless shades of green everywhere. Ephedra and shadscale appear to be alive once again and fleshy appendages protrude out of a barrel cactus (can’t wait to see the open blooms). Mysterious little flowers scattered here and there – one fuchsia another maroon. The first desert globe mallow unfolds in its customary corral-orange tone. A white larkspur pops out of rock. Walking the trail feels unusually good this morning, my feet and heart grounded to this small patch of earth – grateful to be back home after a visit to a faraway place.
I contemplate the trip I recently took by airplane. I have always been afraid of flying and extremely fearful of heights – these phobias have always interfered with my enjoyment of travel and other areas of life. I noticed something different this trip – halfway through the flight, I became aware that my fingernails weren’t gripping for dear life into my seat armrests as usual. Even on our 9th floor hotel room, I slept on the window-side of the bed and even popped my head out the window daily looking down at street activity nine floors below. What is different now than at other times in my life?
A life-long fear of flying and heights no longer encroaches on my enjoyment of life: I attribute this healing to Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy. I’ve mentioned EMDR in previous blogs (first sun rays & desert flowers). EMDR Therapy targets a maladaptive neural network. That neural network of mine involved fear and though my EMDR treatments didn’t target my specific fear of height or flying, they were likely associated with the maladaptive neural network that was targeted. A nice, unexpected outcome!
Through my personal experience with EMDR, as well as witnessing firsthand client progress through EMDR, my respect for EMDR continually increases. Clients are often amazed at their progress and the results as well. EMDR offers a non-invasive, efficient method for processing maladaptive behavior, emotions, and thinking. EMDR is effective at resolving anxiety and unprocessed trauma. For additional information about EMDR, consult a qualified mental health clinician. Grateful for my healing experience, I return to my enjoyment of the new spring growth on this brilliant morning.
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EMDR sounds amazing! Could you come up here and do it on my mule and mustang? Seriously. This could be a brilliant way to bypass all the “talk” which equines don’t do. Me too, I’d like to give it a “go”. A
Very beautiful writing, loved it, thank you. S
Congrats on losing your fear of heights! A good example of the value of EMDR. Your description of the wildflowers (and your great pics) reminds me of my childhood, roaming with my brother all over the mountain where we lived. There were so many gorgeous flowers – entirely different from yours, of course. I really miss being able to get out like that, but there are good things in all phases of life! A
