I've been thinking about what safety really means. Then this verse came back to me: Love thy neighbor as thyself. Growing up, I was baptized Catholic in Haiti. Then a friend introduce me to Jehovah's Witness I attends — not as a member, just as a curious young kid. Later, LDS church, Mormon became part of my spiritual learning on and off until my mid fourties' I was searching. I could feel something was missing. I learned charity. I learned to give. But I also learned that my "neighbor" was everyone except me. That my "enemy" was anyone sinners, nonbelievers , those who questioned, who challenges the “law of the gospel”. That safety, freedom and peace meant obedience. When you're taught who to love and who to fear from the outside, your body gets confused. The instinct , our internal compass is unaligned, misdirected, dismissed. And when safety is confused, love is confused. I tried to love people who hurt me. You know “ turn the other cheek, pray for those that hurt you , I pushed past the tight chest, the frozen breath, the "something isn't right" — because I was told that's what GOOD people do. That's how you get the tickets to heaven. But love can't be commanded. Safety can’t be directed. My body knew that even when my mind didn't. The familiar felt safe, even when it was harming me. The unfamiliar felt dangerous, even when it was true freedom. I had to learn: I'm learning — love thy neighbor starts with loving myself first. Loving myself start with finding safety within. Safety within means relearning to trust my compass! My intuition!  Sunday we witness together. The Rooting Circle: One Moment. Mark you calendar!!

Welcome, rooted one. If you found your way here, I'm guessing you've tried to heal faster than your body could trust. You've pushed. Performed. Tried to "fix" yourself into wholeness. This is not that place. V.A.L Sanctuary is a rooted circle for embodied healing — where your nervous system sets the pace, where shamanic work meets somatic safety, and where you don't have to explain your sensitivity to be seen. Here, we practice: 🌱 Anchoring before rising 👁️ Visibility without performance 🕊️ Liberation that starts in the body I'm Val — trauma-informed somatic guide and embodied shamanic practitioner. I built this because I needed it. Because I was tired of spaces that asked me to journey before I was grounded. You don't have to be "healed" to be here. You don't have to know where you're going. You just have to be willing to feel your feet on the earth. Start here: Drop a 🌱 below and tell me — what does rooting feel like in your body right now? (No wrong answer. "I don't know" is welcome too.) Welcome home.

Whatever you do … DO NOT Run Back to what BROKE YOU!!

*I'm struggling. The world feels cruel. I don't have answers. But I'm here. Grateful I can pause. I am lucky enough to be able to fly to the Ocean through my job. I know not all of you can. So I recoded some for you today. The ocean holds what I can't. If you can't escape to silence— close your eyes. Ten seconds. Let the sound carry you. It’s magical. It even looks like soap… literally washed away the heaviness. 🤍🌊 📍Puerto Escondido 🇲🇽