In Conscious Motion

In today’s episode, I share my crossover experience of speaking about my lived experience in a professional environment. Recently, I spoke at a conference for clinical counselors. I decided to share my experience of sexual violence in the interest of educating colleagues on the experience. Listen now to hear what I learned from speaking to hundreds of colleagues and the unexpected outcome when we...

You might need a bigger jar. Have you ever heard of the Something Amazing Jar experiment? I learned about it last January and did it for the year. The results were eye-opening. In today’s episode, we talk about a way to view our lives that just might illuminate parts of us we weren’t aware of. Instead of looking at goals and resolutions, how about being on the lookout for the good or amazing in ou...

“Perfection is the enemy of the good” – we’ve heard this phrase around. Attributed to French writer Voltaire and from a French proverb - l'ennemi du bien est le bien – it reminds us about how we can trip up if we get bogged down with thoughts of perfection – so much so it can stop us in our tracks. In today’s episode, we talk about perfection. We talk about mistakes, making decisions, and doing it...

What does it mean to be real? We often mean being authentic. But how do we be our authentic selves in a world that seems to celebrate us wearing a mask? How do we BE in the world, with our messy stories and not overwhelm others? Brené Brown offers insight in her book Rising Strong about how we can access the stories we have, deal with our emotions, and embrace vulnerability through a simple concep...

Today we discuss destiny, the passage of time, and the permissions we seek. Get full access to In Conscious Motion at faithcbergevin.substack.com/subscribe

Is this even possible? How we navigate fate and destiny is anyone’s guess. Perhaps it’s why we all want certainty. Life is just too uncertain it seems. In this episode I share a tool used in psychology to help us look at both our conscious and unconscious biases and how these biases impact our lives. You may want to pull up the essay as a visual reference. Listen how we can reduce our personal bli...

This is my inaugural episode since changing the name of this podcast. For 6 or so months, it was Princess and the Pea, Survivor Edition . It’s been about a month since I published my last essay and dropped my audio recording in this podcast. I’ve been pondering this change for awhile, wishing I’d gotten it right the first time when I named this publication and podcast at the start. Ahh, well… such...

Being stuck in indecision is a hard place to be. After all, no one tells us what the right thing to do is (okay maybe they do, but that’s when we’re young and in school and forced to follow the rules). We have to make our choices. And sometimes it can be overwhelming when there are so many choices to make. Listen how two core experiences, one seemingly minor, the other, more definitive, offered un...

We all go into denial from time to time – or maybe more than we care to admit. It can be healthy, necessary even. Listen to hear how we use denial to help us and how we can little by little learn how to make peace with the parts of ourselves that want to hide… Get full access to In Conscious Motion at faithcbergevin.substack.com/subscribe

I wasn’t sure I was ready to share this story. It still feels fresh even though it happened three years ago. Yes, the pandemic, the shutdowns, the profound change to society happened three years ago this month. Listen to hear how writing kept me sane, grounded, and feeling like I could go on when it seemed all hope was lost… Princess and the Pea, Survivor Edition is a reader-supported publication....

Which is worse: silence or exposure? “Coming out” as a survivor of rape was no small matter. It felt (and still feels) risky for me. After all, I’m a clinical counselor and trauma therapist. I feel pressured to uphold a certain image as a professional. Still, there is a cost to having a secret so big, a cost that has impacted me negatively because I felt I couldn’t be authentic in the world. While...

Something went bump in the night. What would you have thought? What would you have done? Listen to hear my terrifying experience and what it taught me about healing from trauma and where I am in my journey of recovery from PTSD. Princess and the Pea, Survivor Edition is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full a...

I wonder what the word love brings up for you. Depending on your experience at any given time, love can bring up many different feelings. When you’re a trauma survivor, specifically from intimate partner sexual violence, romantic love can bring up all sorts of fears. This latest essay took a 180 degree turn around in 24 hours from when I started writing it, due to my own experience with this crazy...

Are you resilient? How do you feel when someone tells you that you are? Glad, proud, or maybe - could it be? -  a little annoyed. Perhaps the comment reminds you of the trials you’ve been through alone and how you would have preferred to have someone there on the path with you. Listen to hear the dark underbelly of this overused term called resilience. You may think twice before using it again… Pr...

Let’s take a break from trauma and talk about joy. Where does it come from and how do we create it? You know me by now, though. What seems simple may not be. In fact, there is a dark side to Joy. What I propose may seem radical, but some poets offer clues to the answer. Today we talk about where joy is sourced and how to access the profound depth of it. Beware and be aware: what I share may surpri...

Should we even speak now? In this episode, we explore grief and the different responses people have to those who are grieving depending on the type of loss. We discuss how the social response to unspeakable losses can make things worse for the one experiencing grief and trauma. Listen for a mini-class on what it takes to get through… Get full access to In Conscious Motion at faithcbergevin.substac...

On today’s podcast, we explore emotions – those pesky things! If we’re feeling good, there’s nothing we can’t do – but if we’re not, oh no! How do we cope? In keeping with this time of year, where there’s less sunlight in most places and the January blahs can set in, we can sometimes fall into our own darkness. I call them the “dark days.” Listen for a mini-master class on emotion and learn how th...

On today’s podcast, we explore the concept of identity and how others might perceive us due to how we show up in the world. Listen to consider what it means to weigh the cost of silence versus the cost of speaking out authentically and decide for yourself which cost you most want to bear. Because the choice is yours… Princess and the Pea, Survivor Edition is a reader-supported publication. To rece...

In today’s podcast, we step away from looking at trauma directly and follow a well-worn path in keeping with this time of year: making New Year’s Resolutions. Here we discuss some of the pitfalls we can encounter when setting goals for ourselves. Listen to hear how I spent the last day of 2022, in fact how I spend every last day of a given year, and how tweaking the goal-making process, one that i...

Today, we explore dance and movement and how these activities can help with healing. I share about my first foray into ecstatic dance. Listen to hear how what started as a sleepy, unassuming Sunday morning led to new insights about my own process and where we can go from here … Princess and the Pea, Survivor Edition is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consi...

In today’s podcast, we explore the pressures of time, how fast it goes especially while raising children, the intense buildup to our first post-pandemic holiday, and changes big and small whether you’re ready for them or not. Listen how healing can still happen even in the midst of all the chaos of change… Princess and the Pea, Survivor Edition is a reader-supported publication. To receive new pos...

On today’s podcast, we discuss men and women and the confusing dynamic sometimes referred to as the battle of the sexes. We explore what may be the defining problem between how men and women relate to one another, especially when the woman has trauma in her past. We discuss the societal barriers to expressing emotions in a healthy way and what can help promote healing in a couple. It may surprise...

In today’s podcast, we explore what happens after the burnout – after the initial recovery from trauma. We discuss things big and small that hurt our progress towards healing. Listen to hear how I face the monster of “not enough” in a way that may seem surprising. Let’s begin… Princess and the Pea, Survivor Edition is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consid...

What chaos burns inside of you? In this episode, we explore our internal chaos in the aftermath of a deeply disturbing experience. I share about my own inner chaos post-rape and the truths I learned about myself and my relationships with others. Listen to hear how I met my internal chaos and how you can begin to address and then harness the chaos within you and use it to propel you forward. Let’s...

Why is it so hard to heal? In this follow-up introduction to my publication, Princess and the Pea, SE, the Survivor Edition, I go deeper into the metaphor that this story offers survivors. I explore how the central issue of that pesky pea may resonate for those who suffer from posttraumatic symptoms. I also tell a personal story that felt too vulnerable to reveal when I first began, but now I feel...