Episode 315 | Coming Home to Your True Self with Christine Gutierrez
Have the words, “Look on the bright side!” ever helped you? Advice like this can be more damaging than helpful. The journey towards healing has never been straightforward. Although it's useful to maintain an optimistic outlook, you also have to allow yourself to feel negativity, seek acceptance, and find the strength to come home to your true self with kindness.
In today's episode, Christine Gutierrez will share the importance of understanding the two facets of healing and why feeling your negative emotions is much better than ignoring it altogether. She will also discuss her spiritual journey, the value of kindness and healthy love, working with women of color, and using tools to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Christine will also talk to us about her new book, I Am Diosa, and how it can help people from different walks of life.
If you're on your journey back to your true self, especially in these crucial times, this episode is for you.
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Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:
Discover the tools you can use to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn how to find healing without invalidating your true self or disregarding your negative emotions.
Christine will share why she chose I Am Diosa as the title of her book and how it can resonate with people from different walks of life.
Resources
I Am Diosa: A Journey to Healing Deep, Loving Yourself and Coming Back Home to Soul by Christine Gutierrez
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Episode Highlights
Christine's Spiritual Journey
Ever since Christine was young, she has always had a deep desire to connect to human suffering, help others who are struggling and make a difference in people's lives.
This passion led her to study psychology, philosophy, and mental health counseling.
Christine merges her modern therapeutic training with her spiritual path.
On I Am Diosa
Working with Diosa, the goddess's energy enabled Christine to realize that God has a feminine face.
The concept of Diosa empowered and helped Christine reclaim her true self.
For Christine, sharing is the calling of all healers.
She was worried that many people might not know what I Am Diosa means. But choosing and standing up for it as the title of her book, no matter what others might say, gives her a sense of cultural confidence.
What’s Wrong with Overemphasizing Positivity
The overemphasis towards keeping a positive attitude all the time is dismissive of the emotions and experiences of those who suffered intense trauma and abuse.
It creates a shallow healing process, unrealistic goals, and often discredits and minimizes the feelings and ownership of people's struggles.
It's vital to validate different spectrums of emotions and provide spaces to feel it.
Overemphasis on positivity can affect your daily life by preventing you from experiencing your full range of emotions.
Advice for Struggling Women
Owning your experiences and that you are a victim of someone else's dysfunction can be liberating.
"Just don't be a victim" advice is a very condescending way to approach people who experienced intense hardships and trauma.
Christine offers a different energetic tone by stating that you don't have to remain stuck in your past.
It is your duty to yourself to create a life of happiness despite your past because you're deserving and worthy of it.
The Importance of Kindness to Yourself
Christine is not a happy person all the time - she is often reflective and emotional.
It's essential to accept who you are, the life you're given, love, and be kind to yourself and your experiences.
Combine therapy with outside support and deep soul work to manage your emotions better. Expecting perfection will be harmful in the long run.
Healing requires continuous nurturing of enjoying life. It is not a simple before and after scenario.
Healing will involve mistakes and relapses – this is normal.
Working with Women of Color
Christine's I Am Diosa retreats give women space to share their feelings and situations freely. Also, to try, fail, and get back up again in their healing journey without judgment.
The 'medicine' for happiness is within all people.
Most of her clients are strong and wise women that were too busy to process their emotions and traumas.
Christine's role is to hold and remind them that they're all in this together.
Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Being a newly-married couple, Christine and her husband find it hard at first to pivot their routine amid the ongoing pandemic.
Allow yourself to accept that these are crazy times and that you're not alone in this journey.
Mental health support has to be accessible to all people during and after the pandemic. Find available resources to help you cope with overwhelming emotions.
Christine aims to create a global space for people to connect spiritually through the digital medium.
Ways to Cultivate Healthy Love
Love, warmth, and touch are essential tools in reminding clients of their worthiness and power.
Become aware of the unhealthy places in your life.
Look for the things you can do if you're in a healthy space.
Set your non-negotiables.
Listen to the full episode to hear specific examples of how to cultivate healthy love in your life.
5 Powerful Quotes from This Episode
[04:13] “Working with the goddess, working with Diosa, for me was a moment of realizing that there was a divine face of God. That there was a feminine divine face.”
[06:06] “It was a coming to of my own cultural confidence of being like, it doesn't matter what anyone says, this is my work. And this is going to resonate with who it's meant to resonate with.”
[08:53] “There is no bad or good emotion. There are more difficult emotions to process, of course, and it's about giving ourselves the space to say, ‘Hey, I'm feeling bad. I'm having a shitty day.’”
[17:52] “This is not a simple before and after, right? I'm a living, breathing woman with a sea of emotions, right? I rise and fall like the tide. So therefore that means that I'm allowing myself to constantly look at the places where I can deepen both my healing and my joy.”
[26:02] “I think one of the biggest pieces that we can give ourselves is allowing ourselves to accept and acknowledge that these are some crazy times and that you're not alone.”
About Christine
Christine Gutierrez is a licensed therapist, self-esteem coach, and inspirational speaker. She has recently written a book called I Am Diosa: A Journey to Healing Deep, Loving Yourself, and Coming Back Home to Soul.
If you want to connect with Christina, you may visit her website and Instagram page.
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