| Abuse survivors may have a hard time believing | | | | be inspirational. I take a small passage and read |
| in God or belonging to organized religion. Yet | | | | slowly, several times, paying attention to which |
| having a spiritual practice helps survivors heal. | | | | words draw my attention. I write the word or |
| Explore practices that bring you a sense of hope | | | | phrase in my journal. The following queries you |
| and well-being. | | | | may find helpful in responding to the scripture |
| 1. Yoga. A yoga practice involves the whole body, | | | | through writing in your journal: What is the |
| mind, and spirit. Abuse experiences affect | | | | author trying to say? What is the nature of God? |
| individuals at a cellular level. The yoga movements | | | | What do you experience? |
| and positions help the body to heal at a cellular | | | | 4. Participate in worship services. Do you need to |
| level. Practicing the deep breathing that is taught in | | | | find a worshipping community in which you feel |
| yoga enables your whole body to receive a | | | | comfortable? where you feel free to worship? |
| better supply of oxygen. At other times when | | | | Perhaps you will find this in your own faith |
| flashbacks occur, doing deep breathing overcomes | | | | tradition. Perhaps you need to look elsewhere. |
| feelings of terror and empowers your body to | | | | 5. Walk a labyrinth. A labyrinth is a winding path |
| move rather than to become frozen. | | | | that circles into the center. Unlike a maze, a |
| 2. Praying. For me praying does not necessarily | | | | labyrinth has no dead ends. Compose yourself at |
| involve words. In fact, some of my most | | | | the entrance to the labyrinth. What is your |
| profound periods of praying are resting in the | | | | intention for walking into the sacred center? Do |
| stillness of God's presence. One night when I was | | | | you have a question? a prayer? Do you want to |
| too scared to use my own words, and I was | | | | walk, and see what comes to you. In the center, |
| experiencing a flashback, I stilled my sense of | | | | stop and sit down or kneel. Listen to the presence |
| terror by turning to the sacred presence. At such | | | | of God. You will know when it is time to leave, |
| times, it matters not whether you actually sense | | | | then walk out slowly being thankful for blessings. |
| the presence of the Holy One, only that you turn | | | | Remember afterwards to write in your journal. |
| your focus there. To my surprise the words to | | | | 6. Go to a spiritual retreat for survivors. There |
| the Lord's Prayer popped into my mind, but there | | | | you will experience community. You will be given |
| was a difference. Word by word, phrase by | | | | opportunities to experience guided meditation, |
| phrase, with pauses in between, NEW WORDS, | | | | prayer, and self-affirmation. |
| came. Similar experiences continued over a few | | | | Abuse survivors who want to be spiritually |
| years. All-in-all there were more than 75 prayers | | | | empowered have many opportunities. In this |
| which were given to me by the Holy Spirit. These | | | | article, I've only named a few. You will find that |
| prayers profoundly influence my spirituality and | | | | having a living spirituality will generate inner healing. |
| my inner healing. | | | | I know because I'm an abuse survivor and my |
| 3. Meditate on sacred scripture. I find the Bible to | | | | spirituality has saved my life. |