Undivided Soul?

The name Undivided Soul speaks to a vision of our most healed, whole self. 

The idea leans towards whole-heartedness, in a sense; 

whole-hearted as an adjective describes “full-bodied intention and vigor,” and I do hope we pursue healing in such a way. 

The word “undivided” highlights a contrast to its opposite- being split apart- which describes how many of us feel about our lives and selves. After all, in the aftermath of our adversities, we give ourselves and our lives words like “broken” : shattered, smashed into pieces, permanently damaged, beyond repair.

“Soul,” of course, is an honorific reference to the self, the essence of our being, held in high regard.

Our bodies and minds have an in-born drive towards health and healing; this is the theory underlying trauma therapy and EMDR. The life circumstances which seem to break us can be so overwhelming that our natural healing process is interrupted, and new neural pathways in our brains are “wired” together: the thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and sensations from those difficult times seem to re-play over and over, showing up in our emotions and playing out in patterns in our lives. 

These neural pathways, or “ways of being,” can be activated by reminders of past experiences: you may be familiar with the experience of being rattled by a situation and finding yourself feeling and acting as if an “old version” of yourself is suddenly brought back from a previous time in your life, feeling as if you were an angry teenager or a scared child again. 

Metaphorically, we can think of these distinct ways of being as “parts of self,” and we can connect with these parts of self with compassion and curiosity as we process the painful memories associated with those neural pathways. Parts work, or Ego State Therapy, is a powerful tool towards healing, self-acceptance, and integration of previously divided aspects of self.