Haley Julius

Lakeside, MT, USA

Discover how saying "I can imagine" allows you to offer deep compassion and connection to those experiencing grief.

English

This talk takes you into the mindset of "I can imagine" to reframe the common saying "I can't imagine" to create empathy and connection. You learn about a perspective of standing with someone in their grief vs. creating separation. It also shares what grief and spirit are and how somatic practices support us during grief.

Compassion Is "I Can Imagine"

Welcome to Grief and Spirit, where we talk about our grief, our loss, our emotions, and all that we navigate through here on earth and our human bodies. And we also talk about and connect to the souls of our loved ones that have transitioned out of the world body and exist within other dimensions and realms of consciousness. Today, I want to talk to you about compassion. And one of the common things that people will say when there's been a traumatic loss or a loss that they maybe haven't experienced yet in this life, or it could bring something up that is really scary for them. Maybe it's something that they have walked closely next to. but this saying I can't even imagine. I want to talk about that today because in the world of grief, We need to experience empathy. We need to experience support and connection when we're going through something so deeply painful. Something that is changing us sometimes is shifting our identity and our world as we knew it. So... When someone is going through something that is really scary to us, that is something that we haven't had any experience with. What I like to say about compassion is it's imagining, it's creating empathy through the willingness, the courage that it takes to say, I can imagine. and to truly be with that, to have that courage to step into container with the person who is experiencing grief, whether it's fear or just tremendous loss and sadness, when we are able and willing to step into that and feel and think about what that would be like for us. That creates empathy and connection. And often when we are navigating through grief and loss, we feel very alone. We feel like people don't understand us because we might still be trying to understand ourselves. Some types of grief that we experience in life are unknown. They are things that we can't really prepare for, and that we don't know what they feel like until we're in that experience. And while having tools like somatic practices to breathe, to be in our body, to notice how our grief is communicating with our body through our nervous system, That is very helpful. because if we're experiencing tremendous anxiety, if we're experiencing anger, or if we feel really sad and almost frozen, like the state of not being able to get out of our beds or just not really being able to function and do those little things that help our brains create serotonin and some good feelings, even during tremendous grief. So those are things that I share in grief. and spirit sessions is understanding each of our unique grief, how it communicates with our bodies. Always an opportunity to connect with the soul of a loved one that has left their body and learn how to do that for yourself. not just rely on me to be a medium and read, but for us together, for you to grow in that way or to be validated and celebrated. I absolutely love hearing other people's experiences and connections and beautiful divine messages in the way that their loved one is communicating, which is kind of a phenomenon for us. And I'll talk more about that in another one of these beautiful spaces where we get to connect. And I just really wanted to express that when someone around you is in pain, is in suffering, no matter if it is scary to you or it is completely an unknown territory, saying I can imagine is like standing next to them and holding their hand. or placing your hand on the back of their heart, in the center of their back. It tells them that you are there with them, that they are not alone. And it creates that connection that's really, really such a valuable part of our journeys through grief, through loss and into healing in whatever way that is. So I invite you to explore that, maybe to journal on it, to feel into it. And I want to invite that in more and more. for us to say, I can imagine. Thank you for being a part of this today and wherever this may find you know that You are supported. There are hands on your back. and I can imagine what you're going through. And it takes great, great courage and emotional presence and depth. to go into those places.