Sexual Abuse is Spiritually Devastating

calmbeachwpThe recent revelations by the dozens of women about having been drugged and sexually assaulted at the hands of the so-called ‘iconic family man’, Bill Cosby, brings to mind the plight of the thousands of children around the world who have been sexually assaulted by Roman Catholic priests. Because of my own experience at the hands of a middle-aged priest when I was a child, this ongoing saga of sexual exploitation of women rings especially loud and clear.

For the now dozens of women who have accused Mr. Cosby of these abhorrent acts, there has since been no peace in their lives. They all relate how they had lived with the pain of their experience, due to the way they had been lured into the sole company of the perpetrator then drugged into unconsciousness, so that he could have his way with them. However, they were either afraid to tell anyone because they were afraid no one would believe them or, as many of them have stated, even their friends, family or bosses never believed them when they did speak up because their stories seemed so incredible.  We should all be outraged at the behavior of this sexual predator and collectively defrock Mr. Cosby of his celebrity status as these women seek legal recourse after the Statute of Limitation has passed for a criminal proceeding.

When I listen to all of these women’s stories about being drugged and raped by a prominent celebrity, their intense emotions of anger and betrayal bring back the terror of my own experience when I was only 10 years old. I had been ‘drugged’ into the belief system of the RC church and then lured into a situation where I was alone with a 40ish revered man. I was raped by an angry priest for making prank phone calls in the church basement while I was teaching catechism (tenets of the faith) to younger children who were attending the village public school.

Just as most of those women had had aspirations of furthering their acting careers in trusting Mr. Cosby, innocent young children like me have been placed in the hands of sexual perverts in the hopes of gaining spiritual favor through the RC church. We thought it was a privilege to be asked by such prominent people in our lives to spend time with them. We were sadly mistaken.

Stormy Sky

Even though it’s difficult to listen those adult victims talk about their nightmarish lives after their sexual assaults, children have much more difficulty dealing with the aftermath of such a breach of trust. From my own experience, I know how difficult it has been to overcome the enormous emotional pain and suffering. I understand their helplessness in not being believed, yet I had been threatened with the destruction of my entire family if I dared tell anyone what the priest had done to me. That was a massive responsibility, so I kept the event a secret until I couldn’t handle it anymore.

Thanks to the actions of the judge that unsealed Mr. Cosby’s 2005 deposition, I sincerely hope that the information now coming forward will vindicate these women and lead to some much needed healing, as their stories become believable in the court of public opinion. Rather than simply dismiss their stories, we all need to listen to women and children when they claim they’ve been sexually abused, because the vast majority of us don’t make up such sorrowful stories on a whim or to gain attention.

Relaxing SunsetLike these women I was a strong enough person to persevere through a hellish 20 years after the rape, but I was also a very spiritual person who had seen through the façade of religion and kept searching for an approach to spirituality that wasn’t tied to any organization or institution. It was only when I met my mentor that I was able to once again connect with my spiritual self and regain my dignity.

If you’re an abuse survivor, and the Statute of Limitation in your location has already passed, in order to start healing at all levels, you can:

  1. Forgive yourself. You’ve done nothing wrong. Don’t feel like you ever have to forgive the despicable brute that abused you.
  1. Love yourself. Start accepting yourself for who you are. Recognize and nurture your inner beauty.
  1. Practice calmness. Unchecked anxiety is detrimental to your physical health. Relax through regular exercise and quiet time in nature.
  1. Start self-healing by looking after yourself. Eat healthy and get proper sleep. Refrain from self-medicating through the use of drugs and alcohol. Find someone and/or a professional you trust to talk to about the abuse and allow their counsel as constructive, rather than critical.
  1. Start working with your spirit by actively bringing in the pure white Light* and using it to remove the negativity you feel mentally, emotionally and physically. Do your best to refuse the spiritual negativity that has accumulated from all the ongoing negativity you’ve experienced. I specialize in removing latent spiritual negativity and can help in this area.

Sexual abuse offends us at the highest level of our being and can potentially fracture our spiritual connection irreparably. Apart from the mental, emotional and social healing process, there is still a lot of spiritual work to do to emerge from the nightmare.

the pure white ‘Light’, a universal source that is comprised of essentially pure positive energy

I welcome and value your input ~ Please feel free to comment!

I work across distance to extend my higher-level knowledge to you, wherever you are in the world! Learn how great life is when you work with a positively oriented spirit!

Why not drop by my work website… OnlyPositiveKnowledge.com

Discovering Answers

Iguazu FallsThis past week’s landing of the ESA’s Philae lander on a distant comet was a realtime reminder of how combined human ingenuity can result in phenomenal accomplishments. The Rosetta spacecraft’s success in delivering its lander to the comet is an important facet of our collective search for answers to the longstanding questions about the origins of life in our solar system.

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Another news event that caught my attention was about Barbara Bowman who revealed in a Washington Post article that the comedian Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her when she was a 17-year-old aspiring actress. On CNN Ms. Bowman explained that she had attempted to ask for help concerning Mr. Cosby’s actions from several people, including lawyers, but her allegations had been immediately dismissed as ridiculous. It wasn’t until more people started coming forward with similar allegations about Mr. Cosby’s behavior that Ms. Bowman again ventured forward with her story. As she held back tears during her CNN interview, she stated that during the 30 years since the incidents: “I was terrified of him!”

Not unlike Ms. Bowman’s struggle, I’ve been through the wringer of guilt, pain, shame and blame that accompanies such abuse. During the first 20 of the almost 50 years since I was sexually assaulted by a Catholic priest, I experienced a kaleidoscope of emotions that ranged from shock, fear, disgust and despair. Especially disheartening was the reaction of disbelief when divulging that such a ‘distinguished’ person could commit such perverse acts.

Pinks Floral ProfieWhile Ms. Bowman confronts her unresolved issue from 30 years ago, I can look back today and be grateful to have found a solution 30 years ago that has irrefutably contributed to my wellbeing. Leo Jean, my dearest friend, husband and mentor who passed away a year ago, had shared immeasurably helpful knowledge about my spiritual wellbeing that has enabled me to help not only myself, but many others, to meet the challenges that we face at all levels of our lives.

The astounding feat of the first landing on a comet to collect data from its ancient surface to shed light on our physical origins has required many minds and many billions of dollars. On the contrary, many of the answers that we seek about ourselves are not found millions of miles out there in the universe but, rather, right within us, in the essence of our spirits.

While the scientific community is making progress on solving the age-old questions of why we’re here and if there’s anyone else out there, some of us have to resolve the difficulty of coping with abuse in our lives.  Our timelessly knowledgeable spirits can help guide us through such complexities of life – we just have to make the right connection to discover how.

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Find out how to get connected with your spirit by visiting my website at OnlyPositiveKnowledge.com !

I welcome and value your input~Please feel free to comment! 

Related material:

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Pioneering_Philae_completes_main_mission_before_hibernation

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/11/13/bill-cosby-raped-me-why-did-it-take-30-years-for-people-to-believe-my-story/