As I leaned forward in my chair, trying to navigate a virtual high school, I could feel the desperation mounting inside of me. I needed to get a program installed so my son could do his homework, but the computer set up was unfamiliar to me, the mouse was super sensitive, the type on the screen was smaller than my eyes could easily read, and the screen was positioned so I had to look up at it. The strain on my neck tightened by the moment.

"Relax, Mom," my son said gently, noticing how tense I was. "It doesn't have to be so hard. Take a deep breath and let go of the stress."

I took a moment to really hear him and looked into his face. He had grown so much since we began homeschooling him. We had chosen this path because public and private schools didn't meet his unique needs, and we wanted to be able to empower him to learn and grow at his own pace. It wasn't always easy, though. He experienced high anxiety and sensory processing difficulties, and I had to learn how to support him...

How do you grow your capacity to love yourself? Is it possible to allow yourself to truly be who you really are, rather than who you've been told you are supposed to be?

The following experience was written by a client as she took time to reflect on these very questions.

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“As I reflect on my experiences being in Gloria's classes and receiving resonate empathy, many things come up for me.  When I first joined her tele-calls several years ago, speaking up or even answering a question triggered my body and mind into complete overwhelm.  Many times I would be curled up on the floor under a blanket praying that I would not be called on, not even having the resources to request that I just listen in.  (I didn't even know that just listening in was even an option.)  

I joined the class because it was recommended by my coach.  She felt that it would be a safe place for me to receive support in community with others.  Well, that was most...

Do you ever feel overwhelmed "being the parent" and would it be so sweet for someone to understand, on a cellular level, exactly what your on-going experience is? Does your window of tolerance shrink? Does it get stretched so far you feel you will either burst in frustration or faint from despair? That's where I repeatedly found myself in relationship with my son when his nervous system would get so heightened, and the energy got really big. My nervous system would alert me that my cup was near empty and I was in dire need of some empathy!

While being heard and seen by others with care and resonant empathy was so immensely calming, sometimes we must find ways to give ourselves some compassion when we are all alone.

One time I recognized, in the heat of the moment, a part of me believed the pain of disconnection would last forever. Nothing would ever change, no one would ever want to hang out with us, we were too much, we were too different, it was just too hard for others to be...