Can you believe it’s been a year since our lives were turned upside down and changes started to happen in some pretty dramatic ways? Yes, it was last March when the NBA shut down, universities, businesses, restaurants, and workplaces had to restructure their systems and their online presence because of a global pandemic. Co-vid has touched all of us in very intimate ways, separating us from loved ones and changing our natural life rhythms. It has disrupted family gatherings, the way we grocery shop, how we participate in holiday traditions, the way we eat, exercise, and even the way we interact with loved ones and other members of our communities. It has forever changed the world for our children and youth as they have approached schooling with masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing while trying to stay caught up in online classes. We have learned to work through shortages, long lines, and disappointment as events were canceled one right after another. We have lived with fear and sometimes a sense of panic as co-vid has raged through our homes, and communities and affected our loved ones. We have experienced births, deaths, weddings, and divorce during the pandemic. We have seen rioting, destructive weather patterns, earthquakes, and crazy political warfare displayed on social media and the news. It has been chaotic and life-changing for all of us. And yet, as we are coming up on our one-year mark and we look in the rearview mirror, we see that we have survived this cosmic storm in spite of all that has been working against us. We are starting to see some states lift the mask mandate and businesses are opening to full capacity and those that have been working from home are talking about returning to the office and places of employment. Those that have worked in the medical field are looking forward to opportunities to relieve burnout and co-vid exhaustion. We have spent the year fighting an invisible virus by washing our hands more, using hand sanitizer, social distancing, and working to acquire antibodies to boost our immune systems. I believe that our ability to recover and heal from the pandemic will need to include therapies and modalities that can help us heal as well as rid ourselves of invisible emotional viruses. The pandemic gave us all opportunities to uncover deeper emotional issues and because they have been brought up during this time, they will need to be addressed. Symptoms that have flared up during this time include panic attacks, anxiety, fear, not being able to sleep, feeling shut down or excessive anger outbursts, etc. Using the IPT process, the Institute of Healing Arts is committed to assist our children, youth and families heal from emotional issues that have surfaced during this time as well as the effects of the pandemic. During this cosmic storm, as we work through these issues, we can boost our emotional immune systems. Moving forward we will be able to continue to disinfect and clean-up emotional viruses of misinformation from our past and the current effects of co-vid. This can help us access the power of resilience. I trust that as the future straightens out before us, our healing paths will be illuminated. Again things are changing and we are being called upon to adapt. Letting go of emotional baggage and continuing to disinfect emotionally will allow us to transition into the future, less susceptible to emotional and mental illness, and allowing us to move into recovery. Learn how you can receive a scholarship for our next year-long IPT Certification Program. You can develop these skills to help yourself, and your friends and family, as we continue to travel together on our collective healing path.