Meet Jean Voice Dart, MS, RMT, Expressive Arts Grief, Trauma, and Chronic Pain Psychotherapist, Credentialed Teacher, and host of the Wellness Universe’s Take My Hand Support Series, a mental health awareness and suicide prevention platform. In the soon-to-be-released book, The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care: 25 Tools for Navigating Loss, Grief & Transition, Jean shares how facing and embracing secrets and releasing old burdens heal generations.
The Wellness Universe (WU): Hello Jean, please tell us about yourself and what inspired you to write your chapter in the book The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care: 25 Tools for Navigating Loss, Grief & Transition
Jean Voice Dart (JVD): I’m passionate about creating and maintaining safe communities to support families navigating grief, trauma, and loss. So, when I was invited to participate in this book project, I drew upon the courage, dedication, and faith of my brave family members. Despite multiple life traumas, they continued to lean on God and community during unimaginable and horrific family tragedies.
During World War II, in the 1940’s, men and women were taught to push through adversities, keep silent, and always look for “the silver lining.” This was essential to surviving the deadliest, largest, and most catastrophic war of all time, costing tens of millions of lives and changing the modern world. My family members were directly affected by the war. Those who survived passed on lessons, fears, and warnings to future generations that were not necessarily helpful. Sorrow, loss, and grief were buried. Grief wasn’t discussed or understood, and children and grandchildren didn’t recognize their grief journeys or those of their loved ones. Today, trauma mistruths are continuing to be taught to current and future generations.
My story is about past, present, and future generations. It’s about how loving efforts can miraculously heal family suffering when we stop saying, “Nothing’s wrong–I’m fine!” and start speaking the truth. For decades, I didn’t know that the grief I carried wasn’t mine. Yet, when I stopped keeping secrets and started facing and embracing my grief and trauma, I found limitless daily joy. The healing and love I found for my family inspired me to share these tools with our readers, so they might experience healing themselves.
WU: What tool do you share in this book, and what can we expect to experience as a result of using this tool?
JVD: I’m delighted to share several first steps to healing grief and trauma. My tool consists of two parts. Part 1 is a somatic exercise involving five practical steps for generational cleansing. It includes self-interviewing techniques, creative writing, and gratitude. Part 2 includes six steps to soothe sorrow and love the grief we carry. This exercise uses humming, the creative imagination, and simple physical movement.
Those who have used these tools have reported immediate relief from the heavy burdens of grief, loss, and sorrow. I’m sharing this chapter with our worldwide readers to awaken them to the truth: The grief burdens we carry for ourselves, our families, and our loved ones can be laid down, and when we do, we remove the barriers blocking the joy portal.
Courage rises when sorrow is no longer carried in silence. When we fearlessly acknowledge, face, and embrace our grief with gratitude, we heal.
WU: What final words of encouragement do you have for our readers who are navigating heavy burdens of loss, grief, and transition?
JVD: So often we suffer needlessly, unable to navigate through major life challenges, isolating ourselves from loving relationships with the God of our understanding or with our loved ones, or ourselves. This happens merely because we do not know or understand why these relationships fail to bring us joy, peace, or comfort.
My family courageously did what they needed to do. The adult children left to serve in the war, returning with mental, physical, and emotional scars, resulting in unspoken truths drifting across generations. Yet, today old shields are laid down or tossed aside. Today, “I’m fine” is no longer a robotic refrain used to hide our pain. We are learning to feel, reveal, and heal.
So, I say to you, reader, if you are feeling the heavy burdens of loss, grief, and transition, I encourage you to set aside time each day to stop, breathe, and feel emotional, mental, or physical grief and trauma with loving acceptance and care. You deserve sacred self-care, honest connection, and the freedom of releasing what was never yours.
You are not alone. Your wellness matters. And the door is open to limitless joy and love now and always.
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