It was back in 2014 that this approach and tool unfolded for me. Not because I had an established idea for them at the time, but because of dire need. It’s very hard to share publicly that I experienced a series of traumatic events that were so life and mind shattering to me, I became a broken shell who could no longer function as before. The dark mental grip and emotionally frightening abyss that comes with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) completely overtook me. At 44 years old, I lost my two young boys, successful career, safety of my home, security of a solid income… In one word, everything. The painful and unfathomable truth is that I ended up penniless and without a home.

In my attempt to get through those unbearable days, I turned to nature and to books. On a daily basis, I hiked the wooded trails of The Great Hills Park Trails in the Balcones Canyonland Preserve and read the free books I could access with my phone. It was on those trails that my twenty years of experience working in Instructional Systems Design (ISD) kicked in, almost instinctively, coming to my rescue. It was as if the authors I had been reading, like Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Frankl, Covey, and Aristotle began to walk the trails with me, conversing with me, their words advising me as the subject matter experts of my unnamed project. They became my mentors, and dare I say, my dear friends.

After several months of working on the instructional design of a tool and approach that would give me the strength to reach the other side of my trauma, Spirit Level for the Soul and The C.A.B. Mindset were born. I developed the pages (looked different back then) and started the practice of using the Daily Reader and guided Daily Journal every day. To my relief, I began to experience healing results! It didn't happen over night but it did happen! After I gained the strength to start getting get back on my feet, I sought out additional help. I believe we need multiple tools and resources to help us reach and stay on the other side of trauma. That is why, to this day, I continue using Spirit Level for the Soul. It sustains my C.A.B. Mindset which truly does produce the wholeness, happiness, and freedom I once thought unattainable. I hope you'll give this tool and approach a try, too!