Discover the sacred power inherent in your name or the name of someone you love
The Name Work is a method of uncovering the powerful qualities in a name to help move through grief, loss, pain and suffering of all kinds. When you learn to access and fully integrate the qualities found in the name of your choice, you ignite those attributes to light up your life.
The Name work ~ INTRODUCTION
Eight years after Kara’s death, I feel ready to share my story. As strange as it may seem, I have found a way to see Kara’s untimely death as one of my life’s greatest blessings. Although I would do anything to have her back in my arms, my life purpose was birthed through coming to terms with my loss and finding a way to use Kara’s name to heal. Today, my world is filled with many gifts as my husband and I have adopted two girls. I feel more sensitive, compassionate, and loving than I was before Kara came and went. But it wasn’t easy to get here.
That’s why I’m writing this book – to offer people experiencing grief, loss, and suffering a concrete way to move through life’s challenges, trauma, and what may seem like insurmountable obstacles. I believe that we have to learn to get more in touch with our suffering and really feel it before we can create positive meaning that will assist us in our healing. Ever since my daughter’s death, countless people have shared their pain with me. I have seen that when they feel connected to my grief, they become more in touch with their own as they search for a way to heal and move forward.
My journey from agony to rebirth has been long and difficult, but an ultimately fulfilling process. I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I came out the other side, and I have discovered a way to maneuver the worst parts of life. In the pages that follow, I will be sharing the methods that allowed me to grieve, to heal, and to birth myself into a new person. During that dark period, I created a method that helped me when I was searching for meaning and trying desperately to come to terms with losing my child.
I call my discovery The Name Work. It involves assigning positive attributes and important qualities to each letter in your name or to the name of a loved one. In this way, I hope you can find meaning in the most challenging of times. It worked for me. This is what it looks like:
KARA
K stands for Kindness.
A stands for Alignment
R stands for Regeneration
A stands for Action.
The four qualities which I found in Kara’s name are universal and apply to everyone’s life. Throughout the pages of this book, we will first delve deeper into the name KARA and the associated qualities with each letter. I will guide you through The Name Work method as we work with the acronym KARA. My method involves the use of breath, movement, writing exercises, active questioning, and positive self-talk. It is my belief that the qualities I discovered are sacred and can help each and every one of us live a more happy, successful, energetic, and fulfilled life. I will also share with you how you can apply this same method to your own name or the name of a loved one. Once you become comfortable with accessing the qualities found in a name, you will ignite those attributes to light up your life.
A word of caution: creating a sense of centeredness, peace and direction doesn't mean things won’t get messy or sad. They will. That’s life. But as you access eye opening and light-filled qualities in the associated words, it will become easier to give birth to your purpose.
I wrote this book for anyone who wants to release past traumas, blockages, addictions, and phobias. My journey from agony to rebirth has taken many years of surrender, deep introspection and self-healing in order to create a solid foundation for The Name Work. My aim is to help you get “unstuck” from your grief , loss, or pain and help you discover the joy that lies deep within. While some wounds may appear worse than others, we all suffer. It’s part of the human condition. Suffering is suffering and it’s useless to measure yours against the suffering of someone else.
This book is a guide to finding new purpose in your life by embodying the beauty and power of a name. It can give meaning to your life and your personal struggle. It can give you the tools to dig deeper so that one day, you’ll be able to understand and embrace yourself and life with compassion and understanding. Denying your feelings with drink, drugs, social media addiction, bad television, or junk food will only make you more uncomfortable, sad, and depressed. My experience has taught me that trying to escape pain leads to more pain. On the other hand, looking within and touching our shared humanity, wounds and all, makes life that much sweeter.
Have you ever noticed that the most exotic vacation spots are the hardest to reach? They require various boats, planes and treks through the mud. When you do The Name Work, you are traveling to exotic places within you, difficult to reach but extremely rewarding.
I invite you to try my Name Work method to help you move through and rise beyond whatever is holding you back from living your fullest life. I offer you these pages with an open heart, praying that through The Name Work, you will discover the tools that can help you can find a sense of renewal, love, and peace of mind.
Warmly,
Lily