Glimmers aren’t just tiny moments that bring joy or happiness, they can also spark ease, relaxation, safety, connection or a feeling that the world is OK even for a fleeting moment.

Glimmers can be found in different places and senses.

Noticing glimmers can be beneficial for everyone, but is especially helpful for people who have experienced trauma.

It’s not news to anyone in this community that our little fam has had it’s fair share of trauma.  And at periods in our lives, we have been desperate for ways to calm our nervous system–desperate for any moment of stability and calm in what felt like the inside of a tornado (not the good kind with Glen Powell either).

The thing I appreciate most about glimmers is that it’s so respectful of the suffering someone might have experienced.  It allows someone to understand that their biology is wired in a way that doesn’t discount the trauma or the crisis or the ongoing suffering, but it does recognize that their biology is also exquisitely set up to be able to notice the micro moments of goodness.

The concept of glimmers is that recognizing small, positive moments over and over can begin to shape our system. This shift to recognizing the bright side can have a beneficial impact on our mind and health.

It’s really good for us to have a break from our uncomfortable emotions sometimes.  A little joy and some relaxation can reduce your emotional distress and help calm your nervous system.  What we’ve discovered is as you begin to see a glimmer, you begin to look for more. It’s just what we do… and we then delight in finding them, discovering them, and acknowledging them. That’s your nervous system beginning to shape toward the patterns of connection that are inherently waiting in there to be deepened and brought alive.

In addition to looking for glimmers, read on for more ways to calm your nervous system:

• Cold exposure (cold plunge/cold shower)
• Deep slow breathing (look up box breathing)
• chanting/singing/humming or anything that causes a sound vibration to your nervous system
• massage/reflexology
• mediation
• movement
• connecting with others socially

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