Greetings. And thank you for
visiting Life After Breath on the Web!
Allow me share a bit about myself with you.
Around the age of six, my emerging identity and sense of
security were shattered. Having grown up believing that my grandparents were
my parents, one day I was informed that they were not. Furthermore, I was informed
that my “brother” was actually my uncle, and that my “sisters” were actually my
aunts, except for my oldest “sister,” who was really my mother. Confused? So was I. For as long as I can remember, I was hurt, angry,
confused and filled with mistrust for everyone. Due to what author Caroline Myss refers to as “oaths, contracts
and agreements,” no one in the family or community uttered a word about how
this lie came to be.
Physically, I was fortunate in that I always had food to
eat, clothes on my back and a roof over my head. Emotionally, however, I felt
no true sense of belonging and internalized almost every feeling I had. As a child, I stuttered incomprehensibly and
felt unwanted and unloved. As a teenager, I felt angry, trapped and betrayed. By young adulthood, I felt numb and lost in
the wilderness that seemed to be my life.
By the time I went away to college, all the feelings I suppressed had
begun to make me physically ill, revealing themselves as anemia, chronic head
and back aches, recurring bladder infections and an endless list of misdiagnosed
“female problems.” But for a tiny unrecognizable
voice in my head that always said, “Hold on," I’m certain that life would have
eventually become unbearable.
A defining moment occurred on New Year’s Day 1994. After a
devastating break-up with my long-time boyfriend, I asked my best friend to take
me to see a Catholic priest. Neither of
us were Catholic but it was the most immediate help I could find. I felt desperate
and broken beyond repair. I needed to
know that there was still hope for me. I needed to know that I had value and worth. I was seeking a reason to continue living. As I shared my story with the priest, he
graciously and patiently listened.
After a period of silence, the priest told me something that I had never
heard. He told me that God had given me
a gift, and that it was up to me to discover that gift and then use it to the
best of my ability. What a revelation! God had given me a gift? Did the priest know to whom he
was speaking? Me? … A gift? After assuring me that even I had a
welcomed place on the planet, I accepted the priest’s declaration, and my journey
to self exploration began.
At the priest’s recommendation, I entered an out-patient
psychotherapy program, where I slowly began to open up about what life had been
like for me. My therapist was kind and
listened without judgment for 2 1/2 years.
At some time during my therapy, my roommate invited me to a
non-denominational church, which taught principles that rang true in my
heart. I also began to read self-empowerment
books and to participate in personal development programs, one of which
introduced me to the Dolphin Meditation.
Ahhh… The Dolphin Meditation….
My experience was mind blowing and life altering. During the
meditation, I was invited to ask God a question. And to my amazement,
immediately after having asked, I received an answer. But not just any answer.
It was an answer that eased my long held anxiety and fear. The answer provided the peace and comfort
that seemingly had been hidden from the likes of me. This was my first
experience of consciously connecting
with the all-knowing, healing power of God. Needless to say, I was inspired. For the first time in my life, I felt refreshed and renewed. Thereafter,
I attended the meditation whenever I could. Then one day, my “aha” moment occurred. I realized, felt and truly believed that my suffering was the gift. I realized that the mental and emotional pain
I had endured throughout my life had a purpose - not just for me but for anyone
who had managed to survive long-held feelings of suffocation, abandonment and a
seeming disconnection from God.
With that realization, I finally exhaled. For this reason, I
call the company “Life After Breath.”
As an expression of my gratitude to God for lifting me from
the depths of that suffering, I work as a Holistic Practitioner, Stress
Management Consultant and Meditation Facilitator. By being in service to God in
this way, I am able to support others in restoring themselves to their God-like
state while fortifying the foundation of my own once-broken spirit.
With that, I thank you for being here, embracing me
and welcoming me into your life. And I look forward to connecting with you,
learning what there is to learn, revealing what there is to reveal, and helping
you restore yourself to your God-like state... one breath at a time.
Beholding and Honoring the Divinity in you,
Marlo Oliver