the soul level // Truth Tribe interview: Christa Gallopoulos
What would happen if you allowed your hurts AND healings to be revealed--the whole gorgeous mess of you?
And what happens if you DON'T? What happens when shame reigns instead, when your trueness is squashed, tamped down, smothered?
Friends, when planning for our Catharsis issue, I knew my Truth Tribe interviewee would need to be courageous.
We're talking about deep emotions here, a mighty agent of change. Catharsis would require someone calm, clear, full of heart and hope amidst the pain. Someone willing to share her own story and encourage readers to tell theirs.
Of course. Of course it had to be Christa Gallopoulos.
Christa and I have known one another online for years, ebbing and flowing in our connection as we've both grown and transformed. I already interviewed Christa once, three years ago, in our Becoming issue. What could be better for Catharsis than honoring where we've been, all that has brought us to this potent moment?
Christa has this way about her, a clearness of vision and strength of spirit that could only come from heartache transformed into healing.
In The Phoenix Soul: Catharsis, I asked Christa,
"Opening up about our vulnerable stories is risky. But what's the risk of keeping those tender truths hidden?"
original artwork by Christa Gallopoulos, featured in TPS: Catharsis
“I think that the reason we have, as a people, so much illness and imbalance both mental and physical now is just this. Life is traumatic, more so for some of us than others. And over the past five or six centuries, we’ve been taught to do anything but address our own hurts on the soul level. In sharing our stories, we heal and we encourage others to heal, too.
The risk of keeping all that hidden is in every headline on the evening news. Unrest, capital crimes, racial tension, massive public health issues and so much more. While this is brave work, I think not doing it is much scarier.”
Christa shared about her upcoming memoir, All Better Bye and Bye, which includes "chronicles of growing up in a body that was never my own, a family that was more a collection of mismatched souls than anything, a house full of secrets and abuse--and how I got from that place to the rather magic life I have now."
“My great hope is that it helps people to understand that whatever challenges we are dealt do not need to define us and that we can choose to be anything we want to be, to live according to our own truths.”
Phoenix soul, is it time to break free? To live in the light of your own truth?
You are safe with us.
Step into the light.
Honor your Catharsis.
Break free with us in 60 full-color pages of healing: art, poetry, essays, creative prompts, & more (all for only $6).
Dear one, you are not alone.
And there is always, always hope. Connect with your trusted tribe. Know you are loved--exactly as you are.
with respect & so much love,
Amanda
