Hi there,

​

Yes, I'm still here.

​

For those who are new to this list, I've been out of touch for a bit.

​

My wife Shelli passed away in October after a battle with throat cancer, and since then I've been focusing on taking care of myself and my daughter Sienna.

​

It's very, very tough.

​

And it's tough to be the wise hypnotherapist giving advice to others when I'm still licking my wounds.

​

Humbling, to say the least.

​

But I have been doing sessions and I'm still quite capable of helping my clients.

​

So now that the new year has begun, I thought it was time to start reaching out to you guys again.

​

I've learned a lot through this painful experience, and in the long run it's going to make me a better therapist and teacher.

​

Actually, it's already having that effect on me.

​

I'd say the greatest gift of going through such a tremendous loss is perspective.

​

It really helps you to see what's truly important.

​

I've known it intellectually for a while now, as I've had the chance to help others survive what I'm going through myself.

​

But when it hits you personally, well that's another thing entirely.

​

You instantly stop caring about the stuff that occupies your mind every day...

​

Money, bills, work, "the list" of things to do.

​

None of it matters.

​

You know what does matter?

​

Love, relationships, health, family, memories.

​

I truly credit my practice of self-hypnosis and the nearly 25 years of experience I have in this field for my ability to survive this tragedy without spiraling outward or inward.

​

I really don't know how people get through this without that skillset.

​

It's taken every bit of knowledge and wisdom, all the strategies, deep breaths, mindset shifts, moments of gratitude, reframes, you name it.

​

I've needed all of that to stay in a positive state, to get through the days of work and responsibility and to deal with the frequent reminders of my lovely wife (which are everywhere).

​

But the good news is that Sienna and I are doing well. About as well as one could possibly hope under the circumstances.

​

We just got back from a ski trip with friends to Montana, and we spent Christmas week with my family in Michigan.

​

​

Both of those trips gave us moments of laughter, fun and peace.

​

Now we're back to school and work. Trying to eat healthy food and create some normalcy in life.

​

And I fully believe that Shelli knows all of that and is smiling brightly somewhere, filled with love.

​

Thanks for hanging in there with me. I'm going to be making more frequent contact with you again in the near future.

​

There's still a lot of life to live and a lot of meaning to be had.

​

Talk to you soon-

​

Sean