My Grandmother’s Blessings

by | Mar 9, 2021 | Mind Body Medicine Sioux City | 1 comment

This is how starting a podcast came to be in March.

Stories of refuge, healing, homecoming, and connection to inspire you, nurture you and boost you up, the way your grandmother (Tata, Sitty, Bubba, Abuela, Safta, Babushka, Oma) would. 

I have been thinking about starting a podcast for a little over a year now, but I wasn’t sure what to name it. It seems that SEO (search engine optimization) words are destiny in the world of the internet. If you don’t know what SEO is, it is basically how a website can show up when someone searches using certain words. It also seems that the world of the internet wants the online item to be specific, targeting a certain audience, with a certain theme, thus helping the online item to show up when someone searches with certain keywords. At least, this is my limited understanding in this technical internet world. Keeping the SEO business in mind, the more I became specific with words to create the podcast, the more I lost the sense of the spirit of why I wanted to create it. 

Longing for a sense of homecoming and comfort

Could I make a podcast about evidence based medicine, randomized controlled trials and the latest medical research findings? Sure. My nerdy and geeky brain would love that! But, this whole time I have been dreaming about this podcast while going on walks, it has been my heart that has been longing for it. My heart longed for the sense of refuge, comfort, nurturing and boost that I would feel when I would visit my grandmother as a child. During this past year with the pandemic that brought isolation and disconnection, I longed for a sense of homecoming and comfort, which I couldn’t find in being able to travel anymore, or being physically close with the people that I love. 

On my long walks, stories of my grandmother, Tata Im Abdo, started to come to my memory, reminding me that I wasn’t forgotten, that I was still watched over and connected to. The memories came back in dreams, stories, smells, sounds, music, and tastes of food. Tata Im Abdo passed away when I was 9 years old. And during all these years since then, I didn’t realize how much of her grandmotherly love and blessings I carried with me, wrapped so deeply and woven into my own mind, body, spirit and soul. 

Born of grandmother’s blessings

And so the podcast is born out of my grandmother’s blessings. Almost everyone, no matter in what part of the world or what language they speak, has that one special old (seasoned), kind and wise person that gifts them unconditionally with that soft gentle hammock to rock in, warm food for their belly, comforting touch and attentive receptive listening. And, if you don’t have such a person in your life, you are invited to receive my grandmother’s blessings through shared stories on this podcast. 

And as you listen to the stories (my grandmother’s, other grandmother’s stories, my stories and many other’s stories, maybe even your story!), may you find a place of refuge, healing, nurturing, connection and homecoming. 

My grandmother’s birthday was in March, and so of course why wouldn’t the birth of this podcast be in March also? There is no more opportune time than today to receive and share my grandmother’s blessings with you. Tata Im Abdo (my grandmother) wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Looking forward to receiving and being blessings together!

 

 

SEARCH BLOGS

RECENT BLOGS

A Psychiatrist’s Reflections on Ramadan

A Psychiatrist’s Reflections on Ramadan

If you live in the US, and hear the word Ramadan, what comes up to your mind? The most common answer is fasting. But, there is much more to Ramadan than fasting. One of the communities I grew up in during my formative years was the Muslim community.  The majority of...

Transgenerational Trauma

Transgenerational Trauma

Question From a Reader: Dr. A, I am not sure If I am writing you about myself or my son because I feel like we are one and the same. I look at my son and see myself when I was his age. My son is a teenager and has been more moody lately, skipping school, hanging out...

Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity

Question from a reader: Dr. A, I am a woman in my 30s and was recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. I got through college, professional life and relationships with some challenges because “I wasn’t like other women.” I don’t think of myself as the “typical...

Putting the Self back in Complex PTSD

Putting the Self back in Complex PTSD

Learn about what Complex PTSD is and the four steps that you can take to help yourself heal and overcome trauma to live a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Self Harm in Adolescents: My teen cuts on her wrists – now what?

Self Harm in Adolescents: My teen cuts on her wrists – now what?

QUESTION FROM A READER: I noticed that my daughter, who is 14 years old, always wants to wear long sleeve shirts and wants to cover her wrists. The other day, I saw scars on both of her wrists and inner thighs. She talks about how other girls in school cut on...

Eating Disorders: How to identify them and help teens cope

Eating Disorders: How to identify them and help teens cope

A QUESTION FOR THE DOCTOR: Dr. A, My 12-year-old daughter struggled with being overweight until she hit a growth spurt. Her weight stayed the same but she grew a few inches. Nobody has ever said anything about her weight, but she recently became obsessed with her...

Smartphone addiction: How kids get sucked in and how to help

Smartphone addiction: How kids get sucked in and how to help

QUESTION FROM A READER: My tween spends most of her time on her smartphone. She has no interest in hanging out with us as her family. Even when she is sitting with us, she is constantly scrolling through her phone, and doesn’t engage with us. When we take her phone so...

Holistic Ways to Treat Insomnia: Part 1

Holistic Ways to Treat Insomnia: Part 1

QUESTION FROM A READER: I have been struggling with my sleep lately and wondering about natural ways to help me with my sleep. Because I haven’t been sleeping well, I am tired during the day. I have tried over the counter medications, but I have woken up with a hang...

Tips on how to decrease anxiety

DOWNLOAD: Tips on How to Decrease Anxiety

Share your email to get a free download that includes tips on relaxation, breathing and keeping a schedule.

You have Successfully Subscribed!