What Is "Light Matter?" Exploring the Space Between Struggle and Strength

"Dark Matter is the stuff between the things we know to be true." - Amanda Heck

Dark matter is mass in the universe that cannot be seen. It has a gravitational pull, but no ability to reflect light. So, we can't see it, but we can feel it. I like to think of it as "the stuff between the things we know to be true."

If we think of dark matter as a metaphor for trauma, it hits a little deeper and and closer to home. Trauma can take hold inside of our minds & bodies when we experience a high level of stress that is out of our control. So sometimes we aren't even aware of the affect it has on us—it just has a pull on us. It is an unseen force that holds us back, keeps us stuck repeating the same patterns over and over again, and makes us feel as though there is no way out of the darkness.

I started Light Matter Coaching with the idea that when we shift our focus and shine light on that unmanageable and unseeable force that pulls us, we are able to identify opportunities that we couldn't see before. Once we know what is holding us back, we can start to understand the beliefs and behaviors we've formed in order to live the best way we know how after trauma. With compassion, wisdom, and bravery lighting the torch, the dark (unseeable) matter becomes light.

When we start to embrace the new light matter in our lives, we can start to feel safe again and our brains form new neural pathways that help us shed the dark matter and shift adaptive (post trauma) behaviors into forward movement toward the goals and lives we want. New possibilities and opportunities surround us and we gain the confidence to seize them. Before we know it, we've evolved into the next iteration of our full selves—wiser & braver than before—building the lives we want.

What would you build if you could shine light on the dark matter in your life, and create from the light?

Always in your corner,

Amanda