PERSPECTIVE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

BY JILL LANGHAM

Hello all you beautiful souls. Last March, I shared with you that I had tried micro-dosing mushrooms to help me through the deep depression that I had fallen into post-COVID, and the grief that I experienced when my close friend succumbed to death from heat stroke in 2022. I had great success and its effects lasted until mid-August.

I just completed another round that ended January 27, 2023 and cannot tell you how much better I feel. I have had a number of people ask me about my journey for as you know I love to Cher, LOL, Share, so please don’t hesitate to contact me!

I had a rough go of it the last quarter of 2022 and shared my tales with you through my Facebook page, but in case you missed it, here’s a quick synopsis:

I had met that “special someone,” but experienced heartbreak when we couldn’t get our schedules to coincide leaving me feeling depressed. I also had more than my share of physical trauma that included an abscessed tooth, followed by a broken crown, a root canal with a new crown. I lost consciousness and fell backwards which resulted in a scalp injury that needed 5 staples to help me heal. I am left with a scar for life. That was my Thanksgiving. I then ended the year with 4-weeks of symptoms that had all the makings of COVID; RSV flu; the regular flu; whooping cough; wheezing; bronchitis and walking pneumonia but instead was just a winter cold causing me to spend both Christmas and New Year’s eve in bed!

I survived it all and began the year knowing that the micro-dosing was going to be the answer for me, and it has been exactly that!

One of the documented benefits of micro-dosing is the proven re-setting of the brain which I like to refer to it as mental clarity. One of the funny places it appeared was in my skill at solitaire. My wins are way up and my times way down. It’s a simple measure but it speaks volumes as to its effects on the brain. Then there are the changes in my dreams, both the sleeping kind as well as one’s Life dreams! I’m also recognizing that I am more patient with others as well as with myself. I’m also aware of being kinder as a result and that makes me happy!

I’m also able to go out again after a long hiatus and am remembering the joy that I’m blessed to receive when I connect with my community, old and new. And BTW there are a lot of you out there that I haven’t had the opportunity to meet, so be forewarned. LOL

This month I predict will have lots of joy and excitement. My special man and I were able to re-connect and are planning to reunite right before Valentine’s Day. Woohoo and Yummy. I also have a new friend coming to town whose goal is to buy a place which is always an exciting event to share with someone. And, then with the advent of Modernism Week followed by International Bear Convergence (I.B.C.) we will be inundated with old and new people to enjoy and lots of dance parties in which to shine. So, I hope to see you out there, OK?

Coming full circle, I’d like you to know that I am very appreciative of all of you who made it clear that you were concerned about me and all that I had been through. Saying “Thank You.” doesn’t quite do it but you know it is heartfelt. I learned how to trust myself for the first time in my life which was huge for me. I consider the scar on my head to be my badge of courage. I basically gave myself the N.C.I.S., slap to the back of my head, (if you know that show) I just did it backwards! I liken it to when a CD that gets stuck and you must physically nudge the player to get it going again. The nudge got me alright and now, I’m back on track!

I am coming out of a rut that started for me way before COVID. I was already in trouble when we got hit in the gut with sheltering-in and all the changes that created a new world for us to adapt to. I feel like I can once again handle and deal with stressors that were showing up as an elevated heart rate and sky-high blood pressure. I’d like to believe that I can leave my troubles on the Dance Floor! So, let’s Go Dance!

Velvet Ibiza - Europe’s most epic queer women party - is celebrating its 7th anniversary this year and taking the festivities to a whole new level. Happening May 2 - 7, 2023 in idyllic Ibiza, Spain, Velvet Ibiza, the all-inclusive 5-day/5-night party, has, in only a few years’ time, become a holy ground for queer women who continue to descend on the pine-covered isle to enjoy one the most life changing and euphoric experience.

Created and (ever since) produced by Carine De Mesmaeker - the mastermind behind Velvet 69, one of Europe’s biggest queerwomen party in Brussels, Belgium - Velvet Ibiza made history in its