Tracie is a LCSW, who has been working in the social service field since 1991. Her work has included Peace Corps in West Africa and trauma recovery with survivors in Chicago. Tracie offers culturally sensitive treatment focusing on individual strengths, self-love and connection.



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Tracie Pape

<h4>This is an invitation from TRACIE PAPE to practice Peacefulness and see what the simple and powerful intentions can create within you and in others.</h4>“Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me.”&nbsp; —Vince GillGrowing up in the Catholic Church, singing this song was my favorite part of the mass. With everyone singing in unison, a sense of connectedness would arise each Sunday when we sang the chorus. For those who meditate, Peacefulness feels like this hymn. Many traditions focus on the importance of love for all and working for a more peaceful world.&nbsp;As a longtime Heartfulness practitioner and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, my understanding of the role spirituality plays in our well-being has evolved. Suffering is an inevitable part of human existence. A common reaction to suffering is to withdraw and isolate in an attempt to protect others from experiencing our distress. Loneliness is one of the most significant factors in contributing to human suffering. One of the greatest gifts we can receive and offer is presence and bearing witness to pain. This is support in its purest form and offers balm for the soul. Presence is manifested in Peacefulness and allowing all to exist as they are, sending out the intention that we can live in harmony with ourselves and each other.I can practice this even when not physically connected to others. I often think of Peacefulness as a pregnant pause. It is a pause and an intention full of potential, unknown and unseen. Before I meditate, before I work, before I interact with others, I pause and enter a state of Peacefulness, allowing me to connect with my values and highest intentions. Peacefulness makes space for stillness, reflection, and intent.Peacefulness allows me to feel connected with others and all beings in that pause, reflection, and intent. I experience Peacefulness as self-compassion turned outward. When I send out an intention for peace, kindness, compassion, and love, I am connecting with that place within me that experiences that condition and hopes for others to experience it. When I practice self-compassion, I tap into the idea that I am already enough as I am, which supports self-love and self-acceptance. Peacefulness helps me tap into this idea that we are all enough as we are, with the intention of spreading this awareness and insight.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Peacefulness helps me tap into this idea&nbsp; that we are all enough as we are, with the intention of spreading this awareness and insight.</h4><hr>As we invite others to practice Peacefulness, it is a collective intent to see where this can take us together. Practice pausing and using the Peacefulness intentions to stay in touch with what is really important. This simple act can reduce reactivity, resistance, and conflict when engaging with others. It is possible to set an intention to focus on connection and well-being above all else. This is an opportunity to see what our collective intentions can create for us, our families, friends, and communities.Peacefulness creates an avenue to connect with that place in us that longs for connection, love, and peace. It also connects with that place in others. We have all experienced pain and hardship that have created barriers to peace and acceptance. This allows us to have compassion for the suffering in others. Peacefulness increases our capacity to understand others’ pain and have compassion for suffering humanity.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/My_Fellow_Travelers2_8e9faf9b7d.jpg"></figure>We may never know the impact our thoughts and intentions have, so engaging in Peacefulness can be an act of hope. Join me in practicing Peacefulness to channel hope for humanity, to remember that we are all connected, and that we all long for self-love and a sense of belonging.<a href="https://www.peacefulness.org/our-intentions">https://www.peacefulness.org/our-intentions</a>For those of you feeling a calling to practice Peacefulness, we will create the path and future of this approach, and we will see where it takes us together. Cheers to my fellow travelers and I look forward to this journey together.“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”&nbsp; —Albert Einstein<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/My_Fellow_Travelers3_739b388061.jpg"></figure>

My fellow travelers

<h4>
 TRACIE PAPE is a clinical social worker,
 therapist, and longtime Heartfulness Meditation trainer, who works in the crisis area of mental health. Tracie
 questions how she is showing up for herself, and encourages all of us to ask ourselves the same
 questions.
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<h5 class="has-text-align-center">“Loneliness does not come from having no people around you, but from being unable
 to communicate the things that seem important to you.” – Carl Jung</h5>



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As all of us emerge from the global pandemic, we are experiencing challenges unlike anything we have ever encountered
 before. I work in the mental health field in the area of crisis, and have witnessed first-hand the impact the
 pandemic has had on mental health. Many who struggled with depression or anxiety prior to the pandemic found the
 symptoms exacerbated by the stress of isolation and fear. One thing I noticed, even with myself, was an increased
 sense of loneliness. This observation has been a catalyst for me to consider what helps me connect to others and
 what gets in the way.



Systemic racism and intergenerational trauma have been at the forefront of mental health issues for social workers
 during this time. The impact of oppression, inequity of resources and support, parents with untreated mental health
 concerns, and lack of education or stigma about mental health can keep many of us in the dark.



Anxiety can keep our nervous system on high alert and sensitive to perceived rejection or judgment. Depression can
 keep us hidden away to protect ourselves from rejection or judgment. During the past two years, most of us have felt
 these emotions to varying degrees. When these states are chronical, we are disconnected from ourselves and others.




Personally, the importance of connecting to myself has been reinforced as I prepare to send my youngest son off to
 college. I have spent many years focusing on being a mother, while also helping others professionally. One of the
 most enjoyable parts about being a parent has been watching my children grow into their own persons, and identify
 their values and unique gifts. Through conversations with my boys, I have realized that a lot of what I try to
 instill and teach others are things I am still struggling to incorporate into my life.



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<figure><img decoding="async" width="700" height="769" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/are_you_showing_up2_700x769_8c0359609c.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T04:44:16.195Z">
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<h4 class="has-text-align-center">When I am kind to myself in
 the same way I am often kind to others, I feel the connection with them more deeply. This has been
 the key for me to feel included and loved.</h4>



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While giving feedback to others at work, I often think to myself, “Am I doing this in my own life?” The idea that we
 teach what we need to learn has been popping up a lot for me lately.



As I encourage others to practice self-compassion and take care of themselves, how often am I putting that into
 practice?



Self-compassion is essential if I am to step aside from negative or fearful thoughts about myself and the world, and
 attend to myself with love and kindness. The Chicago South Side Irish mindset I have inherited can often tell me,
 “keep this to yourself,” and “if you worked harder, you wouldn’t feel this way.” The awareness that some of my core
 beliefs are a result of upbringing rather than inadequacies has been liberating. Resmaa Menakem’s book My
 Grandmother’s Hand resonated with me on a very profound level by showing me how much of what I feel in my
 body is inherited or contextual, and it is up to me to respond differently.



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<figure><img decoding="async" width="700" height="650" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/are_you_showing_up3_700x650_0b863fd3de.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T04:46:18.396Z">
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The assumption that we are all doing the best we can has helped free me from self-judgment. When I am kind to myself
 in the same way I am often kind to others, I feel the connection with them more deeply. This has been the key for me
 to feel included and loved. By loving myself, I am able to see, feel, and respond to the kindness and love of
 others. Sometimes, loneliness can set in when we are not looking out for it, or allowing ourselves to feel the bids
 for connection and offerings of support from others.



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<h4 class="has-text-align-center">Illustrations by LAKSHMI GADDAM</h4>



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