Triggers are a gift
When I first found TIR it was as a viewer.
The concept of a trigger being a gift was foreign in my world at that point in my life. I did my best to avoid triggers at all cost. As TIR facilitators, we know we are intentionally trying to trigger our viewers in session, but what about when we are triggered during a session... we do our best to leave our ‘stuff’ outside the door but we all know it might just sneak in from time to time.
As a new facilitator, I remember the first time this happened for me. On the spot, I quickly came up with an idea. What if I simply acknowledge my own trigger, so I could remain present and maintain confront for my viewer. I adopted this concept from my time in meditation. In meditation, we acknowledge our thoughts, those spontaneous pesky little thoughts, then pull ourselves back to our meditation. I acknowledged my trigger in my mind and wrote it down so I knew to get back to this gift as soon as possible, in my own session of course. We understand how important it is to acknowledge our viewers, and it is important to acknowledge ourselves too. I believe that doing our own work is the greatest gift we can give ourselves and the world. How can we show up for our clients if we aren't showing up for ourselves?
Part of AMI's ethical code is about maintaining our own physical, emotional, and mental health in order to remain fit for our work. One of the many ways I choose to remain fit for my work is to have my own sessions on a weekly basis, more often if needed.
If I noticed being triggered in a session, I would get a session as soon after as possible, and not see that viewer again until I had addressed my own trigger. We learn about CE 1 being present and CE 2 and 3 confronting, and maintaining confront. We also learn about CE 5 and the power of acknowledgements.
My simple, and very effective idea rarely gets used these days, but one just never knows when a gift may come. I use a sticky note, on the corner of my note pad. That's my simple way of acknowledging if I was triggered in a session, and not reacting so that I can get back to what I'm there for - facilitating my viewer, with the sincere desire to help as they do their work.
Be mindful of the gifts that are sometimes shown to you by a viewer in session. A trigger is a gift, if we are willing to open it. At this point in my life, I am aware of the gift of a trigger, and also the gift of TIR which allows me to open up those gifts when I hear the words "start of ses-sion" coming from my caring facilitator. Every day is a good day to open the gift of you!
