Thunder, Lightning, and a Few Thoughts in Between

On a recent trip to Jamaica, we were astonished by the nightly lightning shows. They would last for hours! One of the strikes landed right on top of us—it was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard. It made me realize how powerful lightning truly is—something easy to forget when it’s miles away and you’re focused only on its beauty.

I filmed some of it, knowing I’d want to share it with you. I’ve cut it down, though—no one wants to sit through a video that’s mostly black, unless you’re actually there, anticipating the next strike! Enjoy the beauty of nature!

We were also blown away by the moonrise, but I’ll save that one for another time. I will say, it’s both similar to and completely different from the rising sun. Here’s a snapshot of it—with the lightning strike happening at the same time!

When I came home, I had to do a bit of research on lightning. I wanted to better understand how it happens. While science is generally lost on me—I don’t process that kind of information very well—I’ll do my best to extrapolate what’s relevant to where I’m going with this.

Here’s what I understand: Storm clouds hold both positive and negative electrical charges. The lighter, positive charges (ice crystals) gather at the top of the cloud, while the heavier, negative charges (raindrops) collect at the bottom. When these opposite charges grow strong enough, an electrical discharge occurs—energy released in the form of lightning. These charges are attracted to a positive source, either the ground or another cloud, and that’s what we see. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqXnN_FQfrc)

It made me think of our own positive and negative charges. Dr. Caroline Leaf says we are wired for love, so when something happens outside of that healthy brain function, it can have catastrophic results. Sometimes those “charges” are out of our control—childhood trauma or sexual assault, for example—and we’re left with that trauma residing in our bodies.

Like lightning striking the ground and causing forest fires, we too can cause damage to those we love—or to ourselves. Until we deal with trauma and its effects, it will either lie dormant until we can’t hide it anymore, or it will make us toxic to the people around us or to ourselves (for example, through addiction).

I’ve listened to many professionals over the years speak about how negative stress affects us—physically, emotionally, and psychologically. I’ve been processing a lot of my own trauma for years, and while that work has changed how I view myself and others, the retreat we attended in Jamaica brought an emotional healing I wasn’t expecting—but I’m deeply grateful for it. It solidified everything I’ve been learning over the past 28 years: if I don’t deal with my trauma, it will have a lasting effect I don’t want.

My goal has always been to end life well—and that takes work. A lot of work.

I began brain retraining 18 years ago through Dr. Caroline Leaf’s program, and it has served me well. She teaches that by capturing your thoughts, you can shape the way your brain develops. The amazing thing is, our brains are always changing—the beauty of neuroplasticity!

Good and helpful thoughts create healthy neural pathways. Negative or toxic thoughts, on the other hand, will surface in negative or toxic ways. You can pretend they’re not there, but eventually, they rise to the surface. When someone has an emotional breakdown, that’s what’s happening—the body can no longer hold it all together.

So, if it’s true that Thoughts = Feelings = Behaviour (and it is), how do you want to live?

Healing begins when we choose to do the inner work and seek support from those who can guide us toward wholeness. The path isn’t always easy, but each step toward light creates new, healthy pathways—ones that lead to peace instead of confusion.

For further reading: www.drleaf.com