Lauren Schuivens : The Samavira Meditation Method

My life didn't start with tranquillity. It started with suffering. I endured the experience of being raped. I survived an armed robbery and the subsequent devastation of that trauma. I lived through my parents' divorce and watched my younger self disappear into anorexia, bulimia, depression, and suicidal ideation. For a time, I felt like trauma was the only language that life ever spoke to me.

I had no control. I didn’t even feel "alive". I functioned—or rather, I existed. A psychiatrist once told me I would be on antidepressants for the rest of my life. But there was something, deep inside me, that whispered: there must be another way.

That whisper ran deep, and it grew into a mission.

The mission was different from what I had tried to define, and my mission led me to meditation. Not the perfect meditation you see on Instagram. The ugly, raw, painful kind that doesn't numb you but meets you in your shattered state, by goodness’ grace, offers you company.

Meditation did not quiet my thoughts. Meditation gave me the strength to face my thoughts.

The most significant shift I've ever made came from a single gesture: forgiving.

I forgave my rapist. Not to free him of responsibility. But to free myself.

I forgave the little girl who was confused, broken, and who almost gave up.

Healing doesn't come from avoiding the pain.

It comes from realizing that it does not have to define you.

Eventually, I started to share my story with friends, quietly.

They asked for tools, for guidance, for help.

Each time I shared, I was able to heal a bit more.

And they started to heal too.

What started as conversations became retreats, which became Samavira Meditation.

Sama = Peace of mind. Vira = Courage.

Two parts of me I thought were lost.

Now, pillars of a method that helps others rise up from their darkness.

Today, as the founder of Samavira, I train people all over the world not to bury or avoid their pain—not to suffer, but to transform.

We bring the Samavira Meditation Method™ into schools, gyms, prisons – anywhere a human soul is quietly asking for relief.

Because healing should not be a privilege.

It should be a right.

If you happen to be in a dark space right now, here is what I know:

You are not at fault.

You are evolving.

And sometimes, what tried to harm you

becomes the very thing that helps another stay alive.

My chaos became my creation.

And became my calling.

And it is still unfolding, one inhale at a time.

– As narrated by Lauren Schuivens, penned by the Rolling Authors® team. Visit us at www.rollingauthors.com for book writing and editing.