Please note: This episode contains descriptions of violence, sexual abuse, alcoholism and drug use.
In this episode of the podcast, Columbia native Catalina Osorio describes how her early life forged in her an "eat or be eaten" ethos that nearly destroyed her. She shares her journey out of the despair caused by a life of extreme violence and into the immediacy that grace grants everyone no matter what their circumstances. Her well-earned wisdom is a miracle beyond resiliency.
Catalina was born in Colombia in 1981 into a violent family, in a dangerous neighborhood in a turbulent time. She lived in continuous, extreme physical and emotional trauma, without noticing she was completely burying her past. Later, while living in Paris, after a night of heavy drinking, she was plunged into a situation that triggered a physical knowing that she had been raped. But because there was no clear evidence, there was no proof that a crime had been committed. Thus, she began to feel the terror of losing her mind. Her chaotic lifestyle continued until the responsibility, drugs, alcohol, sleeplessness and uncontrollably racing mind brought her body to severe illness and her mind to the breaking point. Depressed, suicidal and facing a possible hysterectomy to remove fibroid tumors, she heard a voice encouraging her to take a path of true healing rather than surgery.
Six years later, Catalina is living in peace and no longer allows her past to unconsciously run everything. She does not claim to be a teacher, to be enlightened or to know it all. She only knows that all of her pain has been created by a misunderstanding of what was happening. She believes we are powerful creators having a unique experience that is meant to add something to the divinely perfect tapestry of LIFE.
You can connect with Catalina at catosga@gmail.com and her Facebook Page.
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