Feeding Your Demons

Feeding Not Fighting By: Aubree Sentkowski

pg 2-5

pg 7

pg 10

pg 12-13

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I was searching for ways to heal myself, to cure the parts of me that were hard to bare; I didn't want to feel pain, and even labeled my pain as unworthy. I deeply desired joy and aliveness and couldn’t quite see the portal of healing that my pain was so eager to give me. It was easy for me to identify all the external factors at play, but challenging to pinpoint where to begin. Feeding Your Demons® was a starting point. A way in.

It was terrifying to uncover the contents of my internal world, to look at what lay behind them, the doors I had constructed to shelter my vulnerabilities and shield my raw wounds. These doors concealed their fragility beneath a mask of protection, which was founded on fear – the fear of the unknown, of pain, and of being hurt once again. As my rigidity grew, I entrusted these doors to fulfill their purpose without question. Gradually, I began to create a treasure map within my own tissues, collecting fragments from past and present traumas, stressors, unexpected events, and stories built from uncomfortable emotions that I had no capacity for. All these fragments sought refuge amongst my inner map.

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With time, as I turned away from this collection, the winds of life blew, covering each piece with sand, burying them deeper. As more time passed, and the sand accumulated, it became increasingly challenging to recall that buried treasure within my living tissues, hidden in my bones. I carried a walking scrapbook of treasure maps passed down through my lineage, in my DNA, waiting for someone with the capacity to see and cherish these precious treasures.

All these treasures wanted was to be adored..

When waves of pain would crash, my memory remained elusive. All my treasures yearned for me to be willing to uncover and reclaim them, but I had lost sight, overwhelmed by sensations that felt too immense to navigate alone.

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Feeding Your Demons® became a practice that nourished the heaviest of sensations (emotions, thoughts, stories, beliefs), guiding me towards recognizing and embracing my inner treasure.

This process provided me with a foundation to confront the difficult and stagnant aspects within myself that I had initially believed were external. It allowed me to bathe them in compassion, satisfying their long-standing needs.

Feeding Your Demons® acted as a template to uncover the intricate treasure map residing within my body, and enabled me to acknowledge my unique and interconnected human blueprint. I realized that what I had been seeking wasn't external; it was within me all along.

This was a homecoming,

a ritual of welcoming.

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When I was looking to “cure” my discomfort or find solutions to heal my pain, I was missing a crucial piece. My pain is the portal to healing.

It’s not a matter of trying to wish or fix my pain away, it’s a matter of building the capacity and resource to witnessing and being with the pain, seeing it through to its transformed state.

I let it transform me and in return I transform my relationship to it, which brings an evolution greater then I could have even imagined.

Feeding Your Demons allows for these pains or discomforts to be fully seen.

When we fully see them, this is where the magic happens. Allow yourself to be surprised!

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Lama Tsultrim Allione developed this practice, distilling it from the wisdom of 11th-century Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön. It is a sacred and profoundly effective template for recognizing and transforming deep-seated patterns and triggers that undermine the quality and enjoyment of life. This process can be applied to various aspects of life, such as pain, disease, heartbreak, mental health support, emotions, life transitions, injuries, everyday issues, and more, all while placing fierce compassion at the forefront. its a process of feeding, not fighting

This approach entails a meditative process that involves dropping into the body, connecting with your sensations, and creating space to nurture the parts of yourself that desperately want to be seen. It is about softening into your inner wisdom and cutting through disturbances.

Calling forward your demons and courageously looking, you find what is needed to integrate more of your essence into embodiment.

Welcoming yourself back home.

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Aubree Sentkowski

Aubree Sentkowski

In this practice, a 'demon' refers to disconnected and potentially disruptive aspects of our own mind. Our friend Carl Jung termed this our shadow. These are the thoughts, beliefs, patterns, and stories that we tend to repress, ignore, push away, or cling to. Over time, they can bury themselves within us and drain our life force of energy. Machig Labdrön described demons as "anything that obstructs the achievement of freedom."

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Aubree Sentkowski

they/them

Thank you for taking a moment to explore this creation of mine. This process is a potent tool that can support your journey if you choose to engage with it. I initially crafted this zine by hand and then somehow got it onto the computer. While I greatly appreciate technology, I also have a penchant for keeping things old school.

A little about me: I grew up in Wisconsin and, after college, hopped ship to the West Coast, where the ocean served as the nurturing womb for attunement and growth. Currently, I am a guest, finding refuge on the island of Kaua'i in the Hawaiian Kingdom, along with my partner and two animals. In response to the famous question, "What do you do?" my scripted answer would include my background in Social Work, community mental health, conflict mediation, advocacy, and peer support.

But I like to keep things a bit more interesting and say I human.

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I've been exploring the arts since childhood but became disconnected from this form of expression during my adolescence. It wasn't until I aligned with my inner wisdom that I discovered a community in energy work, resurfacing on a shore that nourishes my entire being. This resurfacing has led me back to creating.

As an energy work practitioner and a dabbler in the arts, my goal is to learn how to be fully human and be fully embodied in this life, engaging with it skillfully. May this practice not only benefit us but also extend to all sentient beings.

Aubree

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