Julie Jewels Smoot

For many survivors, the yoni becomes a place where stories are stored. Stories of survival. Stories of loss. Stories of resilience. Stories that may never have been spoken aloud. The body remembers what the mind cannot always explain. The yoni remembers what words cannot always express.

The Spiral of Healing honors this sacred rhythm. The rhythm of growth that circles back again and again, each time offering a deeper understanding, a new perspective, or a greater capacity for compassion. There may be moments when grief returns. Moments when fear resurfaces. Moments when old memories feel unexpectedly close.

But through gentle unfolding. For many survivors, trauma can create a profound disconnection from the body and from the yoni. What was once a source of life, intuition, creativity, pleasure, and feminine wisdom may become associated with pain, fear, shame, grief, or survival. This disconnection is not failure.

The seed does not become a tree overnight. Roots must form before branches can reach toward the sky. The foundation develops long before the growth becomes visible. The same is true for healing. The same is true for becoming. For many people, there is a desire to rush the process. To heal faster. To know more.

Healing Post Traumatic Stress honors that reality. This composition recognizes that post-traumatic stress is not a personal failure. It is a human response to experiences that overwhelmed the nervous system's ability to cope. The body remembers what happened. The mind remembers what happened.

Finding My Voice honors the journey of reclaiming the ability to speak, express, and exist authentically after years of being unheard, dismissed, silenced, or misunderstood. For many survivors, finding one's voice is not simply about speaking louder. It is about speaking truth. It is about trusting your own perceptions.

It is the ability to remain grounded while life unfolds in its own time. Anchored in Patience explores the quiet strength required to trust a process that cannot be rushed. Like an anchor resting beneath the surface of the water, patience provides stability during changing conditions. Storms may arrive. Waves may rise. Uncertainty may appear. Yet the anchor remains connected to something deeper.

Becoming One With Myself explores that return. Not the return to who you were before trauma. Not the return to an idealized version of yourself. But the return to wholeness.

Too much overwhelm for the nervous system to process all at once. When trauma, loss, or chronic stress exceed our capacity to cope, the body often responds by creating distance. Sensations become muted. Emotions become difficult to access. Life can feel as though it is happening behind a pane of glass. This response is not weakness. It is protection.

Shut Up and Listen to Survivors emerged from that frustration. Originally written as a poem, this piece was inspired by Julie Smoot's experience witnessing the disconnect between the voices of survivors and the institutions tasked with addressing military sexual trauma. The message is simple. If you want to understand what happens when military sexual trauma is reported, listen to the people who have lived it.