Rebuilding SightWhy Everyone Looked Like Voldemort After a Stroke: Mindy Jackson on Trauma & the Body (Part 1)

Send us Fan MailA stroke that changes how you see faces, a hospital stay filled with art supplies, and a decision to not accept "this is as good as it gets." Maria Aponte sits down with Mindy Jackson, LPC, Reiki master, and spiritual coach, to unpack a recovery story that blends real-world rehabilitation with energy healing, intuition, and a fierce kind of hope. After heart surgery in 2023, Mindy experiences a postoperative stroke in the occipital lobe and loses central vision — leaving her, in her own words, seeing everyone's face like Voldemort's. What follows is a deeply human look at neuroplasticity, PTSD-informed healing, and the moment you choose to fight for your life even when the odds feel brutal.From there, Mindy shares how painting became a tool for healing, including an intense four-month creative arc where she painted the 22 Major Arcana of the tarot and felt herself "live" each card's meaning, naming the finished collection "Return of the Divine Feminine." We talk symbolism, the divine feminine, and what it means to restore balance inside yourself so your relationships and community can change too. If you've ever wondered whether creativity can be medicine, this conversation gives you a grounded and surprising perspective.We also go back to the beginning: childhood sensitivity, a near-death drowning experience at age five, out-of-body memories, and the way imagination may be less "make-believe" and more a language your nervous system understands. Then we move into generational and ancestral trauma — how a closet-hiding memory with her mother shaped a lifelong freeze response, how her great-grandfather's railroad accident planted a scarcity mindset that passed down for generations, and how a single energy-healing session finally released trauma she'd carried in her body since being sexually assaulted at 16.This is part one of a longer conversation, with part two coming next week.If this resonates, follow the show so you don't miss the next chapter, share it with someone who's healing, and leave a review to help more people find these stories. What's one belief about healing you're ready to question?Connect with Mindy Jackson: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacksonmindy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindy.jackson.351 Website: https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1298495📖 NEW BOOK: Against All Odds: The Less Than 1% Chance I wasn't supposed to survive. As the surviving twin with less than a 1% chance at life, I've spent my whole existence beating odds nobody expected me to beat. In this memoir and anthology, I share my story alongside eight other unbelievable accounts of people who refused to let impossible circumstances write their ending, from cancer and addiction to childhood trauma and grief. Eleven stories. One roadmap for anyone who's ever been told "you can't." Get your copy here: https://books.by/love-your-lifeSupport the showLove Your LifeFollow Maria on Facebook HERE Follow Maria on Instagram HEREFollow Maria on YouTube HERE