In 1997, I began an amazing 20-year career span as a law enforcement professional. Besides my career, I was a “Supermom” who was divorced with three amazing gifts from God, a daughter and two sons. To them I was a superhero who walked around with a large “S” on my chest. Despite my career, I was a mom first involved in every aspect of their lives as a track & field sprint coach, protector, supporter, provider, and all other aspects of parenting. I also competed as a sprinter in the Police and Fire Olympics. Things were good. In 2007, I decided to marry a wonderful man, and everything was great!
Then, the unthinkable happened. In March 2011, my oldest son was in a horrible accident. He(pedestrian) was hit by a large party bus in Hollywood, CA. He sustained multiple severe injuries and was in critical condition. My son’s injuries were so severe that he was put in the Burn Intensive Care Unit of the hospital for 10 months and had 39 surgeries. The doctors said he would never walk again. At the time of his accident, it felt like a non-stop storm that no one in my family was prepared for. I stopped work to take care of my son.
My Faith in God and belief was tested beyond measures. I chose to believe in the Word of God which is the Breath of Life. However, my marriage fell apart, and the following year we divorced. In the bible, the scripture Palms 46:1AMP read: “God is our refuge and strength (mighty and impenetrable), a very present and well-proved help in trouble. The Word of God kept me afloat above what felt like hurricane flood waters uprooted my life. I chose to put my complete Faith and Trust in His Word, and I felt the Hand of God was on my son and my life.
Eight months later, I went back to work with a plan to get my life back. Within 7 months in May 2012, I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. The thought was, “you have got to be kidding!” It felt as though my world had crumbled a third time. However, the decision to standup in faith, fight, and the spirit of courage came full force. To stand up in faith requires you to be vulnerable to provide self-care for healing, peel the onion layers in your life, and take that “S” off your chest. The bible states, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.” It requires to be positive, be at peace, and have a heart of gratitude in the STILLNESS for Healing and in the Presence of God leads to the victory in Christ Jesus.
This is what you can learn. In some point and time in life you may discover or face difficult circumstances that seem impossible or unbearable to overcome. But, know that God is the Provider! He is Limitless. He is a Power Force, Peace and Healer. He is Greater and Above all unbearable circumstances and situations. Faith and Trust in God is an individual choice. Faith is an action word that requires proactive work. My son was healed, and his walk restored. Healing starts with a proactive belief that you are healed in your spirit, mind, and body. The faith to the victory motto is: Be Do Have:” Be what you believe, do what you believe, and you will have what you believe. Faith to Victory.
It's Safe to be you: Own your Power and Thrive
At 8 years old, I was bullied by my track teammates, and it created the fight in me. I was a quiet shy girl, but knew I had power and the ability to thrive. At that moment, I decided to believe in myself and I knew I was a winner no matter the situation and/or circumstances faced. From that day forward I owned my power and I thrived.
My track club participated in the weekly track meets at Balboa Stadium. Unknown to me, my coach decided to move me from the “B” relay team to the “A” sprint relay team. The “A” team were considered the faster elite runners. The other 3 members of the “A” relay were not happy about his decision. They made it known verbally their disapproval. They called me names and they avoided all contact with me prior to the sprint event.
I stayed calm with my head up and stayed in their presence. My coach was firm and adamant with his decision. He believed in me, and despite my teammates antic treatment I believed in myself. I stayed with my teammates despite their verbal negative attitudes shown. Their intimidation tactics did not work. They had no other choice but to be inclusive. I would not be intimidated. Many thoughts came to mind, “I will show them,” because I know who I am, “a fierce competitor, a quiet storm. Action always speaks louder than words. I knew I had the power within to win.
I love the quote by Gabriel Sherman, “The loudest voice in the room is rarely the most right.” It takes courage and conviction to stand up, believe in yourself, and have faith in your inner power, inner strength, and your abilities. When you understand the power you have within, you can complete and accomplish, and do anything. You can be unstoppable and successful. You are what you think. It is a mindset choice to persevere and thrive. It is safe to be you.
Identifying Deception.
I worked as an investigator and undercover cop for many years across the Central and Southern Regions of California. There are some factors to consider that can lead you to identify deception in people. The psychology of human deception deals with the correspondences between external representations and internal reality. The example in the above picture, a sausage inside of a banana peel is a prime example. Sometimes what you see on the outside does not match what is expected on the inside. Adaptability to not be detected as a cop in the course of duty was very important.
Undercover work can be paralleled to an actor in a movie or a play. However, in a movie there is the opportunity for do overs or retakes. This is not the case in undercover work. The other factor to consider is the science of human behavior. Human behavior is often very predictable, and your gut feelings can be helpful too. It was important to understand the patterns of human behavior to detect deception. It helped in investigative decisions, actions, as well as safety. So, pay attention to your gut feelings. It will save your life.
Effective communication and connection are important too. Especially face to face, it allows you a space to build rapport, commonality of shared experiences, likes, and dislikes which leads to trust. Ironically, truthful people will share what they perceive to be true and this is not always accurate. The meaning behind this statement is based on situations, and incidents observed, interpreted, stored, and processed based on the individual process. This is called the “hippocampus” where individuals add their own unique spin based on environmental, physiological, and psychological factors can greatly affect their process of observations.
On the other hand, individual people communicate with many different languages. We communicate with a combination of spoken words in written languages and gestures. Stay engaged. Individuals demonstrate and tell us through body language. What is said should be in alignment with their actions. Always observe body language because it happens naturally without specific thought within harmony. There are two types of gestures, vocal and physical that can occur consciously and subconsciously. Conscious gestures are done to convey a specific message. For example, waving “hi” or flipping someone off with a finger. Subconscious gestures are derived from the automatic nervous system such as lip biting or fingernail chewing. Read the signals, observe what individuals say and do with body language. Stay alert, trust your instincts, and stay safe.