( ENSPIRE Health & Wellness ) CEO Denisha Seals Publishes ‘Butterflies in Me’
ENSPIRE Contributor: Gabrielle Maya
Mental health and trauma are two sides of the same coin. They both affect the mind and body with past events that hinder someone’s confidence, their feelings, how they process emotions, and much more. CEO Denisha Seals has created an opportunity through her company Water 2 Spirit. Water 2 Spirit has a mission: use critical thinking and positive behavior practices. Seals are helping professionals improve the lives of children of all diversities with facing mental health challenges.
Denisha Seals is an entrepreneur, storyteller, and survivor who owns a small business, she is the CEO of Water 2 Spirit. Water 2 Spirit offers workshops, articles, and documentaries to highlight the voice that’s been hidden through traumatic events.
How did Water 2 Spirit come to fruition? When did you decide to start this company and why?
God gave me the vision to create Water 2 Spirit. He directed me to use the gifts and talents that He gave me to help marginalized communities heal from Intergenerational trauma. Water 2 Spirit is therefore for me the fulfillment of spiritual responsibility.
If any what are your personal experiences that influenced Water 2 Spirit?
I am a member of two communities that are socially disadvantaged and marginalized and that have been the victims of historical events that have instilled intergenerational trauma among their members. I am Afro-Indigenous. Within this context, and like many others of my community members, I have endured and survived poverty, childhood sexual assault, participation within the foster care system, and other experiences. Such experiences collectively make up a personal testimony for me and create for me a lens that allows me to think about both individualized and systemic solutions for what needs to change within the larger core culture and society to prevent others from having to navigate such challenges in their own lives. And I learned that for those, like myself, who have had to go through such challenges, personal healing from the trauma caused by doing so is one of the most important tasks for moving towards a positive spiritual, physical, and mental state of well-being.
What kinds of workshops do you have and their benefits?
Our workshops focus on educating communities and youth, drawing on my personal experiences with child molestation and sexual abuse, and discussing long-term familial, social, and personal effects. We interrogate how people can be effective allies to those who are survivors, how survivors can build adequate personal support structures, and how they can overcome and transcend negativity associated with their experiences.
What three documentaries from your program do you recommend and why?
I would recommend all three of my films. Each of them focuses on a different set of historical, social, communal, and psychological challenges that marginalized communities of color face that aren’t spoken about. Those encountering them are also often the victims of high degrees of stigma due to the proliferation of misinformation about such challenges within these communities.
This year, Denisha became the first person of color to publish through Boys Town Publishing with her children’s book ‘Butterflies in Me. This is a collection of short stories about multicultural children struggling with mental illness and to better understand their symptoms the conclusion of these stories is to realize they are special and nothing is wrong with them, they are strong and have unique hearts.
How long was the process of creating Butterflies in Me?
It only took me 15 minutes to write all four of the stories. One might be stunned by that. However, God and my ancestors shared with me a vision of each character in which he or she spoke to me and shared their stories. I then wrote down what they had shared. This is why I think of the whole series of Butterfly books, the core text, the workbook, and the practitioner tool set as a divine and ancestral gift.
Are there any books you recommend for youths to read that will inspire them just like Butterflies in Me?
I would recommend that they read my other books, currently published by Boys Town Press. For example, “Learning to Love Your Butterfly,” a companion workbook to the main text, in which youth can journal personally about their experiences and thereby become more self-aware and agents in their own healing.
This book is an inspiration to children and all ages who need a boost. To realize their thoughts and feelings are valid and can be acknowledged so they can receive help, love themselves, and realize it doesn’t define them.
Are there more projects you will be working on just like Butterflies in Me?
Yes, I plan to write several other children’s books. I am hoping to deal more explicitly with child molestation and autism and other topics that need attention, allyship, and intervention within these communities so that healing can be advanced.
What are your plans for Water 2 Spirit?
My plans for Water 2 Spirit are to build a community of supporters of uplift for multicultural communities around the world, purged any notions of deficit thinking, and accept everyone’s innate humanity and spiritual value.
Water 2 Spirit is a wellness workshop open to all. If you have any questions about their workshops or documentaries, please call (402)-431-2206. Want to be up to date on their latest projects and resources? You can find Water2Spirit on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Subscribe to their newsletter here.
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