How to HEAL YOUR MIND

The root cause of most chronic health conditions & dis-ease is the mind. A beautiful tool for creation, however, if not educated correctly, which most of us were not, it can cause more damage than good.

We come into this life with a veil of forgetfulness. The journey of the soul through this human incarnation is to peel back the layers of the onion piece by piece and remember the truth of who we really are. It’s an ever-unfolding, un-learning and re-learning what is already deep within.

Society, pharmaceutical companies, social media all know how our minds work. How to keep us stuck in the illusion, so they can make a profit by feeding us what we think we want or need, when in the end, it is keeping us further and further away from the truth. It’s all one big distraction.

We are programmed and conditioned by the outside world, family, school, work, society, the media, etc. We also come into this reality with our own energetic imprints for this life and from past lives. This can bring both positive and challenging effects. In one way, we might bring in natural gifts and talents we were working on in previous incarnations. In another, we might carry with us wounds, trauma and attachments that keep us trapped in fear, negativity, projection & illusion.

As we all enter a physical body, we are genetically connected to our ancestry. This also brings with it its own karmic imprints. Wonderful if the energy is clear, healthy & enlightened, however, this is definitely not the majority. Most of us are now coming in to help clean up the ancestral line by breaking the old patterns and upgrading the DNA. We are cleaning up the past that no longer serves our future as a species.

As we are all unique expressions of Source Consciousness, we are all interconnected. So on top of past life, present life and ancestral lines, now we have the collective imprints which need to be processed.

So as you can see, we are complex, multi-dimensional beings. Our healing journey includes healing our past, healing our present, healing our body & mind, healing our ancestral line & healing our collective.

On the personal level, we must heal and balance the physical, mental/emotional, energetic, intuitive/intellect & spiritual bodies.

The mind is a core foundational piece. It is also very complex! You have the unconscious mind (sleep), subconscious mind (the unseen), which is where most of our manifestations/creativity comes from, the conscious mind (awake) & the super conscious mind (the quantum field/higher mind/collective mind).

Growing up in the West, victim consciousness was/is the norm. We are told it’s not our fault, it’s genetic or it’s a chemical imbalance. We are given medicines to numb the symptoms, but nothing that gets to the core root of the issue because they don’t know the core root of the problem… or do they?

When I moved to India, I studied Yoga, Ayurveda and Energy Healing. Here, I learned the exact opposite of what I was taught in Canada. I was told that it was me. I am accountable for my negative thinking. I am not a victim. There is no one to blame. It was up to me to do the work to heal and master my mind. It was here that I was taught how to heal from the core root of the issue. Not to mask it with drugs. That I had the power to heal myself.

Programmed and conditioned to not feel, to escape, to run, to be addicted to dopamine hits (instant gratification... get now, pay later), to shop, eat, drink, have sex, party, gamble, etc, etc. to feel better by looking outside ourselves.

We are continually controlled, manipulated, lied to and coerced. We are disempowered & victimized, blaming everything outside ourselves and not taking any responsibility or accountability.

We need to get out of the dopamine hits and turn on the more sustainable serotonin release system which we can do with cognitive behavioural changes, new habits, patterns & lifestyle choices.

Is it easy? Of course not, otherwise everyone would be doing it.

We have to learn to stop running, escaping and grabbing for something outside ourselves the moment we feel bored or uncomfortable. We have to be able to feel and process the movement of energy. We have to have discipline and self-awareness. True liberation comes through the discipline to create new patterns and lasting change.

Everything you have suppressed over time is waiting to be processed through your body. The longer it stays within you, the more it will run your life. Fear, pain, resentment, anger, frustration, hate…

We need to let it go. Personally and collectively.

We are in a major upgrade on this planet. Our bodies are upgrading, our systems are crumbling because they do not support this upgrade. It is time for us to rebuild ourselves and to rebuild our systems that support the new human and the new paradigm.

It is time to live from a higher state of awareness.

So how do we do that?

We clean up the junk.

We clean up our inner environment so the changes in the external world do not bump into our inner world and we react. It is time to clean up our energy. To clean up our mind. To open and expand our hearts.

Everyone is unique and on their own individual journey. Some need only a few tools and others need many.

There is no point to compare your journey with others. You are on your own timeline. Follow your own inner compass.

Some of the tools and practices I have found to be the most effective for inner transformation and sustainable change include:

Tip #1 - Yoga

Yoga is a way of life. It is not just a physical practice. The principles of Yoga help you to live a healthier, more connected and empowered life. From key virtues to live by such as truthfulness and harm reduction to working with your body, mind and senses, Yoga is a beautiful path and not just one, there are many entry points in. There is practice, service, self-study & devotion. There is something for everyone, you just have to find the path that resonates the most. Yoga gives structure to help you reconnect with your divine self. It helps you work with the agitations of the mind to bring greater peace and self-awareness.

If you haven't found the right teacher or practice, I assure you, when you are truly ready, the right teacher or guide will waiting. Call it in if you are a hell yes to walking this path!

Tip #2 - Breathwork

Daily breath work practice helps you to clear your energy channels and to purify & focus your mind. It activate your energy by expanding your lung capacity, which brings you more oxygen through circulation of the blood, regulating the nervous system and bringing you more peace & clarity of mind.

Tip #3 - Meditation

The true purpose of meditation is to remember the truth of who we really are... pure consciousness! It helps us to find stillness, ease, calm, to slow down, find awareness, live from the present moment & merge with the creator within. It helps us to find the pause, the gap, the space, between our thoughts created by the mind, which is a never ending game for our silly monkey minds. The mind loves to replay the past and create endless scenarios for the future. It does not like to sit in stillness in the present moment. Why? because then it would no longer be able to create different outcomes. It would be in surrender, openness, expansion and receptivity to what our conscious will wants to bring through you. And this divine will is what brings true peace, clarity, fulfillment, love, purpose, freedom and joy.

Meditation is uncomfortable because it asks us to look within and see and feel what is truly going on. To start to question things and to find the observer within. To de-tach from the narratives of the ego and find the truth. To return to our true nature.

Meditation requires practice and persistence. But it gets easier and more rewarding, I promise. The best thing is to start small. Small steps each day, just a few minutes and keep extending as long as you like over time. It's important to just show up and commit.

If you want to start with walking meditation or movement meditation, which is simply moving with more awareness and focus in the moment, that is great. Or better yet, try both! Movement is great to help clear your energy and mobilize your body. This will help you sit in stillness much easier and with less restlessness.

I know everyone says meditation, meditation, meditation, but it's because it is so transformational.

The second part of the meditation practice, once you get the hang of it, is to then bring that stillness into the rest of the day to help you find the pause in challenging situations & to switch from our automatic reactions into mindfully aware responses. We interrupt the pattern & create a new pattern. This is how true lasting growth & transformation occurs.

Tip #4 - Dance

One of our first primal instincts once we learn to stand and walk as children is to dance. The moment we hear music we are inclined to move. Dance allows you to connect with your body, senses and feelings/emotions. It allows you to express yourself, to move intuitively, to clear, let go and release. It helps move energy out and helps to also clear the mind in doing so.

There is a reason why ecstatic dance is becoming the new yoga. It is an intentional way to connect deeper with yourself and the divine being that you are. I know for myself, the combination of music and dance helps me to clear my mind and stagnant energy in my body. I receive my best insights after a solo dance session. I always keep a pen and journal handy to write down any new inspiration received. I also like to take mini dance breaks throughout the day to shake up my energy and remove any blockages. This helps bring more oxygen to the brain and brings me greater clarity to be creative, write and work.

Tip #5 - Connection with Nature

Nature helps us remember the truth of who we are, if we are tuning in and looking closely. It brings connection, presence, awareness, pure life force energy & stillness. This helps to slow down and focus the mind in the present moment.

Nature is a mirror reflection of the universe and of ourselves. She reminds us to surrender. That control is an illusion and there is a greater force much more powerful than us.

She helps us connect with the elements around us and within us, water, air, earth, fire & ether (space). We are her and she is us. She is healing, nurturing, supportive & powerful. She creates, transforms & destroys all to repeat the cycle over and over again. She is the purest energy there is, that's why she helps to clear us, balance us and fill us up.

Tip #6 - Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy or Vipassana

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy is a wonderful program based off of the Vipassana Meditations around the globe, however it is specifically catered to work with people struggling with mental health such as anxiety and depression and pain. It is led by a Mental Health Professional. Mine was facilitated by a Nurse Practitioner. It included individual work along with group work. We learned walking meditation, light yoga and seated meditations plus guided journeys. It works to create space, pause or a gap between thoughts, to interrupt the automatic reactions/programming/patterning and conditioning of the mind or to interrupt the neural pathway signalling from the brain's stimulus to the body's reaction (trigger), which can be very beneficial for people suffering from pain.

Most of the time, we suffer alone. I found these group sessions, which were intimate, to make me feel less alone and to see that so many others are struggling too. I'm not the only one (so the ego thinks).

Many years later, I tried a 10-day course/silent retreat to learn Vipassana and it was life altering. The technique is simple, yet profound and I recommend it to anyone ready and willing to sit with themselves for 10 days, surrender to the process and learn how to transcend ignorance into wisdom, purify & master the mind, clearing your cravings and aversions at the subconscious level for good. You learn how to work with the law of impermanence (constant change), find equanimity (more balance) & cultivate positive qualities (moral ethics) through direct practical experience and apply it to your every day life so you can liberate yourself and be of the highest benefit to others.

Tip #7 - Talk Therapy

I believe everyone should have access to at least one block of therapy sessions to help work through relationship healing with ourselves, our parents, siblings, family, friends, partners and our relationship to money. To help us work through early childhood wounds & trauma, attachments, toxic relationships and ultimately to help clean up our inner environment, which is what is creating our external reality and our reactions/responses to the outside world.

I found a therapist that was very progressive and incorporated creative self expression, writing & art, which I loved. Even though she was going through her own struggles (that's another story), I still benefited from 8 x weeks of commitment to my healing journey.

Everyone I know has benefited from therapy. Why are we so afraid to talk to about our struggles? Everyone has them. We are all in this together. We were not taught how to process emotions, how to work with our minds or how to heal trauma. We all need and deserve support.

Tip #8 - Spiritual Connection & Practice

Finding a spiritual connection is life changing. It was critical in pulling me out of my suicidal ideation & darkest days where I felt trapped, stuck, blocked, hopeless and no way out. I was locked in the illusion of my mind and ego. Completely fused with my little self, unable to see the bigger picture and remember the truth of who and what I truly am. Source embodied.

I didn't understand until after my spiritual awakening journey began, that my depression was a sign I was not living in alignment with my soul. I had forgotten that I am a divine expression of Source Consciousness. I was fully surrendered to my ego and mind instead of my soul and spirit. Yoga was my gateway. But it is not the only way. There are many tools and many doorways in. Some people even spontaneously awaken from near death experiences or crisis. Others, like myself, have a slow and steady journey of peeling back layers of the onion one by one. It is a never ending spiral, but one that keeps expanding and evolving you.

You keep going deeper and deeper into yourself to find the light & the truth. To find your spark and I promise, after many fallbacks or the illusion of a setback, you are still expanding upward. The ego does not give up control easily. It wants to protect you from past experiences where you were hurt, offended, uncomfortable, made fun of, abused, triggered, etc. etc. It has your best interest in mind, however, it is actually doing more harm than good by trying to keep you safe from living the life you came here to live. From healing, growth and expansion.

Connecting with yourself and connecting with spirt each day through small daily practices, rituals, stillness, nature or movement, goes a long way in building your faith and after a certain point, it doesn't matter how difficult a situation or challenge is, you will have the strength, courage, faith, trust and hope that you are loved, supported, worthy and whole and you will make it through to the other side. The universe is co-creating with you. Everything is happening for you not to you. There are lessons to be learned in order to move to the next level, timeline or frequency of life.

Tip #9 - Journalling, Reflection & Contemplation

Journalling allows us to self-reflect, connect with our higher self, express, release, let go, write out our thoughts, emotions and work through our inner stories. It's a conversation. Building a stronger relationship with ourselves and moving into a greater state of awareness.

I always write in my journal when I am processing thoughts, emotions, judgements, patterns, fears, doubts, insecurities or energy coming up to be felt, seen and cleared.

It is a beautiful connection tool and a great way to help clear the mind and express yourself.

It's a form of self-parenting and healing your inner child.

Tip #10 - Energy Healing

Most of us carry energetic imprints, vows or cords from our past incarnations. If you don't believe in past lives, you can chuck this one out the window if it doesn't resonate.

We come into this life with fears that are inexplainable. Repetitive dreams or patterns that we don't understand why or where they came from.

If we have been incarnating on this earth time and time again, then we have lived through many different timelines and still carry with us these memories in our energy field.

Energy healing or visualizing work, can help us to consciously release any attachments to people, old vows we made, traumatizing fears or memories that are still effecting us today.

We don't even need to go back into the past and find out what happened. If you do, you can check out a past life regression guide, but I truly do not believe that we need to actually dip back and know all the details, we just have to be willing to let go and process the energy that wants to be seen, felt & cleared as it comes up. Most of the time, we run, escape and shove back down the energy that is trying to clear through our body. We don't want to feel it because it hurts or is uncomfortable. But this is how we liberate ourselves.

If you are not able to process this energy on your own as it comes up, ask for support.

Tip #11 - Subconscious Re-programming / Re-patterning / Emotional Freedom Technique

The subconscious mind is where our imprint or impressions are stored from early childhood, past lives and traumatic experiences. This is where the ego or inner child operates from in a protective manor to keep you safe from harm so as to not repeat the trauma. This is the hidden or unseen realm which is tricky to access unless in a more meditative, hypnotic state or brain wave frequency. By listening to guided meditations, doing guided visualizations or subconscious reprogramming sleep affirmations, slowly over time you are replacing the old patterns and narratives with new patterns and narratives. This is how we create cognitive behavioural changes that last.

Keep at it. This is a slow and steady process. Stay hopeful, with faith and you will start to notice subtle changes in your energy over time.

There are endless options on Youtube for guided meditations, sleep meditations and subconscious reprogramming for sleep.

You can work with daily affirmations (repetition), such as:

*I AM a unique embodiment of source.

*I deeply and completely love and accept myself.

*I AM whole, worthy and loved, just as I AM.

EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique, is a powerful tool to work through your fears, mental and emotional programming, to clear emotions & change your inner dialogue. To help with anxiety, fears, worry, stress, depression & deeper love, awareness & acceptance of yourself. You can find YouTube videos on this to learn the process or find a specialist in your area or online.

Creating a new narrative – new story – new pattern to replace the old, even if you feel like an imposter. Keep trying until you actually change your thoughts and beliefs.

You can make an audio recording with these affirmations and listen to them every morning. Or, you can place them on sticky notes and repeat while looking at yourself in the mirror each morning.

Tip #12 - Forgiveness Work

Forgiveness work involves letting go of resentments, attachments and weight we carry from the past. This is a work in progress over time. To open and expand the heart from closing down, shutting off and constricting in order to protect itself from getting hurt again. We close down from wounds, trauma, relationships, failures, disappointments.

Forgiveness work involves forgiving ourselves and forgiving others in order to liberate us. It is not to condone or agree with what we have or someone else has done, but to find compassion and understanding in order to liberate us from our own suffering.

Repeating a mantra of forgiveness daily over time will bring greater peace, liberation and acceptance.

Tip #13 - Gratitude Work

We take so many things for granted. Simple pleasures. Our true essence. Our abundance. We always have everything we need and more, except that we convince ourselves we don't. Finding gratitude for the things we take forgranted such as our bodies, our ability to heal ourselves, the earth, this life, access to food, water, shelter, family, people who love us and accept us, the sun, moon, planets and stars. Even pain and suffering, because this is the path to self-realization, the path to freedom and higher awareness. There is so much to be grateful for.

What are you most grateful for today and how can you incorporate gratitude more into your life?

Tip #14 - Cleansing / Detox / Fasting

Clearing out your system helps to purify the energy, body, mind/emotions, spirit, chemicals, toxins, addictions and attachments. It helps to re-balance your mind, body and spirit.

It helps to break bad habits, impulses and what you have given away your power and control to such as food, drugs, tv, media, distractions, phone, social media, smoking, etc.

No more dopamine highs. It's time for slower more stable serotonin release.

What does that mean? Dopamine is released with instant gratification, basically with the small daily pleasures, like addictive foods, caffeine, drugs, alcohol, checking your instagram to see if someone has liked a post or watched a story. We look for dopamine when we are unable to sit with discomfort or to stay in the present moment of stillness and contentment. Seratonin, on the other hand, comes as a reward for consistency, willpower, discipline and long-term sustainable gain. It is a chemical release that make you feel ecstasy, joy & contentment, but over an extended release, not an instant high.

Why do they think that people who suffer from depression have lower serotonin levels or a chemical imbalance? The chemical imbalance is created from the habits.

If we get stuck in instant gratification (dopamine hits), we literally change our brain chemistry. We will never be able to access the slower more sustainable release of serotonin because we get stuck on the first level of the reward system. Instant gratification! Serotonin is a reward system that comes from creating a new, healthy, long-term habit. It is sustainable. It is cognitive behavioural lifestyle changes. It is growth, transformation and integration. It is converting knowledge into wisdom. It is long-term action, versus short term temporary hits.

Let me give you a personal example. I was a binge eater. I felt instant gratification from binging on sweet and salty, fatty foods. But immediately after I felt awful. I would tell myself tomorrow I will start fresh and go to the gym. Most of the time that wouldn't happen and it would take me another month or two to get to the gym. So, I go to the gym finally, go full charge, feel great, come home and wake up sore as hell the next day. I give myself the day off and the next day and next day... or I go for a awhile, don't change my eating and don't see results so I give up and go back to my instant gratification, dopamine!!! And so the cycle or pattern continues.

Serotonin doesn't get released for the long-term until I keep at it and create the new habit, which can take months, however, you should start to feel the effects after a few weeks if you work on all bodies, not just the physical. You incorporate mental, emotional, energetic and spiritual practices too. You have to be persistent, dedicated, committed and disciplined to breakthrough the old patterns. But you can do it!

Will you face resistance? hell yeah!!! The ego hates being uncomfortable, but once you start feeling that serotonin, you know you are shifting, changing, growing, expanding and evolving, so keep going. Transformation is just around the corner and after a certain point, if you get all bodies in alignment, there is no turning back my friend.

Tip #15 - Wholesome Nutrition / Sattva

The food we eat has a post digestive energetic effect on the mind, body, energy and emotions. There are three types of energies that food can create within us. Purity/clarity, activity & heaviness. We of course want purity so it gives us clarity of mind, body & spirit. So we feel light. So we feel clear. So we are operating from our purist nature. So what kinds of foods bring greater clarity? Foods direct from the sunlight, from the earth and that are light. This includes fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs, everything you grow yourself and which comes from safe, ethical, conscious and environmental practices.

Tip #16 - Creative Self-Expression / Art

Creativity is a wonderful tool to help you work with the mind in a positive way. Creativity is what our minds are for. There are two kinds of creativity. Expression and receptivity. Expression is channeling what is within us and creating art with it. We can also crate by receiving directly from source. Being an open channel and medium for the creator to work through us. Either way is great as we are expressing our unique gifts and talents and sharing it with the world. We are creator beings. We are here to express, share and connect. To grow, expand and evolve. Art is a beautiful way to do just that.

Tip #17 - Read Books, Take Courses & Listen to Great Wisdom Teachers

Some of my favourite teachers are Michael Singer, Eckhart Tolle, Sadhviji, Teal Swan, Greg Braden, Molly McCord, Bruce Lipton, Deepak Chopra, Dr. Vasant Lad, Ram Dass, Dalai Lama, Carl Jung, Lao Tzu & Lorie Ladd.

You can watch so much free content on Youtube or download e-books, audio books, podcasts or purchase hard copy books.

It is great to diversify your perspective by having teachers in different fields that are all speaking on the same frequency, but through a different lens. I have teachers in Yoga, Ayurveda, Astrology, Technology, Buddhism, Ancient Studies, Shamanism, Science, Philosophy, etc.

We are constantly going back and fourth between awareness and forgetfulness. Listening to a great spiritual teacher helps to pull you back into your higher self and a higher state of consciousness. It is a great tool that requires minimal effort, especially if popping on a podcast, lying down and just listening after a busy day or if your mood is low. It will help inspire, bring hope and pull you back out of your ego.

Tip #18 - Micro-dosing / Psychedelic Assisted Therapy

I want to say that I personally have not done this professionally, the only reason being that I had already done a lot of my inner work before this became a legal option in some places now. I used psycadelics recreationally, at first recklessly and then intentionally/with a higher purpose to expand my consciousness and unblock my energy. So I do know the power they hold in helping us to connect with nature and our senses/feelings, to dissociate from the body becoming aware that we are a separate consciousness, to open and expand the heart, open the mind & quiet the ego. In a professional setting with talk-therapy, I truly believe transformation can occur with lasting results.

One note about micro-dosing. I recommend if doing so, to not do it in isolation. What I mean is to also do other practices too. We are looking for cognitive behavioural changes here and the goal of higher awareness is to use the tools available to instill new habits, patterns and lifestyle, not to become attached or dependent on the tools. Once they have served, we let them go or use them as an enhancement to life but are not attached to them. So it is important to add in new habits of exercise, meditation, breathwork, etc. as these are long-term practices that only require YOU. Everything you truly need is within you already.

A separate note about pharmaceutical medications for mental health such as anti-depressants or anti-anxieties.

I personally have used them in the past, however I found them to simply be a band-aid solution. Plus, the body builds tolerance to them. I do not see them as a long-term solution if your goal is to truly heal, however, I do understand when we are in survival consciousness and really low or very much dis-regulated and living in fear, these tools can be absolutely necessary. I am not judging their use at all. I am simply reminding you that you are more powerful than you may think and I believe you have the potential to heal yourself if you truly believe you can.

What I would recommend if you are taking them is similar to what I have mentioned about micro-dosing. It is important to work through the cognitive behavioural changes. So on top of the medication, be working through the tools I have provided to help create inner transformation and lasting change. If you are taking pharmaceuticals, maybe try micro-dosing with a professional and see how that goes.

No one can do the work but YOU!

You also cannot force anyone you love to do the work. It must come from within for the changes to be sustainable and for true inner healing, transformation, cognitive behavioural shifts & lifestyle changes.

Sending you SO MUCH LOVE on your healing journey.

If you need support, connect with me here.

*Please note, I am not a licensed physician. Please see a medical doctor, licensed therapist or licensed psychedelic therapist and use discernment, intuition and common sense when making choices for your life.