Most of us can agree that life knows how to throw punches – hard. We have been lifted up, then beaten down again by life. Many of us try to avoid as much of that pain, that “suck”, those lows, as much as possible.
And we show social media just how successful we are at it.
We look for the highlights of our life to answer the questions, “How’ve you been?” and “What’s been going on?”
We wish, we manifest for more happiness, more success, more love, more beauty, more living in the moment. And yet, there are many moments in our life when we’re challenged, we’re afraid, we’re tired, we’re going through it.
But here’s the thing.
There is nothing wrong with you if you are not happy. The challenges of your life are the beautiful story for the main character, you, to learn, to improve, to transcend, to expand.
And a lot of time it looks like pain, it looks like failure. It looks like suck.
It’s time to embrace the contrast. Leverage the suck.
Let’s dive in.
The real gold in life is learning how to steer in the storm, dance in the fire, and befriend the darkness.
Generally speaking, we spend most of our time trying to be happy and comfortable. Making the temperature just right, eating when we are hungry, enjoying treats, and avoiding pain – physical, mental, and emotional. And yet, are still faced with this emptiness. This desire for more. This longing for the next better thing. That’s human.
And yet,
Pain is Where You Find Your Treasure
Something magical happens when you are able to face pain. Your way of thinking changes, your mind becomes more resilient, and your body becomes more resilient. Remember the post on anti-fragility? It’s basically this concept.
In adversity, you experience what some people call “character development” or “building character”. It makes you a better person. It brings people closer together. It’s where you discover what you’re made of, and you surprise yourself with your growth and strength.
Or you crash and burn and try again later.
Sometimes we call that failure. But then again it’s not really failure. It’s the uncomfortable place where our edges are. Where we generally have or do not have the skills for what we want to undertake or accomplish.
The Blessing of Failure Learning
We are made from our words as people.
Failure is not the right word. It is more apt to say learning.
Either we succeed or we learn. Failure is learning.
So we win, succeed, accomplish – or we learn.
What a blessing it is to learn.
Why?
Because you have the opportunity to see exactly how you can grow as a person. How you can “build character” and drop the illusion that you are “better” than you really are.
Sometimes you have to take a hard look at yourself and say, “Oh wow, I’m not that good” and this experience shows me where I can improve.
The Alchemy of Leveraging “Suck”
So to sum up, no checklist here. There is only 1 thing you need to do when things suck.
See it as your big chance to improve.
Your opportunity to learn.
To be challenged and overcome.
To become golden.
Unphased by the storm and enjoying the challenge of steering in it.
REFRAME your ATTITUDE to face the challenge. And to actually ENJOY the challenge. Or at least to sit in the conscious awareness and non judgementalism of the challenge.
Or feel sorry for yourself along the way.
There are 2 ways this goes,
If you absolutely cannot face the challenge, then get some rest. Treat yourself with grace and love and start again when you’re ready.
Face it.
So let’s say you decide to face it.
You’ve already won in improving your character and strength just by facing the challenge at hand. We’ll call this growth. A.k.a. you know how to do hard things.
You win at the challenge, leading to happiness and satisfaction. You reach your edge and expand.
Or
You fail learn. And this, my friend, is your golden moment where you are in “double suck”. You faced a hard challenge (which is painful) and did not succeed (that’s pain on pain).
Take a good honest look at yourself. Realize that you are missing certain skills, components, knowledge, etc. to succeed. Take note, write it down. Try again.
Take a deep breath of awareness and realize that you are an alchemist. Find joy in the process. Find pleasure in your painful growth. Smile in the storm of adversity.
Turning lead Suck Into Gold
It is in this very low moment, that you find yourself in the middle of this challenge, and you own your power by realizing that you are in control of your response. And you can choose to accept > then enjoy it.
How exactly? Let’s illustrate.
Remember the movie, 300? The Spartans are at war with the Persians.
The Persian says, “Our arrows will blot out the sun.” (<<< This is your challenge)
And the Spartan responds with “Then we will fight in the shade.” (<<< That’s you, alchemist, not only facing, but enjoying – LEVERAGING – the challenge to your best ability)
The Key
It takes practice. It may take time. It’s key to maintain awareness throughout.
See the Spartan’s face? He’s up for it. Embracing the challenge. Embracing the inner fire.
This is a thing that humans have that is usually tossed into our shadow side, or thrown into the “masochist” label. It’s that we actually enjoy a challenge and a little “suck”. We also call that “badass”.
And we like that – in movies, in superheroes, in fantasy. But when it comes to our own lives, we forget that we can choose to be the hero in our own lives. Or the victim.
Lean into your inner fire. Your inner strength. And see the golden opportunity of your expansion in the challenge.
Use animalistic energy + divine perspective.
Congratulations alchemist. This is a way to turn lead into gold. Side effects may include self-satisfaction, happiness, the conscious evolution of your spirit, and the liberty to experience life without shrinking, constraining, or resisting, reduced anxiety, and less feeling sorry for yourself. To realize, or see, your power.
The pandemic, wars, instability, fluctuation, and uncertainties of our time have tried and tested us as a global society. Not to mention the day-to-day stressors that demand our energy and sometimes our sanity.
It’s more important now than ever before to understand how to not get crushed under the weight of our current situation. How to not only “make it through”, but use it to our advantage.
To become anti-fragile.
What does being anti-fragile mean? How does it differ from resilience?
Resilience has been the name of the game lately.
But we can do things even better, right?
Let’s kick it up a notch and become anti-fragile.
Resilience is the ability to bounce back or overcome a hardship, strain or challenge. When something is resilient it is able to face its challenge, recover, and return back to its original state.
Anti-fragile is the ability to become stronger when faced with a challenge. The challenge itself is the catalyst for the growth, strength, or improvement of the anti-fragile subject.
So basically, the challenges and stressors that would break someone who is fragile actually make you stronger and better. They actually help you grow.
What are Stressors?
A stressor is anything that creates a stress response in the body. Whether that be a physical stressor, a psychological stressor.
They can be personal stressors such as a job loss or a relationship change, an illness, or the death of someone close to you. It can also be a macro stressor such as economic turmoil, political unrest, pandemic, or a natural disaster.
According to Dr. Karl Albrecht, a management consultant and conference speaker and a pioneer in the development of stress-reduction training, there are four common types of stress:
Time stress – Doing things at the wrong time, or running out of time.
Anticipatory stress – Stress about things that may occur in the future.
Situational stress – Emergency situations or situations beyond your control.
Encounter stress – Stress around the dynamic with other people.
Why Become Anti-fragile?
Yeah, I think it’s pretty clear given the times. (It’s 2022 as I write btw), but hey, let’s make it explicit.
It’s safe to say that pretty much all of us won’t have a perfect track record of good fortune, perfect circumstance, and all positive events in our lives. Almost all of us know what it feels like when something “brings us to our knees” or makes us feel “broken” or “unrepairable”.
Some of those challenging experiences may even classify as “traumatic” and make us trepidacious, afraid, and paralyzed to move forward.
You’ve probably heard of PTSD – post-traumatic stress disorder, and you’re probably thinking, “Yeah, I have felt that” or “I definitely have felt that.” But have you heard of PTG – Post-traumatic growth?
Developed by psychologists Richard Tedeschi, Ph.D., and Lawrence Calhoun, Ph.D., in the mid-1990s, post-traumatic growth is a theory that explains that people who endure psychological struggle following adversity can often see positive growth afterward. How’s that for, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”?
No, you’re not broken. You’re here. You’ve made it this far. And you’re about to use all that shit as fuel for your betterment.
Most of us have found a way to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and pick up the pieces as best we can. We have found some inner strength or resilience.
If you’re feeling like you’re constantly getting kicked down, you’re not alone. And it’s exhausting.
And it’s time. Time to design the chaos, challenge, and disorder as the fuel for your growth, your success, and your thriving.
You with me?
Let’s become anti-fragile together 😎✨
Designing for Anti-Fragility
Once you understand what anti-fragile is, it’s important to know how to design for it. The body naturally designs for this in various ways. Muscles grow bigger and stronger due to stress, not without it. Bones become denser and stronger due to stress, and the release of certain helpful hormones occurs due to stress.
In order to become anti-fragile, there are tangible and intangible elements and systems we need to put into place. Keep in mind that when you decide to become anti-fragile there will be a restructuring that happens both in your mind and in your life.
Now, let’s design your life so that you thrive under stress.
Identify Your Fragilities and Priorities
Start with asking yourself, “Where in my life am I fragile?” “Where am I anti-fragile?”
Here’s a simple structure for you as you consider the various areas of your life. It’s an adaptation taken from the SPIRE technique, shared by Tal Ben-Shahar forerunner, pioneer, and advocate for happiness and Founder at Happiness Studies Academy & Potentialife.
I call my version, SPITFIRE.
The SPITFIRE Technique
S – Spiritual – Relationship with yourself, your higher self, God, source, the universe, etc.
P- Physical – Related to your body vitality and health.
I – Intellectual – Releated to your mind and knowledge capacities. IQ.
T – Traumatic – Traumas that occurred that may be a source of weakness, or strength.
F – Financial – Stability or preferences in the area of money and finances.
I – Independent – How well are you able to keep yourself alive without depending on others. This could be people close to you, or private and government services. This is also related to how well you can sustain your mental and emotional stability without the need for others to play a role.
R – Relational – The health and size of your social structure. Friends, family, and loved ones who are there for you and share time and caring with you.
E – Emotional – Your emotional wellbeing and EQ.
Identify your level of anti-fragility in each area by rating it a 1-10. 1 being completely fragile and 10 being completely anti-fragile.
Once you’ve rated yourself, begin with the area that you think requires the most attention and design for anti-fragility. Once you’ve improved that area you can move on to another section. Or you can choose to work on complimentary sections.
Here’s how.
Eliminate points of Fragility and Non-Serving Elements
Do your best to start with a clean slate by getting rid of anything that you’ve now found is non-serving, holding you down or creating fragility in your life. Create simplicity and an agile, flexible, mobile approach.
This means releasing non-serving thoughts, traumas, people who do not add value to your life, non-serving beliefs and fears, non-serving habits, and non-serving foods & drinks.
On another 1-10 scale, some of these will be pretty easy, while some of these will be hard as hell. If you want support, reach out to me at, Jacqueline@consciousnessliberty.com.
Add Redundancies
This one makes see cringe because I’m such a fan of efficiency and optimization. Although, when I look at nature, I can see the way redundancy is designed into it. Into our own design as humans. Some of our organs are duplicates, such as two kidneys, two lungs, etc.
What steps can you take here? Add a cushion to your finances, start storing extra food, stock up essential supplies, back up your files, buy a generator, create multiple streams of income, keep your money in various places and give yourself extra time. Basically, have a backup or a surplus of things that are important to you, thus eliminating single points of failure.
Diversify Strategies
Dare I say diversification as much as opposite strategies. For example, when investing, keep part of your portfolio conservative and take bigger risks with the other portion of your investments. Have a steady job, (or part-time job) and a side-hustle (more risk, bigger payoff). One side is conservative while the other is risk-taking. You get the benefits of both because they both have their pros and cons. Add diversity of income, and diversity of skills, create new opportunities and give yourself new options.
“Stop optimizing for today or tomorrow and start playing the long game.”
-Parrish
Allow for Chaos
Don’t expend energy trying to control every detail. Allow some room for chaos, obstacles, and things not going as planned. Design this into your plan so that you can expect it and accommodate it. Resist the urge to suppress randomness. So much energy is wasted trying to control everything into “your idea of what it should be”. Rather expect the chaos and move flexibly with it. As Bruce Lee said, “Be like water, my friend.” And bonus points if you use this chaotic energy, and your saved energy, to propel you.
Insert Stress Under Controlled Situations
Haha, after we talk about releasing control, it’s time to take back some of this control. Opposing strategies anyone?
Introducing stressors allows you to take advantage of the natural anti-fragility designed into your body.
Here are some examples:
Lift weights – strengthen your muscles
Do cardio (running, HIIT, etc.) to expand your stamina, heart and lung strength
Meditate – strengthen your mental control and awareness (taming the monkey mind)
Face your fears – Strengthen your mind and expand your abilities and capacities while befriending being outside your comfort zone
Insert discipline & Intentional habits – Strengthen your discipline while making challenging tasks easier over time due to the body’s natural ability to incorporate habits into effortless actions
Learn new things- learning can be painful for the brain, but it’s obvious why this is good. Besides gathering new useful knowledge, working the mind can strengthen and create new neural connections, keeping the learning centers of the brain active.
Start with Resilience
Before you can move from fragile to anti-fragile, it’s important to understand that unshakable state of resilience. Then you can build from there into anti-fragility. Lean into coping mechanisms such as journaling, exercise, meditation, self-care rituals, routines, cathartic release, and allowing yourself some grace. Learn about philosophies such as stoicism or Buddhism to help you cultivate an unshakable mindset. They are a helpful foundation on the road to anti-fragility.
Respect the Old
There is something to be said about the “tried and true”. Observe what has worked in the past and whether it still works. Take the path of least resistance by following what works.
And yet…
Take Small Risks
Taking small, calculated risks and stepping a little outside your comfort zone helps you grow and expand as a being. Plus with risk comes the payoff. I suggest it as one of your strategies as you diversify strategies.
Find Your Rock
Your rock is usually yourself or your faith. Don’t find your rock on anything you cannot directly control. That’s pretty much everything outside of yourself. (Unless we get metaphysical and the outside world is an extension and reflection of your inner world… ok so, anyway…. we’re carried away…) Just keep it simple for this one, lol.
Know yourself and what you value. Be very aware of where you put your self-esteem. By that I mean, don’t place it on others’ opinions of you (no not your parents, not your significant other), don’t place it on your performance, or compare yourself to others. I suggest placing your self-esteem on the simple fact that your existence is a miracle of beauty and epicness. The quickest way to recognize your inherent beauty and worth is to love yourself. Want some help with that? Check out my free 7-day course here, that helps you make a life-changing difference in your self-love.
If you have meaning or purpose (created by spiritual growth), you are more likely to overcome stressors. But what if you’re not “spiritual”? No problem, your “spirituality” is your relationship with yourself. With your own spirit and deep inner knowing.
Build Meaningful Relationships
Having a strong network of dependable, loving, good people around you creates an extra layer of support. It’s nice to know you are not alone.
And if you don’t have many close relationships, or even if you do, it’s important to start with building a meaningful relationship with yourself. Your own inner guidance and wisdom. Even if you’re alone, you’re not. Make sense?*
*(You can lean on your higher self, deep wisdom, or inner knowing).
Watch Your Mindset & Attitude
“Your mindset is how you see the world around you. And your attitude is how you interact with the world according to how you see things.”
What kind of mindset do you approach chaos and disorder from? “Oh shoot, why is this happening?” “Oh poor me,” or “Bring it on!” “Let’s see what I can do.” “I can learn from this” “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”
It is natural in pretty much everyone’s psychology to drop into the “victim mindset” when faced with an unwanted challenge.
Notice it. Honor it. Grow from it.
Speaking of which…
Reframe Your Stressors and Learn from Them
Failure, being wrong, missed deadlines, projects falling flat, losing a lot of money, not having the skills, not knowing the answer. It’s time to reframe these painful experiences not as a reflection of something you are lacking, but rather as an indicator of something to aim for. As an opportunity that shows you where you can get better. In Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset, she makes a distinction between the growth and fixed mindset. Use the one that works for you.
The fixed mindset believes that you were born with natural skills and smarts. And what you got is just who you are. And you need to accept that. Super non-serving for challenges.
The growth mindset believes that you have the capacity to acquire and learn the skills to achieve the goals that you would like to achieve.
Now that you know how to become anti-fragile. Take it a step at a time, to the extent that you design and what works best for you.
If you want some inspiration, check out David Goggins’ story. He’s one of the best examples of an anti-fragile man. He used the hardships and traumas he faced as a child, to become better. He then went through military and seal training to endure hardships and stressors that strengthened his mind, his body and his character. Hats off!
In this case, we’ll have it be whatever you want to achieve or obtain. The attainment of a goal that is important to you and part of your plan.
“You know when you’re successful when you feel fulfillment. If you feel stuck or empty, you’re doing it wrong.”
-Consciousness Liberty
For those of you who don’t know me, my mission is to help you free your consciousness and help redefine the paradigms that we live and work by.
One of those paradigms is the “work hard” wave we’ve been riding in our working culture. American culture, Chinese culture, and many others we have glorified working long hours, “putting in overtime”, “grinding”, “working hard” and “being on-call”.
I don’t know about you, but for me, doing things hardusually means that your skillset is not well equipped for the task at hand.
When you are properly equipped for a task, it is not hard, it’s fluid, it’s enjoyable, it’s effective and efficient, (and in some cases masterful). It’s not hard.
Hard is not optimal. It’s an indicator of friction and by definition an indicator of expending, energy, effort, force or strength into a task.
It’s force. Not power.
And that’s an important difference.
Due to this “work hard” culture, we overwork to the point of compromising our health, our happiness, our productivity, enjoyment, and ultimately – our success.
We’re Too Busy to Create Our Own Success
Our obsession with pushing and working long hours, actually makes us more inefficient in our work. For example, we expect our coworkers to put in long hours, so we take long lunches, schedule long meetings and run them poorly. Being poorly prepared for a meeting and wasting time.
Plus…
It ignores this critical component of success nobody talks about.
Reflection
Why?
We’re too busy being busy, and sharing with everyone how busy we are. We don’t make the time to come up for a breather and realign on our priorities, activities, and the way we do them.
We are in a whirlwind of work that always fills up the time allotted.
And boy do we give it time.
Most of our time.
It’s important to reflect on our tasks and consider,
What’s the impact of this?
Is this getting me closer to my ultimate goal?
What is my ultimate goal?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you’re expending a lot of energy on activities that fill up your day, and ultimately your life, and take you no closer to your success.
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be where you’ve always been.”
– T.D. Jakes
Reflection, the Missing Piece to Your Success
You know how at the beginning of this article we talked about how success is personal?
Well, that’s a big deal because you can be a “high performer” at work and be rewarded for your long hours and extra effort and not be “successful” because you’re not fulfilled. You’re checking off tasks at work, but they aren’t the tasks that really matter to you.
Or you may be struggling to keep up at work, and compromising your health and your most precious relationships.
And may not even realize it when it’s happening because you’re too busy.
“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.”
– Margaret J. Wheatley
The Benefits of Reflection
If you’re used to the “go, go, go”, “caffeine and crush”, “sleep when you’re dead” culture, reflection can seem painstaking, or worse, a waste of time.
So, why reflect?
Besides the fact that the most famous Emperor of Rome did.
Anyway, so here’s why.
Reflection allows you to gain perspective, deeper wisdom, more alignment, plan new more effective actions, more effective strategies, and gain insights and ideas that can be used to further maximize your time, processes, impact and potential.
University of Florida researchers found that those who start the day by thinking of the kind of leader they want to be were more effective at work.
A University of Zurich study concluded that reflecting on past personal challenges you’ve overcome helps you process negative experiences.
So, what do you get when you have that alignment?
When you’re doing the things that are most important to you?
Happiness and fulfillment.
And as Socrates once said, a life worth living.
Why Does Reflection Make Such a Big Difference?
We go through life having experiences. When you have significant experiences that are of high emotional intensity or high consequence, your mind will automatically create a reference point to better handle that specific situation (and situations like it). it’s a biological survival program.
This works pretty well for some basic life situations: don’t touch that plant again (it’s poison ivy). Don’t talk to that person(they are mean), eat that thing, (that was delicious). But sometimes situations get more complex and your biological survival system can backfire. Don’t speak your mind in the meeting (that was not well received).
As John C. Maxwell said, reflection turns experience into insight. Reflection fine-tunes what success means to you and what are the strategies and steps to get there.
And in some cases, it defines that.
“I never make the same mistake twice. I make it like five or six times, you know, just to be sure.”
-Unknown
Kind of funny how that quote is by Unknown. Anyway, let’s move on.
Types of Reflection
For the purpose of effectiveness, we’ll make a distinction between reflection and self-reflection. They are pretty much the same thing, but a distiction can be made that will improve your practice.
Self-reflection – What Socrates calls “knowing Thyself”. When you reflect on you. On your understanding of what “you” are.
Reflection – Distinguished by reflecting on your work, tasks at hand, projects, etc. in a specific situation.
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
-Aristotle
How to Reflect
There are many exercises and ways to reflect. For our purposes here, let’s keep it simple.
Ask yourself questions. Self-dialogue.
Preferably write things down.
Remember, the quality of your questions will determine the quality of your results.
In a specific situation such as a project or event, there are some fundamental questions that can help you get the ball rolling.
What is my goal?
Is this serving my goal?
What did I do? What happened (cause)
What was the result? (result)
What could I have done better/different to have better results?
What valuable lessons did I realize?
How can I incorporate/ integrate these into my work, life, behavior?
What should I start doing? Stop doing?
That’s pretty much it. I suggest setting aside time every day or every week for reflection (Bonus points for scheduling it into your calendar). It’s a conscious design of the evolution of you. Many people find that various journaling practices are an excellent tool for reflection.
How to Self-Reflect
If you want to do general self-reflection, the same process applies.
Knowing yourself is a critical part of your wellbeing, success and fulfillment.
One of the greatest exemplars of reflection practice was the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. His private writings to himself we published and popularized as the work, Meditations in the category of Stoic philosophy. The Meditations of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius have been read by many historians, philosophers and leaders as they provide insights into the great mind of this Imperial Ruler.
Reflection & The Law of Duaity
In hermetic philosophy, there is a universal law known as the Law of Duality.
The practice of reflection satisfies this law, which maximizes your effectiveness. In this way, you can avoid burnout, boredom, and imbalance. And live a life that is fun, inspires your work and helps you work better.
If you are to compare work to weight lifting, it’s during the periods of rest that your muscles get stronger. It’s during your reflection time that you integrate and align your learnings.
And YOU get stronger.
The Practice of Reflection
In order for you to be successful in starting your new reflection habit, I invite you to create time and space for the reflection practice. Set yourself up for success by scheduling a recurring time in your calendar for this.
Here are some quotes to give you a gentle butt-kick of inspiration.
“Without deep reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people.”
-Albert Einstein
“People who have had little self-reflection live life in a huge reality blind-spot.”
-Bryant McGill
“The more reflective you are, the more effective you are.”
-Hall And Simeral
Let’s slow down to speed up together.
Refrences:
https://kidadl.com/articles/top-reflection-quotes-to-gain-perspective https://antimaximalist.com/self-reflection-quotes/ https://fromemuseum.org/challenges-faced-by-socrates/ https://nwyatt227.medium.com/3-lessons-to-live-by-from-marcus-aurelius-9c33759e9e77 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14623940903138266 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5703031/ https://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/clubhouse/handouts/reflection-v6.pdf Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/reflection-quotes
Have you noticed that your best work and best ideas come to you when you’re inspired, when you’re flowing?
The world is changing. The way we used to think and work as a collective is shifting.
Industries are disrupting the status quo. What was once the taxi industry has been disrupted by companies like Uber. The hotel industry has been disrupted by Airbnb and hard work has been disrupted by smart work – by hacking. Biohacking, lifehacking, flow hacking and more.
“Hard work, forcing and pushing are no longer working like they used to. We are evolving into a smarter way of working by better understanding and leveraging our biology to compliment our outcomes.”
– Consciousness Liberty
Today’s “work” is about flow, inspiration and alignment. Being drawn, compelled, CALLED to create. As we experience the massively productive, fun and brilliant work created in flow and inspiration, we also want to learn to harness its replication.
What is meant by “Hard Work”?
Let’s get the semantics out of the way to avoid confusion. What is “hard work”? First of all, it has nothing to do with the TYPE of work you do. Dirty work vs. clean work, white or blue collar, college degree or not, business, hobby or sport.
Mike Rowe, “Dirty Jobs” show host, equates “hard work” to trades and dirty jobs, which can be very lucrative, fulfilling and fun. Props to Mike for shining the spotlight on trades work and crushing the stigma that one type of work is better than another! “Getting your hands dirty” work is NOT what we’re talking about here.
It’s about the WAY you work, the WHY of your work and the VALUE that it adds to your lives and others.
On the same page? Great, read on.
Smart work asks, how optimal is it? Is it aligned with your main objective? Is it serving you or making you stressed and ill? Are you able to enjoy your work and your life or are you grinding to buy things you don’t even have time to use or enjoy?
Smart work is NOT coasting. It’s not working halfheartedly.
Smart work is courageous, persistent, resilient, resourceful, passionate, focused, results-driven.
Smart work is NOT HARD, not forceful, not burning out, not unsustainable, not illness provoking.
Got it?
Good!
What is Flow?
Flow is the holy grail of working smart.
“Researchers describe flow as a unique state of concentration in which action seems to be effortless. Whether painting, writing, planning, scheming, inventing or running a 10K, you feel alert, unself-conscious and totally absorbed in the present moment.
Flow is a state entered when you are performing at your peak or stretching beyond former limits. Emotions are positive and energized, yet your attention is so focused on the task at hand that you may not be aware of feelings at all except in retrospect. Everything but the task is forgotten—time, surroundings, even yourself. Awareness and action become one.”
So, what’s the key to working smart? How do we turn working hard into working smart?
Here are some techniques to help you work smarter. Green words highlight specific biohacking tips.
1. Have a purpose.
Identify your WHY, goal, or intention to achieve something worthwhile. It doesn’t need to be a big deal, just something worth your time. Your brain is a meaning-making machine and having a purpose gives you meaning, which shapes identity. Identity precedes your actions.
How do you find that purpose? Listen to your heart, your higher self and intuition. Of course, you can use your intuition at any point in the process. Learning to follow your heart instead of your head saves you tons of hard work for something you never really wanted in the first place.
2. Step fully into now.
Ground, be aware, mindful, present. Get fully into your body. You’ll know your there when you experience clarity. Try bringing your attention and awareness right behind your eyes. Increase your sensory attention. Focus on how things taste, smell, feel, etc.
This brings you back into your place of power, where you can have more influence on the world around you. Your presence is better and people will listen to your ideas and respect the energy you bring to the moment.
Mindfulness and being in present awareness increases mental flexibility and the ability to regulate behavior, avoid knee jerk reactions, resist distractions and improves decision making.
Grounding practice can help you be in the moment, decrease stress, decrease inflammation and increase blood flow.
“Neuroscientists have also shown that practicing mindfulness affects brain areas related to perception, body awareness, pain tolerance, emotion regulation, introspection, complex thinking, and sense of self.”
Ensure you have aligned your environment and yourself for the task at hand. Set up a workspace, a designated time or day, and/or a trigger. Think of your mindset when you’re in bed, when your in your office or workspace, when you’re at the gym, a nice restaurant, or at a concert. All different energies.
Try having a fine dining experience in a construction site or a gym. Not as conducive as a low-lit, beautiful atmosphere, huh?
You get the idea. If you want a detailed checklist, you can find it here.
4. Get inspired.
Music is one of the biggest ways I’ve found personally to quickly and effectively shift mood. At a close second are exercise and movement. When you move and flow the energy in your body, the thoughts in your body also flow and great ideas start pouring in.
Unexpected bonuses to shift energy include showering, when you’re about to fall asleep, and in relaxed states.
In the book, Stealing Fire, Steven Kotler wrote about the altered-states economy. What we do and consume to shift our states,
Here’s a breakdown for how to shift your states:
Drugs – pain drugs, coffee, alcohol, MDMA.
Media – video games, virtual reality, music, porn.
Personal growth – life coaches, self-help, business coaches, retreats.
Get into the habit or carrying a little pen and paper or use your phone’s notes to capture those inspiring ideas in the moment.
No, you won’t remember them later, so write them down. Especially the ones you have before drifting off to sleep.
5. Move your body.
This deserves its own category because there is more to moving your body than exercise. Use your body to change your energy flow. You can use exercise, body language, posture, stretching and movement to change your chemistry, emotions and consequently your thoughts.
If you are engaged in high-energy exercise, your brain physicaly cannot process depression and high-intensity activity at the same time.
Posturing, or getting into the posture of, what you want to achieve also triggers your brain to become that which you are posturing in.
A study published in the journal Psychological Science in 2010, concluded that when people sat or stood in expansive poses for just one minute, they felt more powerful and in charge, and their body chemicals changed. They had more testosterone and less cortisol, the stress hormone.
“By simply changing physical posture, an individual prepares his or her mental and physiological systems to endure difficult and stressful situations.”
– Psychological Science, journal, 2010
“Just sitting up straight, a simple power pose, may increase self-confidence.”
– European Journal of Social Psychology, 2009
Some research shows that body posture also affects persistence when dealing with difficult tasks. This also works with subtle movements such as facial expressions.
Having good posture contributes to keep the body in good health, free from pain, and digesting properly.
6. Leverage NLP & habitry by using triggers.
There is an entire part of your brain that’s wired to function based on habit.
Habits are based on triggers. Time, place song, sensation, words, scents are all triggers. Use these to your advantage.
For example, if you want to instantly click into a mode, such as “workout mode” – set a trigger to shift the moment you step foot into the gym. The first time you do it, you’ll feel the resistance. Over time it will become automatic – like those secret trigger words for international assassin spies – aaaanyway – you know what I mean.
7. Get in flow.
Flow is the holy grail of working smart and takes inspiration to the next level. That is what is going to create states of flow, altered states and the kind of work when you are just crushing it and your on fire! Ideas and pouring in and your excited and completely immersed.
Biologically speaking, flow happens on the edge of alpha and theta, at around 8 Hz. When your brainwaves are in theta, your brain is open to “gamma spikes” the brainwave frequency that is associated with “Ah-ha” moments.
Want to know how your brain is in theta? Click here to learn more about the characteristics of a theta mindset.
Or, you can track your brainwaves with a Muse headset and a 3rd party app called, Mind Monitor. If you haven’t checked out Mind Monitor, I recommend it. It will show you your brain’s wavelength feedback in real-time so you can direct them.
One of the foremost authorities on flow, Steven Kotler, describes it as having the subjective characteristics, STER.
S: Selflessness – Perception of self disappears and you are absorbed in the process.
T: Timelessness -Prefrontal cortex deactivates and time dilates or contracts.
E: Effortlessness – Brain is connected,
R: Richness – Attention is strong in the present moment and pattern rec is amplified. Productivity and creativity increase.
How to get into flow:
Focus
Clear goals
Uninterrupted
The challenge/skills ratio is right. (See graph below)
Triggers
Passion /purpose
Risk – Drives focus, which drives flow.
Autonomy
Novelty
Complexity
Unpredictability
Deep embodiment
Immediate feedback
Creativity/ pattern recognition
– prototypr.io
Remember, flow is universal. It’s available to everyone at any time provided the right conditions are met.
8. Get real with yourself.
What do you value? What is your main objective? How are these activities getting you closer to your main objective? What is keeping you from your main objective?
Identify your limiting and conflicting beliefs. You’ll know what these are because you will feel conflicted or uneasy when you affirm your goal. This requires hard questions and hard choices, not hard work.
If you want some help identifying and breaking through limiting or conflicting beliefs get in touch with me, Jacqueline@consciousnessliberty.com. I help my clients overcome non-serving beliefs, blind spots and self-sabotage and find clarity and fulfillment. You can find out more here.
9. Optimize, delegate or eliminate what is keeping you from your goal.
Outsource what’s slowing you down and create a “do not do” list of things that waste your time. A big part of productivity, efficiency and working smart is not only what you do, but what you don’t do.
You can optimize your time by batching similar tasks, planning your day, (or week) ahead of time, prioritizing (top 1-3 goals for the day) and by assigning a time to each task.
10. Immerse yourself.
Once you’re present and inspired, begin to surround yourself with anything that promotes it. For example, create an environment that supports the activity, surround yourself with people that promote the activity and begin to read about listen to talk about anything that is related to the activity.
Conversely, stay away from the opposite of that. 😂 Nuff said.
11. Give it some time.
If you’re not fully inspired it may take some time to get into flow. Keep at it. Keep doing what you do, keep working at it and practicing the steps above. Soon you’ll be aligned and flowing. If it doesn’t happen perfectly the first time, do it again and again. It will become easier. Your biology is designed to take in what you repeat. Hack it wisely.
12. Focus on results, not actions.
One critical component to working smart is taking the time to reflect on what you are doing. Is this work getting you closer to your main dreams and goals, or are you “always busy” and going in circles?
What’s working? What’s not working?
Examine, adjust, retest, reflect.
Smart workers know that it’s about the quality of the output, not the quantity of input, that makes a difference.
Slow down to speed up my friend.
13. Schedule in your downtime.
If you think you can grind, power through and energy drink yourself to your goals, you’re working hard, not smart and you’re missing the big picture. There is a universal law of duality that we operate in as human beings. That which comes up, goes down.
Learn it, leverage it.
Understand the importance of rest and leverage that rest to recharge and come back stronger. Step away from work to enjoy doing nothing, reflection, partying, hanging out, whatever.
This creates energetic contrast which is the natural rhythm or pedulumn swing of life.
Speaking of enjoyment…
14. Enjoy yourself & the journey.
Embrace the journey. Growth can be painful, so when you are creating your “work smart” plan, learning, or expanding your skillset your brain will attempt to fight you, distract you and stop you to “keep you safe”. So many people think the reward and pleasure is in the destination, but if you learn to train your brain to enjoy the journey, you will be happier and more productive along the way. It’s called cultivating a growth mindset.
Remember that when you are creating something it takes energy input, and you want to input the right energy of passion, enjoyment and inspiration. Not stress, pressure and force.
Therefore…
Remember, use power not force. Work smart.
There is a current of lifeforce energy present in all things. When bringing something into being, you don’t want to go up against the current. Understand this flow in life and in yourself and leverage it.
Use the techniques above, enjoy your time, grow as a person, contribute to others. The energy present when you create is what you infuse into your creations.
Here’s to working smart. To have a blast while growing as a person. Developing your unique gifts and contributing to others.
It’s time to get familiar with your 3 divine energetic storehouses – your 3 dantian energy centers. If you don’t know what a dantain is, check out this post where I deep dive into the lower dantian, or the most commonly referred to energy storehouse. The lower dantian is the original source of energy in the body. Working with your lower dantian allows you to cultivate the energy to continue working with your upper 2 dantians.
The lower dantain is the foundation from which energy work stems, and understanding these energies illuminates your awareness of your ability to influence your own energy, vitality, and power.
So let’s start with a brief overview of the 3 dantians so you can get a better picture of what we’re working with.
The 3 Dantians
You have 3 dantian energy reservoirs in your body. Each dantian is associated with a type of energy in the body.
Location: The lower dantian is located about 2-3 finger-widths below the navel.
Energy Signature: Jing – vital essence, seed.
Function: The lower dantian is the original source of energy. It is the center of gravity in the body, both bio energetically and biomechanically. It is also the center of instinct and intuition.
The Middle Dantian
Location: The middle dantian is located in the heart center area in the center of the body at that height.
Energy Signature: Qi – vitality, subtle breath
Function: Associated with respiration and the health of the inner organs, physically manifesting as proper circulation of oxygen and blood, helping to oxygenate and detoxify the body. In Daoist inner alchemy, it is referred to as the area where qi is refined to shen energy. It is also the center of emotion.
The Upper Dantian
Location: – The upper dantian is located in the forehead area and the middle of the head at that height.
Energy Signature: Shen – spirit, soul, mind, supernatural being
Function: Energy of mind and spirit. Energy of intention, and mental abilities. This datian is also referred to as the third eye, which provides wisdom and clarity. It is also known as the area that transmutes shen energy into “wu wei”, the energy of spontaneity, emptiness, or pure potentiality.
The 3 Treasures (San Bao)
In traditional Chinese medicine, the 3 dantians are referred to as the 3 Treasures or San Bao. Note, the concept of the 3 Treasures varies across spiritual practices such as Buddhism, Taoism, Jainism, Traditional Chinese Medicine and more.
In this article, we are referring to the 3 Treasures as understood in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In TCM, the 3 treasures are the 3 essential energies sustaining human life. They are Jing, Qi and Shen.
Shen – Spirit, soul, mind, supernatural being. Has a fiery quality and associated with consciousness. Stored in the upper dantain.
Qi – Vitality, subtle breath. It is both matter and energy and keeps them together. Has a neutral quality and associated with feeling “alive”. Stored in the middle dantain.
Jing – Vital essence, seed. Has an earthy quality and associated with sexual energy. Stored in the lower dantian.
BONUS: There is another energy that emanates from Source
Wu Wei or Wuji – Primordial universe energy. It is infinite, limitless and ultimate. It has an emptiness or nothingness quality and infinite potential.
The 3 Dantains and the Practice of Energy work
Your 3 dantians are essential for various practices such as Qi Gong, dance, martial arts, and healing arts.
San Bao (3 Treasures) in Neidan (Daoist Alchemy)
In Neidan (Daoist inner alchemy), the 3 dantians are known as the 3 Treasures. They are cultivated to improve physical, emotional and mental health, and increase vitality and longevity. And in some cases to achieve immortality itself.
There are many practices in Neidan, but the simple, natural process of inner transmutation of energy is
Wuji (from source) > transmutes into Shen in the upper dantian > Shen flows down to the middle dantian and transmutes into Qi> Qi flows down to the lower dantian and transmutes into Jing.
Traning in Neidan allows one to transmute up from the lower dantain. Jing > Qi > Shen – or from lower to higher energies – in addition to the natural downward flow from higher to lower energies.
How Do The 3 Dantaians Comparare to the 7 Chakras?
The study of the chakras comes from the Ancient Hindu science of life, Ayurveda. Buddhists also follow the chakra system. Both Hindu and Buddhist sacred texts refer to the 3 dantains as the Granthi.
“The Granthi are 3 energetic or psychic knots that need to be untied, unwound and unbound before awakening can occur.”
– Darren Orr
The chakras and dantians are individual systems within the energetic matrix of the body.
Both the chakras and the dantians emanate from the TaiJi pole, or the core energetic structure in the body.
“To use a metaphor, the chakras are like geysers that connect the external Earth to the internal, the dantiens are the deep internal reservoirs or aquifers and the Tai ji pole is the emanating source.”
– Darren Orr
The chakras, dantians, and general energetic matrix are designed to work harmoniously – interwoven, interdependent and complementary.
How Do The 3 Dantians Comparare to the Body Meridians?
The body’s energy flows through specific channels that have been studied and recorded in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The meridians function like rivers of energy while the dantians are the reservoirs of energy.
Activating the 3 Dantians
There are many practices to activate the 3 dantians and they are include various techniques of breathing, intention, movement and posture. The correct posture involves forming a straight line from the upper, middle and lower dantians. Remember: energy follows intention.
Dantian Breathing Exercise
This is a fundamental dantain breathing practice used to cultivate energy into your dantians.
You can start seated or standing. Keep your back straight and imagine a straight line coming down from your upper dantian to your middle dantian, all the way down to your lower dantian.
Place your hands on your lower abdomen where your lower dantian is located.
Breathe in and imagine drawing pure, bright, clean energy into your lower dantian. Feel your lower belly expand.
Breathe out and imagine sending the energy out into the universe, but keep some of the energy that you have drawn circling in your lower dantain.
Repeat at least 3 times for your lower dantain.
Repeat this process for your middle dantian at least 3 times and for your upper dantian at least 3 times.
Notice the energy cultivating and circulating in each dantian and the energetic flow connecting the three and flowing throughout your body.
Transmuting Energy from Your Lower Dantian to the Middle and Upper
When your working with your dantian energy, start with your lower dantian and once it is full of energy, you can direct the overflow of this energy upwards towards your middle dantian.
Breathe from your middle dantain and imagine both reservoirs of energy, connected and filling up with energy. Then you can continue to direct the energy upward into your upper daintain. Imagine it filling up with energy
Just learning about your dantians, their funcion and their potential is empowering. I invite you to incorporate them into your spiritual practice or your can take it one step further by continuing to study Neidan (Taoist Alchemy).
Would love to hear about your experience with the dantain energy centers.
Here’s to your energy, vitality and your immortality.
Known as the “field of the elixir”, “sea of qi”, “alchemical cauldron”, “superior ultimate treasure”, “the core” and “the second brain” the dantian is kind of a big deal.
The dantian is the storehouse of your essential lifeforce and the gateway of energy work and manipulation.
In addition to it’s nicknames, it has been referred to as the dantien, dantien, tan tien, dan tien, and dan tian.
Where is the dantian located?
The dantian located approximately 3 finger-widths below your belly button. It is an energetic center – a “general area” – not correlated with a specific organ.
Where does this concept arise in other traditions?
The dantian is also known as the “hara” in Japanese culture and is really similar energy in concept to the “sacral chakra”.
Why is it important?
It’s known as the storehouse or reservoir for energy and correlates with health and vitality in the body.
Due it its ability to store energy, you can concentrate it for use in any way; from creating a calm, balanced groundedness to promoting healing and vitality. You can also cultivate and direct that energy anywhere in the body, which is a fundamental practice in martial arts.
Moving from your dantian is also important in qi gong, dance and every day life.
“Most people wake up slowly, and slouch around and get themselves going with a cup of coffee or tea. They go to a job in which they continue to slouch around or use one particular set of muscles. Patterns set in, and as I said, blocks develop in the way energy flows in our bodies.
You must make sure your body is open everywhere in order to receive all the energy that is available. You do this by moving every muscle, every morning from your center. He pointed to a place just below his navel.
If you concentrate on moving from this area, then your muscles will be free to operate at their highest level of coordination.”
– Quote from the book: The Secret of Shambala by James Redfield
How to Cultivate Energy into Your Dantian
You can cultivate energy into your dantian through movement, intention, visualization and breathing.
The Practice of Letting Your Energy Sink into Your Dantian
Start by sitting upright or standing. Relax your body so that your weight seems to settle in your lower abdomen – your dantian. Slightly contract your chest and expand your back to help the energy lower into your dantian.
Breathe from your belly, expanding it on the inhale. Focus on the expansion of your belly and minimize expansion in your chest as you breathe.
You will begin to feel a solid weightedness, a heaviness, like the feeling of being grounded or rooted. Visualize your legs like thick, rooted tree trunks. You will also feel a calmness and centeredness.
The MicroCosmic Orbit
The MicroCosmic Orbit is an ancient Taoist meditation practice used for circulating and cultivating energy along 2 primary meridian energetic channels that help control the balance of energy flow in the body.
“Microcosmic Orbit draws abundant energy up from the sacrum into the brain and, in doing so, enhances the cerebral circulation of blood and stimulates secretions of vital neurochemicals. It is also the first stage for cultivating the ‘Golden Elixir‘ of immortality, a process that begins in the lower abdomen and culminates in the mid-brain.”
You can choose to sit in a chair or in a cross legged pose. Begin by closing your eyes and relaxing your mind. Focus on your lower abdomen, dantian area. Visualize a ball of warm, golden light, so bright that it turns white hot. Visualize this energy collecting and expanding as you hold your attention to it.
Visualize this energy moving upwards along your spine, or the the “governing channel” energy meridian. Then you can visualize the energy flowing back down like water along the “conception channel”/ “functional channel” energy meridian that runs down the front of the body.
Focus on the energy concentrating and circulating in your dantian, your energy storehouse. Watch as any stuck or dark energy transmutes into pure, golden, white-hot light.
Allow some of your energy to travel back up your spine as you inhale, then allow the pure golden light to flow like bright water down the front of your body and back into your dantian.
Advanced Techniques with the MicroCosmic Orbit Meditation
Advanced techniques involve specific visualizations and physical movements, contractions, relaxation at specific times during the microcosmic orbit.
This includes bringing your attention to the “Jade Pillow” at the base of your head where it meets your neck. As your energy travels up your neck, allow it to pass through this energetic gate, known as the “Jade Pillow”. Adjust your head posture and press your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth closes an energetic cicuit to allow the flow of energy.
You can also focus on the chi energy passing through the channel of your “Third Eye” (located on your forehead between your two eyes) and down to your throat and heart chakra. Visualize the flow of chi nourishing these energy centers as it naturally cascades down the front of your body.
Other physical practices include contracting your perineum and stomach muscles at a certain point in the microcosmic cycle. Google, Mantak Chia, to learn more in detail about the MicroCosmic Orbit.
Protips:
Relax – Relaxation allows the chi to flow.
Touch the tip of your tonge to the roof of your mouth – This practice allows the energy to flow more easily as it closes an energetic loop in the body’s meridian channel.
Don’t force it – Chi flows better when it circulates gently and naturally. Too much force can actually hurt the physical, mental and emotional bodies which may result in pressure or dizziness.
Trust Your Process – Don’t worry about how well you’re doing or if you’re doing it right. Allow the energy to flow and visualize as best you can. Even if you can’t see anything, sometimes just setting your intention, trusting your “knowing” or “feeling” the practice is enough. Keep practicing.
Heed Caution
The practices mentioned in this article are powerful . Practice with caution at your own discretion. Consciousness Liberty and its associates take no responsibility for any effects you may experience or any decisions you make. All responsibility is taken by the practicer.
How to Ground Your Emotions Using Your Dantian
When you become emotional such as anger, fear, stress or anxiety, your energy centers in your head. When you are in love, your energy centers in your heart.
In order to help you ground your emotions in times of distress, focus on bringing your energy down from your head and into your dantian. Focus on your emotional energy being stored in your dantian as pure energy force. The dantian transmutes the anger or fear into pure potential energy.
Using Your Dantian in Tai Chi Practice
Tai Chi is a Chinese Martial art practiced for health benefits, meditation, stress relief and defense training.
“The jin should be rooted in the feet, generated from the legs, controlled by the waist [dantian] , and expressed through the fingers.”
– Source: Taijiquan Jing
One of the 10 principles of the Tai Chi Chuan states that all movement comes from the center. And that center is your dantian. Focus on moving from the dantian and expressing through the extremities – the arms, legs and head.
There is a big difference between mindful tai chi movements focused on moving from your dantian with your feet rooted into the earth, and mindlessly “going through the motions”.
You know you’re doing it right when you “get into the zone” or feel the warmth and tingle of the circulating energy. You will begin to feel how you circulate your body’s energy, providing you with renewed energy and vitality.
The Three Treasures
When your hear the word, “dantian”, most people are referring to the lower dantian.
But, did you know there are 3 dantians in your body?
They are known as the Three Treasures in various spiritual philosophies such as taoism, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Buddhism.
They are associated with 3 virtues, 3 signature energies and 3 energy centers (dantains), known as palaces of the Gods in the body. Each one housing a signature energetic type – Jing, Qi, and Shen. These energetic storehouses are the key to health, vitality, energy. It’s basically the lifeforce energy keeping your alive. Learn more about the 3 dantians, 3 Treasures, in my upcoming post.
Using your Dantain in Daily Life
Just becoming aware of your dantain allows you to take greater control of the energy and vitality in your life. The practices of tai chi, the mirco cosmic orbit meditation and visualizing the lowering/ centering of your energy will help you get more peaceful, calm vitality, improve your circulation and nourish all the organs and energy centers in the body.
Advanced practice will help you concentrate this energy for use in spiritual or martial arts practice.
I mean beyond the basics of damaging pretty much all of our organs. And the violence and crime that comes with it.
What does alcohol do to our spirits?
The majority of people understand that alcohol is damaging to the body; but do they know how it affects them spiritually and energetically?
More and more people are becoming aware of their own energy, “vibe”, intuition, spirits, souls, higher-selves etc.
So, what happens to your energy and spirit when you drink alcohol?
But first,
Why do we drink alcohol, anyway?
Well, first of all, it’s kind of just there. It’s a social lubricant, It helps us relax, relate, and enjoy. We like its consciousness alternating effects to help us “escape”, “distract” and “let go”.
It releases inhibitions and aspects of ourselves that we usually keep tucked away. So much is socially forgiven after saying that line, “I was drunk”.
And… why is it there? Well, first off, because it’s ridiculously profitable.
And also because:
It’s a state changer and state changers have been high in demand and notably profitable throughout history.
Society and marketing portray it in a positive and glamourous light.
We’re bored and it gives us something to do. (2020 anyone?)
And… because sometimes it tastes really good when done well.
What does it do to our bodies?
Alcohol, no surprise, creates a host of health problems. Most of which you’re probably already aware of. This infographic does a pretty good job of providing the basics.
Short term effects of alcohol impair judgement, coordination, and strain and harm the body’s organs, muscles, bones and nerves.
Long term effects include, diminished gray matter and white matter in the brain, memory loss, alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, cancer, high blood pressure, stroke, weight gain, irregular heartbeat, digestive issues and hinders new brain cell growth.
Oh yeah and then there are the..
Psychological Effects of Alcohol
Alcohol-induced psychiatric syndromes include depression, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and more.
Yeah but,
Can alcohol also be good for us?
Studies show that drinking in moderation can have beneficial effects on your circulation due to it raising your HDL, “good” cholesterol, levels. Heavy drinking, on the other hand, boosts your risk of heart disease. Alchohol can also help you be more social, and being social is shown to have emotional and psychological benefits.
Alcohol has also been known to help reduce gallstones, reduce type 2 diabetes, increase libido, help decrease tension (at least momentarily and compounded with the social element).
It can also put enough stress on the cells to toughen them up. The trick is finding that sweet spot… which is not always easy.
“Small amounts of alcohol might, in effect, make brain cells more fit. Alcohol in moderate amounts stresses cells and thus toughens them up to cope with major stresses down the road that could cause dementia.”
– Edward J. Neafsey, Study on Alcohol and Dementia published by the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
Physically speaking, there are some good benefits to drinking in moderation that keep us coming back for more.
But how does our spirituality mix with spirits?
This is where it gets interesting.
What does alcohol do to our spirits?
If you do any type of spiritual work, chances on you’ve noticed an increased sensitivity to alochol and stumbled upon some of the following effects.
As you become more sensitive to energy, you can actually feel the way your energy signature shifts or becomes inhibited.
As I’ve evolved spiritually, my tolerance for alcohol has taken a sharp turn downwards. What used to be 2-4 drinks on a weekend night with a mild hangover turned into 1 drink and feeling absolutely horrible the next day. Or having 2 drinks and getting sick while still “enjoying” my second.
What’s going on?
Well one day I got my first clue. My friend, a world-renowned energy worker, told me, “Jacqueline, you have the ability to channel, (as in energies, entities) and when you drink alcohol those channels open.”
It clicked. All of a sudden I realized why I didn’t feel myself after a night of drinking at a dive bar.
It was like leaving your home front door open. And maybe if you’re fucked up enough, leaving your house and going for a joy ride while leaving your home doors and windows wide open.
Anything and everything is free to come into your house, (body) metaphorically speaking. Dirt, leaves, critters, people, etc.
Alcohol & Alchemy
In chemical alchemy, alcohol is known as an extractor or separator of the essence from the object. Alcohol does the same to the human body, extracting the essence, or soul, from the body.
When the vibration of the human body becomes too low and the toxicity too high due to alcohol, the soul exits the body and hovers around it. This correlates to being “blackout drunk” and makes us more vulnerable to spirit attachments and low-frequency vibration intrusion.
Etymologically, the word, “alcohol” is derived from the Arabic word, “al-kuhl” which means, “body eating spirit”.
“Once through a spiritual vision, I could observe a crowded club. I noticed dark and evil entities hovering over the club, keeping an eye over the people enjoying inside.
Slowly as few people got incredibly drunk, I saw their souls depart their bodies, linked through a thread, as the intoxication made them uncomfortable. Evil spirits took overseeing empty vessels resulting in immoral acts. This is what is happening when someone has what we refer to as a ‘blackout.’
Having abilities of clairvoyance, empath, and channeling, I can see spirits since my childhood. Many times I have seen malevolent entities surrounding drunk people.
These people often have a crazed, dark look in their eyes that shows they are not themselves anymore.
-Jason Christoff
So, here’s the “Spiritual Effects of Alcohol” shortlist:
1. Alcohol Lowers your Vibration
When you start drinking it relaxes you, which makes you feel like your energy is flowing better. In fact, alcohol poisons your body, lowers your frequency and jams up your energy.
“Because here’s what we all know: each time you drink alcohol, your vibration drops.
It can take up to ten days to restore the point of vibration you’re at before you drink.”
– Melanie Beckler
2. Alcohol Creates Holes in Your Aura
Your aura is an energetic field that surrounds your body; kind of like a force field. It keeps other energies at bay, that is, unless you have holes or tears.
You create holes in your aura by disrupting your energies in various ways through negative thinking, traumas, giving up your power, and consuming alcohol or drugs because they destabilize the vibrational system.
3. Alcohol Interferes with Psychic Abilities
Alcohol has been known to block psychic abilities and create a haze and murkiness from the person who is being “read” by the psychic. The connection is disrupted between the two people and their spirits. It’s recommended to abstain from drinking before doing any psychic work.
4. Alcohol Makes You Susceptible to Entities/ Energies
Yeah cool, no big deal. You may just take on destructive and depressing energies or unserving and malicious entities. How’s that for taking someone home with you from the bar?
After drinking, you may notice that, besides your hangover, you’re upset for no reason, irritable, apathetic, depressed, self-destructive or just don’t feel like yourself.
5. Alcohol Throws Your Chakras off Balance
Alcohol disrupts your energetic field and that includes your main seven chakras, creating an energetic imbalance in your body, mind and spirit that will take some time and attention to repair.
Alcohol Disrupts Your Spiritual Progress as a Whole
As you evolve in your spiritual journey and expand your spiritual capacity, you’ll have more conscious awareness of your energy. You’ll feel a shift in the “hum” or “buzz” of your energy even before the hangover sets in. Alcohol lowers your vibration due to its toxic nature.
And here’s the kicker.
Expanded spiritual awareness and capability is polarized in both a positive and negative direction.
Know this and save yourself a lot of trouble going forward.
“The more man knows, the more he is responsible for, and a person with the knowledge of Spiritual Law which he does not practice suffers greatly in consequence.”
– Florence Scovel Shinn
Not all spiritual beings go to the temple to pray.
YOU are the temple.
“Take care of your body temple, for the energy of the entire universe flows through it.”
Are you still putting off your meditation practice?
Starting a meditation practice can feel a bit daunting. What is meditation exactly? Am I doing it right? How long do I do it? What am I supposed to get from it exactly? What type of meditation should I do? Wait, there are types?
Meditation is simply letting go of controlling your experience.
It is your natural state when your thoughts stop flowing. That can include a transcendental experience, various feelings of love and compassion, peace and a feeling of connection, and perfection.
Little secret for you here…
Most of these “types of meditations” are not meditations. They are mindfulness practices. Everyone has their take on it and their thoughts about it.
Aaannd, that’s not really the important part, so for simplification, they are meditations, whatever. The only actual meditation practice on this list is #6, Transcendental, although several of these mindfulness practices will result in an actual meditation experience.
Ok, let’s move on.
So where do you start? No worries, I got you.
What matters is what you’re looking for at the given time. Healing, mindfulness, cultivating feelings of love, nothing at all, or clarity. Perfect. Any of those are great.
Think of meditation as a toolset. Or a menu at the cosmic universal cafe.
You can always combine or switch it up. And if you get stuck shoot me a comment.
What’ll it be today?
1. Metta Meditation
Purpose: Cultivate and practice feelings of Loving-kindness.
Origin: Buddhist
A.K.A: Loving-kindness meditation
Summary: Sending, love, kindness and positive energy to yourself and others.
Keep in mind: to feel the loving-kindness.
How To:
Close your eyes. Center and relax.
Start by thinking of something or someone that you feel love and goodwill for. It could be your partner, your family, your pet, a memory, situation or a stranger.
Sink into the feeling of love inside your heart and visualize that it has a glow of light. Visualize the color of the light as pink, gold, white or any color/colors that you choose.
Select a phrase to express and share your love such as:
May I be happy and grateful
May I be healthy and peaceful
May I be safe
As you grow this love in your heart, focus on directing this love towards yourself and enjoy the feeling of being immersed in the glow of your love.
Direct your love energy towards someone close to you. Imagine the light and keep repeating your selected phrase. This time direct the phrase at the object of your energy. May you be happy and grateful. May you be healthy and peaceful. May you be safe.
Continue this process by directing love at those in your circle. Friends, colleagues. Then continue to those in your community, your city, your state, country, then the world, the far reaches of the universe and beyond, as you choose.
Finish by bringing your love and focus back to yourself, fill yourself up with love and open your eyes.
2. Clearing Meditation
Purpose: Clear heavy or unserving energy.
Origin: Various
A.K.A: Energy alchemy
Summary: Focusing your attention and energy on clearing out any unwanted energy from yourself.
Keep in mind: Energy is energy. There is no BAD or GOOD. Just useful in the now and not. When you clear energy it is about moving energy like water. Stagnant water tends to create imbalance due to lack of flow. The old, unserving energy will flow and move back into the universe. Do not judge.
How To:
Close your eyes. Center and relax.
Imagine your spine as a conduit for energy (which it is). Visualize the flow of your energy from the bottom of your spine to the top of your head. Give it a brightness, a light. Give it a color.
Imagine energy traveling down from your spine into the earth and the energy of the earth traveling up to meet and join with your internal energy. Give it a color and a brightness. I like to imagine earth energy as a vibrant green. You can see your energy flow as bright water, light, or even tree roots that connect to the earth.
Observe as your energy connects with the energy of the earth.
Connect your energy with universal energy from above. Give the universal energy a brightness and a color. You can imagine the energy coming down into the top of your head (crown chakra) and your energy traveling up from your spine out the top of your head to meet with the universal energy.
You are now connected to earth and universal energy. Watch and enjoy the flow. Watch the colors blend and swirl, bright and beautiful.
Observe your body. Look for any areas that are black, dirty, stuck, dusty dark, black, sludgy, oily, painful.
Now you can use various techniques. You can imagine that energy flowing down and out the bottom of your spine into the earth or up into the universe, where it is renewed and transmuted. You can imagine the universal energy coming into your body from the top of your head and washing away/dissolving the energy that is no longer useful to you. I like to imagine a marshmallow foamy cleaner filling up all the areas within my body and clinging to the dark, dirty energy. Then it all washes away. Sometimes I visualize a sphere outside of me where I exhale all the old energy. The sphere then contains the energy and it flies out and gets absorbed into the golden energy of the universe. I watch it meld and transmute.
You can use breathing to your advantage in this meditation. Breathe into the stuck areas then collect that energy and breathe it out.
IMPORTANT: Finish by filling up all areas of your body with positive, clean energy of your choice. Love energy, gratitude, peace, compassion, or goodness. Do not clear our old energy from your body then forget to fill it. Otherwise, you will have empty space that is filled with anything in your field or attention, including other people’s stuck energies.
Finish, center into your body and open your eyes.
3. Healing Meditation
Purpose: Heal yourself or others
Origin: Various
Summary: Focusing your attention and energy on healing yourself or others.
Keep in mind: It’s good practice to only heal others if you have their permission first.All humans are healers. Some just have more practice and a natural tendency towards it.
How To:
Close your eyes. Center and relax.
Do a clearing meditation. Your body should be clean first before using it to heal. See the meditation above, #2.
There are several ways to heal. You can use your own energy which I don’t recommend, because it will deplete your energy. You can use the energy of nature, as is practiced in shamanism. Or you can use the energy of source. I recommend using source energy because it is an infinite reserve.
Once you are calm and connected to earth and source energy and your energy is clean, you can begin.
Focus on the area to be healed. You can put your hands there to help you bring your attention to the area.
Channel the universal energy of source into the area. Breathe into the area to be healed and imagine the old, stagnant energy being cleared, washed away, transmuted or dissolved into the pure bright light of the universe. I like to imagine it as golden light.
Bonus tip: If you’re working on an area that you have 2 of – let’s say you hurt one of your ankles – ask that the injured ankle copy the energetic blueprint of perfect health from the ankle that is uninjured. It will copy the correct information.
Imagine the healing taking place. You can repeat affirmations such as. Perfect health is my default birthright. I now welcome perfect health into this area of my body, all my body. It is normal and natural for me to be healthy. It is my body’s natural state. Etc.
Fill all areas of your body with good energy. Center and open your eyes.
4. Mantra Meditation
Purpose: Help your mind stop racing through concentration. Affirmation technique to embody the meaning of the mantra.
Origin: Various
Summary: Focusing your attention and energy on repeating a specific phrase or sound. Common mantras are in Sanskrit language and one of the most common mantras is “om” believed to be the first sound originated on earth.
Keep in mind: The vibrations of the sounds you make in the Sanskrit language correlate to the intention or meaning of the word. (That is something that makes Sanskrit so special).
How To:
Select a mantra. You can use a common Sanskrit mantra, Hindu mantra, or use one from your own language. You can use mantras from each of the chakras such as, “I am”, “I feel”, “I Do” etc. or choose a mantra that speaks to you.
Relax, center and close your eyes.
Begin by saying your mantra out loud or just repeat it in your mind.
Repeat it for the duration of the meditation. A common practice is to repeat it 108 times, as it is a sacred number in harmony with nature.
Optional: You can use mala beads to help you count the mantras.
When you are finished, center yourself and open your eyes.
5. Mindfulness
Purpose: To bring awareness to your current experience. Help change old habits. Bring autonomous, thoughts actions and behaviors into your awareness. Enjoy the moment. Be present.
Origin: Various
Summary: Focusing your attention and energy into the present moment.
Keep in mind: This is a sensory-based experience. You can do this anytime, eyes-open preferably.
How To:
Consciously bring your attention into the present moment.
Observe your thoughts, emotions, environment, and actions.
Observe the present moment with the 5 senses. What does it feel like? Taste like? Look like? Sound like? Smell like?
That’s it.
6. Transendential
Purpose: Expand your awareness beyond the self.
Origin: Various
Summary: Clearing your mind and just being. Eventually, the thoughts will stop and you will experience a shift in awareness.
Keep in mind: Normally it will take several sessions to weeks of repeated practice and it can take around an hour or more per session for your mind to have stillness. Practice where you can for as long as you can. I have done it in as little as 15-20 mins after weeks of daily practice. No matter what happens, it is the right experience for you.
How To:
Close your eyes. Center and relax.
You can do a mantra meditation as a vehicle to help you center your mind.
Observe thoughts and watch them as they drift in and out of your awareness.
Focus back on your mantra and/or the stillness of your mind.
When finished, center and open your eyes.
7. Visualization
Purpose: Visualize whatever you want and create that reality in your mind. Useful in manifesting your ideal reality. Evolving your character. Practicing skills in your imagination.
Origin: Various
Summary: Visualizing a reality of your choice for various purposes.
Keep in mind: Visualization is a powerful tool for manifestation. What you create in your mind exists. Bringing it into matter is just the next step. Repeat for optimal results.
How To:
Close your eyes. Center and relax.
Visualize a screen where you will project and watch your visualizations. The screen is slightly higher than eye level and you will place it comfortably away from you as though you are setting up your perfect movie theatre.
Visualize a scene of whatever you wish. Incorporate your 5 senses into the description.
Feel the feelings associated with that scene.
Watch yourself experiencing this scene for as long as you desire.
When finished, center and open your eyes.
8. Vipassana
Purpose: To gain insight on the self and see things as they really are. Usually through gaining acute awareness of the body, mind and emotions. It is a process of self-transformation through self-observation.
Origin: Buddhist
Summary: Sitting in meditation, usually for days at a time with breaks for sleeping and eating. Observing your body, observing the moment.
Keep in mind: It is common to experience pain or discomfort and many times, it’s part of the process. Proceed with caution and regard for your wellbeing. Meditate responsibly. 😛
How To:
Close your eyes. Center and relax.
Observe the moment. Observe your body, observe your thoughts and feelings.
It can be useful to do a body scan where you direct your attention to various areas of your body, usually starting from the top and working your way towards the bottom. It can be useful to progressively relax as you do the body scan.
Once you have reached the end of your body scan, work your way back up your body and then down again.
You may begin to feel discomfort, pain, agitation or pleasure, which is another part of the observational process.
Continue for at least an hour.
When finished, center and open your eyes.
9. Mahasati (Dynamic) Meditation
Purpose: To bring awareness to the present moment and bring attention to your body in movement. It helps to calm and center the mind.
Origin: Buddhist
A.K.A: Movement meditation or active meditation.
Summary: Mahasati meditation is a form of mindfulness practice that incorporates a large range of movements, such as walking, tai chi, dancing, yoga, intuitive movement, running and more.
Keep in mind: Slowing down your movement and keeping a consistent rhythm allow for easier awareness in the moment.
How To:
Center and relax.
Begin moving as you’d like. Observe the moment. Observe your body, your breath, observe your thoughts and feelings.
Observe the changes in interaction as you move through the world. Observe details like the way the ground feels when your foot touches it, the way the sunlight or the wind feels, the flexibility of your body, your breathing etc.
Continue for as long as you’d like.
That’s it.
10. Chakra Meditation
Purpose: To balance, open and align the chakras and allow the free flow of lifeforce energy that enhances vitality and wellbeing.
Origin: Various
Summary: This meditation brings awareness to the 7 main body chakras (energy centers) to open and rebalance their flow along your spinal channel. This affects your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Keep in mind: Each of the 7 main chakras has it’s a specific location on the body and a purpose associated with a color, sound/mantra, symbol, mudra and more. ALSO, it’s common to experience a sudden outpour or emotions or thoughts as you do this meditation.
Protips:
Your chakras have a front and back. Keep that in mind when doing the meditation.
Allow enough time to go through the entire sequence with the 7 chakras. It is not recommended to leave it half-finished. Alternately, you can do work on a specific chakra if you feel the need.
Image from: https://i.pinimg.com
How To:
We will start from the base of the spine and work our way up.
Sit in an upright position. You can sit crosslegged, lotus pose, in a chair or however you like as long as your spine is straight and you’re not leaning on anything.
Close your eyes. Center and relax.
Imagine the energy channel that runs along your spine. Imagine your own energy connecting with the energy of the earth through the root chakra at the base of your spine.
Continue to focus your attention on your root chakra, located at the base of your spine. Imagine the chakra as a wheel of energy and visualize the color red. Observe your chakra. Is the red color bright, dull? How fast is it spinning? How smooth is it spinning? Do you see any darkness or stuckness in the color or flow?
You can choose to do the mudra associated with the chakra if you’d like.
If you are sensitive to feeling energy, you can also place your hand in the area, and guide the flow and movement of the energy in a circle.
Begin chanting the associated mantra, either out loud or in your mind.
Allow clean, revitalizing, healing energy from the earth to flow into the chakra to clear any stuck or nonserving energy.
Notice as the color red brightens and grows in vitality. Continue until you feel complete and there is no more stuck or blocked energy. Allow any stuck energy to flow back into the earth for renewal and transmutation.
Work your way up to the next chakra, the sacral chakra located 1-2 inches below your belly button. Repeat the process and continue until you reach the crown chakra.
After balancing your crown chakra, imagine the energy from your spinal channel coming up out of your head and connecting to the pure white/golden energy of the universe. (You can select other colors for the universe energy if you wish.)
IMPORTANT: Ensure that your 7 main chakras are clear and balanced before you wrap up. You can imagine a clean clear energetic flow from your crown chakra to the universe coming back down into the earth, through it, and back up your spinal channel through your root chakra. The flow is toroidal and looks like this:
Image from: http://innateexperience.net
14. When you’re ready, open your eyes.
11. Kundalini Meditation
Purpose: To stimulate and awaken the kundalini lifeforce energy present at the base of the spine for the expansion of consciousness.
Origin: Unknown origin, practiced in various cultures.
A.K.A: Spiritual birth, when the kundalini energy flows from the root chakra through all the rest and reaches the crown chakra.
Summary: Also, known as shakti energy, Kundalini energy is the divine feminine creative force. It usually lies latent at the base of the spine like a coiled serpent. When you awaken your kundalini, you allow this energy to travel up through your spine, through your chakras and up and out your crown chakra where it connects to universal lifeforce energy. This usually shows up as expanded consciousness or expanded awareness and perception. Many times, when this happens you will see a thousand petal lotus flower (the symbol of your crown chakra) with your third eye.
Keep in mind: Maintain caution with the stimulation/ awakening of kundalini energy. It is a very powerful energy that may cause illness or psychosis if directed in a nonserving way. Learning from an experienced master is recommended.
How To:
Sit in an upright position. You can sit crosslegged, lotus pose, in a chair or however you like as long as your spine is straight and you’re not leaning on anything.
Center and relax.
This meditation uses a combination of techniques including pranayama, mudras, mantras and optional movements (yoga).
Imagine your spine as a conduit for energy (which it is). Visualize the flow of your energy along it. You can do a chakra meditation to help the energy is flow freely.
Bring your attention to your 3rd eye chakra located at the space between your eyebrows. If you’d like, turn your gaze to that area while keeping your eyes closed.
Repeat a mantra. You can choose one that resonates with you, or select a common Kundalini mantra.
Place your hands into a mudra to facilitate proper energetic flow. the gyan mudra is a common one to use. The gyan mudra consists of the thumb and forefinger touching and the rest of the fingers extended naturally. (Pictured below)
Image from: https://do-yoga.co.uk/
8. Focus on your breathing, (pranayama). Breathe in for 20 seconds, hold for 20 seconds, breathe out for 20 seconds, hold for 20 seconds, then breathe in again for 20 seconds. You can shorten the number of seconds as long as it’s consistent in the inhale, hold and exhale.
9. Imagine the energy traveling up your spinal cord from your root chakra through your crown chakra. Don’t try to bring it up through your spine. Just allow it to happen. If it doesn’t happen, allow that as well. Don’t force it.
The energy flows up like this (the little serpent energy traveling up the spine):
10. You may choose to connect with the earth and cosmic energy, then back through your own body. (See #2 clearing meditation for how to connect with earth and universal energy)
11. Continue for as long as you’d like.
12. When finished, center and open your eyes.
Want extra help with any of these, have questions or want to share your story? Get in touch with me or leave a comment below. I’m happy to support and would love to hear your story!
What is the biggest roadblock that stops people from accomplishing their dreams?
You guessed it.
FEAR
Fear of what?
Failure, success, pressure, criticism, being in the spotlight, having to perform, perfectionism, procrastination, expectations, etc.
Whose criticism, whose expectations, perform for who?
For them.
Who’s them?
It comes down to how others will see you, judge you and whether or not they will like you.
If you’ve come across this fear of “what they will say” before, you’ve probably heard people say, “Who exactly is THEY?” “Who cares what they say.” “You be yourself and keep moving forward.”
Easy right?
Why don’t we just ignore “what they say” and live our spectacular dreams and goals?
Well, as it turns out, it’s not that easy.
This fear of the unknown “they”, is actually a real, visceral, legitimate, biological, hardwired fear.
It’s a fear or rejection, which ultimately translates to
A fear of death.
We are social creatures. Acceptance, belonging and social interaction are encoded into our survival systems. Not being liked means being rejected.
Rejection means no job, no business, no community, no support. Leaving you disconnected, in danger, and vulnerable to attack or starvation.
Ever see those nature shows when one of the antelopes gets separated from the rest? That’s the one that ultimately gets singled out by lions, pummeled and eaten alive.
What seems like an insignificant “They might not like me” excuse, is actually a deeply encoded biological survival mechanism. And uh, yeah good luck getting around that.
So now what?
Fortunately, there is a way to transcend your biological survival mechanisms.
We are human beings, AND we are also divine beings.
By stepping into your divinity, you are able to transcend the crippling grip of hardwired survivalism.
And how do you transcend into this exactly?
By using one of the most powerful energies in existence.
Love
Energetically speaking, you negate the vibration of fear with the vibration of love. This is known as energetic alchemy, leveraging the Law of Duality.
Here’s how:
Using awareness and concentrated mental direction to short-circuit your fear. “This is not an actual threat to me.” “I am safe.” “This is safe.” “Everything will be ok.”
Meditating
Being in the moment
Feeling love in your heart for yourself and for others (Metta Meditation)
Becoming inspired through movement, music, exercise, art, books, videos
Meditation has the cumulative effect of bringing you into this divine awareness so that you can see situations from this perspective regularly.
Use these in combination. Use your awareness to realize you are afraid, (instead of just procrastinating), relax, center, come into the moment and recognize that you are safe. Tell yourself that you are safe, that you are ok. Put on some inspirational content and move forward.
The self is in constant battle within the fragile, dualistic human experience.
As spirits:
We knowunity consciousness and live in duality consciousness.
We know ourselves and have forgotten upon coming into this life. We are seeking to KNOW once again. We are seeking to know ourselves.
We are beings of unity that find ourselves with an ego – a new sense of identity – apart from others.
This new reality of duality, ego, and knowledge creates a playground for the supposed separation between good and bad, between light and darkness.
Welcome to Your Shadow Side
This the side of all of us that society turns a blind eye to, that we deny we have, that we call ugly. It’s what we hide from others – and even from ourselves.
You will discover more about your shadow side, why it’s so important to your health and authenticity, and learn a step-by-step guide to doing shadow work to find wholeness, healing, power and freedom.
What is the Shadow Side?
According to Carl Jung, the shadow side or shadow self includes all the elements of your unconscious personality.
Usually, they are the least desirable elements that society rejects or judges as bad. The sides we don’t like and we don’t want to admit, even to ourselves. Our instincts, shortcomings and weaknesses. The sides that don’t feel good.
Examples include pain, fear, jealousy, insecurity, rage, failure, lack of control, mediocracy, laziness, depression, death, victimhood, vengeance, selfishness, brokenness, negativity, unserving beliefs, being stuck, not knowing, giving up, ugliness, stupidity, sadness and loneliness.
Can be tough to read, right? It doesn’t feel good. Confidence feels good, love feels good, gratitude feels good, security feels good. These are our lighter traits.
Although our shadows may seem ugly and undesirable, they are an integral part of YOU and crucial for your development, health and wholeness as a human being.
Why?
Understanding Enantiodromia & Duality
The principle of enantiodromia was introduced into the West by Carl Jung. It is “The emergence of the unconscious opposite in the course of time.” Otherwise known as something “running its course” and transforming into its opposite, especially when polarized.
It comes from the words enantios – opposite and dromos – running course.
For example, if you were raised with strict moral guidelines of not drinking, not staying out late and not partying, there is a good chance that later in life the shadow side of these so-called “good” traits emerges in the form of intense partying, drinking and staying out late. Most of us have seen or experienced this occurrence in ourselves or our peers.
Heraclitus, who originally coined the term, “enantiodromia” explains, “Cold things warm, warm things cool, wet things dry and parched things get wet.”
This concept is also known in Chinese religion as Yin-Yang.
Seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another.
Our biological survival system is programmed to stay away from pain in order to salvage the biological being. Any pain sends a message of threat to the system that must be relieved asap to ensure it’s safety, health and survival. And these shadows are painful! We instinctively run away from them at all costs.
Society’s collective rejection of shadow traits also alludes to the rejection of the being that contains these traits.
Deep inside we view society’s rejection as posing a risk of death. Without our tribe, we are not supported, not cared for, weak and vulnerable. We may as well be on deaths’ door. That is why belonging is such an important trait. That is why we suppress these shadow traits at our own painful expense.
And it’s painful because you are denying yourself. You’re portraying a one-sided image of goodness and the fragmentation and inauthenticity is exhausting, unrealistic and unsustainable.
Why Do Shadow Work?
Shadow work is brutal.
It’s painful, uncomfortable and an embarrassing shock to the system, but the rewards of going into your darkest self hold a treasure more precious to your life than you can even imagine.
Through shadow work you can find wholeness and freedom, discover deeper love and compassion for yourself and others, and make peace with yourself and all those around you.
Through shadow work you can put an end the constant battle with self and find powerful, transformative healing.
Your capacity for being truly alive increases and your inner and outer worlds are dramatically changed.
It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life.
Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.
The very cave you are afraid to enter turns out to be the source of what you are looking for. The damned thing in the cave that was so dreaded has become the center.
You will find the jewel, and it draws you off.
In loving the spiritual, you cannot despise the earthly.
The purpose of the journey is compassion.
– Joseph Campbell
This advice applies across the board in life, and it hits home in the case of shadow work. It is the work of unity, of liberation of unconditional love and authenticity.
Getting Started with Shadow Work
Before you start something of significance, you want to prepare the landscape, gather the materials and commit to “seeing it through”.
This is akin to remodeling your house, or going through surgery, except it’s your own psyche. You don’t leave that shit half-finished. Any harsh weather, challenge or intruder can wreak havoc and do some serious damage.
Before you start, know that there is no easy way of doing shadow work. AND that is not to be confused with simple. You can do simple shadow work, but it won’t be easy. If you don’t feel into the gut-wrenching, humbling depths, you’re not doing it right.
If it’s easy for you, you’re not doing it right.
Ok ready? Let’s get started.
How to Practice Shadow Work
At various points in your spiritual journey, you will assimilate shadow work differently based on your experiences, beliefs and understandings.
Spiritual Virtues of Shadow Work
Shadow work focuses on compassion, non-judgmentalism, self-love and unconditional love. It focuses on seeing through the eyes of divinity – of wholeness.
A Foundational Understanding of Natural Law
The world is perfect. It’s a mess. It has always been a mess.
-Joseph Campbell
Regardless of what you believe, you cannot deny natural law happening within and all around you at all times.
We can see natural law in action when we breathe, we cry, we laugh, we throw up, we fuck up, we love, we hurt, we fear, we resist. It’s natural, it’s who we are. This understanding of natural law is the beginning of shadow work.
As you see a baby drool, poop, cry, scream and talk jibberish you sympahize with it’s level of development. You don’t judge it harshly.
“Stupid baby can’t even speak properly or use a toilet.”
No.
You realize it’s a baby. And that’s ok.
Similarly, as adults, we throw fits, we scream, we try and fail, we get sick and throw up – we’re humans. And that’s ok.
Following?
Yep good.
This is nature. It’s observed. It’s not learned. It’s not taught in books. It’s raw and pure and true. It’s one of the reasons shadow work is so powerful.
The Healing Process of Shadow Work
Identify -> Accept ->Love -> Embody -> Integrate
The ones in bold above must be completed in 1 sitting. The rest is a lifelong process. This process repeats throughout your life.
IDENTIFY: The first step is to identify your shadows as many of them are unconscious elements of your personality. You will notice then by your triggers, by your disdain, by your rejection of them.
ACCEPT: The next step is to accept your own shadows. To own them. To acknowledge their purpose and value.
LOVE: You then bring love and compassion to your shadows. You bring them to light and welcome them back into you.
EMBODY: As you now own and love your shadows you can consciously embody them and leverage them for your personal growth and development.
INTEGRATE: Begin to see the value of your shadows in every area of your life to help expand your virtues and evolve.
How to Do Shadow Work
1. Create Space for the Work
Dedicate an evening to yourself to fully immerse yourself into the process. Grab a pen and paper, journal or your computer to write down your thoughts. Create a safe space alone. This can be in your room with candles, incense, blankets, tea, water.
Make it cozy because the rest of the process is challenging.
Sit for a few moments and think of all the things you don’t like about yourself, all the things you reject.
Feel into it deeply.
2. IDENTIFY: How to Spot Your Shadows & Shadow Archetypes
Watch for emotional reactions such as irritation, disgust, anger, fear, sadness.
Watch for body reactions. Heat in body, shaking, chills, pain, uncomfortableness.
Watch for psychological projections of your shadow. For example, traits in others that trigger your reactions are mirrors to your unconscious shadows.
Engage in inner dialogue to bring the unconscious to light.
BONUS: Get to know the shadow archetypes. Some examples include:
Archetype: King
Active Shadow: Tyrant
Passive Shadow: Weakling
Archetype: Warrior
Active shadow: Sadist
Passive Shadow: Masochist
Archetype: Magician
Active shadow: The Detached Manipulator
Passive Shadow: the Innocent one
Archetype: Lover
Active Shadow: The addicted lover
Passive Shadow: The impotent lover
You can choose to research all 12 archetype’s shadow sides if you’d like.
2. IDENTIFY: Bringing the Subconscious to the Surface
This is a journaling shadow work exercise. Begin by writing down a list of things about yourself that you don’t like. Write the things in others that you don’t like. If you get stuck, write the things in yourself and others that you like. Write down your undesirable beliefs as well. (Write down your most powerful “positive” beliefs if you choose.)
“I’m too fat, too stupid, too naive. I don’t like my ears. I’m weak. This person is rude. I’m dependable and people take advantage of that…” etc.
Understanding the Law of Duality
Realize that:
Shadows present in others = Shadows present in yourself
Your most desirable traits contain their shadow side as well. This is the law of duality. It is a natural law of the human experience.
To the degree that you condemn others and find evil in others. You are to that degree unconscious of the same thing in yourself or at least of the potentiality of it.
-Alan Watts
Free write and feel the emotions that arise.
Do not censor or judge your writing. Get it all out.
It will start with the obvious from your conscious mind, then continue from the depths of your emotions, from your subconscious.
Write until you can no longer write. This could take hours and usually the entire evening. You will be surprised by what comes out. When I did the work I had pages of things, some of which were incredibly surprising and “brand new” to my awareness.
This shadow work journaling technique branches off into 2 techniques.
Writing down your (perfect 😉) “undesirable traits”
Free-writing into rabbit holes of the subconscious through powerful questioning.
I will guide you through the rabbit hole (#2) first because this will happen spontaneously, then fizzle out and you can go back to technique 1, writing “undesirable traits” again.
3. IDENTIFY: Digging Deeper into the Rabbithole of the Subconscious through Questions (Technique 2)
Continue writing. Write your stream of consciousness thoughts that come up. Question them with “why” to dig deeper. Ask why until you “feel complete” with that stream of consciousness.
For example:
“What am I feeling?”
“Why am I feeling this?”
“Why?”
“Why?”, “Why?”, Why?”
You get the idea.
One very effective technique is to begin having a coversation in writing with yourself.
For example:
“What am I afraid of?” “Trying.”
“What is it that scares you?” “Failing. Of being even higher and falling further.”
“Why does falling scare you?” “Because it will hurt.”
“Does it hurt now?” “Yes, it will hurt either way.”
“Well it hurts either way, and it hurts for sure.” Why don’t you try and you can do something about the hurt?” “The worst that can happen is you end up where you are already. In pain”.
Etc.
Continue writing all of your “undesirable” traits, mentally, emotionally, physically. All of them.
4. IDENTIFY: Categorize
Ok now, let’s sort through the data.
Identify your top shadows by giving them a rating between 1-10 in terms of how strong, affective, and present they are in your life.
Optional: Categorize them in various sections to find the weaker sections in your life. Character, health, love, body, mind, emotions, etc. You can choose your own categories as you wish.
5. ACCEPT: Processing Your Shadows
It goes without saying that this process will uncover a spectrum of emotions as undesirable as the traits you wrote down. Allow yourself time to cry, to judge, to feel into these discoveries.
Even when things come up about others, see it as a mirror to yourself.
“I am mad because I am ignored.” “Where do I ignore myself?”
Now begin to write down any positive aspects of your shadow traits. Start with the strongest ones you rated at the top of your list. Take your time.
TIP: Write down the positive aspects of your shadow traits as though you are talking to a friend. We tend to be WAY LESS JUDGEMENTAL of other’s perceived “flaws & mistakes” than our own.
Examples:
“I am shaking.” – It’s a sign that you are identifying and processing trauma and shadows.
“I am flawed/broken” – You are stronger as a result. You can continue to overcome. Neuroplasticity is real and new wiring is possible.
“I am anxious” – This is a good sign of “what to work on” and a signal to return to the present.
“I am not smart enough” – No one is. Don’t worry. You’re smart. Smart enough. And you are learning.
“I’m fat” – You have a choice. Workout, eat healthy.
“Eventually, something bad will happen” – You create in each moment. If you create something “bad” it is the contrast that is serving your growth and conscious evolution for improvement.
Etc.
See the purpose of the darkness. In a world of duality, the shadow is the fuel, the contrast, the mirror for your improvement and growth. You get the idea.
6. LOVE: Your Shadows
Just as you feel compassion for a baby’s journey, or empathize with someone else’s pain because you’ve been there – empathize with the perfect, “in process” version of you.
Bring love, understanding and compassion to your shadow traits. See them with the loving eyes of a patient mother or the non-judgmental eyes of God.
This step is crucial to complete in the same evening, as it fills the painful and raw areas of the psyche with love and acceptance. Danger: Do not skip this as you will have open wounds in which anything can trespass if you don’t fill them with love.
Keep in mind that bringing the energies of love and acceptance to your shadows does not mean that you have fully made peace with them all.
Just like sending love to someone you are still angry with, it may not dissolve all the anger at that moment. Sending love to your shadows does not mean that you fully accept and love them right now. It means you can see them through the eyes of love and compassion and send love to them.
You may need to do this work repeatedly until you have made peace with your shadows. Always send them loving energy regardless and accept where you are in the process. Remember that if you open a wound with shadow work, always finish by filling it with love and healing energy before closing your practice for that session.
7. EMBODY
Go about your life accepting those traits, realizing their purpose and bringing love to them. Leverage them to continually improve yourself.
Realize the distinction between identifying your shadows and identifying WITH your shadows. You are not your shadows, you are not your desirable traits. They are merely visitors. The YOU is the awareness – the consciousness – that chooses how to treat these visitors.
7. INTEGRATE
Ok, this part is actually fun. When you learn to love all of yourself, you gain great power and freedom.
You are more authentic, compassionate and brave as a result of feeling through the pain and knowing how to love the “undesirable”. You can bring that to other parts of your life. You can love other people when they show you their “ugly sides”. When they get angry. When they yell at you. You can see the gold hidden in the anger. The contrast for growth. The seeds of improvement.
Realize that you may be judged for your shadows as well as appreciated for your authenticity. Release the survival mindset of “being accepted” and know that you can thrive when placing your faith in your own truth (in God, in source, in yourself).
What a sigh of relief and healing to begin to love ALL of yourself.
To allow yourself to beyourself.
To begin to know yourself and step fully into the light (conscious), by bringing your shadow with you. With gratitude to your shadow for showing you how to evolve your character, and create shining diamonds where there once was coal. Love the coal for it is the ingredient that makes your strongest and brightest diamonds. Embrace this continuous process in your ever-evolving perfection.
This is what I heard for years from many New Age, spiritual people. And I knew right away that something wasn’t right about it.
During my strongest times of growth, all I could think of is “Oh, fuck off!” “That is not how it works.”
We are not human to brush an entire side of ourselves under the carpet, plug our ears and hum, “It’s ok, it’s ok, good vibes only”.
That kind of attitude creates lopsidedness, friction and unhealthy expectations. It doesn’t work and will amplify whatever you are trying to get away from. It creates fragmentation, known as the shadow self in Jungian psychology.
The shadow self The ‘shadow’ is the side of your personality that contains all the parts of yourself that you don’t want to admit to having.
It creates dishonesty with oneself and nature plus an unrealistic view of our humanity.
And in this article, we’ll explore why the New Age craze didn’t work, what does work and why.
Let’s get started.
Why do we seek “good vibes only”?
The concept of “good vibes only” is idealistic and well-intentioned. It’s based on Unity or God-consciousness.
A source of love and pure goodness. Because that is where we come from, it’s in our nature to seek it or return to it.
Understanding Duality Consciousness
Human Consciousness is dual. We perceive separateness in our experience in order to get it far enough away from us that we can “see” it.
Alan Watts refers to the Godhead as Source and in order to know or see itself, it must create an illusion of separation.
This is duality consciousness.
Why Embrace Your Darkness?
In order to embrace the fullness of your humanity, you want to be at peace with all of who, all of your traits, emotions, thoughts, events and environments.
It doesn’t mean you have to embrace all of life’s contrast – just accept. embrace the fullness of your humanity – not all circumstances. Some are meant for you to want to get away from, to hurt from, to learn from.
It’s the awareness behind your response that matters.
Non-judgemental awareness (the circle) encompasses all of these events and responses from a “distance”.
This is known as non-attachment in Buddhism. The ability to see from a higher perspective.
For example, I recently had an experience where I was feeling general anxiety and didn’t know where it was coming from. When I stopped and listened more closely, I realized that there was this deep fear inside me related to being an entrepreneur. The feeling of everything depending on you. The feeling of not having anything else to hold on to. The instability and responsibility of stepping out on your own.
I was able to sit with it and fully feel it. And believe me, it HUURRRT emotionally.
I felt deeply into it and cried. All the while I saw myself from this general sense of awareness “behind” the experience. I was watching myself go through this experience, thinking
“Oh great! Facing this, owning this, is the way through to the other side! Now that I see and feel it, I can overcome it!”
9 Reasons to Embrace Your Darkness
First off, shake all the negative connotations about the word, “darkness”. Realize that it has its purpose. Just as the day has night, light has darkness. It helps show the light more brightly through contrast in this dualistic human experience.
1. Shows You What You Want
Realize that so-called “not good vibes” within actually serve as a compass, as a contrast, and as signposts to help you to “know” yourself and to choose what you want.
Many people do not know what they want, but they know what they don’t want. Thank these opportunities for opening your eyes and helping you to choose better.
2. Clears Energy & Heals
Embracing your darkness helps you realize that to be sad, to be angry, to be scared – is human. It shows you that it’s ok, it’s natural and that it’s good.
What you resist, persists. What you make peace with is experienced, serves its purpose, runs it’s course and then subsides.
When you are no longer suppressing these sides of yourself, you feel a great weight lifted off your shoulders.
Otherwise you are expending lots of energy to pretend it doesn’t exist and it won’t go away. It will continue to build up and even create disease. (dis -ease – being ill at ease or not at ease.)
3. Creates Peace & Integrity
As you shine light on these sides of yourself, you will show up with more integrity and responsibility for who you are and own your actions and personality.
You are able to “come clean” and see the full picture. You take responsibility for who you are and choose who you want to be and actually make that happen instead of turning a blind eye to it.
When I was able to shine light on my fear and identify it, I was able to face it and go through it. As a result, I am at peace with my fear and am taking the necessary steps to understand it and resolve it. I no longer have random anxiety as I did before – which leads to the next point.
4. It Empowers You
When you can embrace all of yourself, your failures and shortcomings and own them, you begin to take back your power.
You realize that people can’t hurt you, that the way you view the situation hurts you. YOU can change things. You and your life are in YOUR hands and you are able to change it or keep it.
5. It Follows Natural Law
There is so much information out there and it can be a challenge to separate truth from what’s not true. An easy way to discover the “truth” of something is to watch nature.
Watch the flow of the days, the purpose of the seasons. They are symbols for the purpose of your darkness – and just as fire has the ability to warm, it has the power to burn. Just as anger has the power to spark action, it has the ability to destroy.
“Everything is Dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled.” – The Kybalion.
This means that on the other side of darkness is light, on the other side of failure is success and on the other side of sadness is joy. If you are experiencing sadness within yourself you will trust that it will pass and joy awaits you.
As is natural law.
The same is true of happiness.
If you are experiencing happiness, be grateful, for the pendulum will swing and you will have an unpleasant experience that creates more desire for expansion in your evolution.
6. Uplevels Your Mindset for Adversity, Your Capacity for Strength & Creates Growth
Challenging times and undesirable emotions are fertile soil on which you grow and develop as a person. You do not grow and learn but staying the same, but by reaching outside of your current limitations. And that is painful.
After experiencing this pain you come out stronger and more resilient, in mind, emotion and body.
Embracing the darkness of these growing pains helps you trust that there is light at the end of the dark tunnel and a reward for trying times. This mindset helps you overcome those painful times.
7. Helps You Be Grateful
Nothing like experiencing painful moments within yourself to help you appreciate the beautiful, desirable ones.
These moments help to ground you, to shape you, to humble you, to help you grow and evolve. Be grateful for them while you are experiencing them.
Remember to see them with non-judgemental awareness, which leads to the next point.
8. Highlights Judgementalism & Expands Love & Compassion
Whatever you don’t accept in yourself, you are likely to reject or criticize in the world around you. This creates a clear guide of where you are still judgemental and shows you where you have room for improvement.
Embracing your darkness or weakness helps you to understand and experience love and compassion. To understand and relate that having fear is ok. To love your mistakes and faults. To see yourself and everything else as GOD (love, source, the higher part of you) sees you.
9. Shows You How to Feel Alive
When you are able to embrace and make peace with your darkness you allow yourself to fully feel the spectrum of emotions, and to make peace with the full spectrum of your personality and body.
Notice that it’s human nature to have darkness.
It’s the reason why we like scary movies, thrillers and dramas.
It’s the reason we channel our expression with dark art, music and writing. There is a part of us that likes it – that embraces the spectrum – that needs to feel it.
As a society, we hide our dark fantasies, secrets, perversions, anger, fear, jealousy, profanity etc. We are encouraged to hiding darkness and weakness to the point of suppression, to the point of negation.
This only amplifies what is suppressed to unhealthy levels and creates guilt, shame, disassociation and loss of power, loss of energy and loss and integrity.
Just remember not to hide your darkness from yourself. It’s a natural part of you.
Accept this truth and let it heal you, free you, empower you and teach you.
When you embrace it you can express healthy levels of it, you can being to see the world through the eyes of unconditional love and realize (real – ize-To see, to make real, to bring about) the perfection within yourself and all that is around you.
If you want to go deeper into embracing ALL of yourself through shadow work, stay tuned to my post on how to do it!
If you feel compelled, share your experiences below. I’d like to hear your story. 🙂
If you’re a bit confused by what I mean here and a little bit distracted thinking about sex, let me explain.
Most people want to be successful. It is a natural instinct of humans to want to grow and achieve. To win. To conquer.
If you ask most people if they prefer encountering challenges, roadblocks, fear and obstacles to success or if they want an easy win to something they really, really want, most would say, “Gimme the easy win.”
For example, you have an idea for a business selling hats. (Yes, hats. Just stay with me here.)
Would you rather:
A. Have someone give you a successful and lucrative hat selling business where you’re time input is 10 hours a week and you make 5 times what you would need to live a comfortable life. A team of A-players, resources and logistics are already in place and flowing.
B. Start your hat selling business from scratch with no previous experience in the business and no contacts, processes or resources.
You’re passionate about the business in both scenarios. Which one would you choose?
It’s safe to say most people would easily choose A.
It seems to be the obvious choice or opportunity, safety and financial wealth while pursuing your interests and passions.
In small undertakings, many of us will choose the easy road.
Yet, when it comes to things that people deem as important, they choose the hard road to success over and over again.
As humans, we tend to place a higher sense of worthiness to larger goals. When it comes to life purpose, we want to select a goal that is worthy enough to dedicate our lives to. We want a partner that is worthy enough of marriage. A challenge that is worthy enough of effort.
Why We Overcomplicate Things
We come up with a brilliant idea then we think of extravagant ways to execute it. We make this goal “worthy” of our attention and hard work.
Let’s go back to selling hats.
Your initial idea about a hat store, becomes a place that customizes the hats based on a person’s interests and physical dimensions. Now you imagine stores all over the world that carry these specialized hats!
You’re super excited for the possibilities!
You continue to imagine the hell out of it, then get overwhelmed and push this great idea off – indefinitely.
The sheer magnitude of this step can be so daunting.
It’s time to build a bridge.
How?
Easy wins.
Easy wins are usually bypassed by the mind as not being interesting or worthy enough to accomplish.
Why Do We Like a Challenge?
A sense of satisfaction happens when we stretch or grow in order to accomplish something. How many times have you been proud that you accomplished getting dressed and driving to work in the morning? Or that you practice good hygiene? With some exceptions, good hygiene is a basic given in life that we do and don’t really get great life satisfaction out of it.
There are things in our life that are we are used to and will not cause a great amount of life satisfaction from their accomplishment.
Such as walking around the block. Not much to boast about. How about running your first marathon?
This is due to hedonic adaptation. Hedonic adaptation is the tendency to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major recent positive or negative events or life changes. This means you will start adapting to your accomplishments and they no longer cause the pleasure or satisfaction that they used to.
The body also gets used to strength and resistance training. This is known as progressive resistance – where overloading the muscles is constantly increased to build muscle and strength. What was once “heavy” is now “normal”.
Point is, the human being is designed to constantly strive and grow to “succeed”.
…[E]xercise is a wonderful example, where there’s something so satisfactory about the pain we get sometimes from trying to accomplish something, training for a marathon. And if it was effortless, it was painless, I don’t think we would get the same pleasure from it. I think that it illustrates that one critical ingredient here is control. So when it comes to pain, we could experience all sorts of pain – spicy foods, training for a marathon, a horror movie – but it’s critical that we control the intensity of the pain. Pain is never pleasurable when it’s out of your hands, when someone else is inflicting it. We are not wired up to enjoy pain under those circumstances.
Because of the effort and personal growth that is required to accomplish this task, we assign more worth and satisfaction to its accomplishment.
In Earl Nightingale’s seminal classic, The Strangest Secret he defines success as ‘”The gradual realization of a worthy goal.“
What is worthy?
A measure of value or worth is compared to demand, supply and relativity of the environment. The ratio of a thing as compared to its environment. The importance, usefulness, worth of a thing to the one measuring the value.
The more we assign value or worth to the goal, the more we think we need to work for, suffer for or train for to accomplish it. That struggle and sacrifice increase its worthiness. That struggle and sacrifice is what we get satisfaction from and what we associate success with.
So Why the Easy Win?
Human biology is made to adapt and respond to demands that are placed upon it. The stronger the demand, the stronger the response. It evolves and grows based on the frequency and intensity of use.
A big risk successfully executed creates a BIG PLEASURE response.
A small risk successfully executed creates a small pleasure response.
A big risk failed creates a BIG PAIN response.
A small risk failed creates a small pain response.
Once a big pain response occurs, the brain creates an increase in resistance to executing the same (or similar) challenging element again. The more failure, the more it reinforces its resistance to it.
The Easy Win:
1. Builds Self-Confidence
The easy win creates the reinforcing idea in the brain of accomplishment.
It creates baby steps to building self-confidence. Self-satisfaction. Self-belief. The feasibility of success improves.
2. Creates A Dopamine Release
Dopamine is released when you receive a reward through food, success or otherwise. The dopamine release helps with reinforcement of the activity that produced the feel-good dopamine release. The dopamine release also helps the brain focus, in order to attain more of what caused the previous dopamine release.
So, now you’re starting to associate pleasure with the achievement of your goals. You’re getting used to accomplish your goals and your biology is supporting pleasure and focus.
3. Allows For Testing
When you are taking smaller steps there is less consequence in testing, pivoting, and improving. You have more opportunities for testing without devastating consequences.
4. Leverages the Principle of Progressive Resistance & Hedonic Adaptation
Through the easy win you begin to familiarize yourself with your “big worthy goal” one step at a time, until it feels like it’s possible.
A series of easy wins build a bridge to BIG dreams. Something that seemed so far away before, now feels like it could happen.
5. Builds Supportive Habits
You get used to executing the idea. You build a routine and habits around it.
You can build upon it. Brick by brick.
To Sum Up
Leveraging the easy win can sometimes feel like it’s “beneath you” or not worthy enough of your time.
However, it’s a calculated and streamlined way to grow as a person, to reach our goals one step at a time, to stretch and grow while building confidence and to feel successful and fulfilled.
Share your experience with incorporating the “easy win” into your success strategy below!
This means we make sense of our world by comparing one thing to another. In order to “know” one thing as a human, you must “know” its other side.
For example, most people perceive hot and cold two opposite things. They are actually the same thing. The same spectrum. 2 sides of the same coin.
The “coin” is the spectrum.
Although they are on the same line, they are on different sides of the spectrum, which is why we perceive them as opposites.
This law is known as Principle IV: The Principle of Polarity
“Everything is Dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled.”
– The Kybalion
This principle embodies the truth that everything is dual, polar and has an opposite. We can know something by comparing it to something else. These “opposites” are varying degrees of the same thing, located on the same scale, on the same line.
In human existence, what you judge as being opposites are actually variations of the same thing.
So in order to “know” one, or to “get closer” to one, you “know the other”. That contrast is what allows you to “see” it.
You cannot know one without knowing the other.
This is Universal Law as explained in the Hermetic text, the Kybalion.
and this law operates in dualistic consciousness – A.K.A human existence.
NOTE: Not all consciousness states are dualistic. Within unity consciousness, there is no good and bad, no hot and cold, no there or here, no right now or later.
They ARE.
And many times, they ARE BOTH – and NEITHER.
Ok, back to the dualistic human experience.
So here’s where it gets awesome because it’s how you get everything you want.
It works like this:
To get something you give it away.
To take control you give up control.
To know what you want you must know what you don’t want.
To gain freedom you must discipline yourself
Can’t I just get the thing I want, instead of looking for it’s opposite?
Naturally, if you want something you just go and get it.
But for all the things that you believe are harder to attain or you do not “know” (a.k.a have not experienced), you may find it hard to get for 2 reasons.
The law of attraction, a.k.a, Principle I: The Principle of Mentalism. You perpetually create a state of want which creates a state of want, which creates a state of want, causing more want to appear until you start to seriously doubt yourself in it’s attainment. #Manifesationtroubleshooting 😛
You will not be able to see it when you have it. You will not know it, feel it and thereby it goes undetected by you.
So that’s the human way of doing things…
Then there’s the energy alchemist way, using applied knowledge to your benefits to shortcut the process. That’s why we’re here my friend. 😉
Think of it as an operating manual to the multi universal being that you are.
Why Does it Work?
Once you understand that these “seemingly opposites” lie on the same line of a spectrum, the scale can be easily adjusted from, metaphorically speaking, left to right, right to left. Take hold and cold, and dull and sharp. You can slide from cold into hot, but you cannot slide from cold into sharp. That is a different line. You have the ability to transmute sadness to happiness. To go from scattered to focused.
The Law of Duality (Principle of Polarity) works hand in hand with all the universal principles, as shown with the law of attraction, Principle l: The principle of mentalism. It also works very closely with principle V.
Principle V: The Principle of Rhythm
“Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall; the pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates.”
-The Kybalion
What it is:
This principle embodies the truth that in everything there is manifested a measured motion, to and fro; a flow and inflow, backward and forward. It is a pendulum-like movement between the two poles which exist in accordance with the Principle of Polarity described a moment ago.
We see and understand the rise-and-fall behavior of these energy waves that permeate our existence.
So, how do I get to the polar opposite?
When you are going through the darkest of times you can realize that you are on the same spectrum of the best times of your life.
You can learn to navigate that line and experience it’s polar “opposite”.
The secret is not to force it. Let everything have it’s time, as it has it’s purpose and to rest in the certainty that “what goes up will go down” and vice-versa.
It’s Universal law and it’s science.
So check out the rise and fall of those waves. That same “up and down” works closely with Principle III: Th Principle of Vibration, which states that everything vibrates and everything is in constant motion.
Therefore, when you “know” something such as pain, that will naturally swing to pleasure because that swing is a natural physical law.
So take temperature as an example. If you are sort of warm and put your hands in hot water (not burning), you feel more warmth. But, if you hands are freezing and you put your hands in hot water your feel much more contrast, more extreme, more heat.
And it gets better…
If you “know” or experience an extreme polarity upon the same line, you can enhance your capacity for experience of the other pole.
You know the “hit rock bottom” just before you “make it big” scenario?
Or the people who have deep personal struggles expand their capacity for love and compassion.
How do I know what is on the same spectrum?
Some are obvious, cold and hot, black and white, some not so obvious at first glance – apathy and love, depression and motivation. (Btw, if you keep going towards the more extreme of motivation you get inspiration.)
– Consciousness Liberty
Many “not so obvious at first” spectrums I found through experience. Once you have the awareness to look out for them, you will find what is true for you. Truth is personal, not universal.
So now you know how to leverage the Law of Duality.
Be a giver, be a lover, be yourself. And get anything you want. 😉
“Hey Siri, create an event for 10:30 am on Wednesday.”
“You already have 2 events at that time, should I schedule it anyway?”
“Yes.”
Multi-tasking was a hot item in the early 2000’s. It was on everyone’s resume and a highly sought-after skill.
Around 2010, multi-tasking became a dirty word and a recipe for exhaustion, distraction, confusion and scattered performance.
Studies confirmed that switching between tasks resulting in having to take time to ramp-up time between them, causing lost time and more expended mental energy when “switching gears” between tasks.
The Desire for Focus
In a world full of pings, notifications and google on the go, focus has become the go-to aspiration and skillset.
The ability to hone in on the one thing, what matters most, simplification, cutting the noise and getting to the point.
The problem is, there are just too many things. Too many to-do’s, avenues, networks and frankly speaking – too much cool shit out there.
So how can we do it all?
How can we have it all?
Enter a whole new approach to muli-tasking. How to create time out of nowhere.
Strategic Multitasking
Your brain is not designed to write an email and hold a phone conversation at the same time.
But, your brain can do several things at once and, drumroll please, EVEN BETTER when you become strategic in your multitasking.
The idea behind strategic multi-tasking is to multiply your time by doing more than 1 thing at the same time, thus multiplying your time 2X or even 3X.
And It Gets Better
In addition to multiplying your time with multiple tasks, with strategic multi-tasking, you will be able to reduce the time it takes to perform each task – AND enhance the effectiveness of each task.
So, here’s the gameplan:
Double or triple your time by doing more than 1 thing at once.
Do the task better. Create better content, have better ideas, brainstorm better, etc.
Reduce the output time of each by increasing the effectiveness, leading to savingeven moretime.
But first, you need to know which tasks to group, and which not to. Some tasks are more effective when grouped, some tasks require sole focus and concentration.
It comes down to 2 things.
Which tasks require the attention part of your brain and which tasks can be done with the automation part of your brain.
Separating tasks by sensory type based on the 5 senses. Sight, touch, hearing, taste, smell. 2 tasks of the same sensory type cannot be matched.
Tasks are categorized like this:
Habit Tasks – Tasks that have been repeatedly performed and have transitioned from a focus part of your brain to an automated part of your brain. Ideal for combining.
Focus Tasks – Require attention, and usually require analytical ability. Cannot be combined.
Creative Tasks – Require attention and creativity. Can be combined.
Learning Tasks – A.k.a, learning tasks. Require attention. Can be combined.
Habit Tasks
Driving
Making the usual foods (Following a new recipe is learning, and will once again require focused attention)
General house cleaning, window cleaning, dusting, sweeping, tidying and organizing
Walking
Exercising
Listening to music
Showering
Creative Tasks
Creating
Designing
Brainstorming
Strategizing
Problem-solving
Writing
Focus Tasks
Budgeting
Data Analysis
Learning Tasks
Listening to Audiobooks & Podcasts
Reading
These are just samples. You can create and expand your own lists.
Here’s How You Do It / The Formula
TASK COMBINATIONS
HABIT TASK
CREATIVE TASK
FOCUS TASK
LEARNING TASK
HABIT TASK
YES
YES
NO
YES
CREATIVE TASK
YES
NO
NO
NO
FOCUS TASK
NO
NO
NO
NO
LEARNING TASK
YES
NO
NO
NO
Basically, you can ONLY combine Habit tasks with your choice of
habit tasks
creative tasks
learning tasks
Remember, you can only combine tasks if they involve different senses. Reading and cleaning the house both require vision in order to perform the task, but cleaning the house and listening to an audiobook is doable.
How Can Combining Tasks Help Me Do Them Better & Faster?
Boosts Creativity
Creative tasks are better done in combination for a variety of reasons. Starting with the fact that our society is predominantly left-brained centric, getting into our creative mode can be challenging and time-consuming.
Combining creative tasks with habit tasks:
Distracts your brain just enough to let your subconscious mind go to work and brilliant ideas “spark into your mind”
Relaxes your dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to let creativity flow
Gets your body moving to provide more oxygen and blood flow to let ideas flow.
Activities such as listening to music, showering and exercise release dopamine into the brain, which has been linked to creativity.
In a study done by Stanford University, walking boosts creative thinking by an average of 60 percent.
Strategic multi-tasking requires you to do some planning ahead, categorizing and grouping of tasks. In effect, you create a holistic picture of your tasks and awareness around them, and after them.
According to Parkinson’s Law, “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
So, the more work you’re aware of, the more efficient you are.
Bonus points for time-blocking.
Sample tasks that are good to do together
Clean the house + listen to podcasts
Drive + listen to podcasts
Workout + listen to music
Read a book + take notes
Walk + brainstorm + listen to music
Walk + brainstorm + have a conversation related to the topic
Learn something new + dusting the house
Shower + brainstorm
Cook + clean & organize the kitchen + catch up with loved ones on the phone
Protip: Smart Stacking
Smart stacking is all about 2 things, timing and location.
Planning your tasks around the amount of time they will take and where you will be. For example, starting your laundry and doing dishes, then doing computer work, so that your laundry is ready to dry and your dishes are dry and can be put away before you need to leave the house.
Sure beats doing computer work first on impulse and realizing that you need to leave the house while your laundry is still in the wash and has 20 mins left.
For those of you who hire someone to do all your non-lucrative tasks, here’s another example.
Prep an email the night before to send automatically in the morning while you’re in a meeting, so that you can get a response by the time the meeting’s done. Then, maximize the bit of “dead time” between your meeting time and lunch-time by referring to your list of quick tasks to knock out. Plan your deep work for after lunch. Then walk to lunch while brainstorming. Upon returning from lunch, jump into “deep work” or focus tasks.
Old Favorite: Group Like Tasks
This classic technique involves grouping like tasks that complement each other. Completed in succession or through strategic multitasking.
For example, while I’m writing for Consciousness Liberty I write and listen to music. And between writing sessions, I listen to content related to what I’m writing about to see if there is anything that can enhance the article. While listening to content, I like to do a habit task like cleaning, or organizing my computer desktop/workspace.
This is not an exact science, it’s an idea designed to give you a mindset shift around time and efficiency.
The world around us is evolving at a rapid pace, and so should we.
Take the ideas that work for you and design your conscious evolution. You will be pleasantly surprised by how much more you can accomplish.
With science’s new interest in studying psychedelic compounds, we may be on the advent of destigmatizing psychedelics.
Are they drugs that “put holes in your brain” or therapeutic medicines capable of expanding the mind and treating mental disorders, traumas and additions?
Sooo… which is it? Or is it both?
What exactly is happening inside your brain, neurologically, when psychedelics mix with your body chemistry?
Let’s dive deeper. Beyond the trip’s experiential effects and into the science of psychedelics, specifically into its effects on the biochemistry and neurology within the brain.
Experiential effects may include:
Hallucinations. Seeing patterns, colors, and figures both with the eyes and within the mind’s eye
Increased sensory experiences
Changes in time and perception
Nausea, vomiting (Seen more specifically with ayahuasca)
Anxiety or paranoia
What psychedelic substances are we referring to, exactly?
In this article, we are examining the effects of ayahuasca, DMT, ketamine, LSD and psilocybin. In this article, we refer to these substances within the general term, “psychedelics”.
But first, let’s briefly run through each:
Ayahuasca – A psychedelic brew made primarily from the leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub along with the stalks of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine. The psychoactive compound within it is known as N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). When ingested, it usually gets rapidly broken down by enzymes called monoamine oxidases (MAOs).
Banisteriopsis caapi contains potent MAO inhibitors (MAOIs) called β-carbolines, that allow the DMT within the ayahuasca to have psychedelic effects.
Traditionally used for spiritual purposes by tribes in. the Americas, specifically in the Amazonian region.
Trips last about 6 hours.
DMT – DMT, or N, N-dimethyltryptamine, is a psychoactive molecule found in many plant species. It can be combined with an (MAOI) and drank as a tea or smoked directly.
Trips last 25-45 mins.
Ketamine – Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that was developed in the early 1960s and used in human and veterinary medicine for anesthesia. It can be taken orally in pill or liquid form, snorted or taken intravenously. It is a sedative, analgesic and a paralytic. It can cause hallucination and disassociation.
Traditionally used as an anesthetic and as an alternative to phencyclidine (PCP), which caused powerful hallucinations that usually were longer lasting than ketamine.
Trips last 40 mins -2 hours depending on dosage.
LSD – Synthetically created psychedelic manufactured from lysergic acid, which is found in the ergot fungus that grows on rye and other grains. Typically manufactured into liquid form, then placed onto little paper dots taken orally.
Trips last about 12 hours.
Psilocybin – A psychedelic found in over 20 different species of mushrooms. Once ingested, psilocybin is converted by the body into psilocin, a psychoactive compound. Also known as “shrooms or “magic mushrooms”.
Traditionally used by indigenous cultures in spiritual practice.
Trips last about 6 hours.
We are omitting various psychedelic substances such as PCP, DOI, mescaline and marijuana for simplification and narrowing down of information based on research.
We have much left to discover about the intricate interactions of psychedelics and the brain. Here’s what we’ve found so far based on research.
1. Your DMN Activity is Reduced or “Shut Off”
In 2012, tests done by English neuropsychopharmacologist, David Nutt, found reduced blood flow to the Default Mode Network (DMN), in the brain.
Latter neuroimaging tests concluded that neural activity in the Default Mode Network was dramatically reduced due to psychedelics.
What is the Default Mode Network (DMN)?
The Default Mode Network is a network of pathways that play a major role in the automatic (default) functioning of the mind at rest. This includes functions such as autobiographical recollection, mind wandering and processing self-related information. As its name implies, it automatically starts working when your mind is wandering or thinking about the self.
When attention is placed on the external environment, a.k.a “being in the moment”, the DMN is less active.
So basically, when your “in your mind” your DMN is working and when your “in the now”, it’s function is reduced.
The reduced function of the DMN under the effects of psychedelics resembles a brain under meditation. Meditation also reduces the activity in the DMN.
The DMN has been associated with associations of the “ego” or “self”.
This depression of neural activity leads to feelings of disassociation with self and “oneness”, “wholeness” an “connection to all”.
2. Decrease in Thalamic Activity
In one study done by Carhart-Harris, from brain imaging of volunteers on Psilocybin showed decreased activity in the thalamus gland. The thalamus gland functions as a relay station, or gatekeeper, for sensory information. It is also involved complex brain processes related to consciousness, like sleep and wakefulness. The thalamus plays an integral role in cortical processing in general for higher-order brain processing of various types.
Since the thalamus acts as a gatekeeper, it’s reduced function allows for freer information transfer and changes in consciousness, such as feelings of sleep or wakefulness.
3. Increase in the Overall Connections in Your Brain
Along with a decrease in DMN and Thalamic neural activity, researchers saw an increase in neural activity between brain networks under psychedelic compound influences in neuroimaging studies.
A study, Homological scaffolds of brain functional networks, published Dec. 6, 2014, studied the effects of psilocin, the psychoactive compound in psilocybin on 15 healthy test subjects, each scanned on 2 separate occasions.
The active ingredient in the psychedelic drug, psilocybin, seems to completely disrupt the normal communication networks in the brain, by connecting “brain regions that don’t normally talk together.”
The DMN, the salience network, (which helps identify behaviorally relevant information), the frontoparietal network, (involved in attentional control and conscious awareness), all show stronger connections to each other.
–The Brain on Psilocybin: A visualization of connectivity between functional areas in the brain during the resting state under placebo, left, and psilocybin, right. (Source: Adapted from Petri et al. 2014)
Psilocybin appears to relax the constraints on brain function. This allows for brain function to occur in a more flexible and holistic manner. The default organization of the brain transforms into a strong, stable, topologically long-range functional connections.
“These functional connections support cycles that are especially stable and are only present in the psychedelic state. This further implies that the brain does not simply become a random system after psilocybin injection, but instead retains some organizational features, albeit different from the normal state.”
Researchers observed more connections between neurons in different areas of the brain perfectly synchronized in space and time. The effects studied are found to be similar to those found in the brain during meditation.
LSD study shows neurological effects on the brain
Researchers from the Psychedelic Research Programme, jointly set up by the Beckley Foundation and Imperial College London have published their research on the effects on LSD on the brain. They applied multimodal neuroimaging to subjects who were injected with LSD.
This study shares the findings of LSD on the brain’s network communication, blood flow and electrical activity using fMRI BOLD, arterial spin labeling and magnetoencephalography (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016).
Similar to the psilocybin study, They found the LSD decreases communication in the DMN and increases holistic, globalized communication between various brain regions. They found that the highest level of communication occurred in the regions with the highest density of serotonin-2A (5-HT2A) receptors, LSD acting as an agonist to this type of receptors.
They also found similar brain patterns in the effects of psilocybin and the brain in dream state.
“I was fascinated to see similarities between the pattern of brain activity in a psychedelic state and the pattern of brain activity during dream sleep, especially as both involve the primitive areas of the brain linked to emotions and memory. People often describe taking psilocybin as producing a dream-like state and our findings have, for the first time, provided a physical representation for the experience in the brain.”
As DMN activity disintegrates under LSD, it allows for a magnificent increase in communication between brain networks that are normally highly segregated. This produces a more integrated pattern of connectivity throughout the entire brain, which may be associated with more fluid modes of cognition.
Brain scans have shown that ayahuasca increases the neural activity in the brain’s visual cortex and limbic system while also quieting the brain’s DMN. The limbic system is responsible for processing memories and emotions.
Research suggests that this holistic interconnected brain function plays a key role in the drugs’ effects. The magnitude of this effect is directly correlated to the strength of the subjective experience of ‘ego-dissolution’ and feelings of oneness and unity.
Does a decrease in DMN/thalamic activity hurt my brain?
A decrease in the DMN does not show adverse effects to your brain. Effects of reductions to the DMN are similarly found within your brain when your attention is focused on your environment in the present moment, dreaming, within an enhanced emotional state or being or in meditation.
Does an increase in neural network connectivity hurt my brain or overload it?
When connectivity between sections of the brain increases, research shows that your brain is not under pressure or troubled.
“There was dramatic temporary reorganization of the communication in great enhancement in neuronal activity and communication. The new connections were perfectly synchronized in space and in time. It’s almost as if your brain knows how to do that stuff, by default but it’s forgotten it.”
Your brain is not troubled or but under pressure, but is doing what it naturally does.
“[Psylocin doesn’t] agonize your receptors or do harm to them. ..They bind with them. The Psylocin molucule is an exact replica of your seretonin molecule which you produce by yourself. …It doesn’t do any harm to the receptor, doesn’t cause toxicity, no tissue damage and the exact same copy as seratonin.”
– Simon Keremedchiev https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyAgx_tzh80#t=6m50s
Under the effects of psychedelics, as the functionality within the DMN decreases, your brain will use new connections for the signal stimulus of the thoughts and actions that you are having.
Using these new connections leads to new ways of processing information and emotions.
This reorganization is known as neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change continuously throughout an individual’s life, e.g., brain activity associated with a given function can be transferred to a different location, the proportion of grey matter can change, and synapses may strengthen or weaken over time.
A study done by David. E Olson and team showed evidence that Serotonergic psychedelics increase neuroplasticity including neuritogenesis, spinogenesis, and synaptogenesis.
“When we grew neurons in a dish—which is not unlike growing a plant in a pot—and fed them psychedelic compounds, the neurons sprouted more dendritic branches, grew more dendritic spines, and formed more connections with neighboring neurons.”
So cool, psychedelics promote new creations of neuritogenesis, spinogenesis, and synaptogenesis. What exactly is happening here?
Neuritogenesis – The formation of new neurites (axons/ dendrites) that extend from the cell body.
Spinogenesis – The formation of new dendritic spines in neurons.
Synaptogenesis – The formation of synapses between neurons in the nervous system.
It’s basically an increase in the number of dendrites, dendric spines and axons and receptors (synapses) in the brain.
So what does this look like, exactly?
Here’s what a neuron looks like
Within the soma, or the main part of the cell is the nucleus containing the typical components of a human cell. What sets the neuron cell apart are its little branches that serve to send and receive information – axons and dendrites.
Axons primarily take information from the cell outward and dendrites primarily take information from outside to the neuron.
Here is a close up of their synapses that are used to relay information between neurons.
that psychedelics promoted synaptogenesis by increasing the density, but not the size of synapses. Ex vivo slice recordings revealed that both the frequency and amplitude of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) were increased following DMT treatment.
It is important to note that the promotion of neural growth by these psychedelics may not always be a good thing. More research has yet to be done on the promotion of growth of neurons caused by psychedelics.
More Detail Into Psychedelic Effects & Neuroplasticity
The neuroplasticity-promoting effects of psychedelics classifies them as psychoplastogens.
What are psychoplastogens?
Psychoplastogens are neurotherapeutics that promote rapid structural plasticity and neuroplasticity.
Research shows that all of these compounds work by activating mTOR—a key protein involved in cell growth.
Serotonergic psychedelics, such as psilocybin bind to the 5-HT2A serotonin receptors. The 5-HT2A serotonin receptor is the primary receptor responsible for the hallucinogenic effects of psychedelics.
Higher 5-HT2A binding affinity generally predicts more potent psychoplastogenic effects.
Keep in mind that higher levels of dysregulated (regulatory impaired) mTOR have also been shown to be present in diabetes, obesity, depression and certain cancers. That is not to conclude that psychoplastogens cause these effects, just that mTOR is a key protein involved in cell growth.
5. No Evidence of Addictive Potential
Unlike dopamine stimulating substances, which are shown to be addictive, psychedelics act primarily on the serotonin system. This has been shown to have negligible habit-forming potential and shows no evidence of addiction.
One psychedelic, Ketamine, stimulates the NMDA glutamate receptor, instead of the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor, and is found to have addictive potential.
The psychedelic, ayahuasca, is used to treat addictions to other substances such as cocaine, heroin and alcohol.
6. Potential Harmful Effects Observed From Psychedelics
The majority of these psychedelics show no harmful effects. Studies show that chronic frequent ketamine users show impaired on spatial working memory, pattern recognition memory, and dissociative effects
Frequent ketamine use is associated with impairments in working memory, episodic memory and aspects of executive function as well as reduced psychological wellbeing. ‘Recreational’ ketamine use does not appear to be associated with distinct cognitive impairments although increased levels of delusional and dissociative symptoms were observed. As no performance decrements were observed in the ex‐ketamine users, it is possible that the cognitive impairments observed in the frequent ketamine group are reversible upon cessation of ketamine use, although delusional symptoms persist.
Urinary tract disease was also found to be associated with chronic ketamine use.
Prolonged, frequent psychedelic creates resistance to its effects. This was also demonstrated cross psychedelic substances, meaning frequent chronic use of one can cause resistance to another.
Psychedelics & Mood Disorders
Atrophy of neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a key role in the pathophysiology of depression and related disorders. Psychoplastogens that promote neurological growth in the PFC have been shown to have anti-depressive potential.
Psychoplastogens promote neurological growth in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). This is the area of the brain involved in emotional expression and management, personality expression, planning, decision making and social skills.
“Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and addiction share common neural circuitry and have high comorbidity.”
The structural changes induced by psychedelics appear to result from stimulation of the TrkB, mTOR, and 5-HT2A signaling pathways and could possibly explain the clinical effectiveness of these compounds.
“Like ketamine, serotonergic psychedelics and entactogens have demonstrated rapid and long-lasting antidepressant and anxiolytic effects in the clinic after a single dose.”
Expand and redefine your perspective thus leading to new insights and opinions.
Biologically create new neural networks leading to using new parts of your brain in new ways.
Several reports suggest that psychedelics are capable of increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The role of BDNF in both neuritogenesis and spinogenesis is well known. Fear extinction can be enhanced by increasing levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the PFC.
Short vs Long-Term Effects
The short-term effects of psychedelics, occurring within the duration of the trip, are feelings of oneness, connection, love, self-acceptance, feelings of enlightenment, loss of self, loss of the concept of time, awe and transcendence deep spiritual understanding.
Psychedelics are also found to have long-term psychological effects, which persist long after the trip is over.
They include:
Openness to experience and new perspective on life
Depression and anxiety gone for after 6 months after 1 use
No evidence of addition and found to treat additions.
Loss of self, changes in the concepts of time
“A growing body of evidence suggests that classical psychedelic compounds such as LSD, psilocybin and DMT in ayahuasca can promote enduring changes in personality traits, attitudes and beliefs… Focusing more specifically on psilocybin, a single high dose of this naturally occurring compound was associated with enduring increases in trait openness, psychological wellbeing and life satisfaction in healthy volunteers 14 months later.”
A group of researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine led by Griffiths conducted a study to assess the immediate and long-term psychological effects of the psilocybin experience, using a modified version of the mystical experience questionnaire and a rigorous double-blind procedure.
Psychedelics reduce the function of the DMN and thalamus, which act as regulators for brain activity.
When met with a stimulus generated from a thought or emotion, different organizational functions occur within the brain to process the stimulus.
This has shown to stimulate neuroplasticity and neurogenesis.
Psychedelic compounds such as LSD, DMT, ketamine and psilocin increase neuronal growth including dendritic arbor complexity. They promote dendritic spine growth and stimulate synapse formation.
The long-lasting effects of psychedelics after the trip show greater levels of emotional wellbeing and are showing potential in the treatment of addiction, trauma and mental disorders.
