Today is a different take on the question “What is Possible?” Warning…don’t listen if you want to avoid growth in the area of death by suicide. Yesterday I was asked to do another episode because it has been a couple weeks. I know this beautiful human was not expecting such a heavy subject, especially knowing that suicide has affected her in such an intimate way. What I didn’t tell her is that 6 days ago a friend of mine on the other side of the country died by suicide. While I’m recording this, he is being buried. This is for you Joe and anyone else who has died by suicide. I’m offering this episode as a way for him to live on, positively influencing as many people who listen to this…

·        Most of us walk around with masks on. Some are more elaborate and cover more than others, but we all do it. Ex. anxiety about work, relationship pain, feeling inadequate as a parent, fearing being a burden, etc.

·        Why do we do it? (safety, acceptance, and love)

·        What if we were seen for who we really are? 

o   Our bodies are just our vehicles. 

·        It is so easy to ask why people do suicide…We are all accomplices in every death by suicide…we are not creating an environment were people feel safe to explore and express themselves fully. They cannot trust that they will be accepted for being a little different than what they were told to be (generations). They cannot trust that they will be loved beyond their problematic vehicles. That’s on me, you, all of us. NO ONE PERSON, ALL OF US!

·        It is so hard to hear, but the most religious and spiritual groups tend to the biggest culprits. 

·        Every time we look down at someone for the way they look or dress, judge them for a tattoo, piercing, hairstyle, judge them for the way their vehicle is not properly working, criticize them for how they “should” be doing things, find fault in how they are coping with their pain 

·        Faulty vehicles (emotional brain). We can see the world as bunch of broken vehicles or see the infinite souls that reside in the bodies. 

·        We know why we do it. We don’t feel safe. When we don’t feel safe, we try to control everything around us or just avoid an distract ourselves so we can create a sense of safety/security within us. 

·        I’m not asking you to start a non-profit, join a group, or volunteer every Saturday. It starts with the way you treat yourself. I may not have shown it today, but I have a lot of empathy for us because I know those who are the most judgement and critical with the world are the worst to themselves. For the group that avoids facing those inner shadows and thinks they are loving others…hear me, listening and understanding communicates love more than telling them what to do or how to do their lives. Again, this is just a reflection of your fears…you fear not being enough for the person in front of you. Again, you feel unsafe. You don’t have to make this about you. Make it truly about them. Genuinely listen, understand, and ask what they need. Most times, by the time you get to the question of “what do you need?” you have already give it to them. You were the gift. 

·        So this is my ask for Joe and all the others who have died by suicide. Treat yourself well enough to where you don’t have to judge others to feel safe. Create a safe, accepting, and loving environment within yourself for yourself so that everyone around you can take off the masks. Otherwise, we may never see who is really beneath the mask.

·        If you need help understanding how to create this type of environment for yourself or others, find a guide. LLT is a self-guided option. 

Continuing our search for answering the question of What is Possible and how to live limitless. I was going to do the next episodes on “Think and Live Longer.” But there was a different plan…

·        Personal story of Other Lives, Other Selves

·        As a therapist, I am always looking for new ways to help people. This is quite unconventional and controversial…here is how I see it: aim is healing. “as a therapist and not a philosopher I am perhaps fortunate in that I am not shackled by the problem of belief of disbelief…for the therapist there is another kind of truth…that which is real for the patient.”

·        Dr. Woolger is an Oxford University graduate from the mid-60s that would eventually immerse himself in Zurich, Switzerland in Jungian Psychology…

·        4 ways to look at past life regression therapy:

o   Psychic: past life readings and mediumship

o   Parapsychological: favors scientific and experimental investigation of past life claims

o   Religious: looking at past lives as an article of faith

o   Psychotherapeutic: using past life regression in the service of therapeutic change

·        “It doesn’t matter whether you believe in reincarnation or not for past life therapy to be effective….it is about the healing power of the unconscious mind.” 95% of daily functioning, according to Dr Lipton. 

·        “It is just a means that may help further emotional catharsis, self-understanding, and healing” = therapy 

·        “The focus is on the person, not the events.” “The healing power of story.” 

·        “The hypnotherapist actively directs and helps rework the stories, images, and fixed ideas that arise from the unconscious in trance states.” Trance – extremely relaxed state that allows access to the unconscious mind. 

·        ”We do not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the dark conscious.” Unfinished dramas of the soul…Insecurity and fear of abandonment, depression and low energy, phobias and irrational fears, sadomasochistic behavioral problems, guilt and martyr complexes, material insecurity and eating disorders, accidents/violence/physical brutality, family struggles, sexual difficulties and abuse, marital difficulties, chronic physical ailments….

·        Practically: focus on the body’s pain (emotional/physical), follow the story that emerges, ask questions AS IF it were a memory, listen for the stories behind or beneath the story (meaning or the “deeper, archaic, lurking fear or trauma”), experience it fully in the body, and then do the work to heal the underlying wound. 

·        No matter what this is an emotional recounting from one’s personal perspective…the pain is real regardless of memory or fantasy. Emotional pain manifests in the physical body if not addressed. 

·        We’ve all had memories of things that didn’t happen the way we remember…but our emotional connection to that memory is real. Could it be a past life? I don’t know. Could it be your body/mind/emotional complex trying to act out the pain in someone else’s story to make it more palatable to address? I don’t know.

·        “For the therapist, what is important is not the literal truth of a story but its psychological truth.” 

·         

·        2007 research article from the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences University of Virginia Health System identified 2500 cases of children claiming to remember past lives. 

o   Most are 2-4 years old and stopping around 6-7 years old. Some of th

Mind Over Medicine. Dr. Lisa Ranking, MD. Last episode we talked about the factors of whole health, how loneliness poisons the body, but loving relationships can heal the body, how overwork kills us, and how positive emotions benefit health

·        Ch 8: How to Counteract the Stress Response

o   Studies have shown 60-90% of doctors visits can be attributed to the stress response

o   Inviting the parasympathetic response. Overwhelming research showing efficacy in treating angina, arrhythmias, asthma, herpes, coughs, constipation, diabetes, ulcers, dizziness, fatigue, hypertension, infertility, insomnia, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, swelling, PMS, arthritis, side effects of cancer and AIDs, as well as all forms of pain. 

o   Meditation. Personal experience and scientific evidence. Monks dressing themselves in freezing temperatures at 15k feet and dry the sheets instead of dying. 

o   Many types of meditative practice: mindfulness, witness consciousness (observe thoughts), energy meditation (chakras), all the way to altered consciousness. BEING to balance DOING. 

o   Starting a meditative practice: create a sacred space, guided meditations on Spotify or YouTube

o   Other ways to elicit parasympathetic response: creativity, sexual release, time with loved ones and spiritual family, doing work you love, laughing, pets, journaling, praying, yoga/movement, music, gardening, etc. 

·        Ch 9: The Six Steps to Healing Yourself

o   Heal (to make whole) versus Cure (to be free of disease or symptoms). 

o   Step One: Believe healing is possible. Which is why we are discussing “What is Possible?”

o   Step Two: Connect and surrender to the Divine Healer within, letting your inner knowing guide your healing journey

o   Step Three: Surround yourself with healing support

o   Step Four: Diagnose the Root Cause of your illness. Also recognize what purpose the illness is serving

o   Step Five: Write the prescription for yourself

o   Step Six: Treat your fears and resistance (what changes are you afraid to make? Leap of Faith)

o   The rest of the chapter walks you through creating your own personal prescription. 

·        Appendix B: 10 Factors that Support Radical Remission

o   Radically change your diet: whole veggies, fruits, grains, beans. Eliminating meat, sugar, dairy, and refined grains.

o   Take responsibility for your health.

o   Follow your intuition.

o   Use herbs and supplements that resonate with you. Kinesiology. 

o   Release suppressed emotions

o   Increase positive emotions

o   Embrace social support

o   Deepen spiritual connection

o   Identify a strong reason (purpose) for living

o   Regular exercise/movement

·        Short story about “What is possible…”

·        April’s book: Think and Live Longer by Dr. Trip Goolsby MD and his wife LeNae. He started medical school in 1975 and practiced as a medical oncologist until 2013 when he and LeNae transitioned to an integrative clinic. Preview: yourinfinitehealth.com.

Closing: What is one thing you will take away from the episode today? What will you do? 

  Remember: Living Lucky is not living alone…if this helped you, share it. The links are in the notes… Follow us to know when the next episode is available. Please rate the podcast. Live Lucky Therapy is available. My book and workbook are on amazon. Please rate those as well! I appreciate being with you today, and I look forward to discussing Living Lucky more next time.

www.liveluckytherapy.com