Hello! Just wanted to give a quick update as I get into a busy week of moving back to the US and taking care of a few more things here!
I recently had an incredible conversation with the founder of Two Wolf Foundation, Brian Flynn - and am looking forward to sharing that interview the week after next.
In it, we talk about the various phases of a journey to healing - which may happen at new phases of life (not a one-time thing!), the importance of being in touch with the beauty of nature. A few themes that cover this journey also include:
- finding your 'people'.. the ones who want more for you than from you, who want to see you shine and grow, and who are devoted to that within themselves. We go over the risks of being around people that may keep us stuck in patterns from our past
- not doing the journey alone - we need people, and we talk about humans as feedback systems
- the need for a sense of knowing we have something to contribute to something more than ourselves
.. of course with plenty of science to support all of this!
I personally am working on optimizing my day to day operations. Currently, I wake up around 4:45/5 am, so that I have time to do some stretches and movement, meditate, read from spiritual texts, journal, gratitude and set intentions (the days I neglect to do some of these things definitely go off track more easily). I then write and research my book from around 6:30 to 10:30, and get some exercise and fresh air before I work remotely training brainwaves and biofeedback from 12 to 8 PM. To help with how much cognitive processing goes into these days, I intermittent fast and try to stay in ketosis as long as I can to keep my brain focused. I also add social connection whenever possible, and sunlight early in the day.
With all of that, I will say that 12 hours on computers (plus additional hours for podcast editing and other things), working remotely and being entrenched in data and biofeedback frequencies, is not ideal for mental health. This is one of the key things I am building towards changing in the next year or so. My book deadline is May 30 and changing jobs in the middle of that would add its own stress, so I am needing to power through as best I can for a bit longer. On a personal note, although helping my mother with her dementia and being in a surrounding that has its own challenges for various reasons, I'm grateful I got to set some services up and spend this time before I enter a very different phase of life.
Joining a jiu jitsu group first week of May and a few other outdoor social group gatherings, as well as training events will help me add intentional social connection time and physical movement during my schedule soon. This will help in the interim as I still need around 12 hours per day on computers (due to my job) until the book is finished! There doesn't seem to be any way around that at the moment, so it's all about optimization and mental/physical health right now. this includes prioritizing sleep, hydration, nutrition.
And with that.. I will end this article (lol) so I can switch mental gears before the new technology-filled day begins. In a strange way, I am grateful for the clarity this has given me about what I'd like to add and subtract from my life. There are no quick fixes to any situation... all we can do is keep putting in what needs to be done and showing up as best we can. I know what my vision is, I just know I have still have a ways to go. The fact that I have been able to keep putting in this work without any feedback or dopamine hits - only a long-term game plan in my sights - has given me validation that I can stick with something and not give up.
Grateful to all of you who are continuing to support me even though you are not seeing a lot of content from me right now!
What's your self-talk? This is an article I wrote last year... and interestingly in my book now I am writing about private and inner speech - theories developed in large part by developmental psychology legends Vygostky and Luria, and that also aligns with some of the most impactful teachings from meditation I have learned, as well as a process Iheard a veteran who overcame his own depression use by becoming more aware of and in control of these inner voices. I believe there is PROFOUD potential to change the trajectory of society by diving deeper into self-talk/inner speech .. the convergence of what I see in brain qEEG's also aligns with this. More to come (especially in my book!)
On a side note...
Some people who know the deeper part of my journey know that my coming here to Calgary was not a detour or a sidetrack. It was a deliberate decision to go through some processes in order to share them with others. What I am attempting to process and eventually share is not easily put into short articles or posts - and trying to do so often interrupts my process (which is a much longer-term one than my usual content or teachings). What I am learning through this can't be learned in textbooks - it has to be lived, embodied, felt, seen.. and then acknowledged, repaired and transmuted in a very conscious and explicit way. Otherwise, these processes (which rely exclusively on the mind and nothing else), will remain hidden in our unconscious - with unprocessed, unacknowledged damage passed on from generation to generation.
So I thank you for your patience as it may be quiet from me from time to time. But there is an intentionality behind all of this. It's part of a long-game. It's part of how I learn and then teach from a very deep and authentic level what I come to know as helpful and healing on a path of growth and evolution.
