Embedded Files
Self-Guided Work
"I dream of a world where I can lay my vulnerabilities out there, open for everyone, until they are my strengths. I am longing for this."
Harper Steele
This Site is NOT a Replacement for Therapy or Medication
Keys to Success
Keys to Success
These Keys to Success have been foundational to my progress and recovery. There are many things that can hinder or help you through this work. These are a few I've found to be valuable and served as a rudder guiding me throughout my process and continue to guide me today.
One of the most important things to remember is to be kind to yourself. This doesn't mean letting yourself off the hook or not being accountable. You can be truthful with yourself in a kind and loving way. Remembering your particular issues of struggle are not an indication of a flaw or some failure. Most often they surface, or come to be, as a result of life experiences; they are a normal reaction to abnormal situations. While big T traumas have a huge and more obvious impact on us, little 't' traumas can have an impact which is often more difficult to pinpoint as the "source" or origin of our response. Talk with your therapist to tease through understanding the events or experiences which have led to what you are experiencing in the present. Approach yourself with open, kind, and non-judgemental curiosity.
Be committed to yourself and your process
Your relationship with yourself is the most important one. No one else can make you believe in yourself, or do any of the work FOR you. Yes, choose people in your life that help you feel your own inner strength, but know that they can't MAKE you feel that. You are the only one who can go through the process of acceptance and love of self - flaws, mistakes and all - to come to 'KNOW YOURSELF'.
Further, when you are going through truly exceptional and intense things, this commitment is critical. It will likely require you to go against many social norms to create the environment that will be best for YOU through this journey; so that you can survive it, be changed by it and re-engage with life again.
What is your Intention and what are you Attending to?
Once you identify what your larger intention is, you can begin noticing what you are attending to, or paying attention to, If you come back again and again to the question of 'What am Attending to, and is this in line with my Intention?,' you will find this is a powerful tool to keeping yourself accountable, moving toward your intended goals, increase your self awareness, strengthen your power of choice and help you to KNOW yourself more fully.
Our Intentions can change, and we have layers of intention, more immediate and others longer term. Checking in daily with your Intention can be helpful and regular checking in or just simply noticing what we are attending to (paying attention to) and redirecting if we are giving attention to things which are not supportive of the larger Intention. The ability to just notice what you are attending to and then shift that attention, when so desired or needed, is quite empowering. It increases your ability to regulate yourself as well as to manage activation.
Keep it Simple - Just NOTICE & Go Slow
The most important thing to focus on is simply noticing the sensations of the body, the heart and the mind. By practicing noticing, you develop the ability to recognize, and listen to when your body and mind are sending you signals. Noticing develops the observer and creates some distance from thoughts, feelings or sensations. This distance can help reduce the reactiveness of the amygdala and generate a sense of empowerment as a result. Regular practice allows you to harness this power of noticing for regulating your responses, and increases your ability to sit with your feelings without reacting and thus have the opportunity to slowly bring yourself back into calm.
The more you notice, the more you see, and thus the ability to notice becomes greater. When you practice regularly and often, you develop new neural pathways which can lead you to not only respond differently - with more intention and awareness - but also to a reduction in frequency and intensity of the reaction from the nervous system.
Noticing builds the observer. The observer helps you gain the ability to regulate your stress/vagal responses and increase CALM, neutral and homeostasis.
Be gentle - No Judgement! Judgement only hinders you and others
Your brain is busy - that is just how they work. They key is noticing, WITHOUT judgement, and returning to your meditations focus. Judging only hinders your process and the benefit of the meditations. Also learning to stop judging yourself can also help you to diminish your judgement of others... it builds capacity for compassion.
Non-judgement does not mean not pushing yourself. When things are difficult it is easy to make excuses NOT to meditate. Just notice this; if you are attending to your goal and larger intention you can choose to take the time to practice. Holding yourself accountable means being honest with yourself and knowing sometimes you do have to push, or dig deep, for motivation. Non-judgement means doing this kindly, without harshness.
Understand that our DMN (Default Mode Network) is innately self referencing and generally keeps us focused on experiences/feelings of the past, or experiences/anticipated feelings around upcoming events (actual or feared/imaginary). Meditation deactivates the DMN by shifting focus to other parts of the brain. When we meditate we move out of or decrease activation of the DMN and we can begin to recognize that we are safe in the present moment and can become more aware of the present moment. This not only soothes the amygdala and the nervous system, bringing them greater calm, it also increases the plasticity of the brain, allowing for formation of new neural pathways. This process is foundational to changing our brains when our nervous system, and stress response, is stuck.
Practice ALLOWING
This idea is one which sounds easier than it is. Being able to identify when we are resisting things (thoughts, feelings, etc) helps us to have the choice to either continue resisting, or to step into allowing. When we allow, we don't cling to things and we don't push them away. Allowing painful feelings to flow THROUGH us is difficult, but it has a very different effect on us than resisting or clinging. When we allow and give space for our feelings we honor those parts of ourselves, which helps us in integrating our experiences.
This is a word I encourage you to invite into your regular daily awareness. Especially when you feel off, irritated, stuck, or out of sorts. In these moments asking yourself where you may not be allowing things to be as they are. WE have delusions and illusions of control in life and often things feel difficult when we are not just allowing what IS, when we have not ability to change it or make things different. Allowing helps greatly with Acceptance and is a key to Surrender and letting go.
Increase Connection: With Self, Others and the Larger World
KNOW that you are connected to ALL things simply by being alive on the planet RIGHT NOW
Feeling connected is remarkably important to our sense of well-being. We are social creatures and in the depths of our psyche, and our entire being, we are wired for connection. Feeling connected helps: our sense of self; our feelings of being loved, appreciated, cared for, and valued; our perception of our value to the world; our sense of meaning and purpose; our sense of WORTH - that it MATTERS that we exist. Much of the pain created by our society has its root in the belief that we are NOT connected - that the system of domination over others is just or good for the world. This is clearly incorrect, as domination only creates suffering. We absolutely need one another and we impact one another not only with our actions, but also with our words, our thoughts - literally all of our choices. HOW we think about one another - IF we consider one another at all - plays a major role in forming how we move through the world and treat others. Recognizing our impact and making conscious choices about what that looks like an important step toward helping the world be a place of well-being. We are interconnected and woven together... all of us - human and non-human. Feeling connected helps us to experience a richer sense of value in one another and can be a lifeline when we feel desperately isolated and alone in our pain.
Increase Both/AND Thinking
Increase Both/AND Thinking
We are conditioned to think in either/or or black/white ways. Yet this type of thinking tends to leave us rigid, uncompromising, stuck and often agitated, disappointed or miserable. Many mental health issues involve this rigid type of thinking. The antidote = BOTH/AND thinking! Whenever you can, invite this into your mind. It is connected to allowing. Black and white thinking is tied to forcing and judgement. Both/And thinking brings you into a softer state. This can be especially helpful if you are feeling things that seem to conflict. Can you just hold BOTH feelings? Allow BOTH to just BE as they ARE. This helps increase your flexibility and neural plasticity, as well as, greatly increases a sense of balance and calm acceptance.
Spend Time in NATURE
Much has been reported in the media regarding the beneficial impact of spending time in Nature. While any time spent in nature brings benefit to the body and mind, spending intentional time, forest bathing, or meditating in nature, amplifies these effects. Nature quite literally makes us feel better.
On a personal level, I experienced noticeable difference in the efficacy of my meditations when I did them while immersed in Nature. This pattern was consistent regardless of which style I was practicing or which issue I was experiencing at the moment ie: depression, anxiety, PTSD, or complicated grief.
Nature also served as my best ICU ward and sanctuary. When I was unable to get into nature, I noticed a RADICAL difference in my mental state and the level of difficulty I had with managing these states. Nature literally helped me feel more at peace, more calm, more hope, and more connected to myself and the larger world; I could distinctly FEEL the benefit to both my body and my mind.
Don't FORCE - Practice "Least Effort Possible"
This wisdom from my teacher and founder of the NeuroMeditation Institute, Dr. Jeff Tarrant, is GOLD!! Live by this. Yes there are times we must put forth incredible effort, but there is a distinct difference between effort and force. If you feel you are trying to MAKE yourself attain a certain state, or you are trying to MAKE your brain do something, just stop - it won't work. The only route to moving your brain into different states is to drop into yourself, open, and gently allow your mind to be led into the desired state by the meditation you are listening to or remembering. This mindset can apply to many difficulties in life. If things are not going your way ask where you might be forcing and step back. Rivers flow along the route of least resistance. When it comes to meditation - Be the River!
** Get CURIOUS about YOU **
** Get CURIOUS about YOU **
Approaching yourself with curiosity is the BEST antidote to self criticism or judgement. Practicing curiosity is softer, nicer and more compassionate. Curiosity is connected to the sense of wonder and awe. These are states of mind which are beneficial on every level. They also help you shift your Polyvagal System into a calm, neutral, homeostatic state.
Rinse & Repeat
Practicing daily, or at least often, is required to feel the desired benefits. Making time for meditation is often the most difficult part. When you find ways to incorporate/weave regular practice into your life you will notice a difference. Further, continued practice is required to maintain the benefits. There is no plateau where it is no longer beneficial.
You are not to BLAME for what you are experiencing or for your struggle
You are not to BLAME for what you are experiencing or for your struggle
The Foundation
The video below explains how knowledge of the brain, our nervous system and polyvagal systems help you to listen to yourself better and Take the Reins of your Mind.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR BRAIN & Why it Matters!
Learning about the brain and how it functions helps us to better understand our feelings, reactions, responses - mental, physical and emotional - to life's difficult and all too often traumatic experiences.
When you understand what is happening in the brain when you are activated, you can learn how to manage and reduce your reactions.
MOST Importantly: Understanding how your brain works is empowering and is key to taking the reins of your mind and your experience.
You Have 3 Brains: Here's How to Use them
Important Brain Basics
Important Brain Basics
Understanding the Polyvagal System and Trauma
Understanding the Polyvagal System and Trauma
Trauma and the Nervous System
Trauma and the Nervous System
More Sapolsky Videos I recommend for understanding your brain, yourself, and your experience in a different way
Medication and NeuroMeditation
Medication and NeuroMeditation
It is CRITICAL to have a good therapist!
And yes... that applies to everyone! Being completely mentally and emotionally healthy is NOT the norm. The vast majority of people need, and could benefit greatly (as could society) from, therapy. The world would be a better, more sane and humane world if everyone went to therapists regularly like doctors. However, our societal norm is to blame responses to negative experiences on the individual rather than the actual source of the suffering. This is not only unfair, cruel, inhumane and simply wrong, it is also something which further traumatizes those already suffering. For far to long, our societies have placed value on individual gain over the general well-being of others and the world we inhabit.
Our society is not conducive to being a mentally stable and healthy individual. Mental health and emotional intelligence are not taught to us through our culture, school, or society as a whole. Yet we are criticized when we struggle or have difficulty as a result of the various horrors, pains, traumas and scars created by the world itself. Yes if you choose to focus on being the victim it doesn't help you, BUT the world will only keep churning out pain and suffering on greater and greater scales and more permeating ways if we don't acknowledge that the problem isn't usually YOU and your genetics - it is that our system is not designed for MOST of us to thrive in.
YOU are not responsible for the things that happened to you, or the society that fostered many issues, in many of of us and in such a variety of ways.
YOU are not responsible for the fact that you may struggle; especially because our society does not choose to give you the appropriate support, resources, time and opportunity to recover that is needed. The societal message is, and for too long has been, to try harder, or 'pull yourself up' by those NON-EXISTANT 'bootstraps'. This is a myth that we must shed like the dead, diseased skin that it is. It does not serve well-being to embrace, regurgitate or believe in that idea in any way, shape, or form.
The ONLY thing you are responsible for is doing the best that you can. There is no one who can sit in judgement of your choices in how you deal with it... they have not lived your experience. However, if your choices include things that hurt others in any way, you are accountable for your actions. I do not advocate blaming others. I advocate for radical accountability. Facing yourself. Not blaming yourself for the things that happened to you, but rather, learning from the ways that those experience moulded you and influenced you; so that you can then possible learn different tools to manage and regulate this as much as you can. You cannot change the things that impact you, but you CAN change how you respond to it and you CAN do things which reduce the impact over time. Therapy is an essential element to knowing yourself, to rewiring your brain and to taking the reins of your mind & experience in daily life.
If you ARE a practicing therapist and interested in incorporating NeuroMeditation into your practice the NeuroMeditation Institute offers courses which can qualify for Continuing Education Credits. Even if you already meditate, the information and approach are different and personalized. Including this for any of your clients who are willing and able to make the effort will be a VALUABLE tool for their experience of activation of any issue, as well as, managing and regulating themselves when they are activated. It increases a sense empowerment over the mind and the daily experience. You can also find Dr. Tarrant's book on the website as well, which is a very valuable tool to help you begin working with NeuroMeditation.
Only believing you DON'T need a therapist is CRAZY!
Having the support and guidance of a licensed and qualified therapist is crucial to navigating this journey; finding the right one is essential. Make sure you choose one that fits for you, one who meets you where you are at, one who pushes you enough, but not too much, and one whose practices align with your needs.
How to Pick a Good Therapist
How to Pick a Good Therapist
Picking a qualified therapist we are compatible with can be difficult. Especially when there are many grifters who profess ability but who have no real training. Be careful in who you choose to work with. Your mind, your mental health, your well-being are areas you must be very careful with.
ALWAYS choose someone who is licensed and qualified.
I recommend choosing someone with training in the following areas of therapy (of course CBT because this is standard practice):
EMDR
Family Systems Therapy
DBT
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
If possible - Neurofeedback as well.
Impact of Therapy - How Each of Mine Helped Me in Different Ways
Impact of Therapy - How Each of Mine Helped Me in Different Ways
And... my Mom, who was wise enough to listen and take me to a therapist when I was five years old. She instilled in me the importance of turning to therapists for help. Quite unique for the time, she instilled the importance of mental health and the critical notion that struggling because of horrible experiences is not our fault, but it is our choice to address it or not.
Click above to find a licensed therapist where you live or one via telehealth. It's simple... you just put in your zip code and then can filter by insurance, type of therapy etc...
Or Call your insurance and ask who they cover in your area and have them help you refine your search.
EMDR
My Experience
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is extremely helpful with Trauma.
Neuro Feedback
My Experience
This website has SO many AMAZING resources, which are broken down in clear and usable ways, to help you that is safe and inclusive.
This link takes you to the crisis section of a page, which has very important info, but also has more info if you scroll up. There you will find links to finding whatever resource you need.
Acknowledging My Good Fortune
Acknowledging My Good Fortune
None of us can claim praise or condemnation for what we are able to do. We are formed by our experiences and how we are nurtured; our life story moulds WHO we are NOW. I have been very fortunate to have the love and support that I have had in my life. I know that I would not have moved through any of the suffering I experienced without that love. IF you do not feel that support around you, you can create and find it in many ways. Most importantly you can give it to yourself.
Beware of Toxic Positivity
Beware of Toxic Positivity
What is Toxic Positivity? How does it impact people? How to set boundaries with people who are pushing toxic positivity on you... knowing they are doing it out of love and concern.
Toxic Positivity: Why It's Harmful and What to Say Instead
Psychology Today Article
Psychology Today Article
What is Toxic Positivity?: Being Optimistic Has Benefits, but Anything Can Be Taken To An Extreme
Begin with the Body
Begin with the Body
Through our polyvagal system our bodies hold our traumas, memories and emotions and it can serve as a guide not only for what is happening in the mind, but also what we are experiencing in our entire system of BEING. Begin by noticing where you hold tension in the body. Is it your: jaw, tongue, back, solar plexus, chest, neck, gut, pelvis, eyes, head? Through paying attention to where you have tension in your body, you can begin to notice when meditations help ease or relax that tension.
If you struggle to "feel" what is happening in your body, try a body scan meditation to begin working with this process of listening into the body's messages. If you continue to struggle, talk with your therapist about this as there is often a reason that you are more often dissociated from your body.
Learning to listen to your body for information, regarding what kind and state of activation you are experiencing, will help you know which meditation or brain focus to use to restore calm to the whole system. Our minds and bodies are deeply integrated and connected. They are not separate systems but rather are interlocking and interdependent. Information and subsequent chemical response flows two directionally. Building awareness of both your body and your mind, as well as their relationship, will help you become more self aware and conscious of the choices you have which radically impact your experience. It is the path to freeing yourself from living at the mercy of your pain, your experiences, your suffering.
Why Listening To Your Body Matters
Why Listening To Your Body Matters
Meditation for
Attuning to the Body
This meditation guides you through shifting your attention inward to: build connection with self and body; increase awareness of, and ability to listen to, information coming from your body which can help you begin to tune into what state your nervous system is in and to assess effectiveness of interventions
Music: Krishna’s Healing Power by Buddha’s Lounge on YouTube
The Vagus Nerve & Polyvagal Theory
Safety ~ What is it and Why it Matters?
Why Safety is So Important - What is Safety?
Why Safety is So Important - What is Safety?
While Safety seems like a simple word but there are many things that affect our sense of safety. Explore these various forms of safety (listed below) and ask yourself if you feel safe in all of these areas. If you do not, you may need to change your situation in small or large ways. Each area requires certain things to generate a real sense of safety. The video at left explores this.
Safety in Home:
Clearly if you are living in a situation where you are unsafe at home because of physical, emotional, mental, sexual or any kind of abuse, reach out for help. Start with searching for advocacy groups in your area, or go to a protective shelter, or to the police department. You must feel safe in your home. While that is an oversimplification of things, you will never feel relief from anything you are struggling with if you don't feel safe at home. This core basic need for survival MUST come first.
This may mean you have to make a radical change in your living situation, location, or other big life change, which can be terrifying. However, I promise that you will ultimately be so glad you did.
Safety in Community:
If you live in a community that you don't feel safe in, then it is clearly not the right community to be in. Sometimes however, we can increase our sense of safety by reaching out and connecting with others you DO feel safe with. If you try this and continue to feel unsafe it is a good idea to choose a community more aligned with your values and beliefs.
Safety in the World:
Feeling safe in the world today is a difficult thing. Everywhere we look we are reminded of the lack of safety in general. The general turmoil, tension and turbulence in addition to the threats created by climate change result in a world that can feel quite hopeless. Finding those who are working to improve things can help us feel a greater sense of hope. There are indeed many people with innovative ideas for a path forward which includes greater well being for humans, non-humans and the planet as a whole. Just as the mind and body can't be separated, we are interconnected with the planet. Any of the solutions for the future must reflect this. Find people doing this work in both massive and systemic ways, as well as, smaller personal ways. Get involved!
Safety with Self:
Seems obvious but it is more complex than it seems MOST IMPORTANT for your overall sense of well being. This can be a tough one to identify and to be honest with. Often after a traumatic or painful experience experience we don't trust ourselves. This can be remedied by YOU. However, it is work, and requires a commitment to yourself. It can be a slow process, but once your inner self begins to feel you are paying attention and making choices that keep you safe, you begin to feel it more fully. Being willing to make tending yourself your number one priority sends messages to your wounded self that you are SAFE with YOU! Seems simple but it makes a massive difference when you truly feel it.
*** NOTE: If you do not feel safe, ask your therapist for help finding the resources you need to get safe. Other good resources: DHS, Vocational Rehabilitation, emergency shelters or centers, or your local Police if you feel safe going to them. ****
Meditations for to Increase a Sense of Safety
This Meditation anchors you into your stable, rooted self using the vagus nerve; balances the mind through bi-lateral focus and bi-lateral touch
Music: Vagus Nerve Stimulation by Narayanjot Records on YouTube
Using the Cave of Safety to Face the Most Difficult Things
Using the Cave of Safety to Face the Most Difficult Things
The system responds and can return to calm when you send it messages of safety. This meditation is helpful for that, or whenever you need a barrier to the world, a deep sense of safety, unconditional love and support, or when you are doing difficult work. Practicing often can help restore a sense of safety.
Music: Golden Blossom - Tranquil Flute by Buddha’s Lounge on YouTube
The Incredible Impact of Creating Safety for YOURSELF!
The Incredible Impact of Creating Safety for YOURSELF!
This sounds simpler than it is. When your psyche has been traumatized, YOU are truly the only one who can create the deep, polyvagal, sense of safety for yourself. Yes, you need the love of others, but first and foremost, you must trust in yourself as the primary source of safety in life. NeuroMeditation helps you to build, create and develop this trust.
Fostering Self Love
Fostering Self Love
Increasing Compassion and Love for Self can Increase Feelings of Safety with Self
This meditation is the basis and foundation of Open Heart meditations. It increases love and compassion for self and others.
Music: Peaceful Garden by Buddha’s Lounge on YouTube
Why Symbols & Imagery Matter
Why Symbols & Imagery Matter
When we use imagery or symbols in meditation or any form of processing/reflection, if we don't connect with the imagery. - I mean REALLY connect - the desired outcome is generally lacking. For the imagery around the Cave of Safety Meditation (below) for example, if you feel claustrophobic you won't like to use imagery of going deep into the earth, this will in fact hinder any of the benefit of increasing the feeling of safety because your amygdala will be activated and in distress. BE SURE to always give yourself permission to alter any imagery or symbols in any meditation you are working with and use the ones you DO connect with.
The key is you MUST feel it resonate in your heart, gut - your very being! If you don't feel it or connect with it then choose a different image or symbol to work with. You have to FEEL it for it to be helpful/beneficial in its effect.
Other Meditations for Intense States:
Focus on These Things to Keep it Simple When Feeling Activated or Overwhelmed
Focus on These Things to Keep it Simple When Feeling Activated or Overwhelmed
Focus ALL of your attention on ONLY ONE THING - when your mind wanders come back to that ONE thing
*Look at it in great detail: its shape, color, texture, size, any design, decoration or pattern, its ability to reflect light, its smell if it has one, everything you can think of to notice about it. Is it dull or shiny? How does it makes you feel to look at it? Do you feel a desire to touch it? Is it something that inspires you? Just put all of your attention on this ONE thing.
* OR Use the Dancing the Cingulate focus points in the brain
Focus on your BREATH. We are generally not breathing when we are super activated or overwhelmed. By focusing on breath you will not only breathe more, thus getting more oxygen into your system, but you will also interrupting the stimulation of your amygdala. This can result in an easing of the intensity.
*Focus fully on your breath: feel it filling your lungs; notice your rib cage and your solar plexus expanding and contracting; notice your chest rise and fall; notice the temperature of the air - is it cold, warm? How
Focus on your contact with your seat, feel your weight, feel the chair or ground holding you.
Focus on each of your 5 Senses: Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch, and Taste
Focus on Something Soothing or a Memory of Feeling Fully Soothed. This is where going into the cave of safety is very helpful. What is essential is that you can FEEL the soothing and being soothed. This calms the amygdala and reassures that alarm system that you are indeed safe and tending yourself.
*Or lie down on the floor or bed or earth and focus on the feeling of being suspended, held, soothed
Get your body moving. Do any of the movement meditations and put all of your focus on the movements, breathing and grounding yourself.
*Note: doing things like going for a walk, hike, run or bike ride can all be helpful when activated. HOWEVER, it is easy to be distracted when in an activated state so you MUST take extra precaution for safety... pay attention to your surroundings!
This is my favorite meditation for interrupting my amygdala when it is activated. It is a powerful tool for taking the reins. Once you know the focus points it is easy to do ANYWHERE and ANYTIME!
Use this meditation to balance the mind, increase focus and attention, and most importantly to interrupt the signaling from the amygdala so that you can bring your system into CALM. This is my version of one from the NMI page on insight timer.
Music: Powerful Meditation Music for Concentration and Focus by Meditation and Healing on YouTube
This meditation aids you in accepting and facing the unknown through connecting with your core immovable self and anchoring into your strength.
Music: Calm Mountains by Fantasia Echoes
This meditation assists you in moving through the waters of Depression which ebb and flow.
Music: Bamboo Garden by Buddha’s Flute on YouTube
This meditation can be helpful when you feel pulled in opposite directions or the splitting experience arising from what seems to be conflicting thoughts, feelings, or sensations. By helping you stretch and expand the meditation this supports you so that you don’t have to pick either/or, and rather can hold BOTH things.
Music: Krishna’s Harmonious Flute by Buddha’s Lounge
This meditation gently guides you through sitting with your deep regrets and assists you in allowing and receiving the balm of self forgiveness
Music: Dive into Tranquility by Buddha’s Flute on YouTube
Go to the What Does it Help? page for more information and meditations for specific issues.
What Style is Best for YOU?
Determine the Meditation Style YOU Need at THIS Moment
Determine the Meditation Style YOU Need at THIS Moment
*This is not a complete or in depth assessment, however it is a helpful tool for beginning to work with NeuroMeditation. Also, I strongly recommend retaking the survey when you notice you are in a different state. The results will likely be different when you are in an active depressive state or if you are in a highly anxious state. Then you can begin to learn which style you need when you are in different states.
** Nothing will change radically by trying meditation once or twice; especially if you are new to it. However, if you build slowly and regularly practice, you will notice subtle changes that grow and compound over time.
After Taking the Survey
After Taking the Survey
This app has a VAST offering of meditations. All of the links on this site will come from the NeuroMeditation Institute page because they were designed by a Neuroscientist and with specific brainwave goals in mind, which makes them more effective for these applications.
This is their page on Insight Timer. I recommend all of the NMI meditations. You won't find links for all of them on this website as I only listed my favorites. Explore the others through this link.
The Free Mini-Courses are a great place to get a feel for the style(s) your survey recommended. Take one of the longer courses if you are able!
The links above take you to the Insight Timer page, and the NeuroMeditation Institute page on Insight Timer. There are links there for various downloads. I recommend downloading it to your phone so you can always have the meditations that help you most readily available. While you can choose to pay for the extra features, all meditations referenced in on my site are available through the FREE version.
Follow These Steps:
Find the Insight Timer App on whatever app store you use. Download it to your phone. Be sure you choose the FREE option.
Search for the NeuroMeditation Institute in the app OR use the link above for their page on the app.
Select FOLLOW on their page.
As you try links for specific meditations bookmark them in the app for easier and quicker future access.
Movement Meditations:
What are Movement Meditations and When/How they Help
What are Movement Meditations and When/How they Help
Do you struggle to sit still and meditate? Start with Movement Meditations for a few minutes before meditation to calm the body/mind.
Do you feel so anxious you can even think about trying to sit and meditate? Practice meditation through regular rhythmic movement via: walking, forest bathing, yoga, tai chi, qi gong, or any type of slow fluid movement. Over time you may find it easier to then move into a sitting meditation.
Or are you someone who has trauma locked in their body, or do you feel stuck or locked up inside? Movement is extremely helpful for opening the body, the heart and the mind. Working with movement meditations may help you move into a space where you can more readily access the feelings and get them moving and which you can then process with a therapist.
For any of these situations I recommend listening to a guided meditation (based on your style from the survey, pick a meditation from the NMI in Insight Timer and listen while you are practicing a repeated movement.
Do what works for YOU! Try a few and FEEL which is right for you. You will feel it... it will feel good - even if maybe just a little at first. Listen to your body and your body/mind connection.
Start by searching whatever type you want and for whatever you need, ie: Tai Chi for Depression (or whatever issue you are facing). You can also search by the issue and what you feel you need in this moment Ie: flowing, opening, soothing, calming, activating, envigorating, insipiring, etc...
A few samples of movement meditations
Move with Waves
Bird Takes Flight
Focus with Movement
Drawing Down and Grounding
Drawing Down and Grounding
Drawing Up and Out
This is just one way to use these movements. You could use each of them in whatever way feels right for what you need. Try each one for different states and see which feels best for that. You will find videos on how to modify these movement meditations, for different styles and for different issues, on each page.
Explore other kinds of Movement as Meditations on YouTube/TikTok or google search, such as Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong and more. Find what fits you!
The Powerful Impact of NATURE
Why is Nature Important for the mind and well-being?
Why is Nature Important for the mind and well-being?
Nature as Sanctuary: How it was my Best ICU Ward
Nature as Sanctuary: How it was my Best ICU Ward
Finding Special Spots in Nature in Unexpected Places
Finding Special Spots in Nature in Unexpected Places
Be Safe Meditating in Nature
The Importance and Power of Awe and Wonder -
The Importance and Power of Awe and Wonder -
Helpful for living with: Anxiety, PTSD, Grief/Loss, Depression & Suicidal Ideation
Helpful for living with: Anxiety, PTSD, Grief/Loss, Depression & Suicidal Ideation
Try connecting with this feeling for even just a couple minutes a day and NOTICE the difference. The key is you have to FEEL the Awe even if remembering it. Try looking at a picture which evokes this feeling. If you cannot access the feeling, don't blame yourself... it is likely your depression. Try exploring other forms or sources of awe, both in subject and in method of intake, such as: sound, taste or sensation. If you find you cannot access it at all talk with your therapist and consider medication if you aren't currently, and if you have been medication resistant ask about Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.
Awe is beneficial for everyone, especially when dealing with anything difficult. Do this often - even for a couple minutes when you are stressed/overwhelmed/hurting. This meditation guides you through remembering with all of your senses an experience of being in a place where you FELT AWE
Music: Village Love Story by Buddha’s Flute on YouTube
Meditations for Connection with Nature
Being the Tree AND the Forest
Being the Tree AND the Forest
Open Heart: Being the Tree & the Forest
This meditation uses imagery of being both the single rooted tree AND the entire forest to Open the Heart increase feelings of connection
Music: Morning Flute Music - New Day by Buddha’s Flute on YouTube
QM: Being the Tree and the Forest
This meditation connects you with being like a tree and then slowly to the feeling of being the entire, vast and expansive forest
Music: Relaxing Flute Falling Leaves by Buddha’s Lounge on YouTube
This meditation anchors you in your strong, immoveable center and allows you to rest in strength as you observe all thought, feeling and sensation that arises
Music: Bamboo Garden by Buddha’s Flute
This focus meditation uses imagery of the tree of life; drawing energy up from your roots and down from your limbs and leaves, allowing them to mingle, grow and connect you with the vitality of life.
Music: Golden Blossom by Buddha’s Lounge on YouTube
Ouroboros for Connection & Letting Go
Mindfulness Meditation:
Ouroboros for Shedding the Past and Letting Go
** Caution: This meditation is not designed for people living with or experiencing suicidal ideation **
Using imagery of Ouroboros, this meditation supports you through times of great change, growth and/or transformation. It assists you through your process of, and your acceptance of, letting go and shedding the past - moving you forward into this new life phase.
Music: Peaceful Garden by Buddha’s Lounge on YouTube
Various Ways to Access Nature: Especially When You Can't Physically Get Into It
Various Ways to Access Nature: Especially When You Can't Physically Get Into It
Working with Memory: The Benefit and the Challenge
Working with Memory: The Benefit and the Challenge
Get out and Lay Down on Your Back
Get out and Lay Down on Your Back
Watch the Clouds - Get Perspective
Watch the Clouds - Get Perspective
Accessing and Increasing Interoception/The Felt Sense & Why it Matters
Accessing and Increasing Interoception/The Felt Sense & Why it Matters
Focusing by Eugene Gendlin
Focusing by Eugene Gendlin
This is an excellent book for increasing your felt sense, or your ability to access interoception. It is also helpful for people who struggle to meditate to access the inner self.
My Favorite Meditation from the NeuroMeditation Institute for Increasing the Felt Sense
What Temperament are You?
What Temperament are You?
Knowing what temperament you are at a base level can help you as you come to KNOW YOURSELF more fully.
We come into the world having a base temperament. This is our Nature. Who we are is comprised of this and our NURTURING or how we were nurtured. Understanding your nature can offer you amazing insight into yourself. Exploring the impacts of how you were nurtured or where you weren't allows you to see the story that is YOU. Our Nature can't be radically changed. However when we come to understand ourselves better we can gain the awareness to make choices which are in alignment with our nature so that our lives can feel more peaceful and fulfilling. It is part of learning to truly love, accept and respect yourself and the WONDER which you ARE! No one is the same as us... we are connected and can have shared experiences, but the internal world that is us is something which is as unique as our fingerprint.
Strengths & Weaknesses: Understanding, Rethinking and Accepting Yours
Strengths & Weaknesses: Understanding, Rethinking and Accepting Yours
Why Understanding your Personality Type is Helpful
Why Understanding your Personality Type is Helpful
Click Above for the link to the FREE survey!
Take time to answer the questions slowly and honestly for accuracy. They offer a breakdown of a buttload of very interesting and helpful information that can help you gain insight into yourself.
Why Understanding Your Perception is important to your experience
Why Understanding Your Perception is important to your experience
Redefining And Reclaiming Your Perception
Redefining And Reclaiming Your Perception
Connection
Having healthy, loving, supportive, encouraging people in your life makes SUCH a HUGE difference.
If you don't feel you have enough of that in your life, find ways to get connected with: support groups for whatever issue you face (to find others who understand your struggle), groups aligned with your spiritual beliefs, a book club, volunteering with any organization you care about, search and expand your ideas about connecting with others.
This meditation is the basis and foundation of Open Heart meditations. It increases love and compassion for self and others.
This meditation is the basis and foundation of Open Heart meditations. It increases love and compassion for self and others.
Music: Peaceful Garden by Buddha’s Lounge on YouTube
The Net of Indra as Symbol of Connection
This Open Heart meditation increases the felt sense of being woven into the very fabric of life
Music: Village Love Story by Buddha’s Lounge on YouTube
Why having healthy loving people in your life matters
Why having healthy loving people in your life matters
The people we engage with and have relationships with (familial, friendship or romantic) have an enormous impact on us. Having people who are healthy and balanced in our lives helps us to recover from or move out of dysregulated states of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems (go to the Vagus Nerve & Polyvagal Theory page. When our social interactions are safe and supportive, our alarm system is able to calm and the nervous system finally able to begin recovery.
If you have toxic people in your life, do your best to eliminate or radically reduce exposure to them. This may mean that you need to find a new place to live, to work, new friends to spend time with or many other ways you may need to adjust your lifestyle to support your recovery. Being committed to yourself means choosing people in your life who have a positive effect on your process, recovery and healing. These people no only help you feel safe but they also can serve as your tethers to the world... what makes you feel most connected.
Practice the Net of Indra Meditation on the Free Resources Page for meditations to foster this sense of connection. This is especially helpful when separated from those who you feel most connected to, have lost them, or when feeling isolated and alone.
Recognize and Offer Gratitude to Those who are Your Witness
Recognize and Offer Gratitude to Those who are Your Witness
!Caution!
Beware the Guru, the Shaman & the Healer
Beware the Guru, the Shaman & the Healer
Spiritual and mental health grifters are in abundance and many call themselves the titles above, they can also be priests or leaders of churches. The reality is, your mind is YOURS and you must be careful who you choose to work with in terms of guidance or help with any struggle.
Basically watch out for people charging a lot of money. This is clearly a grift. Another thing to look out for is if they are suggesting that THEY are your solution. If it is about THEM it really isn't going to be helpful for YOU. Ask where there focus is? Also if you feel they are encouraging you to do anything that you feel is inappropriate - stop working with them and report them!
The Current Explosion of Spiritual &
Mental Health Grifters/Predators in the area of Psychedelics for Therapeutic Use
This is an area that is exploding right now and one where there are many grifters and people solely seeking to profit. There are not well established protocols for practice and no real accountability measures in place. Be very careful about anyone you choose to work with. MANY, I repeat... MANY people operating as "guides, sitters, healers, shamans, etc..." are predatory. BE WARY!!! Do research. DON'T RUSH into anything! Below are a couple of good links for information.
I do NOT recommend anyone try using mushrooms therapeutically without guidance. Even if you have experieced taking them before, if you have endured a trauma or any mental health issue, it is best to consult someone qualified about whether this is a good option for you.
This site offers a lot of information around this topic if you want to educate yourself more. You will find a link below to a site that offers information for you to educate yourself regarding growing your own and dosages for both micro and macro dosing.
Although there is currently a waitlist, I highly recommend working with NMI for support, guidance through this process. This is not based on experience for this service, rather, my observation of quality, ethics, and safety that the folks at the NeuroMeditation offer in general. If I was going to do this type of therapy I would absolutely choose to work with them.
https://www.neuromeditationinstitute.com/psychedelic-integration-eugene
I am not an expert on this and have done very little research. In my experience, I have found benefit from microdosing mushrooms, but again am not an expert on this in any way. Below is a link for a site I found when briefly searching. They people who offer some excellent information on using psychedelics therapeutically and I like that, regardless of using their services or not, they offer helpful information on what to look for in someone to work with in this way.
Below is a podcast you should most definitely listen to if you are considering Psychedelics for therapeutic use and a Netflix series about this type of therapy which I encourage you to watch if you are interested AND if you are critical. There are definitive benefits from using psychedelics therapeutically AND there are definitive risks. Educating yourself is the best path forward. My personal experience with micro dosing resulted in a very positive effect on my PTSD and Depression struggles. It could often lift me out of a deep hole of pain when other things could not.
If you are considering using psychedelics for therapeutic purposes, listen to this first. Or if you are part of psychedelic assisted therapy community, listen to ensure you are informed of the dangers, and some of the dangerous people currently leading or practicing in a way that damages not only their clients, but also the ability to use this treatment for countless others if these bad actors wind up causing the end of this ability to use, research, study or explore psilocybin's uses therapeutically. That would be a tragedy, because of how profoundly helpful it has been for MANY conditions (NOT all of course, and you should seek advice from a qualified professional) and we are only beginning to understand it's capability to help us, especially with conditions that are difficult to treat and for its tendency for lasting effect.
CAUTION: If you live with Suicidal Ideation you MUST be careful. This is something which may activate your suicidal ideation and not appropriate for all people. TALK TO A PROFESSIONAL!!!
Incredible documentary with Michael Pollan, will give you a lot of helpful information about Psilocybin and other Psychedelics currently being used to treat or work with many different issues.
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