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A Chama Violeta (The Violet Flame)

Sítio dedicado à filosofia humana, ao estudo e conhecimento da verdade, assim como à investigação. ~A Luz está a revelar a Verdade, e a verdade libertar-nos-á! ~A Chama Violeta da Transmutação

07.01.25

E se o sentido da vida estiver no corpo?

Por Julie Peters

Tradução a 6 de janeiro de 2025

 

 

 

 
Como mudaria a sua vida quotidiana se soubesse que o seu único propósito nesta vida era estar bem no seu corpo?
 
O sentido da vida é, naturalmente, um grande conceito, e ninguém jamais foi capaz de responder satisfatoriamente ao que, exactamente, é. E, no entanto, muitos de nós ainda nos perguntamos o que estamos fazendo aqui, Qual é o nosso propósito e o que devemos realizar durante o curto período de tempo que temos na Terra.
 
Alguns acreditam que devemos orar, nos conectar com Deus e nos unir à divindade. Outros acreditam que devemos seguir as regras de uma religião para ter uma vida boa. Alguns de nós acreditam que não há sentido; estamos aqui apenas a seguir os nossos instintos animais. De outras perspectivas, nosso Eu Superior tem algum plano para nós - mas nunca conseguimos descobrir qual é o plano.
 
E se o sentido da vida fosse um pouco mais simples do que tudo isso? E se o sentido da vida For estar bem no corpo?
 
Descobrindo Sua "Faísca" Através Da Experiência Vivida
 
O filme da Pixar Soul aborda essa mesma questão através duma exploração da morte, da vida após a morte e do antes da vida, quando somos almas se preparando para descer à Terra e começar nossas vidas. No filme, Joe Gardner é um músico que se vê subitamente morto no mesmo dia em que deveria tocar jazz com o seu herói. Ele se conecta com uma alma chamada 22 no antes da vida que não tem nenhum interesse em se tornar vivo, e os dois planeiam colocar Joe de volta em seu corpo e permitir que 22 evite ter que passar pelo incômodo de viver uma vida.
 
Os dois trabalham para ajudar 22 a encontrar sua "faísca", que é a inspiração com a qual ela viverá sua vida na terra (para que ela possa dar a Joe). Os dois passam muito tempo tentando descobrir o que é realmente uma "faísca". Joe tem certeza de que é música jazz, enquanto 22 nunca se sentiu interessado em nenhuma das tarefas mundanas da vida humana. Através de uma série de hijinks, os dois acabam na Terra, com 22 habitando o corpo de Joe e Joe preso por um tempo no corpo de um gato. Enquanto estava no corpo de Joe, 22 experimenta coisas que ela não podia na vida anterior que a introduzem em conceitos como música, arte, performance e assim por diante. Ela come pizza. Ela caminha e sente a brisa de um respiradouro do metro. Ela recolhe uma pirueta de sementes de bordo duma árvore. Ouve música, sente o ritmo com um corpo que nunca tinha tido antes. E, com certeza, ela encontra sua faísca.
 
O filme Evita cuidadosamente definir o sentido da vida, mas há um momento no filme em que os seres do antes da vida explicam que o nosso propósito não é ter uma "coisa" específica a realizar. É mais sobre o desejo de experimentar a vida na terra, num corpo.
 
O Significado da vida como experimentar o seu corpo
 
Algumas pessoas têm tanta certeza de que conhecem o propósito da vida que dedicam toda a sua existência à adoração através da abstinência. Eles não bebem, mal comem e nunca fazem sexo. A maior parte do seu tempo é gasto em profunda contemplação e meditação. E se uma dessas pessoas chegasse à vida após a morte esperando uma grande recompensa, apenas para descobrir que haviam errado completamente e precisavam voltar e tentar novamente? E se o sentido da vida for experimentar em vez de negar o seu corpo?
 
Existem muitas teorias sobre o que acontece antes e depois da vida, mas a única coisa que sabemos com certeza é que temos uma quantidade limitada de tempo para existir num corpo. Mesmo que nossa consciência continue em algum lugar celestial, é sem um corpo que possa sentir prazer ou sofrimento. Se renascermos em vidas novas e intermináveis, só teremos este corpo, esta vida, uma vez.
 
Afinal, as emoções são físicas. Grandes emoções como tristeza, alegria e raiva são fundamentalmente físicas. Podemos ter pensamentos sobre eles, mas eles são chamados de sentimentos porque os sentimos. O que quer que possamos pensar, julgar ou imaginar sobre nossas vidas anteriores e posteriores, provavelmente não podemos senti-las.
 
Há um momento engraçado na alma quando Joe e 22 estão a experimentar as diferentes experiências teóricas que poderiam ajudar 22 a encontrar sua faísca. Eles se deparam com um pedaço de pizza teórica. Eles tentam comê-lo, mas não conseguem cheirá-lo ou prová-lo, e quando o colocam na boca, o pedaço de pizza aparece, totalmente formado, de volta para trás. Eles podem experimentar quase qualquer realidade teórica na vida anterior, mas não podem cheirar, provar ou tocar em nada. Estes são os dons que só podemos ter durante o curto período de tempo em que existimos dentro de um corpo.
 
Então, e se o nosso trabalho aqui não é tanto sobre mudar o mundo ou deixar algum tipo de marca, mas simplesmente experimentar o mundo? Ter empatia, conexão, perda, tristeza, alegria e dor? Como mudaria a sua vida quotidiana se soubesse que o seu único propósito nesta vida era estar bem no seu corpo?
 
Julie Peters
 
 

 
Traduzido por  http://achama.biz.ly  com agradecimentos a: 
  * Ocasionalmente a censura das trevas apaga-me alguns artigos. (google dona do blogspot)
 

Notas minhas:
  • Deus, a Fonte da vida é puro amor incondicional, não um deus zeloso [de algumas] das religiões dogmáticas.
  • Todos os artigos são da responsabilidade dos respectivos autores.
 
O Google apagou meus antigos blogs rayviolet.blogspot.com e
rayviolet2.blogspot.com, sem aviso prévio e apenas 10 horas depois de eu postar o relatório de Benjamin Fulford de 6 de fevereiro de 2023, acusando-me de publicar pornografia infantil.
(Uma Grande Mentira)

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07.01.25

What If the Meaning of Life Is in the Body?

By Julie Peters

Posted on January 6, 2025

 


 
 

How would your day-to-day life change if you knew your sole purpose in this life was to be in your body well?

The meaning of life is a big concept, of course, and no one has ever been able to satisfactorily answer what, exactly, it is. And yet many of us still wonder what it is we’re doing here, what our purpose is, and what we must accomplish during the short time we have on Earth.

Some believe we should pray, connect with God, and join with divinity. Others believe we must follow the rules of a religion to have a good life. Some of us believe there is no meaning; we’re just here following our animal instincts. From other perspectives, our higher self has some plan for us—but we don’t ever get to find out what the plan is.

What if the meaning of life was a little simpler than all that? What if the meaning of life is being in a body well?

Discovering Your “Spark” Through Lived Experience

The Pixar movie Soul addresses this very question through an exploration of death, the afterlife, and the before-life, when we are souls getting ready to come down to Earth and begin our lives. In the movie, Joe Gardner is a musician who finds himself suddenly dead on the very day he’s supposed to play jazz with his hero. He connects with a soul named 22 in the before-life who has no interest at all in becoming alive, and the two scheme to get Joe back into his body and allow 22 to avoid having to go through the bother of living a life.

The two work to help 22 find her “spark,” which is the inspiration with which she will live her life on Earth (so that she can give it to Joe). The two spend a lot of time trying to figure out what a “spark” actually is. Joe is sure his is jazz music, while 22 has never felt interested in any of the mundane tasks of human life. Through a series of hijinks, the two end up on Earth, with 22 inhabiting Joe’s body and Joe stuck for a little while in the body of a cat. While in Joe’s body, 22 experiences things she couldn’t in the before-life that introduce her to concepts like music, art, performance, and so on. She gets to eat pizza. She walks and feels the breeze from a subway vent. She collects a maple seed pirouetting from a tree. She listens to music, feeling the rhythm with a body she’d never had before. And, sure enough, she finds her spark.

The movie carefully avoids defining the meaning of life, but there is a moment in the movie when the beings of the before-life explain that our purpose is not about having a particular “thing” to accomplish. It’s more about the desire to experience life on Earth, in a body.

The Meaning of Life as Experiencing Your Body

Some people are so sure they know the purpose of life that they devote their entire existence to worship through abstinence. They don’t drink, barely eat, and never have sex. Most of their time is spent in deep contemplation and meditation. What if one of these people made it to the afterlife expecting a great reward, only to discover they’d gotten it completely wrong and needed to go back and try again? What if the meaning of life is about experiencing rather than denying your body?

There are plenty of theories about what happens before and after life, but the one thing we know for sure is that we have some limited amount of time to exist in a body. Even if our consciousness continues in some heaven-like place, it’s without a body that can feel pleasure or suffering. If we are reborn into endless new lives, we only get this body, this life, once.

Emotions are physical, after all. Big emotions like sadness, joy, and rage are fundamentally physical. We may have thoughts about them, but they are called feelings because we feel them. Whatever we can think or judge or imagine about our before-lives and afterlives, we likely can’t feel them.

There is a funny moment in Soul when Joe and 22 are experimenting with the different theoretical experiences that could help 22 find her spark. They come across a piece of theoretical pizza. They try to eat it, but they can’t smell or taste it, and when they put it in their mouths, the piece of pizza pops, fully formed, right back out of their behinds. They can experience almost any theoretical reality in the before-life, but they can’t smell, taste, or touch anything. These are the gifts we can only have during the short time when we exist within a body.

So, what if our work here is not so much about changing the world or leaving some type of mark, but simply experiencing the world? Having empathy, connection, loss, grief, joy, and pain? How would your day-to-day life change if you knew your sole purpose in this life was to be in your body well?

Julie Peters

 

Compiled by http://violetflame.biz.ly from: 
 


My notes: 
    • God the Source is unconditional love, not a zealous god of [some] dogmatic religions.
    • All articles are the responsibility of the respective authors.
    • My personal opinion: Nobody is more Anti-Semite then the Zionists.


Reminder discernment is recommended
from the heart, not from the mind
 
The Truth Within Us, Will Set Us Free. We Are ONE.
No Need of Dogmatic Religions, Political Parties, and Dogmatic Science, linked to a Dark Cabal that Divides to Reign.
Any investigation of a Genuine TRUTH will confirm IT. 
TRUTH need no protection.
 
Question: Why the (fanatics) Zionists are so afraid of any Holocaust investigations?
 

  
 
Visitor MapesoterismoFree counters!
 

19.11.24

How Helpful Is Plant Medicine for Pain and Mental Health?

By Julie Peters

Posted on November 18, 2024

 


 
 

Many people report that plant medicines have helped ease their pain, anxiety, and depression. But it’s important not to see sacred plant medicines as “magic pills.” Explore more about the history and potential of plant medicines.

Plant medicines have been used for generations in many cultures to heal mental and physical health issues. When talk therapy was not an option (and before it existed), spirituality often met that need, helping people put their problems into a larger context to find hope and faith. Plant medicines have often assisted with that journey.

An Introduction to Plant Medicine

Medicines like ayahuasca and psilocybin mushrooms are known for their ability to bring on hallucinations. When these kinds of plant medicines are given in a ritual context, which usually includes guidance, safe boundaries, and trained sober guides, those hallucinations can spark useful insights and open the mind to seeing things in a different way.

Many people report that these plant medicine experiences help them by easing their pain, resolving health issues, calming anxiety, and dissipating depression, among other self-reported benefits.

While the benefits of plant medicines may be eye-catching, it’s important to note that both ayahuasca and psilocybin mushrooms are federally illegal in the US. (Ayahuasca is only legally utilized by a handful of “ayahuasca churches,” and psilocybin mushrooms are either legal or decriminalized in only Colorado, Oregon, and a handful of cities in other states.) Where these medicines are legal, it is important to do one’s research on the plant medicine retreats or treatments being offered and to consult with a trusted healthcare practitioner as you do your research.

A Therapist’s Perspective on Plant Medicine

In my experience as a counseling therapist who incorporates work with both the body and the imagination into her practice, it is incredibly helpful to be able to address mental health concerns in non-mental ways. The mind is very useful, but it can also get stuck in trauma-based patterns. To resolve trauma, I find we need to be able to talk to the body, the nervous system, and sometimes the spirit in order to really make movement toward change. One way to do this is through working with images and symbols, which plant medicines can help to bring to the surface.

I don’t personally use plant medicines in my practice—any therapist who does should be specifically trained to do so in a legal context. But I’ve also found that the kinds of insights and shifts that are experienced during plant medicine ceremonies can also be accessed through the imagination alone when we are properly guided. When we stop trying so hard to analyze and judge what’s happening to us and allow the body to share its wisdom, we can have major insights without needing to partake in plant medicine.

At the same time, it’s not easy for everyone to access their inner world. Sometimes we have defense mechanisms in place within us that help us feel safe. Many of us feel better in the realm of thought than the wild world of the spirit or the body. Plant medicines could lower inhibitions enough for someone to be able to access this wisdom without having to work so hard or struggle with old defensive patterns.

There’s also nothing wrong with needing a little help to create change in the ways we want to. Human beings don’t live in a vacuum, and we cannot expect someone to get better through willpower alone. Medication, food, lifestyle changes, therapy, and plant medicines are all examples of interventions that have the capacity to help us get better and live happier lives when utilized legally and with a skillful practitioner.

The Possibilities of Microdosing

Psychedelics could also be helpful in small doses that don’t induce hallucinations. Some people have been experimenting with microdosing psychedelic substances to see if the effects are helpful for mental health. This is theoretically a gentler, subtler way of working with plant medicines to assist with improving mental health.

Microdosing means taking a very small amount of a psychedelic, usually psilocybin or LSD (though LSD is a synthetic compound and not a plant medicine), on a semi-regular basis. This sub-hallucinogenic or sub-perceptual dose is intended to be used alongside a regular routine of life and work with the intention of subtly improving mood, empathy, and pain perception.

People who try microdosing are reporting lots of benefits, including improved focus, more regular menstrual cycles, more creativity, and more empathy. Some people also report more sensitivity and heightened emotions, which can be either a positive or negative effect depending on the person.

Side effects are generally minimal, especially with psilocybin. LSD can sometimes bring on anxiety, and too high a dose of psilocybin could cause an unwanted hallucination. Both drugs could also theoretically affect heart rate. The biggest risks at this point are the legal restrictions around such medicines, though they are being increasingly decriminalized and/or approved for medical use, especially as studies find benefits with relatively low risks.

Plant Medicines as Teachers

Studies on microdosing have shown plenty of self-reported benefits. Other studies show that microdosing has no greater effect than a placebo. Neuroimaging studies have, however, seen that these psychedelic medicines increase brain activity, serotonin levels, and neuroplasticity.

Plant medicines are somewhat difficult to study well. Changes in mood are subtle and subjective, and many studies rely on surveys and self-reports, which are notoriously difficult to measure objectively. But the cultures that have used these medicines for generations don’t think of them as magic pills to be used to cure unhappiness.

These plant medicines are teachers. They can shift our mental state, give us insights, and help us to feel our feelings—not just the positive ones, but the negative ones as well. Pharmaceutical medicines for mental health are commonly used to lift mood or numb negative experiences, while plant teachers are there to help us understand ourselves and our symptoms better. If we treat them like magic pills that make all our problems go away, we are really missing the point.

Julie Peters

 

Compiled by http://violetflame.biz.ly from: 
Reminder discernment is recommended
from the heart, not from the mind
 
The Truth Within Us, Will Set Us Free. We Are ONE.
No Need of Dogmatic Religions, Political Parties, and Dogmatic Science, linked to a Dark Cabal that Divides to Reign.
Any investigation of a Genuine TRUTH will confirm IT. 
TRUTH need no protection.
 
Question: Why the (fanatics) Zionists are so afraid of any Holocaust investigations?
 

  
 
Visitor MapesoterismoFree counters!
 

 

 
 

18.10.24

Is It My Intuition or Fear?

By Julie Peters

Posted on October 17, 2024

 


 
 

Intuition and fear often feel similar but have very different effects on our decision-making processes. Explore a therapeutic perspective on differentiating between the two.

We all know that having a connection to our intuition is a good thing. It can help us differentiate a good friend from someone who is trying to take advantage of us. It can help us move toward what we want even when other people might disagree with our choices. It can help us know whether we should go up or down, right or left. Or can it?

Intuition is, essentially, our sixth sense. It’s a feeling of knowing beneath our cognitive understanding. It’s knowing without being able to explain how we know. But what if our intuition is broken? What if what we’ve been feeling all along is actually something else, like fear?

Where Does Intuition Come From?

Intuition is important, but it’s complex. On a literal level, intuition is a sense, judgment, feeling, or emotion that arises before we have time to cognitively decide how we feel. It doesn’t come from our prefrontal cortex, the rational, thinking aspect of our brains—it comes from more primitive places: older parts of the brain, like the amygdala, and our nervous system, which is more sensitive in our gut than in our mind. Intuitive information tends to come through the body, not the thinking mind.

What we must keep in mind is that most of this information is learned. Our intuition is essentially a collection of information that we’ve gathered throughout our lives that our bodies have stored in places that don’t need thinking to activate. If we’ve been traumatized by men, for example, our “intuitive” reaction to a new man might be to push him away—even if he’s a lovely person.

There may be something more to intuition, however. Many people believe we can access something bigger than ourselves when we pay attention. We could call this Spirit, the collective unconscious, guidance from angels or spirit guides, or advice from a higher self. This type of intuition is a little different, and it works differently from the aforementioned quick reactions based on past experiences.

A Gut Feeling Versus Spiritual Intuition

In my experience, this spiritual intuition is slower and more long acting. It shows up when we are paying attention without fear or judgment; when we are “tuned in” to ourselves or another person. One way to know if this type of intuition is true spiritual guidance or just fear is if it sticks around no matter your mood, over days, weeks, or even months. This type of guidance helps you grow and learn and not just keep you safe.

Another way of defining intuition is through understanding our inner emotional compass. We were born with the capacity to feel a number of core emotions that are intended to guide us specifically in our relationships. Fear is a core emotion that tells us something is unsafe. This emotion gets a pretty bad rap, and yes, it can hold us back when we’re confusing unsafe with uncomfortable. But when things are genuinely unsafe, we should listen to our fear and get away.

Similarly, anger is a much-maligned emotion that’s supposed to help us understand our needs and boundaries and ensure we are protected. When we constantly suppress our anger, we can’t discern what our needs and boundaries even are, let alone stand up for them.

With both fear and anger (and most of the other core emotions), it’s a good idea to measure these emotions against our intelligence and the general context of what we’re experiencing. Ideally, we don’t need to react the moment we feel these emotions, but rather slow down and feel into them so we can understand the message they are trying to give us, cleared of any emotional or contextual debris (like, for example, we are tired, hungry, or dysregulated).

Intuition and the Attachment Styles

Intuition may be most challenging when it comes to love. That’s because our love relationships tend to trigger our oldest relational wounds, and it’s very easy for fear to arise and tell us we’d better not take the risk (whether that’s to stay, leave, approach someone, etc.). We learn love through the dynamics we grew up with, so if love was associated with anxiety and abandonment, for example, our “intuition” may look for those feelings in love relationships and avoid someone who invokes feelings of safety and stability.

Most of us form an attachment style in childhood that can show up in our romantic relationships looking like intuition. If we grew up with secure, consistent love, we will tend to assume love is available and possible. We’ll be less likely to become dysregulated with our partners, and it might be easier to move into a safe, connected state when we can attend to our intuition.

If we grew up with inconsistency around love in some way (including the loss of a parent or experiences of trauma), we will tend to experience anxious attachment, which means we’re much less likely to trust in our lovers. Our intuition can be overridden by a need for reassurance and closeness—even when we don’t particularly like the person we’re with.

If our needs were consistently unmet in childhood, we tend to experience avoidant attachment, which means we feel safer alone, used to meeting our own needs without the complication of another. Our intuitive responses to love will tend to lean towards breakups, distance, and separateness because those experiences feel safer. We don’t decide these reactions cognitively; they are wired in as strategies to deal with stressful childhood experiences that influence us well into adulthood.

How to Discern Between Intuition and Fear

So how do we know if it’s intuition or fear? Well, there’s truly no simple answer to this question, as intuition and fear both come with so many layers based on what we’ve been through and how tapped in we are to Spirit and ourselves. As many of us have learned, even when we’re feeling tapped in and are listening to ourselves closely, our intuition can still turn out to be wrong.

It’s important we don’t think of this “sixth sense” as infallible, like being able to look into a crystal ball and tell the future. Especially when it comes to love, it takes time to get to know people and figure out if someone is a good choice for us in the long term. Some of the work around intuition might be about trusting ourselves to take risks and make mistakes and know we’ll be okay if things don’t go the way we hoped.

That being said, here are a few hints to be able to tell the difference between unreasonable fear and healthy intuition:

  • Intuition comes through when you feel calm and safe, not when you are already dysregulated.

  • If you’re afraid, ask yourself if you are actually in danger or if something simply feels uncomfortable, challenging, or unfamiliar.

  • Pay attention to the intuitive feeling when it arises—does it pass when you eat well or get enough sleep or when an argument is resolved? Or does it stick around through various moods and cycles?

  •  

    Try to set aside overthinking and rationalization and notice what is happening in your body.
    Allow yourself to settle into one side of a decision. What do you feel in your body? If there is tension, nausea, and a sense of being “not right,” that is likely an intuitive “no.” Do the opposite, and look for a sense of settling, exhaling, calmness, and “rightness,” even if there might also be emotions like sadness and fear. That is closer to an intuitive “yes” from your body.

     

  • Compare your intuitive feeling against your past experiences and the opinions of trusted friends and loved ones. Maybe even ask the opinion of various “parts” of yourself.

  • Keep in mind that intuition is just one aspect of decision making, and it’s a good idea to use all your parts, your bodily reactions, your emotions, and your mind when deciding what to do.

 
Julie Peters

 

Compiled by http://violetflame.biz.ly from: 

My notes: 
  • God the Source is unconditional love, not a zealous god of [some] dogmatic religions.
  • All articles are the responsibility of the respective authors.


Reminder discernment is recommended
from the heart, not from the mind
 
The Truth Within Us, Will Set Us Free. We Are ONE.
No Need of Dogmatic Religions, Political Parties, and Dogmatic Science, linked to a Dark Cabal that Divides to Reign.
Any investigation of a Genuine TRUTH will confirm IT. 
TRUTH need no protection.
 
Question: Why the (fanatics) Zionists are so afraid of any Holocaust investigations?
 

  
 
Visitor MapesoterismoFree counters!
 

 

 
 

15.10.24

Is Abstinence the Only Cure for Addiction?

By Julie Peters

Posted on October 15, 2024

 


 
 

Abstinence has long been recommended as the ultimate treatment for addiction. But what if the research supports a different approach to recovery?

In the classical protocols for addiction, abstinence is king. Twelve-step programs and other strategies help people quit a certain substance or behavior and stay off it forever. While this strategy absolutely works for some people, it doesn’t work for everyone. According to the American Addiction Centers, only about five to 12 percent of people who go through a 12-step program actually succeed in recovering from their addiction. So what if there’s another way to work with addiction? What if abstinence isn’t the only option?

The Link Between Addiction and Trauma

As addiction and trauma research has increased and improved in recent decades, it’s become clear that addiction and trauma are almost always linked. Addiction isn’t the problem, essentially; it’s a coping mechanism. Regardless of one’s behavior or the substance they are using, the addiction is a misplaced way for the person to calm themselves, quiet extreme emotions, and, in many cases, function despite deep emotional pain. For some people, their addiction is truly standing between them and death.

In many traditional forms of therapy, a therapist will not see a client if they are actively using. To paraphrase Adi Jaffe, who wrote the book The Abstinence Myth, that’s a bit like telling someone with a broken leg they can get help down the hall, but they have to walk all the way there without their crutches. Obviously, some substances will interfere with cognition, making it harder for someone to benefit from therapy. But therapy doesn’t necessarily always have to be about cognition—it can also be about connection, care, listening, and a safe place to start working out what’s going on with the pain that sits beneath the addiction.

Concerns with Non-Substance Addictions

There are also a few logical quandaries that arise when practicing the belief that abstinence is the only option for addiction recovery. If one is addicted to food, sex, or work, quitting those things completely isn’t really an option. Recovery is going to have to include working on the relationship with those things in order to heal. It’s also easy enough for people experiencing addiction to switch from one addiction to another; to give up a certain substance but then find another way to dull their emotional pain.

There are also many addictions that are seen as socially acceptable. Caffeine is an addictive substance, and addiction to work can lead to the breakdown of one’s health and relationships. In a society that is hyperfocused on productivity, there is very little stigma surrounding addictions to things that make us more productive, even when those things greatly impact our well-being.

Is It an Addiction?

Further complicating the issue, in recent years, plant medicines like cannabis and psilocybin have been increasingly studied and legalized. If someone is regularly using a substance that was formerly illegal but is now legal for medicinal use, does that qualify as an addiction?

One simple way to know whether you are addicted to something or not is this: Pleasure (or the experience of taking good medicine) brings us more deeply into our bodies and into our feelings, helping us feel more like our authentic selves. It can increase our empathy as well as our ability to communicate, express feelings, and care for ourselves. Addiction is simply the relief of no longer having to feel your feelings.

From this perspective, it’s really not about the substance but rather about an addictive energy. Drinking wine for the sensual experience, to enhance the taste of food, or as an act to share with another person is an expression of pleasure and connection to your body. Drinking wine to disconnect and dull your feelings, especially to the point of consistently harming your body with hangovers and impairment, is more like an addiction.

Addiction Versus Connection

One of the strongest elements of 12-step programs is the group aspect. People are encouraged to come together to talk about their feelings, problems, and relationships with the substance or addiction they are struggling with. As many recovery programs and specialists remind us, the opposite of addiction is connection, not abstinence.

We know that addictions tend to seem hereditary. But if we think of addiction from a wider perspective, we can also see that what might be passed down are survival and coping mechanisms, not necessarily an addiction itself. In his book In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, Gabor Maté, M.D., explains what he learned from his decades as a doctor in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, known for its disproportionately high rates of drug use. Maté could see addictive behaviors being passed down through families, especially where there was no infrastructure to support people through safe housing, healthy food, and recovery programs.

A New Way to Heal Addiction

So what if addiction could be healed by healing the trauma that sits behind it? What if addictive energy is a powerful survival mechanism, not something to be fought but to be understood and supported so that it can rest?

There are many strategies to help people with trauma and addiction. Medication and even some plant medicines (utilized legally with a skilled and qualified practitioner) could help someone heal their addictive energy. Private therapy, especially when it addresses trauma and the body, can be transformative. Groups, whether in a 12-step program or elsewhere, can help establish connection, which supports the fight against addiction. Specific therapeutic techniques like EMDR and neurofeedback can also help some people.

Of course, many of these resources require money. Specialized therapies that might be helpful in particular cases might not be available in someone’s area. Even when free and accessible mental health programs are available in places like hospitals, they may be more re-traumatizing than helpful due to a lack of resources for both patients and the potentially underpaid and overworked staff.

But perhaps the approach to understanding ourselves and our addictions better is simple. Connecting with friends and speaking the truth can be powerful. Twelve-step programs have a lot of benefits and are free and found in all major cities. Mindfulness meditation can help teach us to get curious about our addiction and how it works and what it might be protecting us from.

However we choose to approach addiction, maybe we don’t have to think of abstinence as the only choice and the only way. Maybe this could be the start of a kinder, gentler recovery process. This strategy could certainly lead to abstinence, and that may indeed be the best thing for you. But if we didn’t have to start there, maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to get there.

 
Julie Peters

 

Compiled by http://violetflame.biz.ly from: 

My notes: 
  • God the Source is unconditional love, not a zealous god of [some] dogmatic religions.
  • All articles are the responsibility of the respective authors.


Reminder discernment is recommended
from the heart, not from the mind
 
The Truth Within Us, Will Set Us Free. We Are ONE.
No Need of Dogmatic Religions, Political Parties, and Dogmatic Science, linked to a Dark Cabal that Divides to Reign.
Any investigation of a Genuine TRUTH will confirm IT. 
TRUTH need no protection.
 
Question: Why the (fanatics) Zionists are so afraid of any Holocaust investigations?
 

  
 
Visitor MapesoterismoFree counters!
 

 

 
 

26.09.24

How Helpful Is Plant Medicine for Pain and Mental Health?

By Julie Peters

Posted on September 26, 2024

 


 
 

Many people report that plant medicines have helped ease their pain, anxiety, and depression. But it’s important not to see sacred plant medicines as “magic pills.” Explore more about the history and potential of plant medicines.

Plant medicines have been used for generations in many cultures to heal mental and physical health issues. When talk therapy was not an option (and before it existed), spirituality often met that need, helping people put their problems into a larger context to find hope and faith. Plant medicines have often assisted with that journey.

An Introduction to Plant Medicine

Medicines like ayahuasca and psilocybin mushrooms are known for their ability to bring on hallucinations. When these kinds of plant medicines are given in a ritual context, which usually includes guidance, safe boundaries, and trained sober guides, those hallucinations can spark useful insights and open the mind to seeing things in a different way.

Many people report that these plant medicine experiences help them by easing their pain, resolving health issues, calming anxiety, and dissipating depression, among other self-reported benefits.

While the benefits of plant medicines may be eye-catching, it’s important to note that both ayahuasca and psilocybin mushrooms are federally illegal in the US. (Ayahuasca is only legally utilized by a handful of “ayahuasca churches,” and psilocybin mushrooms are either legal or decriminalized in only Colorado, Oregon, and a handful of cities in other states.) Where these medicines are legal, it is important to do one’s research on the plant medicine retreats or treatments being offered and to consult with a trusted healthcare practitioner as you do your research.

A Therapist’s Perspective on Plant Medicine

In my experience as a counseling therapist who incorporates work with both the body and the imagination into her practice, it is incredibly helpful to be able to address mental health concerns in non-mental ways. The mind is very useful, but it can also get stuck in trauma-based patterns. To resolve trauma, I find we need to be able to talk to the body, the nervous system, and sometimes the spirit in order to really make movement toward change. One way to do this is through working with images and symbols, which plant medicines can help to bring to the surface.

I don’t personally use plant medicines in my practice—any therapist who does should be specifically trained to do so in a legal context. But I’ve also found that the kinds of insights and shifts that are experienced during plant medicine ceremonies can also be accessed through the imagination alone when we are properly guided. When we stop trying so hard to analyze and judge what’s happening to us and allow the body to share its wisdom, we can have major insights without needing to partake in plant medicine.

At the same time, it’s not easy for everyone to access their inner world. Sometimes we have defense mechanisms in place within us that help us feel safe. Many of us feel better in the realm of thought than the wild world of the spirit or the body. Plant medicines could lower inhibitions enough for someone to be able to access this wisdom without having to work so hard or struggle with old defensive patterns.

There’s also nothing wrong with needing a little help to create change in the ways we want to. Human beings don’t live in a vacuum, and we cannot expect someone to get better through willpower alone. Medication, food, lifestyle changes, therapy, and plant medicines are all examples of interventions that have the capacity to help us get better and live happier lives when utilized legally and with a skillful practitioner.

The Possibilities of Microdosing

Psychedelics could also be helpful in small doses that don’t induce hallucinations. Some people have been experimenting with microdosing psychedelic substances to see if the effects are helpful for mental health. This is theoretically a gentler, subtler way of working with plant medicines to assist with improving mental health.

Microdosing means taking a very small amount of a psychedelic, usually psilocybin or LSD (though LSD is a synthetic compound and not a plant medicine), on a semi-regular basis. This sub-hallucinogenic or sub-perceptual dose is intended to be used alongside a regular routine of life and work with the intention of subtly improving mood, empathy, and pain perception.

People who try microdosing are reporting lots of benefits, including improved focus, more regular menstrual cycles, more creativity, and more empathy. Some people also report more sensitivity and heightened emotions, which can be either a positive or negative effect depending on the person.

Side effects are generally minimal, especially with psilocybin. LSD can sometimes bring on anxiety, and too high a dose of psilocybin could cause an unwanted hallucination. Both drugs could also theoretically affect heart rate. The biggest risks at this point are the legal restrictions around such medicines, though they are being increasingly decriminalized and/or approved for medical use, especially as studies find benefits with relatively low risks.

Plant Medicines as Teachers

Studies on microdosing have shown plenty of self-reported benefits. Other studies show that microdosing has no greater effect than a placebo. Neuroimaging studies have, however, seen that these psychedelic medicines increase brain activity, serotonin levels, and neuroplasticity.

Plant medicines are somewhat difficult to study well. Changes in mood are subtle and subjective, and many studies rely on surveys and self-reports, which are notoriously difficult to measure objectively. But the cultures that have used these medicines for generations don’t think of them as magic pills to be used to cure unhappiness.

These plant medicines are teachers. They can shift our mental state, give us insights, and help us to feel our feelings—not just the positive ones, but the negative ones as well. Pharmaceutical medicines for mental health are commonly used to lift mood or numb negative experiences, while plant teachers are there to help us understand ourselves and our symptoms better. If we treat them like magic pills that make all our problems go away, we are really missing the point.

 
Julie Peters

 

Compiled by http://violetflame.biz.ly from: 
Reminder discernment is recommended
from the heart, not from the mind
 
The Truth Within Us, Will Set Us Free. We Are ONE.
No Need of Dogmatic Religions, Political Parties, and Dogmatic Science, linked to a Dark Cabal that Divides to Reign.
Any investigation of a Genuine TRUTH will confirm IT. 
TRUTH need no protection.
 
Question: Why the (fanatics) Zionists are so afraid of any Holocaust investigations?
 

  
 
Visitor MapesoterismoFree counters!
 

 

 
 

24.09.24

Lessons from Baba Yaga

By Julie Peters

Posted on September 24, 2024

 


 
 
Both feared and revered, the Slavic Baba Yaga has lessons for us all on the power of nature and the potential for a woman outside of the patriarchy.
 
Baba Yaga is the classic crone, the Witch of the Forest. She is old and ugly, often riding around in a mortar without a pestle or on a broom. She lives in a little magical hut that has sentient chicken legs to carry her wherever she wants to go, making her exceedingly hard to find. In some of her stories, she cooks and eats children in her giant stove. In others, she gives them magic, helping them survive and thrive if they are willing to work on her terms.
 
Baba Yaga’s Slavic Origin Story
 
Baba Yaga shows up in countless tales from the Slavic region, but she is most famously featured in the story Vasilisa the Beautiful. In this tale, a little girl named Vasilisa is forced to live with her cruel stepmother and stepsisters after her father dies—and yes, it’s likely that this story influenced the modern Cinderella story most of us know today.
 
Vasilisa is tasked by her stepmother with finding Baba Yaga in the forest and bringing back an ember to restart her family’s fire. Her stepmother likely hopes Baba Yaga will eat the child, but instead, Vasilisa learns strange lessons about separating poppy seeds from dirt and identifying mildewed corn from good. She is helped along the way by a magical doll her mother made her who helps nudge her in the right direction so that she understands Baba Yaga’s lessons and doesn’t get the wrong side of her oven.
 
Vasilisa successfully returns to her stepmother’s house with the ember. Some versions of this story end with the house going up in flames, taking the evil stepfamily with it, feeding Baba Yaga’s oven after all. Sometimes Vasilisa grows up and is chosen by the Tsar, becoming a princess.
 
The Influence of the Ancient Mistress of the Forest
 
While Baba Yaga appears in writing for the first time in a collection of folk tales in 1750, it’s likely her archetype is much older than that. In fact, she may actually represent the Mistress of the Forest, a kind of spirit or goddess of the woods.
 
Like many ancient goddesses who reigned before the patriarchal gods took over, this Mistress of the Forest could have been benevolent or cruel, depending on the weather. That was much like nature itself, providing food and shelter in some cases or murderous storms in others. Baba Yaga was the wildness of nature itself, and one must tread carefully when dealing with the untamed reality of nature and the Forest.
 
There’s something particularly feminine about Baba Yaga too. She is always an old woman, never a man. She’s indisputably ugly, but perhaps that’s part of her charm—she manages to completely escape the male gaze. She doesn’t live with a man or need a man to do anything for her. In some stories she has three horse riders who are coded as male knights, but they are referred to by Baba Yaga as “My Sun,” “My Night,” and “My Day,” which again places her in a kind of goddess light, in charge of the cycles of time.
 
The Power of Women Outside of the Patriarchy
 
During the centuries of witch hunts throughout Europe and North America, many women were targeted for being witches, and those “witches” were accused and convicted of particularly feminine crimes. Women were accused of sexualized crimes like making love with the Devil or having demon babies. They would often be accused of stealing and eating babies, which Baba Yaga was certainly accused of too.
 
In reality, these women were often perfectly ordinary Christian women, but they had some quality that made them threatening to the male authorities of the Church at the time. Sometimes a woman would refuse a man’s advances, so she would be called a witch. Sometimes a woman who had medical or herbal knowledge that undermined the men’s power would also be accused of being a witch. Or she was a widow that had no interest in remarrying, or a woman who was needy and placed pressure on society. Occasionally, it was the men who threatened these powers that be.
 
And then there’s Baba Yaga, brewing her potions, stoking her giant oven, living quite gleefully without the need of a man’s power, ready to steal the community’s children.
 
The Wildness of Nature and the Crone
 
Baba Yaga may have provided a kind of scapegoat as well, especially during those difficult times when children died so often of mysterious illnesses before modern medicine could save them. Blaming Baba Yaga for stealing them was a way of giving the grieving community someone to blame.
 
But she could also represent the wildness and wisdom of women, especially women who wanted some power within themselves that didn’t rely on the presence of a man. She may be seen as ugly and scary, but she still holds the value and magic of the Crone archetype: the wise woman who is an aspect of the Goddess. She reminds us that the Goddess was once the supreme power of the universe, and one of her realms was the forest. We’d better listen to Baba Yaga’s wisdom. Or else we might be shoved in her oven.
 
Julie Peters

 

Compiled by http://violetflame.biz.ly from: 

My notes: 
  • God the Source is unconditional love, not a zealous god of [some] dogmatic religions.
  • All articles are the responsibility of the respective authors.


Reminder discernment is recommended
from the heart, not from the mind
 
The Truth Within Us, Will Set Us Free. We Are ONE.
No Need of Dogmatic Religions, Political Parties, and Dogmatic Science, linked to a Dark Cabal that Divides to Reign.
Any investigation of a Genuine TRUTH will confirm IT. 
TRUTH need no protection.
 
Question: Why the (fanatics) Zionists are so afraid of any Holocaust investigations?
 

  
 
Visitor MapesoterismoFree counters!
 

 

 
 

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