TOXIC STORIES

According to Dr. Benjamin Kaplan-Singer, the health of the mind and body comes down to the stories we tell ourselves. He explains the idea in more detail on this Collective Insights podcast about meta-immunity, but in short, the problem is most of us are listening to a non-stop loop of toxic stories so deeply embedded in our psyche, we’re not even aware of them. But they’re playing in the background constantly, and kick in with stress.

SECRET SHAME

How secrets crushed and how Wild Woman help me break free

For years, nay decades, my secrets buried me in shame. I had so much to be ashamed about: my failure to marry, have children and a family of my own, my failure to harness my knowledge and build a safe life, my failure to hold onto friends, my expulsion from my tribe. They added up to the same thing: my inability to be loved. I’m unlovable, my psyche cried. Oh, the shame.

UNLIMITED

Can meditation really tap into your unlimited potential?

I’m not a fan of meditation. My mind is too busy, too forthright, too belligerent to be still and at rest. My body is too demanding to allow me to sit for twenty minutes without moving. I don’t envy people who can sit for twenty minutes without moving. I think they’re nuts. Until I found Dr. Joe Dispenza and heard what he has to say about mediation, how it can transform your life, and tap into your unlimited potential.

IS LESS MORE?

Is your stomach cluttered because your life is?

Because I’m in between homes, the house I’m living in is more or less empty and I can’t believe how much I like it that way. There’s no clutter. I use everything, meaning each item has value. This is true for clothes, cosmetics and cutlery, but especially food. I only buy what I eat and I enjoy every bite. By accident, I’m learning to enjoy a life of less.

WHO’S ABUSING YOU?

Are you abusing yourself? How do you stop?

I recently saw a post of FB condemning men for the emotional abuse they inflict on women. It attracted many comments, mostly from women identifying with the experience, sharing their stories: all the horrible ways men had wronged them. As a woman who’s been through my fair share of emotional abuse and come out the other side, I can tell you there’s only one person I blame: me.

IBS & OCD

Why an upset mind leads to an upset stomach.

My OCD is off the chart. It steals hours of my day as I unlock, lock and re-lock doors, clean and re-clean the kitchen, make and remake the bed, mop floors (in the house and van), pack away work stuff and pull it out again. This is nerves, the result of living in two places, between my home and camper-van and feeling unsure of myself, like I’m on the move but going nowhere.

IBS & ADDICTION

In what ways does addiction shape your food choices and you?

I have three addictions: shopping, nicotine, and cannabis, and in that order. For years I believed nicotine to be the hardest to resist until I used shopping to resist it. In a store, any kind of store, clothes, books, furniture, wallpaper, toilet seats, you name it, my mind is captivated, and as a result, my body is calm. This is addiction.

POOPHORIA

Is dopamine the key to understanding IBS?

On this Collective Insight podcast, Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, a groundbreaking neuroscientist and best-selling author of “How Emotions Are Made,” reveals the link between poo-ing and happiness. Her work changed the way I think about IBS, and the interconnections between my brain and body.

BOUNDARIES

Can you protect yourself from the anxiety of the unknown?

My skin is peeling, dry and flaky, and I have yet another bump on my head; that’s 3 in three weeks. Also, newsflash: you can’t live in a van with a sick and slightly senile dog. By start of week 4, I can’t take any more of watching the poor mutt suffer, and I retreat home, back to my old house, the place I don’t want to go.

THE INFINITE JOURNEY

Soul Wander Workshop in the Woods

In this one-day workshop, you will use whole flower and dance improvisation to: Breathe in nature, Be in your body, Sway like smoke, Flow like water, Exhale raw energy & Embrace your soul.

“Dancing is half shame, half glory. Shame for showing off, glory when you can forget about yourself.”

John Gielgud