Practical Resources For Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual Healing

So many people who are interested in personal / spiritual development and read the books and blog posts, watch the videos, and listen to the podcasts, are left with the same predicament. I’m down with releasing limited beliefs, I’m into more abundance, gratitude, peace, and love; I may even be open to this ‘deeper nature of reality’ thing, but how? How do I actually begin to experience these things in my own life? What do I actually do? Of course, ultimately each of us has to answer that question for themselves, but I compiled some tips and specific resources that I’ve come across in my own experience that will hopefully be of help.

I’ve organized the resources into 5 sections:

1. Guiding Principles: guidance on how to chose and use these resources effectively
2. Psychological Healing: releasing trapped emotions, limiting beliefs, negative thought patterns, addictions, bad habits, fears, traumas, etc. 
3. Physical Healing: cleaning the physical body of any ‘dis-ease’, bringing your body’s energy field into coherence, removing blockages to vitality and physical health
4. Waking Up: remembering our true nature, expanding our identity from the personal to the universal self, dissolving dualistic perception
5. General Well-being: integrating balance into our everyday lifestyle

Note that most resources can apply to multiple sections, as all of these areas are interrelated.

Guiding Principles

Guidance on how to chose and use these resources effectively.

What worked for someone else, may not be what works for you. I don’t endorse or claim to be an expert on any of the resources. I’m just sharing my personal experiences. Each mind is it’s own unique maze of memories, thought patterns, beliefs, values, and dispositions, and so every path through will also be unique. Each system of meditation or healing claims to be the best, but in reality, there is no one best technique or system, there is only the best technique for you right now. Different approaches work for different people, and different approaches work for the same people at different stages in their life.

Use your intuition. Think for yourself. Ask, is there a sense that this could work for me? Does it sound interesting, exciting, or spark curiosity? Do I resonate with the energy of the founders, teachers, and other participants? Is this what my soul wants? Do I feel drawn toward it? Did I find out about it in a serendipitous way? Do I see my life going in a similar direction to the person who recommended it? Does it feel right?

Pay more attention to the person, than the technique. Teachers and practitioners of the same tradition or practice can be at vastly different levels of consciousness and have vastly different levels of skill. So instead of asking if this is the right technique, ask do I resonate with this person’s energy? Do I feel comfortable with them? Do they challenge me? Do I feel empowered or disempowered after speaking with them? Are they further along a path I see myself following? How much inner work have they done? Of course certain types of people gravitate toward certain types of techniques, but in general, the most important factor is the person’s level of consciousness and the relationship you form together.

Keep an open mind. Don’t write things off immediately just because they employ principles that outside your current belief system or don’t have double-blind peer-reviewed studies backing them up. Many of the most effective methods and practitioners are off the beaten path. These practitioners know what they do works and aren’t as concerned with monetizing, scaling, and gaining wider societal approval. The methods they use often rely on principles that modern science is only now starting to understand in field of quantum physics. Working with methods that don’t fit in with your beliefs also has an added benefit of shaking up and expanding your current paradigm.

If you’re going to do it, do it right. We live in a culture of dabbling, “FOMO” (fear of missing out), and quick fixes. If you’re going to do something, do it right. Read up on it, find a teacher, connect with others in the community, and practice it regularly. If you get stuck, ask for help, adjust, or keep moving through it, feeling “stuck”, may be a part of your process.

Be patient, but not too patient. Sometimes something does work because you haven’t really given it enough time, effort, and dedication. Other times you can try the same thing for years and not much happens. So find a balance; give it a fair trial, and then if really doesn’t seem to be getting you anywhere, try something else, but consider coming back to it at another stage.

Own the process, you have the answers. When we begin working with a teacher, healer, or even a medical doctor, there is a tendency to give away our power. To just do what they say and hope for the best. Although they may be an expert in their field, and may have the best intentions, it’s easy to forget that they are human too. They don’t know everything, they have many other people they are helping, and have issues going in their own lives. Ultimately, it’s your life and you are the one who has to live with the outcome, or lack thereof. No one is closer to the issue that you, no one will be able to spend more time than you. People will support you, but no one will save you if you’re not willing to save yourself. So take full responsibility for the process; be a proactive, do your own research, brainstorm your own ideas, make conscious decisions; you have all the answers.

Don’t try to control the outcome, become the outcome. Put your full energy into the process, but let go of the results. Letting go of the results does not mean giving up, it means fully accepting, surrendering to, and making peace with the whatever the outcome may be, while still working tirelessly toward your highest intention. It takes humility to realize that we don’t always know what’s best for us. A seemingly undesirable outcome, could be the best thing to happen to your life. We don’t always get the result we want, but we always get the result we need to learn and grow; the result is you.

Examine your motives. Pay close attention to how you are oriented toward your practice. Are you doing it because you feel that something is wrong with you that needs to “fixed?” Are you diving into practices as an escape from your everyday life? Are you seeking some magical future state or situation to finally be happy? Or are you genuinely curious and excited? Does it feel like it’s related to your soul’s calling? Often we have a mix of motives. Become aware of when you are driven by a sense of lack, and re-focus on moving toward what you want, instead of running from what you don’t want. Move toward what your highest self wants, not what your ego wants.

Don’t learn, unlearn. Doing inner work is the opposite of the learning we did in school. It’s not about learning new information and acquiring new beliefs. Real inner work is about becoming aware of your existing beliefs, and recognizing their falsehood. It’s about realizing how wrong you’ve been over and over again about your most fundamental convictions about yourself, others, and the world, which ironically becomes the greatest freedom.

Don’t believe, know. Be open-minded about what’s possible, but don’t blindly believe what you hear. If you think you’re doing inner work and you find yourself with a new found sense of entitlement because you now have a lot of new spiritual information and dogmas, you’re moving in the wrong direction. Everything needs to be validated with your own direct experience. Then there is no need to believe anything when you know from your own experience.

If it’s not embodied, it’s not over. Often we think we’ve finished working through a given pattern or belief because we’ve become more aware of it. But awareness is just the first step. The hard part is integrating this new awareness into new actions and into your being. You can measure your progress by measuring your reactions. If situations that were once very triggering arise, and you find yourself not reacting as intensely, you’re likely on the right track.

Transform your environment, transform yourself. When we first have an insight, it’s like a seed of transformation is planted within us, but until the seed matures it’s fragile and vulnerable; it needs fertile soil, sunlight, and water to take root. If you’re stepping into a new stage of life, but you are still surrounded by the same people and culture, it’s very difficult to truly integrate and step into the change. Find a way to join a community and form relationships with people that are more resonate with the stage you are moving into. 

Experiment, don’t be afraid to fail. Inevitably, there will be things you try that just don’t work for you, or may even seem to make things worse. Don’t be discouraged, this is a process of trial and error, just keep trying new approaches until something clicks.

Enjoy yourself. This whole process of personal growth can very easily feel like another means to an end pursuit; another goal that you’re working toward, that means paying your dues now, and hoping they will payoff in the future. This can lead to a lot of frustration and disappointment, especially when you don’t feel like you’re making progress. A better approach would be to focus on enjoying the process. Exploring new places and cultures, connecting with new people, expanding your perception of the world, and discovering more of yourself in the along the way.

Keep the big picture in mind. Remember that it’s about more than just fixing your problem, or even improving your own happiness. People who are called to go deep into inner work are here to inspire and help others to walk their paths and create a more conscious world. But in order to truly be of service, you have to help yourself first; the blind cannot lead the blind. So don’t feel selfish spending time working on yourself, but also don’t lose sight that it’s not just about you.

Psychological Healing

Resources related to releasing trapped emotions, limiting beliefs, negative thought patterns, addictions, bad habits, fears, traumas, etc. 

Solo Retreats: book a secluded spot in nature for a few days. Spending time alone in nature, away from mental stimulation, in stillness and silence, can be surprisingly challenging and immensely healing. Put your phone away and go for a walk, meditate, journal, read, cook a delicious meal, or just sit and take in all of the sights, sounds, and smells. Allow repressed emotions to arise and pass away, addictions to busyness to subside, insights to emerge, and a sense of calm and expanded perspective to settle in. I’ve found solo retreats to be especially helpful for deepening spiritual practices and gaining more clarity when starting a new chapter in life.

• Booking Sites: Airbnb, GlampingHub, Hipcamp, Getaway
• One of my favorite spots in Carmel Valley, CA.

Holotropic Breathwork: a powerful healing modality that uses a breathing technique, music, and a special set and setting to enter a non-ordinary state of consciousness and tap into an inner healing intelligence that innately knows how to release blockages in the mind and body. This technique is a more gentle alternative to using entheogens because if the experience becomes too much, you can always open your eyes and resume a normal breathing pattern, and you will return to an ordinary state. I recommend attending a workshop with a certified facilitator before attempting it on your own, especially if you have a mental illness or trauma history.

• Grof Transpersonal Training: official website to learn more and find workshops and certified facilitators
• Angel Cassidy: a therapist and holotropic facilitator in the Bay Area whom I have worked with. Angel has a very warm and caring presence.

Inner Space Technique (IST): a powerful energy healing technique that helps people heal the true source behind the negative emotional patterns and conditioning affecting their lives. IST is done 1-on-1 with a certified practitioner; it’s best done in-person, but can also be very effective remotely.

• Clairvision School of Meditation: go to the Clairvision website to learn more about IST and to contact them for a list of practitioners who do 1-on-1 sessions. Clairvision also offers classes, retreats, and KT’s (audio courses). Also see “Clairvision School of Meditation” in the “Meditation” section below.
• Theresa Montoya: Theresa has a joyful and deeply caring presence. She is extremely intuitive and skilled and has a gentle way of guiding you past your inner resistance to truly feel and heal. I have worked with Theresa 1-on-1 and she has helped me immensely to reconnect with my soul.
• Samantha Keen: Samantha has a very powerful and deep presence. I have did not have the opportunity to work with her 1-on-1, but she led a weekly meditation class that I attended, and was incredible.
• Tracey Stanton: I have not had the opportunity to work with Tracey directly, but I have heard great things about her from trusted friends.
• Matteus Levell: Matteus has an incredibly authentic presence and powerful energy and vision, and holds a space that quickly brings everything to the surface that wants to be healed. I have worked with Matteus on a few occasions and his vision and directness helped me come out of a rut and step into a new chapter of my life. 

Large Group Awareness Training (LGAT): LGAT’s are typically structured as a 3-day training you can do over a long weekend with 30-100 other participants. They use a variety of meditation, visualization, psychotherapy, and coaching techniques to get to help participants become aware of subconcious patterns, often from childhood, that have been holding them back in their personal and professional lives. Many participants describe it as 3 years of therapy in 3 days, and have profound improvements in their relationships and careers. These trainings often try to up-sell you to do the next course and encourage you to refer friends, which can come across as a bit shady, but overall I don’t think it’s a reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater given the profound results participants tend to experience.

• PSI Seminars: PSI is a bit off the beaten path, but so many of the best trainings are. They usually have a somewhat smaller group sizes of 30-60 participants, which makes it a very intimate experience. The facilitators are very skilled and engaging, and they have volunteer mentors who lead small group sessions, which are very personalized and impactful. A formal study was conducted on PSI’s Basic Seminar, which showed that the participants experienced overwhelmingly positive short and long-term results. I attended PSI’s Basic Seminar and had profound realizations regarding subconscious patterns that were holding back my business and personal relationships at the time. I also conducted a survey myself of participants at various intervals after the seminar, which showed overwhelmingly positive feedback. I think these type of seminars are a great first step for people who are looking for positive transformation without spending years in therapy.
• Landmark Forum: Group sizes are usually closer to 100, but their trainings are available in many cities across the U.S. and internationally. I have not attended Landmark personally, but from what I’ve heard, it’s very similar in principle to PSI, and I have witnessed many friends make profound positive changes in their lives after attending.

Entheogenic Journeys

Often called, psychedelic “drugs”, the entheogenic plants that make up mushrooms, ayahuasca, and iboga have been considered sacred healers, medicines, and teachers by indigenous cultures around the world for thousands of years. They are non-addictive by nature and on the contrary are often used to cure drug addictions and various mental illnesses. The few entheogenic experiences I’ve had, have been undeniably the most powerful catalyst on my own journey. However, as with any powerful tool, it can heal or harm by equal measure depending on how it’s used. These plants are often used recreationally and frivolously, which I strongly advise against. I recommend anyone that feels called to an entheogenic journey to do their research on how to use them effectively and safely in a healing context.

General Entheogenic Resources:

• Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS): an organization that develops research and resources for people to benefit from the careful uses of entheogens. 
• Dr. Gregory Wells: a San Francisco based psychologist who offers psychedelic integration therapy among other services. I had a positive experience working with Greg. I highly recommend getting assistance integrating these experiences, which can be difficult to do on your own. See MAPS Psychedelic Integration List for other mental health practitioners who assist with integration work.
• Mikedelic: podcast with a range of topics and uniques guests related to entheogens
• How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence: well-known writer Michael Pollan’s book on entheogens

Iboga: known commonly as the “stern father”, Iboga is known for helping people to get in touch with their inner most truth, and directly seeing the conditioned beliefs and mental / behavioral patterns in their life that are out of alignment. It’s also known for curing various addictions and disorders, getting direct answers to specific questions, and communication with ancestors. Iboga comes from Gabon, a country in West Africa. It was initially discovered by the indigenous Pygmy tribes, who use it in a spiritual context that evolved into a religion called, Bwiti. Gabon is also the only country where the Iboga root grows.

• Awaken Your Soul: westerner-friendly iboga retreats, recommended by a  trusted friend.
• Psychedelic Journeys: westerner-friendly iboga retreats, I had a brief but positive experience working with Trisha in another context, but have not attended a retreat with her.
• Iboga Wellness Center: westerner-friendly iboga retreat center in Costa Rica, recommended by a trusted friend.
• Tamara Wensing: westerner-friendly iboga retreats, I have worked with Tamara directly, she has a powerful and strong energy, is not intimidated to speak her truth, but comes from a place of love. Her retreats also tend to be reasonable for westerners because of the exchange rate in South Africa, where she is based.
• Gregory Puente: westerner-friendly iboga retreats, recommended by a trusted friend, originally from France, Greg now lives in Gabon and became a consecrated Bwiti Shaman after over a decade of traditional training.
• Gabon / Bwiti Initiation: I felt called to go to the source and experience a Bwiti initiation, which is a very ritualistic right off passage ceremony. Although I have a relatively high tolerance for physical and mental discomfort, it was an extremely challenging experience. I was lucky to be in a place where I was taken very good care of. I wouldn’t recommend most westerners to go to Gabon at this point, even those who are more adventurous and experienced. Although home to some of the most pure nature in the world, the country itself has very poor infrastructure, is politically unstable, and has many N’gangas (Bwiti Shamans) looking to extort westerners. I hope Gabon will be a safer destination to travel to in the future, but now I feel it’s probably best that it’s left with a minimal tourist imprint.

Ayahuasca: known as the “loving grandmother”, Ayahuasca is known for attuning the heart to unconditional love and cosmic truths, experiencing dimensions, beings, and lifetimes beyond this world, and profound visions. Like Iboga, Ayahuasca is considered a “Master Teacher”, and experiences can be as varied as the minds of those who take it.

• Mayantuyacu: a native Amazonian healing center lead by Maestro Juan Flores, a traditional Asháninka sheripiari (healer / shaman). Mayantuyacu is located in the Peruvian Amazon on a “Boiling River”, and is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen; it feels like you’re in the movie Avatar. I had one of the best experiences of my life there, but I wouldn’t recommend it to most people, unless you’re really up for an adventure and have a high tolerance for physical and mental discomfort. It’s a trek to get to, there is no wifi or cell service, Juan and the natives who work there don’t speak any english, the accommodations are very rustic, and they don’t really help you process or integrate your experiences. But if that’s what you’re looking for, then this is the place.
• Temple of the Way of Light: westerner-friendly ayahuasca retreat center known for great integration sessions, recommended by a trusted friend.

Mushrooms (psilocybin): one of the most common and accessible entheogens, mushrooms are often taken recreationally in low doses (.5-2g) to make a concert or a fun time with friends more fun. For that reason it’s often overlooked as a tool for deep healing. The reason people enjoy mushrooms is because they slow down the activity in the Default Mode Network of the brain, or in other words, they silence your “inner critic.” Without the excess thinking people often get a taste for what it’s like to live in the present moment without all of their thoughts about the present moment. However, taking mushrooms with an intention to heal, with eyes closed, going inward and not outward, can be a completely different experience. With excessive thinking slowed down, a low to medium doses (.5-3.5g) can reveal one’s subconscious patterns, fears, memories, decisions, or spiritual intuitions so they can be seen with more clarity and higher awareness. In higher doses like 5g, 10g, or 20g people report experiencing completely unfathomable dimensions of reality, cosmic truth, love, and unity. That being said, I would recommend taking a very gradually approach, starting with low doses in a very supportive setting with a facilitator or a trusted spotter and gradually working your way up. Although it may not cause bodily damage, taking on more than you can handle can be psychologically destabilizing and traumatic.

• The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide: Safe, Therapeutic and Sacred Journeys: written by a Harvard and Stanford educated psychologist, this book is great resource on how to approach entheogenic journeys, especially using mushrooms. I took mushrooms once when I was 20, and once when I was 28, both low to medium doses. When I was 20, I took them recreationally, not knowing what to expect. Instead of a fun escape, the existential dread and fear of death I carried with me since childhood started to bubble up, which I wasn’t ready or prepared to deal with. When I was 28, after trying many other approaches to heal this existential anxiety, I turned back to mushrooms, but this time approached it in a very intentional manner using some of the principles in this book. With my resistances down, I faced the fear head on and had a deep spiritual awakening experience. That one session marked the end of 18 years of panic attacks and the beginning of a new chapter of my life dedicated to understanding the nature of reality.

5-MeO-DMT: known as the “God Molecule”, 5-MeO is known for consistently producing an experience of ego death and merging back with source / God / Oneness. It is very different from DMT (N,N-DMT). 5-MeO comes from a secretion of the Bufo Alvarius Toad, native to the Sonoran dessert in Arizona, but is also a chemical that is naturally released in the brain. Unlike many other entheogens, the effects of 5-MeO come on instantly, usually last between 5-45 minutes, and experiences tend to be relatively consistent. There are typically no vibrant shapes and colors, encounters with inter-dimensional spirits, elaborate visions, or personal insights, just the grain of salt that is you, dissolving back into the infinite, and remembering that you are God having a human experience. 5-MeO is known as the most powerful entheogen and something you really need to prepared for; prepared to experience death and a shattering of your entire conception of reality. For those who feel deeply compelled to know the true nature of reality, and are truly ready to face their fear of death and wake up from the dream that is their life, it could be an invaluable resource.

• Psychedelic Journeys: westerner-friendly 5-MeO retreats, I had a brief but positive experience working with Trisha, but have not attended a full retreat with her. I’ve only experienced one session with 5-MeO. It was after I had already had a prior awakening experience, so it did not come as a total shock, but it served as an even deeper reminder of the true nature of reality. It also provided healing in my attachment to my personal sense of identity, and has allowed me to consistently access a state of pure awareness, inner peace, and universal love in my daily meditation.
• Dr. Martin Ball: a pioneer in the use of 5-MeO for attaining abiding non-dual awareness

Meditation: meditation has become a buzz word in modern western culture, which on one hand is great because it is becoming more widely practiced and societally acceptable. However, in order for it to be palatable to a western, scientifically-minded audience, it has has been mostly stripped down to a technique to reduce our levels stress and anxiety. While I’m all for stress reduction, this approach to meditation is very limited, and runs the risk of meditation becoming just another tool for us to suppress our symptoms while we sleepwalk through our day, instead of addressing the core life choices, beliefs, and societal structures that are the root of our anxiety. Meditation, is in its essence, a spiritual practice, and has been used for thousands of years, by cultures around the world, as a means of self-transformation and ultimately self-trancendance. In my experience, a daily meditation practice is great way to re-center yourself at the beginning of each day and build up your levels of focus and equanimity, but to really go deep into the root causes behind one’s issues it needs to supplemented with retreats and other techniques.

• Kopan Monastery: a beautiful Tibetan Buddhist monastery outside Katmandu, Nepal. They have many westerner-friendly and beginner-friendly retreats, including their popular “November Course.” I have not been myself, but a trusted friend has done their November course and loved it. Kopan is affiliated with the FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) network of centers that offer Tibetan Buddhist retreats all over the world.
• Tushita: a beautiful Tibetan Buddhist retreat center in McLeod Ganj, a small mountain town near Dharamsala, India, which is the home base of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government. Tushita is a gem surrounded by trees, beneath the backdrop of the snowcapped Himalayas. Their retreats are also beginner and westerner friendly. I did a 10-day silent retreat there and it was a great vibe; people from all over the world, amazing food, manageable meditation sessions, engaging talks. It’s a great warm up for a Vipassana retreat as it’s not quite as intense.
• Vipassana: traditional Buddhist meditation retreat centers in the tradition of an Indian teacher named, S.N. Goenka. They are probably the most widely known and accessible meditation retreats as they are completely donation-based and are located all over the world. I did one of their 10-day retreats in Kelseyville, CA, a couple of hours north of San Francisco, which was a positive experience, but quite intense. The first meditation session began at 4:30 am each day and included about 10 hours of formal meditation per day, with some individual sessions lasting close to two hours. Silence is strictly observed; participants give their phones away when the arrive and are not allowed to speak, write in a journal, or even make eye contact with other participants until the last day. My level of presence and focus after the retreat was drastically heightened, but overall I’d say the most noticeable and lasting change for me was that afterward, meditating for an hour at a time was relatively easy, whereas before, even 20 minutes was a struggle.
• Wolf’s Listing of Dharma Retreat Centers: Google Doc with a listing of Buddhist retreat centers around the world, but primarily in Asia.
• Clairvision School of Meditation: Clairvision offers a very comprehensive and systematic training for cultivating higher stages of consciousness. It’s not for everyone, but I found their weekly classes and retreats to be very powerful. We live in a much different world than that of 2000 years ago; Clairvision’s techniques are designed for the modern western mind. They combine energy healing techniques, individual meditation, and other practices to help students release deeply seeded mental patterns that would otherwise keep them from truly progressing in their practice. Attending their ATE / IST101 retreat or working with a practitioner 1-on-1 is a good place to start. I attended their ATE, IST 101, and Pedals of the Heart retreats as well as their weekly classes in Berkley, which were all excellent. I have also done some of the KT’s (audio courses), my favorite being, “Death The Great Journey.” I have also worked with several practitioners 1-on-1, who have all been incredibly skilled and freakishly intuitive. Also see the “Inner Space Technique (IST)” section above.
• Insight Timer: a free mobile app with a customizable meditation timer as well as thousands of free guided meditations. I use the timer because I prefer the sounds of their traditional bells to a phone alarm, and it makes it easy to break up your session into different periods if you’re going to be using multiple practices in a single session. I also use their binaural beats music to focus while working or to relax before bed. They also have some good courses if you pay for premium access.

Self-Healing: one of the limitations with many of the techniques on this list is that many of them require a practitioner, which of course, costs money and usually must be pre-scheduled. I highly recommend people to work with practitioners and to go on retreats, but I also would advise everyone to have at least one “go to” technique they can do on their own. This allows you to avoid developing a dependency on anything external to continue to heal. It also means you can have more sessions and most importantly, have a way to release emotional charges as they come up throughout the week. It is incredibly empowering to know that you can heal yourself and to know that you’ll be able to handle whatever may come up. See my post Why We Suffer and What To Do About It for details on the technique that I use. This is an area where it helps to use your intuition, be creative, experiment, and find out what works best for you. Different things work for different people, so don’t be intimidated to mix techniques that you’ve learned or develop your own technique. I’ve tried a lot of different things on myself that worked very well, and only later found out that they were well-known meditation or healing techniques.

Coaching: I was hesitant to hire a coach because it seems like everyone and their mother is a coach these days, and many don’t seem very qualified. Although it may difficult to find a really good coach, I think it’s worth the effort. People tend to vastly overate their ability to do things on their own, and underrate how much more quickly and painlessly they could progress with the right help. I’ve also noticed that many people going to therapists don’t really have a true mental illness, which is what psychology is geared toward treating, and would probably be better served by seeing a coach. Coaching is especially helpful for identifying the fears and beliefs that are holding you back in certain areas of your life, and taking concrete action toward overcoming them.

• Handel Group: 1-on-1 coaching sessions, online programs, and in-person workshops. The founder, Lauren Handel, is a world-class coach and uses her own methodology called, “The Handel Method.” She holds a very high standard for the coaches who she certifies. I have not worked with Lauren or one of her coaches directly, but I’m familiar with her process and her company, and a trusted had very positive experiences working with her.
• Coach.me: connect with coaches over text messaging and phone calls to help implement new habits or achieve goals. I had a positive experience using their Leadership Coaching service, which matches you with a coach and includes coaching calls.
• Claire Millard: I had a few sessions with Claire, and a few sessions was all I needed. She very quickly was able to cut through my B.S. and get to the heart of the matter. At the time I wanted to take a year off to travel around the world. She helped me identify the core fears and limited thinking that were holding me back. After years of having it on my ever-elusive bucket list, a few sessions gave me the confidence to finally book a one-way flight.

Traditional Therapy / Modern Psychology: there are many incredible therapists and many different modalities, so it is difficult to make a general statement about therapy. From my experience, although the field is evolving, modern psychology is still very much oriented around treating mental “disorders.” Therapists evaluate, diagnose, and create an associated treatment plan for their patients, much like a doctor would for a physical illness. However, many people going to therapists don’t really have a true mental “disorder’, they are just struggling to cope with stress, conflict, loss, change, relationships, careers etc. Pathologizing people’s life challenges as a “disorder”, with an associated label, can be disempowering, narrow the scope of what’s really going on, and prevent true healing from occurring. Like western medicine, modern psychology often takes an approach of treating symptoms with medication and coping mechanisms, rather than inviting people to see their negative emotions as uncomfortable, but valuable feedback that could lead to profound positive life changes and inner transformation. Traditional therapy is also typically dealing with the level of the ordinary mind, which is a very limited approach, as the true source of any given issue, usually lies at the subconscious level, or even deeper levels of the mind. I’ve been to many different therapists over the course of my life, and although I enjoyed talking about myself as much as the next person, I can’t honestly say it lead to any real lasting transformation. That being said, I do know many people who have had very positive experiences. I think traditional therapy can be a safe and approachable first step for people, and create a safe container to integrate experiences from other healing modalities, but I would encourage those who feel inclined, to not limit themselves to therapy exclusively.

• Psychology Today: great website to find a therapist and learn more about therapy in general. You can search for therapists that specialize in specific techniques or issues. I’ve found that therapists who integrate a variety of non-traditional techniques tend to take a deeper and more holistic approach. Also see the “Non-Traditional Therapy” section below.

Non-Traditional Therapy: in recent years, a number a new types of therapy have emerged that seem to be promising. These techniques tend to work on deeper layers than traditional talk therapy alone, and many licensed therapists have now integrated them into their practices. I don’t have a lot of personal experience with these approaches, but have spoken to many people who have had life-changing experiences in just a few sessions.

• Psychology Today: to find a therapist specializing in a specific approach
• Transpersonal Psychology: an emerging field that integrates modern psychology with the spiritual and transcendent aspects of the person, beyond their individual psyche and sense of self.
• Somatic Therapy: uses body awareness and physical sensations as guide to release tension and emotions that remain in the body from past negative experiences.
• Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) or “Tapping”): like acupuncture without the needles. A quick technique you can do on your own to accept and release negative emotions by reciting empowering phrases and tapping on you body’s key energy meridian points.
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): while holding a painful or traumatic memory, the client follows the therapists back-and-forth finger movements with their eyes, which helps them release all of the associated negative emotions.
• Hypnotherapy: a technique where the client is guided into a dream-like state and then asked certain questions or prompted to open to various experiences. Participants report accessing various memories from childhood, infancy, or even past lives. Despite one’s beliefs around the technique or past-lives, the experiences are quite real and have a real impact on people’s lives. Also see “QHHT” and “BQH” in the section below.

Other Alternative Healing Modalities: the following are some other techniques I haven’t tried myself yet, but have been recommended and I’m interested in exploring.

• Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT): a hypnotherapy technique developed by Dolores Cannon that helps individuals access and heal deep levels of their subconscious mind. A key component is Past Life Regression, where individuals are guided through key past life experiences that are affecting their current life. Also see “Hypnotherapy” in the section above and “BQH” below.
• Beyond Quantum Healing (BQH): a more flexible adaptation of the QHHT technique described above. The site also allows you to search for practitioners that specialize in a wide range of alternative healing modalities. 
• Theta Healing: a meditation and healing method created by Vianna Stibal that creates rapid physical and emotional well-being through retraining your brain to include the Theta brain wave state and rely on unconditional love.
• The Emotion Code: an energy healing method developed by Dr. Bradley Nelson, that helps people discover and release trapped emotions affecting their physical, mental, and spiritual health. 
• Biofield Tuning: a sound therapy technique that uses a tuning fork to relax the nervous system, bring the body’s energy field into coherence, and release the associated tension in the body and mind. 
• The Sedona Method: a quick 4-step process to release negative emotions as they come up and allow suppressed energy to dissipate.

Miscellaneous Resources:

• Mindvalley: engaging online courses that cover a variety of personal development topics.
• Gaia: a Netflix alternative for those interested in physical / psychological healing, spirituality, metaphysics, ancient civilizations, and other weird stuff.
• TrueSelf: a comprehensive self-assessment that identifies your personality type, strengths, motives, fears, desires, beliefs, what holds you back, etc.

Physical Healing

Cleaning the physical body of any ‘dis-ease’, bringing your body’s energy field into coherence, removing blockages to vitality and physical health.

SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION, STAY TUNED… 🙂

Waking Up

Remembering our true nature, expanding our identity from the personal to the universal self, dissolving dualistic perception.

SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION, STAY TUNED… 🙂

General Well-being

Integrating balance into our everyday lifestyle.

SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION, STAY TUNED… 🙂