#@RExwellnessliberation

[rexwellnessliberation]

So you’ve had an Ayahuasca experience?

“It cracked me open like an egg, as if before I was sheltered by my  ego, a gym going-stoic tough guy, a “safe society”, a job, and revealed to me a heart beneath all this protection, that melted me into a puddle of humility and a felt connection to the universe that I could only describe as angelic, or Soul  ...I was left with something much greater than the small life I left behind...”

How are you doing? Are you grounded in your body and on this planet, in your city, your town, your job, your relationship and friendships? If after participating in a ceremony you are experiencing challenges such as feeling isolated, confused, disoriented, high & low, meaninglessness, identity crisis, failing relationship(s), anger, doubt, despair, depression: You’re not alone...and there is a way.

Some say it is the scariest and most beautiful experience they’ve encountered. Some say it is like 20 years of psychotherapy in one night. Some may agree, where others may be quite frightened and skeptical of a statement like this. Only you know how the experience was for you.  Whatever and whoever led you to the experience, it is in the past, and no doubt available for immediate recall. However, this article is curious about how it is going for you now, after the experience. How is life for you now? How is your relationship with your self and all of your relationships? What is the quality of your life like now?There is an ever growing population of people in Canada and the U.S . experiencing this visionary brew, but unless you are connected to a church or community that integrates the medicine into the socio-cultural framework of your locale, individuals and their friends may be finding themselves a bit fragmented and confused in trying to integrate such an ‘other worldly-multidimensional’ experience into the common and modern way of living. Traditionally in the indigenous cultures who have revered this plant spirit medicine, for thousands of years, would have a community and Senior shaman who would be readily available for individuals struggling to understand themselves and life. Not to mention, the idea of legality and negative stigmatization is not even considered in a culture that imbibes in natures medicine so naturally and harmoniously offered by the planet herself. The consumption of Ayahuasca is woven into their society and overall cosmology with each individual’s psycho-spiritual worldview, much like our societies chronic consumption of coffee, sugar and cigarettes. It’s just incorporated into the way of life. When we recognize this, it becomes clear that there is a need for “Senior Shaman’s” and communities to support individuals in integrating these potentially fragmenting and healing experiences. Which brings us back to the thesis of this article: How are you doing? Are you grounded in your body and on this planet, in your city, your town, your job, your relationship and friendships? If after participating in a ceremony you are experiencing challenges such as feeling isolated, confused, disoriented, high & low, meaninglessness, identity crisis, failing relationship(s), anger, doubt, despair, depression: You’re not alone...and there is a way.As we have learned from traditional cultures, support is a massive part of integration. Quite often, we don’t feel comfortable sharing our experience with friends or family (which is quite common- to the inexperienced, these states of mind and mystical realms can seem very far out!)...its not the most helpful when we share something and we receive a blank stare or comment like “good luck with that.” The next safest option is to turn to a counsellor or psychotherapist. But we don’t want to go to any counsellor. You want to know that they won’t ridicule us for participating in a psychedelic (Soul manifesting) ceremony, or be judgmental about the exceptional human experience you share with them. The ideal is to seek out a Transpersonally Oriented Therapist, spiritual counsellor, or medicine person trained in traditional healing methods. A standard google search may ring up a cornucopia of results here. Word of mouth is a safe bet: a friend we trust who has experienced Ayahuasca and has seen ‘this counsellor’, who helped them really ground and be okay with their experience.

Like many today, I have had the honor and privilege to sit in sacred ceremony, of several kinds. And what an honor it is for us to be able to do this. It is important to truly acknowledge the people and the origins of the medicine teachings available to us today, and to be considerate of how the western influx of interest in Ayahuasca and “Shamanism” has affected and continues to affect these cultures. The globalization of practices like these calls us toward critically thinking and feeling about a cultural sensitivity that appreciates diversity and complexity of other cultures and traditions. The ethnocentric and myopic vision we can easily be stuck in, is also part of our healing journey as we open toward a global and integral worldview. And so perhaps we let our longings for healing include a global perspective.

My hopes for this article were manifold. I sought to grab the attention of those aware and participated in said ceremonies. It was also to acknowledge our human nature, and the realities of psychological disintegration and reintegration through these kinds of experiences.  The reality is that Ayahuasca use is spreading, and this has effects. Although I share a concern for the cultural and global implications of this on the planet and people involved, my area of interest and ability is centered around the psycho-spiritual terrain of the western mind. I am attentive that this new wave of healing and potential consciousness expansion, requires an integral worldview and perspective, most importantly grounded in this western context. We still need to function in our lives here in this time and space of 2017, in modern western society. The mention of honoring the origins and people of the alternative medicines and practices available was only the briefest mention of a very complex issue that continues to be critically examined. 

And so on a parting note here until next time, I’d like to make a presentation for my offering and experience. I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and Health science, which grabbed my attention in advanced human physiology, learning and a fascination with the Philosophy-Human nature and the meaning of life. I dove into yoga and became a Yoga instructor, which became a powerful means of grounding and integration. With 2 years of Integrative Body Psychotherapy training and currently in 3rd year of a specialization in Existential Analysis & Counselling, an integrative psychological inquiry becomes a repertoire for communicating and navigating our human complexity. I am conducting my Master’s in Transpersonal Psychology and Spirituality; specifically my research thesis is on the Integration of Entheogenic (Ayahuasca, Cannabis, Magic Mushroom, shamanic) & Spiritual experiences. What does this mean? It means if we are going to participate in these ceremonies, we have work to do, and the majority of it is done afterwards: This is called integration. How do we ground our experience in this body? How do we come back to Earth and live in our truest expression? I sought out, and continue to discover how we optimally do this as individuals and communities.

.I have worked directly with MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) staff and sister Zendo Project for Psychedelic Harm Reduction, at Burning Man (temporary city and arts festival in the Nevada - Black Rock City desert). In 2014 I founded a Meetup group entitled “Psychedelic Phenomenology Vancouver”, whose mandate was dedicated to community and the integration (Psychological, Spiritual, Social) & education of Entheogenic Plant medicines and psychedelics, which quickly drew close to 220 local members, and a wider international attention online. My experience and research is evidence to us that there is a need and calling for Integration Guides and Counsellors, Senior Shamans of our time and location, and above all, A COLLECTIVE LONGING TO HEAL. I want to help because I have been there. And perhaps I have a gift for helping people through the rough patches when it comes to this healing work. It is with nothing but heart that I put out this invitation to anyone who is in need of some experienced and professional guidance.I am offering free online consultations with opportunities for in person counselling and various forms of healing, in British Columbia - Vancouver, Squamish, Whistler- Canada. If I am not the right fit, I have an entire sisterhood of healers and medicine women I can also connect you with. The healing we do for our selves extends like ripples, rocking up against the edges of our brothers and sisters, encouraging them to also dive in to the life giving waters. We’re all in this together.Blessings, Jon Dickson, 

REx Wellness Liberation

Shift: Cannabis Counselling and Wellness Team

[rexsoulfit-blog]

What comes up for you? The next stage for the fitness enthusiast, yoga practitioner, and general wellness interest, is to take time to look at our mental and emotional well being. This is an exercise of a different kind, an exercise of COUR-(Heart)-AGE...Stress? Anxiety? Anger and frustration? Life patterns that we wonder about and why they happen over and over again...what are our triggers and how can they be understood? Fitness includes not only our physical being. Our personality and character are equally shaped by our self perception, beliefs, relationships and life situation. Living true to our emotions and asserting our selves with volition in our life is equally important to physical activity. Yes, change is challenging. And change is life, time is life, always changing. The tree grows its leaves and loses them each year. These damn emotions, we intuitively know are telling us something: It's time that something old and worn out, an outmoded way of being with our selves and others, has to die. This could be as simple as knowing our selves a little closer, and we stop living out an old pattern. My teacher Dr. Laingle said "Our old style of being is well trained like a body builder". Parents, socialization, politeness, tradition, systems, have all been stages for our performing- Did you do it right? Did we fit in, wear the right thing, stay quiet enough, do enough? Awareness that something in us needs to change combined with the right effort creates a transformative heat, much like exercise and burning fat. There comes a time when we must do away with our old ways of conformity and step out of our adolescent mindset and into our larger story that has been waiting for us. Inspiration: Inspiritus, latin for being in-spirited, spirit infused with matter. Enthusiasm; Entheo, God - To be enlivened by a God like state, to come alive. This is my passion! I work with athletes, yoga practitioners, fitness enthusiasts to help deepen their self understanding to rediscover new ways of being and new forms of creative living in relationship with Soul and the World.Why this niche? In my experience, we tend to be very physically focused, and often by pass these other important aspects. I also specialize in working with clients who use Cannabis as a therapeutic wellness program and provide a service to integrate spiritual experiences from plant medicine ceremonies such as Ayahuasca, and other exceptional human experience. What is our true story? What is our calling, our highest destiny, and can we say yes to it? It takes some work, like going to the gym, playing sports, doing yoga asana etc. The fruit of this work is we come to meet our Soul, Is this our forbidden fruit? Aren't we aloud to have a voice, to speak for our selves? The world is waiting for us to step into our own shoes and walk our gift. I offer free, private, no obligation, 15 minute consultations to have an honest conversation with potential clients who are considering this study. Skype: jon.dickson03 & in person, Sea to Sky corridor. www.rexwellnessliberation.ca Shift Cannabis Counselling and Wellness Team Existential Counselling, Body Oriented Psychotherapy, Yoga, Mind Body Integration, Vision Counsel #counselling #wellness #fitness #yoga #meditation #psychology REx Wellness Liberation, Shift Cannabis Counselling & Wellness Team#bodybuilding #rexwellnessliberation, Jon Dickson #therapist #soul#vancouver #squamish #canada

[rexwellnessliberation]

There is hope in an insane world: Will we choose?

There is tremendous suffering in the world. We know this. And we know of the horrifying acts humanity has experienced through history. From the slaughter of millions in the holocaust, genocides in Rwanda, all the world, civil and religious wars, and of course mass killing of animals and our seemingly polluted and dying planet. This reflection of the state of history and the planet at present, is but a reflection of the state of mind in the human being in general. Are we really trumped?This state of affairs is hugely perpetuated by the blame and shame game in our own minds. When we play victim and perpetrator, oscillating between feeling responsible and guilty for absolutely all of it, we enter the state of feeling like a shameful perpetrator. And this very real feeling has a very real bio-physiological affect on our human organism. Chronically activated fight-flight mechanisms further draw energy from our being, leading to many of the chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, metabolic syndromes and various deficiencies, as well as the more insidious mental disorders like depression, anxiety, ADD and spectrum personality disorders. Our narrative story-making mind naturally has a tendency to pile story on top of story, guilt on top of guilt, and no one feels good about this. We get locked into addictive thought and behaviour patterns which psychologists call coping mechanisms.

“Part of the nature of our mind is to see things as separate and threatening. The human being is so intelligent that it can literally think it self slowly to death. What is remarkable is our ability to free our selves from suffering.”

Let’s briefly look at shame. Shame is the experience that says “I am bad, I did or am doing something wrong.” If we attune to the felt primacy of direct experience, we can feel in our guts and heart this “shame tag” to our inner thought narrative. This double shame sandwich can go something like this: “I’m not performing well enough; I should be more and have more; I live on unceded native land; my ancestors of colonization dislocated these people, I am responsible for fixing history; slavery, genocide, planetary decay, vegetarianism, homophobia, selfishness, gender bias” Are these controversial topics? Every human being at some point comes up against these. The point is, unchecked beliefs and biases, living uncritically, has a dramatic effect on the state of our being, how we live, and the outcome of our life. The shift from shame to forgiveness, respect and compassion is very subtle, but a profound shift which leads to well being.All this is not to say that the discriminative level of mind (Or our ego) is unimportant. To condemn the ego is but one more trip, one more layer of defense that shames the Self or Soul into hiding. Surely it has motivating aspects that get us to resolve unresolved business, step into right relationship and solidarity, and take care of our selves and others. This is more to highlight the experiential fact that there are negative effects when it has absolute dominance over our being, and that there is a great human potential to be realized in a more unitive, present and felt level of being. That there are multiple ways of approaching well being, on both a personal and collective level, is where we can find some hope. And it starts with the individual who is ready to take a stand for their own well being.

“So what can one do in and amongst the craziness of the world and our own busy minds? A small dose of self respect and appreciation can go a long way.”

So what can one do in and amongst the craziness of the world and our own busy minds?Where can one find some semblance and tranquility? These practices can all really help us return to our center to experience a feeling of well being, connection and belonging, as well as tap into an untapped reservoir of joy, vitality and creativity:

Physical Activity & Exercise Routine

Meditation, Yoga, & Practicing Relaxation

Counselling: Engaging in a professional dialogue to come clear on the nature of our mind & emotions, and how to come clear on our life approch

Explore your artistic abilities: Music, Dance, Art, Journaling, creative writing

Community and Social Involvement

Practice of Forgiveness, Acceptance, & Self Appreciation

In its popularized vision, it is about physicality, body image, and tights, but practicing Yoga and Meditation trains our mind to focus one pointedly on the task at hand. It takes a bit of courage to try this practice, but once you have the experience, many often quickly realize the immense benefits of its harmonizing effect on the body-mind. At its more advanced levels, it becomes a tremendous tool for turning the mind into an ideal instrument for clear thinking. And in this, we also learn how to relax! Many of us know how hard it is to find time to relax. Practicing yoga lends an opportunity to both be active, strengthrning & purifying the body and also learn how to give the mind a break. And when we relax our overly tensed bodies, the path for meditation becomes much more easefull. Here’s a couple perks of the practice:

Reduces deficits in attentional focus, stress, anxiety and depression

Improves concentration, creativity, motivation and mood

Fosters a sense of deep connection to Soul, community and the planet - Strengthens the fundamental relationship to life it self.

For the science minded braniacs: Willfully directed attentional focus (Self directed focus) has been objectively shown to alter and strengthen critical brain areas associated with the subjective experience of well being. They call this “Self Directed Neuroplasticity”

Visiting with a professional Counsellor - Psychologist can also be a liberating experience, which is often a misunderstood path to wellness. To see a counsellor is an act of acceptance, humility, and self respect. That we could truly benefit from talking openly in a trusting environment about some of our inner struggles and turmoils by no means means we are “crazy” - we are all human. In this busy world, we are hard pressed to find a person or place where we can be and express our selves non-judgmentally. If we can find this, it can be incredibly freeing on its own. But with the help of a counsellor, an active and engaged Dialogue facilitates the movement of blocked emotion and energy. In fact, and perhaps you can relate, many people resort to suppressing their true feelings out of a slight fear that they will disrupt others well being. 

So, it is common in a counselling session that clients share and express how they truly feel. One way to think about this is that, if we had any early micro-macro traumas and early childhood interruptions (which almost everyone has in some way or another - birth being one of them!) in our primary relationships, it is a general human phenomena that to heal these relational interruptions must occur in a a healthy human relationship. It is often referred to as Corrective Experiences. This is one of the powerful motives and experiences of the therapeutic alliance. We can relearn how to be authentic with ourselves and in relationship with others. A counsellor serves as an ally to help us uncover blocked human potential, unfreeze rigid attitudes and become a more compassionate and self loving individual that stands up for them self and their true voice. We heal both relationally and attitudinally. We could say that this is ‘The Yoga Of Relationship’.

The practice of forgiveness, acceptance and self appreciation can also really be a transformative experience. When we are in a shaming mode of being, we are essentially and energetically perpetuating a lower form of being. When we forgive the past, the perpetrators are freed and we are freed. We forgive their ignorance and our own. Then we accept the state of affairs present and past, and let be what is, outside and inside. This lets the hyper ciritical, hyper ethical mind rest-This judgemental part of our mind can run absolutely rampant, and its okay. When we move from here to Self Appreciation, we may reach a deeper more attuned level of conscious being which becomes aware of what we can do and how we can be in the situation. Ruthlessly self loving as a practice reveals itself also in our relationships and work. We become brighter, humorous and a joy to be around as we are less held by irrational defenses.

The arts, physical activities and community involvement are also hopeful and joyous things we can do which will help lift us up and tap into our creativity and well being. We all know what its like to play. Open to the experience of a child like state of wonder by taking a bit of time to chill out, breathe and do something you love. It will elevate your being and retrieve that sense of youthful vitality!

The title of this article “There is hope in an insane world: Will we choose?”, was very intentional. Unless we live under a rock, we know the state of affairs taking place in the world.  We are called to be steadfast, toward a New Being which requires new forms of endurance and creativity. Here is a great quote from Dr. Viktor Frankl, survivor of 3 concentration camps in WWII: “The last of the great human freedoms is man’s ability to choose his attitude.” -Man’s Search for Meaning. This is what came through so clear to him amongst some of the worst suffering and stripping of dignity mankind has historically experienced. What does this mean today, in the modern comfort of our daily goings? I think this speaks volumes to a great sleeping potential in us - The power of responsible and conscious choice. We may not be living in those same conditions (but since this a global world interface, maybe you are), but perhaps there is a holocaust of a different kind that begs for our attention. That shame is a signal, perhaps it is our unique Soul that feels for all of the world, all of the suffering, past, present and future. Lest we forget where we are coming from, who of humanity, on all sides, has lived and died so that we could live, and remember that wellness and freedom also starts with our courageous and conscious choice to lean into life and exercise the ability to respectfully and soulfully hold the paradox for humanity. 

Jon is a former athlete and body builder turned Yoga-Meditation teacher & Counsellor. He  runs a successful Integrative Counselling Practice in Squamish, B.C., which draws on Existential and Body oriented psychotherapy, Yogic practice & philosophy, and traditional Spiritual healing methods. He can be reached at: life@rexwellnessliberation.ca, or www.rexwellnessliberation.ca

.