Integral-Canna: Defining Help
With the stress and emotions that can come with the holidays, it seems best to start with finding new ways to help ourselves and others. Regular meditation, skateboarding, expressing myself creatively, traditional therapies, cannabis and psychedelics have worked for me. Finding this combination is different for everyone and can take more than one try. From experience, this process can be extremely frustrating at times and only gets worse with other challenges like insurance or having money for that matter. Thankfully, there are more ways to help ourselves become more self-sufficient, self-driven, self-aware, self-confident, and resilient while breaking the cannabis and psychedelic stigmas. Before we get into too much, let’s start with defining help.
I have found that there is a challenging balance between a healthy body, mind, and spirit. Reducing the amount of junk I put in my body, finding ways to increase my activity levels while reducing my body pains, and proper amounts of sleep make a huge difference on the energy I physically have. My body feels less drained and sore when I give it the attention I should. Does your body need some attention? Try yoga, body weight exercises, or hiking. Try increasing your fruit and vegetable intake. It’s pretty amazing what a good spread of dietary fiber and naturally found vitamins and minerals can do to help your body recover from all the fantastic holiday baking your wife did. At one point in my life, my brain and thoughts were not working for me. The more I listened to the thoughts in my head, the worse things got. My brain was my own worst critic, and was always ready to give me a lashing. This one was more challenging for me and it was definitely where I needed the most attention. It took a lot before I realized my own thoughts were toxic and needed help. It wasn’t until I started getting the mental help that I needed that I was able to tell I had smothered my spirit. I had no fire inside. No drive to accomplish anything. No connection to anything larger than this funny little meat suit I’m walking around in. Spirit for me is where passion, drive and purpose come from. It’s my energy level and it’s limited. I try to use my energy to help others. If I fill everyone else’s cup and never fill mine, I’ll run out. So how do you refill your cup? Spiritual practices come in all shapes, from gardening to combat sports, volunteer work to prayer and meditation. So now that we know we may need help physically, mentally and spiritually, take some time this month to reflect on how you’re feeling in all of these areas.
Listen this month to your body and your thoughts. Does one of these areas stand out to you personally? Let’s explore ways we can find the help we need. There has been a stigma around cannabis and psychedelics in professional fields from the false narrative that was pushed for a long time. It is quickly going away thanks to the power of these compounds. If cannabis or another psychedelic benefits your life, then whatever help you receive should have that in mind. Each Integral-Canna installment will focus on exploring, trying and reporting back on different ways we can help ourselves and a way to integrate the method for yourself if you choose. Find the help that you need, and don’t give up the good fight! You’re worth it!
DISCLAIMER:I am not a licensed therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist. Everything discussed is from personal exploration and studies. Any techniques and information provided are for educational purposes and are not intended to replace professional treatment. Any questions you have about your condition should be obtained from a mental health professional or other qualified health provider. Don’t disregard professional advice because of something you have read. The intent of this article is to help break down the stigma between helpers and cannabis users and vice-versa. Take what you connect with and explore it for yourself. Find what helps you and let’s take better care of ourselves. Message me @revsoddesigns if there’s a topic you want me to explore.