Let me tell you a story.
I’ve gone through the fire of transformation because I had no other choice. As a young girl, I just wanted to be happy, healthy, and joy-filled in life. But I was not. And the world around me was not.
I watched as the mental healthcare system simply did not meet the needs of people who were struggling. I vowed to never be a part of it or fall into “the system.”
My low point came. The internal and external disconnection overwhelmed me. And with that, I surrendered. I received a diagnosis, a label from the established psychiatric community, committed to treatment of my issues, and started a serious self care routine. I set out to create my own way to move toward mental health, and it included allopathic and naturopathic medicine, lifestyle changes, and creative expression to reach joy.
It’s been a long road.
I re-framed my journey as a journey of self exploration, one that integrates insights from therapy with spiritual beliefs. And I let it all out. I wrote and wrote and wrote for myself–in journals, on walls, clothing whatever I could find. I got it all out. It was pure relief.
For the first time in my life, I understood myself. I felt plugged in. I understood who I was in the world. My mental health changed, and I opened into a profound realization that working with (rather than against) my mood disorder diagnosis and the challenges related to it was my life’s journey. My experience had purpose.
And, the world changed. I grew older and watched outdated norms of fear, shame, and mismanagement of mental health dissolve.
Through that understanding, I took my power back. My inner fire was lit, and in tiny sparks, I found my joy.
Not sure?
I believe you.
The Self Mastery Program is community, accountability, and worldview expansion. I believe you’re not sure because it’s a huge thing to hold true: you can live with joy with a mood disorder.
The adage that it takes a village to heal is true. But we need an exact understanding of how an individual experiences the world, the attitude and mental & emotional capacity of the people who surround them, and the mental healthcare paradigm being applied.
It’s all about the the right understanding of reality, relationship, and responsibility to each other.
People with mood disorders, your caregivers, and your mental health practitioners, I believe you. Yes, you can unleash joy and live successful, meaningful lives with diagnoses if symptoms are managed; yes, you can be a compassionate, integrity-filled caregiver and practitioner.
It takes courage to live with joy. It takes a narrative shift to change the lived experiences for individuals, caregivers, and the mental health establishment
So let’s start a conversation. I’ll light your fire. Planet Dust community will help you burn
Gain powerful strategies to apply toward the path of narrative shift
Student Testimonial
At first I didn’t know what I was looking for. I started coming to fire ceremonies because I felt like it was comforting and grounding. I was coming for the meditation at first. Then I realized I was seeking spirituality because I didn’t have anything. Another thing I’ve been seeking through this spirituality thing is self love. I really needed to find it.
It took a while to chip away at this, but I did break the loop. I started working with you in 2016, but it was in 2017 that I really started to feel shifts in my energy and body. And I have stayed with her since, attending her follow-up group ceremonies.
A big thing that shifted was I started to treat myself with more kindness. I feel more comfortable with myself now. And I bring that to the world.
–Allison Braun, Artist