Lifestyle | Practices

Supportive Resources for Growth

The world tells us to look for answers outside of ourselves because others have acquired skills or wisdom through life experience.

While this message can be helpful to a degree, it is not the answer. We are born with an inner knowing, and as we return to it, the answers are revealed to us.

To me, this is what spirituality is truly about—finding the divine within.

This isn’t to say that people are not valuable resources to help us along the way, but they will never have all the information, so they cannot have all the answers.

Ironically, I say this as a mental health therapist; many people come to me believing I can solve their problems. While I can support them and guide them in the right direction, they have to do the work and tap into the expert within—what I like to call their inner therapist.  

Ready to Learn & Grow

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Lean into Authenticity

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EXPERT WITHIN

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Ready to Learn & Grow · Lean into Authenticity · EXPERT WITHIN ·

Books

  • Feelings Buried Alive Never Die by Karol Truman

  • The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Kona

  • The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest

  • Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen,

  • A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson

  • What Happened to You by Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey

  • The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

  • The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown

  • Good Morning I Love You by Shauna Shipiro

  • Loving What Is by Bryon Katie,

  • Mind to Matter by Dawson Church,

  • The Signs by Tara Swart

  • The Audacity to be You by Brad Reedy

  • The Audicity to be Queen by Gina DeVee,

  • Exaholics by Lisa Marie Bobby

  • Scattered Minds by Gabor Mate

  • Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg

  • The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins

  • How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

  • You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh

  • Atomic Habits by James Clear

  • Anxiously Attached by Jessica Bhnson

  • The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate

  • The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

  • The Betrayal Bond by Patrick Carnes

  • Healing from Hidden Abuse by Shannon Thomas

  • The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman

  • Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty,

  • Stop Walking on Eggshells by Randi Kreger and Paul Mason

  • Mind Over Medicine by Lissa Rankin

  • Boundary Boss by Terri Cole

  • Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids by Laura Markham

  • The People Code by Taylor Hartman

  • The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

  • Forgiving What Yoaum

  • Intimate Conversations with the Divine Caroline Myss

  • The 80/80 Marriage by Nate and Kaley Klemp

  • Bridges by Davis Ostler

  • No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz

  • It Didn’t Start with You by Mark Wolynn

  • Hold Me Tight by Sue Jou Can’t Forget by Lysa Terkeurst

Quotes

  • “You’re perfect as you are, and there is room for improvement.” Zen Saying

  • “The opposite of play is not work, it’s depression.” Dr. Brian Sutton Smith

  • “Unused creativity is not benign. It metastasizes. It turns into grief, rage, sorrow, shame.” Dr. Brene Brown

  • “Knowledge is power, but knowledge about yourself is self-empowerment.” Dr. Joe Dispenza

  • “Miguel Ruiz in the Four Agreements says this: ‘Taking things personally is the maximum expression of selfishness because we make the assumption everything is about me. Nothing other people do is because of you, it is because of themselves.’ He uses the word “selfishness”, but I would use the word woundedness. Each of us has some narcissistic wounding from our childhood. That is, we are not totally and completely seen.” Dr. Brad Reedy

  • “Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real, but fear is a choice.” Will Smith (After Earth)

  • “Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God, your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson

  • "When you discover your essential nature and know who you really are, in that knowing itself is the ability to fulfill any dream you have, because you are the eternal possibility, the immeasurable potential of all that was, is, and will be." Deepak Chopra

  • Self-esteem based on achievement has been called contingent self-esteem or acquired self-esteem. True self esteem is who one is; contingent self esteem is only what one does. Gabor

Resourcing

  • Connect with Nature (e.g., take a drive, sit and reflect, hike, hug a tree)

  • Explore thoughts, feelings, memories through writing (e.g., Mind-Body Bridging)

  • Breathwork (e.g., diaphragmatic, Voo, lion’s breath, box, alternate nostril, sighing)

  • Look for 5 things you see around you, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste

  • Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping)

  • Meditate or guided imagery (Insight Timer is a great resource)

  • Exercise, dance, or shake your body to release thoughts and emotions

  • Stretch and release tension

  • Barefoot walking meditation

  • Body scan and progressive muscle relaxation

  • Hum or sing to activate the vagus nerve

  • Tap into your creativity (e.g., coloring, cooking, building something)

  • Art Therapy

  • Talk to a friend to feel support

  • Play music (e.g., drums, singing bowls) or listen to music (frequency healing is very effective)

  • Attend a sound bath

  • Take a nap or rest your mind and body

  • Read up-lifting books

  • Listen to a podcast

  • Enjoy a hobby

  • Play with kids or a pet

  • Serve someone

  • List several things that you are grateful for or are going right in your life

  • PAUSE technique (from Don’t Believe Everything You Think)

  • Watch something funny or uplifting

  • Take a relaxing bath

  • Aromatherapy (e.g., essential oils)

  • Empowerment Wheel

  • Put something cold on your feet, face, or hands

  • Rocking or swinging

  • Push against a wall

  • Take care of your body (e.g., massage, acupuncture, foot zone, pedicure)

  • Vagus Nerve Massage

  • Butterfly hug

  • Anchor object

  • Chanting a mantra

  • Trauma Release Exercise (grounding shake/tremor)

  • Ball under your foot

Videos

Facing My Shadow