Tag: mental health and wellness

  • I AM THE MOUNTAIN

    “I was panicking, and I thought to myself, ‘I am the mountain.’ – Suddenly, I was unmovable. I was solid. I was ancient.” – Hannah McPherson

    Today, I was having a particularly hard time at work with a rush last minute deadline. I could feel the panic welling up in my chest like a tidal wave.

    Before I could react further, something inside me simply said, “I am the mountain.” – Now it has become my new mantra.

    It also became this song. Now I have an anthem.

    I keep repeating it in this post because I’m still trying to get it to set in. There is so much power in being a tall standing, unshakable, larger than life mountain.

    To be a solid form of land and rock that strikes the sky with its peaks, to be older than anything that could stand on it, out of this world structure of nature, is to be untouchable.

    I think mantras are very important to training the brain for positive and imaginative thinking. They are keycodes to bring you back to a moment or a feeling, especially if they’ve been picked up in a moment of inspiration or connection. They don’t have to be cosmic in nature, but I find it is fun when they are.

    If you repeat things to yourself, your brain gets to really dive into the meaning making process, adding layer after layer of emotional and physical and mental memory to your understanding of whatever it is you’re repeating.

    This can be said for positive and negative things.

    If I had simply reinforced my panicking with a mantra of, “I am panicking” then I don’t think I would have made it confidently striding back into the building but rather would have spiraled into a sort of impulsive need to jolt from the property.

    So, if you’re going to repeat things, try to find things worth repeating. If you’re going to tell your brain what to do, make sure it has an effect on you that is desirable to you.

    The brain listens to the body. Today, my brain told me I was a mountain, and the body listened.

  • A GOOD DAY TO BE TIRED

    “Hot Take: It’s a gift to be tired.” – Hannah McPherson

    Today, I find myself alive and energized. I am grateful for these moments.

    I have no doubts that later in the day, I’ll hit a wall and be tired. Life tends to wear us out.

    I had a friend who was telling me she was tired; not sleepy but in her being, that life had just taken her for a ride, and she was feeling the effects. I resonated with that.

    However, my advice to her was that it was a gift to be tired. I think Earth does that to us. Being “beings” is exhausting. There is a cost of energy that we must pay to participate in existence.

    Whether the things you’re going through in life are good or bad, we’re all paying the energetic price.

    I’d like to open up a framework in your mind to consider, no matter the way that life is treating you, you can be grateful to be tired.

    Someone who is having a really hard time might think I’m insane to say so, but hear me out:

    Tiredness can be evidence that you have lived and that is the whole point.

    From the good times to the bad, if you are living, you are doing something right. Tiredness does not mean that you have failed. It’s quite the opposite actually. If you are still here to be tired, then you have made it through whatever it is life has given you.

    Tiredness is an unavoidable part of life.

    Yet, if you don’t fight it, and allow it to be part of your being’s experience in this life, if you choose to be grateful for it, then the path to healing, the path to energy opens up.

    We have ways of replenishing ourselves: rest (first and foremost), self-care (whatever that looks like for you), relaxation, meditation, comforting ourselves with positive affirmations, breathing exercises, etc.

    So, being tired is an opportunity to replenish. It’s your body telling you it’s time to take some time to do what makes you energized.

    For me, this is being creative. For me, this is feeding my soul. For me, this is a requirement of everyday life. Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Health is the most important part of my day, everyday.

    Because being tired is the cost of life, taking time for our health trinity is the currency we pay it with, and it is a gift to be able to even transact on this system at all.

  • the creative process

    “I just feel like I’m not good enough for creative spaces. I am worried people will judge me. I’m scared people won’t like me.“ – Hannah McPherson

    These are real things I’ve said.

    Today, I made a website, I made graphics and branding materials, I made videos and I made art.

    I made an attempt to get my voice out into the world. I should be proud.

    Instead? I’m devastated.

    Why? It’s not perfect. I’m going to be seen and I don’t like that the simple act of being seen these days has consequences.

    Or worse, I may not be seen and I won’t feel like I’m enough.

    This is the wrong way to do things.

    I was in my creative space and I was sitting in total darkness except for a candle like I was some midnight Victorian lady. I was going into the classic shame spiral. The one that most artists suffer from.

    I realized something important, though. I could let this defeat me, never touch this website again and continue my life unbothered.

    The only problem is that I really would have been bothered; bothered by not trying, bothered by not letting myself share my creations, and bothered by the looming feeling that if I don’t ever do it, I never will.

    As much as I can’t stand to be imperfect, I also will not stand for giving up before I’ve even started.

    If you’re someone out there who feels this way sometimes, I have a few things to tell you.

    BE GENTLE ON YOURSELF

    I had forgotten to turn on my favorite nebula light. I turned it on, and I instantly felt better. Remember that self-care is important. Give yourself the things that you need to be in your best mind-space.

    BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

    You were not put here at random, at least I don’t believe we are. It helps to know that you are an entire existence, and though it is limited, you have purpose and power in your free will and choice to live it as you please. The best use of free will is to follow your heart, and if your heart is telling you to create, then create.

    WORRYING STEALS OPPORTUNITIES

    If you never got out of bed this morning because you didn’t want to seize the day, I get it. If you didn’t chase that opportunity because you weren’t sure how it was going to work out, I understand. However, every doubt is a wall in your way. You have to break down those walls, or jump over them, to get to the next opportunity is on the other side.

    LAST THING: CARPE DIEM

    Everyone feels a little down, a little uninspired, a little worrisome about how life will treat them; You are not alone. Yet, when the day comes to put your creations out there, you take it. That day can be today. That day can be as soon as you finish reading this post. Why? Because you want to. If you don’t, and you’re just here to appreciate, that’s fine, but I hope that day finds you. The joy I feel we humans get from creating is a rare gift; not because not everyone has it, but because few people actually want to use it. I know I will use it every chance I get, because there is no greater reward than sharing my expression with the world.

    Run out with your rallying cry of, “I THINK, Therefore I AM!!!”

    CONCLUSION:

    I turned on the nebula light. I made a post about being insecure. I let the website be imperfect. I let the video I made sit for a minute. I left the candle going, and I took a moment to reflect. I will be okay, and hopefully in these moments you will be too. The answer was to love myself enough to let myself have what I want, while being afraid of it.

  • The art of inner literacy

    “I want people to feel comfortable in their own mind.” – Hannah McPherson

    I wanted to explain what I was feeling; it came so deeply. I thought of how science had not yet come across a way to measure the subjective experience, so it doesn’t get talked about nearly as much.

    But what if we found a way?

    I want to teach an ‘Inner Literacy’ course, which would be me learning alongside others.

    This course would outline and help me and the fellow students identify their internal world and how it signals our thoughts.

    This is not a therapy, this is not a crisis center, this is not forced participation in a group setting. ‘Inner Literacy’ is designed for those who want to get to know their own inner voice better. It is for people who want to find a system to learn about their internal self.

    How does it work?

    We notice a feeling, name a feeling, then pause to reflect on it, we weigh the possibility of action/reaction, and then we make an informed decision on how to proceed or integrate the feeling.

    Will there be more to come on this?

    Yes, I just want to give a light introduction to the topic. A lot of my work currently revolves around this subjective experience course framework, so I just want to give a definition. If you see a reference and are curious, I’d be open to discussion and discourse about the idea.