The finality of fear lies in the tethering of the head and the heart. Letting not one lead, but blissfully walking hand-in-hand. 

Neither one representing a tipping of the Libra scale, but lovingly regarding one another. 

An egalitarian unity that amplifies the powerful characteristics of both. 

Creating a wise life, rife with opportunity beyond primary opposition of one another. 

Ask yourself, 'If you were given two magical gifts would you favor only one?'

How many times have we heard it said, "He's very logical and/or she's very passionate?" I'd say well over enough times.  The inference then is that some use their heart to make decisions, while others use their heads.  

Furthermore (and not to delve to deep into my feminism) often times the use of one's head is given a more masculine nature, while using the heart seems to be a marked trait of the illogical, fickle female.

A media consumer as a child, I immediately resented that illogical female lead.  "Use your head woman! Snap out of it!" *slap,slap* Screaming inside my six-year-old-mind, why can't this woman get herself together?! Why does she need a man to help her think when she has a brain?   

Quickly I realized the only strong female leads in these profoundly-jarring films, like Little Mermaid and Snow White ;) were the female villains (also capable of deceiving the emotional woman, mind you).  They were the powerful ones, the magical and strong ones. And they were also demonize because they had a trait that only masculine roles should possess...logic. Strategy. Methodologies. Persuasion. True MAGIC.  

And so then the war in my life began. The war between that fickle heart and the tried-and-true mind. I might be six, but even I know better than to eat apples from terrifyingly wicked looking old ladies or to trade the gift of my beautiful voice for some daft prince who can't tell the difference between me and an impostor. Cognitive dissonance.

So I have a few choices though in life, right? I can become evil, become stupid, or become a man.  And while I don't judge you if you choose any of those options, none of them really fit very well for me. Although, I've for certainly tried on another's shoes in one way or the other across that entire spectrum, fast-forward through my colorful past and cue my present.

I realized the mind had a great power and that through using logic and pragmatics I could further any goal, any intention.  I reconciled with that emotional heart and found that just because they call her weak she has the power of compassion, empathy, and LOVE.  And I also realized don't let your kids watch Disney...The End.

I kid, I kid. Jk. Lol. and all that jazz.

I realized much of this through pioneering an eccentric path and getting older, obviously. But I also realized that through using PSYCH-K balancing. Balanced magic, an empowering spell. This technique has balanced these two beautiful forces within me and created a quality of life I hadn't realized was possible.  I realized neither  The Head nor The Heart led decision was bad, not even the femininity or the masculinity given to each was bad, but rather both useful (man or women). 

And were even more powerful in combination. Now granted everyone gets a choose-your-own adventure (no judgement on your adventure plans) but a beautiful integration of your two strongest weapons, we'll call it your Combotrodum (credit: Harry Potter knowledge base -i.e. my 9 yr old son) is forever worth a Hogwarts go! 

So live Ata Rasula...as my Lakota ancestors would say.  

Live a whole or wise-minded life, one that let's both the feminine and the masculine energy flow seamless together. In powerful and beautiful unity.

Bless. Blessed. Blessings.

So the majority of humanity is predisposed to Fundamental Attribution error, when I say majority I mean all, unless you're Buddha or the Living Christ.  Yes, unfortunately you are not as unique as you once believed!  Fundamental Attribution error robs us of our rationale, hijacks our reason and is a huge player in our ability to forgive.  

Forgiveness is founded upon empathy or sympathy and what F.A.E. does is attributes behavior to character.  In other words, if you stole my wallet it is probably because you are a terrible human being corrupt with evil intentions.  When in reality that individual stole the wallet because they recently lost their job, spouse, home and have 4 children to feed. Although, prior to this devastation they were an otherwise good Samaritan and are clearly acting out of desperation. Behavior versus character!

And while that is only one side of the theory it demonstrates the quote attached (if you want more information you'll have to see me after class). ;) The truth is we all make mistakes and more often than not it isn't because we're terrible people, it's because circumstance has influenced our behavior.  So I say, use mindfulness, employ DBT and remember that no one is exempt from less than beautiful days, but we are all worthy of compassion, love and forgiveness.

In following my blog I trust it’s starkly clear that I may or may not lend great credence to a pragmatic, methodical, or intellectual approach to most subject matter (the ‘may not’ is a horrible joke).  I know that I’ve mentioned the importance of rectifying cognitive distortions like black-and-white thinking.  As I asserted myself on a pedestal of intellectual pragmatism because for a long while I staunchly believed it was the best approach, in fact the only approach.

However, I must confess that the reason for doing so is founded in my own personal struggles and inevitable emotional growth.  In much of my life, I simply wanted answers…factual, absolute answers.   Because if there was a problem-solving method that is time-efficient, fact-calculating, and emotionally cost effective I wanted that approach, I desired those answers.  And I absolutely applied a mathematical language, “there is only one right answer”, to a seemingly haphazard and chaotic world.  I often fell a bit short of perfection; nonetheless, I was committed to the approach.

In my childhood, I drove my mom mad with the incessant need to know.  Know everything.  Know why.  Know what.  Know when.  Know how.  And even with her heavy and busy life as a single mother she always met me with such grace.  She partnered with me even though she was not the type that needed all the answers.  You see she had something I had yet to learn, faith. 

I obsessively made her take me to professionals that could give me more facts and less faith.  I did not trust her philosophical and faith-based approach to life.  I didn’t trust her magic.  I didn’t trust her language either; well, we’ll just have to see or everything will work out or have I failed you yet?  Like The Oatmeal cartoon of Japanese hornets and Godzilla, I was flipping her answers off and bouncing out to find something more concrete.

My methodical tactics, as I mentioned fell just short most of the time, however rendered enough success in life that I wasn’t convinced on giving it up.  And then, like a F5 tornado busting through a small southern town, I had children of my own.  And I so hastily came to realize I had been SO wrong for SO much longer then I was willing to admit.  My eldest, biological son is a mirror image of me in that he doesn’t even trust MY approach.  Here I am spending my life in absolute facts and education such that I can give my children answers I never had and it’s STILL not right!  You can envision Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka at any point now.  While I am certain there are a variety of ways to analyze this paradigm shift…without further ado...

I was born to a beautiful, majestic and intuitive dreamer.  A scientist born to a philosopher.  An atheist born to a pastor.  A devil born to an angel.  As hyperbolic as that seems and none laden in fact, I use it to illustrate the separation I felt growing up.  Now in hindsight with children of my own, I am learning that the separation was illusory.  It wasn’t factual, practical or true.  And the reason I know that lies in the experience that I have as I teach my children, love my man, mentor my friends, and build my career.  You see, the virtuous pillars that I more often lean on now when circumstances sway are my mother’s. 

I was born to a dreamer and I wouldn’t have it any other way because when I don’t have the answers I have her language to carry me.  I have faith that, we’ll just have to see everything turn out as it should.  I have love that causes everything to work out.  And I have peace in knowing that she hasn’t failed me yet.  I have a grace that meets me and partners with me while I am fearful and doubting.  And moreover, my children have those blessings that resonate through me, all because…I was born to a dreamer.

I love you, mom.



      Credit: The Oatmeal

Happy New Year!  Yeah!  That’s what December Haley said with sheer excitement for the advantageously prosperous 2015 around the bend.  I was like, “2015, you gone learn today,” in my very best Kevin Hart impression.  My internal monologue was rife with positivity and thoughts of serendipity and even so far as to think, “You've worked hard Haley, this is your year for success”.  I was daydreaming success in the form of catapulting career opportunities, successful interpersonal relationships, even down to dreamy, cupcake-smiling kids.  And then the New Year hit, but there was no explosion of joy, no catapulting career success, and no Tim Burton’s Big Eye-esque smiling kiddos.  There was just a vacant feeling, emptiness.

Then the cold blew in like the frozen wench that she is and I thought to myself, “You can do this Haley.  It’s just a little rough weather.”  Then I lost a very important relationship, one I poured myself into.  Then I learned of a new circumstance that made me question how my kiddos might be affected, moreover I got to learn of it secondhand.  And at long last up unto this point, I learned a past failure would never be a personal success for me.  It simply couldn't happen.  And my heart felt like it broke into a million tiny pieces. 

You might say, well it’s only the first week of January, things have to look up and up until a few moments ago I would have disagreed with you.  In fact, I may well have argued that these last few days must have been some type of penance for something I had previously mishandled.  Often times when things in my life go in an opposing direction I internalize and self-blame.  I have a high internal locus of control, says the psychologist in me.  The laymen in me says, I should be able to control these things and they are not panning out as I expected, so clearly I did something wrong here.

So with the first week looking as austere as it had, I very well could have tucked my tiny self into a million pillows on my king-size bed, but I've resolved to always be outside in Indiana (no matter the temperature) if there is a Sun to be seen.  So I got up and did the daily shuffle and happened upon a bouquet of roses at the grocery store.  I thought pale pink to be the most befitting of colors per my environment, my current circumstance, and my mood.  As I drove home I intentionally slid my truck around in the snow and then I giggled.  It might have been my first laugh all day and then I heard a quiet voice in my spirit say, “be the grace you so freely receive.”  My eyes filled up with tears and my heart felt heavy.

As I turned inward to understand that message I remembered the losses I had recently endured and I feared I hadn't behaved gracefully, cue internal locus.  Although with each recollection, my Teacher showed me; I, in fact had demonstrated grace even when my heart broke into a million pieces right in front on me.  As I brought the groceries in began prepping the roses for their vase, I trimmed the stems such that they could absorb the nutrients and plucked the leaves that were browning.  I then realized much like those roses I needed to be pruned.  Not because I’m not beautiful or they’re not beautiful or we all aren't beautiful, but because we need to absorb the good content even in the face of death.  None of these lessons should be lost on us as things don’t pan out exactly the way we anticipate they will.

So with this New Year in mind, resolve to remember that success doesn't happen in a week’s time, there are going to be times that a variety of “deaths” are at your doorstep no matter how hard you've tried, and  blaming yourself steals your ability to learn.  Resolve to remind yourself that without the bad you would not know good and without the proverbially deaths, your life cannot bloom.  Resolve to go easy on yourself as you move toward success and in every situation, and moreover resolve to be the grace you so freely receive every day.   

The individual life experience varies from person to person.  Although, there is an common theme among most of the population to do the necessary seasonal clean-up, whether it be socially, emotionally, physically or otherwise .  As I spend more time delving into the minds and lives of others I find profound similarities across the board and there’s true comfort in that.  We are not alone. ;)

And while the majority of my clients prefer to focus on matters of emotional, familial and social growth; I am noticing an emerging common interest.  Whole human health; that is, where traditionally a seasonal detox might be deemed physically-specific now encompasses areas of personal development, emotional recharge, and spiritual deepening. 

And while there is not yet a specific professional field or academic path associated with this type of holistic care approach; health psychology seems promising.  In the meantime while I am not yet a naturopathic doctor and my foundations are in psychology; I have committed myself to a lifestyle rich in investigating all variables for whole health.  My time is spent researching health and wellness of the body, mind, and spirit.  I hope to one day bridge the gap such that a person might seek whole human health when determining how to best prevent and treat themselves. 

In said spirit, I have had several people request a portion of my fall detox regimen, a detox soup recipe that I like to incorporate in my life.  The list of ingredients has attributing benefits that I’ve sourced from various references throughout the vast depths of the internet.   Enjoy.     

                             Spicy Veggie Soup

Ingredients and Benefits:

Onions- Quercetin, an antioxidant that acts like an antihistamine and an anti-inflammatory agent.  Quercetin may help to maintain good blood pressure and can inhibit hardening of the arteries.  Allyl propyl disulphide, the essential oil in onions can lower glucose.   

Jalapeno- Capsaicin the chemical that makes jalapenos spicy can potentially help with migraine headaches, foster sinus health, inhibit cancer cells specific to prostate area.  It also has the anti-inflammatory properties like the onion. It also can promote weight loss because it is a thermogenic and high in Vitamin A and C.

Celery- Antioxidant properties and high in Vitamin C which can support the immune system, high in electrolytes for rehydration as well as diuretic properties which can support kidney health. Celery has anti-inflammatory properties and is high in magnesium, potassium and calcium which can help the digestive and cardiovascular systems.   

Garlic- Ooh GARLIC!  Garlic has antibacterial, antiviral and anti-parasitic properties that can rid the body of pathogens and toxins while supporting cardiovascular, digestive and immune systems.  This can aid in nutrient absorption, artery health, and immune response.  Again, anti-inflammatory properties present that can potentially fight against cortisol damage to the body derived from stress.

Peppercorn- Can aid nutrient absorption, can help aid digestive tract in disposal of waste.

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes-  Capsaicin thus the anti-inflammatory properties and thermogenic properties.  

Cilantro- Main benefit per most naturopathic doctors is toxic metal cleansing.  High levels of toxic metals can happen via metal fillings, dental crowns, and water consumption.  Signs of metal toxicity are general malaise, un-diagnosable joint pain, brain fog, chronic candida infection.  

Zucchini- Also an anti-inflammatory and cholesterol-lowering food.  Zucchini is low calorie, high nutrient, and antioxidant properties; folate, manganese, potassium, copper, calcium, protein, fiber, zinc, beta-carotene, carotenoids, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamins B-1 and 2.  The high fiber content in zucchini aids in cleansing the colon.

Kale- It’s a low calorie, high fiber and nearly zero fat food.  Very high in iron, Vitamin A, C, K and calcium and has the anti-inflammatory properties and cardiovascular benefits like all the above mentioned foods.  The fiber and sulfur in kale aid in cleaning the colon and detoxifying the liver.

Spinach- It has a wealth of nutrients, vitamins and amino acids like sodium, magnesium, iron, sulfur, phosphorus, vitamins A, B, C, E, K, and arginine and lysine.  Spinach aids in digestion, immune defense, and colon cleansing.

All the above information I’ve researched in trying health times as well as for preventative measures.  I generally make a week’s worth in regular chicken broth.  I consume it for both lunch and dinner with green or white tea.  For breakfast I do a raw green chocolate protein shake with coconut oil, coffee, peanut butter, Greek yogurt, ground oats, vanilla extract, banana (every two days) and ice. 

For those of you who need a bit more sustenance I recommend a Shar par-baked baguette because this is not a wheat source, but provides the bulk for comfort.  Thus those of you dealing with candida overgrowth issues can rest easy with this bread.   Obviously, I am not a nutritionist or doctor and only recommend this as my personal experience has yielded great results.  I am not huge on specifics per quantity per ingredient, the only important factor is the process such that your soup still yields a nice texture, especially when it’s most of what you’ll be consuming for a week or two (whichever you prefer).

Instructions:  

1.       Boil 2-3 (depending on how much you want to make) cartons of chicken broth   

2.        In another pan, sauté in chicken broth (butter optional) the 1-2 chopped onions, 6-10 stalks of chopped celery, 1-3 chopped jalapenos until softened and onions are translucent.  Add 2-3 tablespoons of minced garlic, handful of peppercorns, and a dash or few of crushed red pepper; sauté a minute or so longer.

3.       Add the mixture to the boiling broth as well as chunky chopped cilantro (as much as you want) and 1-4 quartered zucchinis.  Add another 1-3 cartons of chicken broth and bring back to a boil.  Boil until zucchini is tender.

4.       Finish by adding as much baby spinach and largely ribboned kale as you desire.  Cook until kale and spinach are soft which is generally rather quick.  I divide the soup into a week’s worth of individual containers such that when hunger hits I have easy access to sustenance.

Light, Love, and Blessings-

Haley Lee Hallock  

                What a beautiful time of year, the spring, that reminds us of the renewal that exists in the world.  The fresh reminder is everywhere you look; the flowers in bloom, the bright colors, the children playing, the sunshine, and the investment of the garden or of the farm.  The spring reminds humanity of the ever-present need to pull nutrients from the Earth and sow new seeds for harvest.  That harvest varies among the gardener or the farmer, however whether it be fruit, vegetable or flowers the spring reminds us why we invest the time to plant, to sow.  The reason is because we create beautiful things for sustenance, admiration, and joy derived from the power that lies within us, the source, and the Earth.  In reverence of spring allow yourself the time to honor your youthfulness, your regrowth, and renewal as you read along.  I know you’ll find the investment worthwhile as you allow your mind to illustrate the following.  

                The careful grower stepped out into the warm breeze and with active regard as he walked over to the small plot of land that was his garden.  The long winter had done a great work on the garden and the mindful grower knew the lengths he would need to go to turn the damage around.  The winters always produced some investment in the spring, but nothing like this year.  The frigidity of this winter was going to require the diligent grower to pull from otherwise untouched resources.  As the trusting grower rolled up his sleeves and knelt to the ground he closed his eyes and imagined last year’s yield and took a deep breath in reminding himself of the rewarding feeling that manifested every time the red, green and purple bulbs appeared.  As he broke up the soil under his metal tool he sang to himself the song his mother sang to him as a child, “…this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”     

                 After planting the very small seeds into the ground the mindful grower waited and watered reminding himself daily to trust the foundation and the source.  The careful grower knew that with time and tend he’d soon see the fruit of his investment in the budding of those bulbs.  As sure as the sun came out every morning the diligent grower sang to the garden, “…this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”.  Similar to the investment that his mother made in him, he too made in that garden.  He knew the power of praise for a job well done and the man he had become was a reflection of this truth.

                Soon after the great source showered love and blessing upon the garden and the conscientious grower did a great work, the garden radiated such beauty that the entire neighborhood took notice.  The investment in love had paid off and the reflective grower knew he had achieved his goal.  Often times the cognitive work we invest in ourselves yields beauty within.  But it is our job to let our light shine to humanity, to share our brightness with others such that they understand they too are a part of the grandiose plan.  Tend to the internal works, sow bountiful truths within you, and honor you so that others may learn to honor themselves too.  Share in love of the beauty that exists in each of us that we derive directly from the source because what we have is NOW.  “Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!”        

Everything is all together good or all together bad, right?  What is a middle ground anyways?  There is no grey when the world is either absent of color or consuming all the color.  It is or it is not.  All things are right or wrong.  Black or white, amirite?!  Throwing oneself on either side of the passion spectrum is quite consuming.  In an attempt to personify the destruction of extreme thought cycles that become perfectionist behavior I will speak through my experience.  In addition the glory that is Psych-K’s ability to disarm such self-sabotage. 

Living on the edge

Did you know that the biology of the brain has an antiquated system that acts without our deliberate delegation?  Interestingly enough this regulation is determined by one of the smallest parts of our brain, the amygdala.  Neuroscience is a hot topic these days and thanks to social media and blogging forums I am speaking to an educated public.  Thus with brevity in mind I will narrow in on the demonstrative purpose of the amygdala per this post.  The amygdala is activated when we are presented with emotional, psychological, or physical danger.  It generally tells us to run or bare knuckle it immediately.  Imagine living with kind of neurological hijacking in day-to-day tasks, furthermore in personal relationships.

Theoretically when we experience trauma in our lives (particularly at a young age) and couple that with a biological predisposition for being high-strung the amygdala is on red alert a good portion of the time.  This neurological mechanism of fight-or-flight in hyper-drive over time can potentially prime an individual for emotional or psychological burnout.  The thought is analogous to the evidence of an addict’s physical and psychological highs and lows. 

Not to go too far into detail, but as a child I experienced trauma that would trigger this neurological reaction that would haunt me to adulthood.  I sought counseling both secular and Christian and reached out as a volunteer for those who had experienced similar tragedy and was righteously convinced that I had dealt with the issue.  All the while my rocky intimate relationships were demonstrative of a beautiful, untamable free-spirit rather than that of the psychologically injured.  It wasn’t until an all-time life low that I realized how influential this deeply-rooted flight-or-flight response was on my life.  Cue the antithesis of my intentions as a wife…cue my divorce. 

A dear, close friend and sister of mine who had experienced recent tumult herself introduced me to a secular (and progressive) form of therapy.  A skeptic to the core and foundationally against my religion I went not knowing that my entire life was about to change.  I was thoroughly released from all the garbage that that one fateful day as a child my amygdala went (and stayed) in over-drive.  AN ANSWER?!?!  An answer to years of fear of emotional, psychological, and/or physical threat…gone, in an instant.  It all fell off of me like a ragged garment I had never intended to put on.   

Hence the reason I am a facilitator of Psych-K and the most serendipitous and ironic element that ties in so perfectly to the analogy of extremes is that the techniques that are used to remedy me and others are called “a balance”.  A BALANCE?!  Of course a balance; this is exactly what my passionate extremist behavior needed.  Although, reconciling my religious beliefs is left for another blog.  The point is that, yes by nature I am a free-spirit and a liberal thinker, but my trauma produced a fear biology that had a decadent way of masquerading around as passion.  Dissonance and disagreement in intimate relationships are a sign of opportunity for growth, but tumult bred from fear is less than healthy. 

My hope in candidly sharing my personal experience is that we can have it all.  You can be a free-spirit and have healthy interpersonal relationships.  You can live a passionate life and not be the lead in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  Live passion in a healthy fashion!  Until Next time…

Light, Love, and Blessings,

Haley Hallock

Relationships are our most prized resource in life. 
Treat them with divine care; as your footprint on 
someone's life will transcend through generations. -H.L.H.               

Negative thought cycles are not always indicative of a pessimistic person or a mental health issue.  Surprisingly in most cases all human behavior is ubiquitous among humanity!  Crazy, right?  In this I hope to acknowledge that we have common behavioral and cognitive bonds that stay hidden in our closet of skeletons as to not alert the friends, family, and community of potentially alarming thoughts or behavior. Let ‘em out!  You are not the only one walking around thinking the thoughts, having the hard time, and mentally beating yourself up!  Stop shoving dirty tissues in your pocket or purse for later use.  EWW!  Truth is we all have negative thought cycles and garbage we've picked up along the bumpy road of life that cause us to use mental filters to interpret and to communicate situations and emotions.

What we should do is discuss these thought processes!  In this case the isolation factor diminishes and in the light we can see!  Often time in the more severe cases of depression and anxiety communication is a literal life saver. If you are not the only one feeling the overwhelming feelings, thinking the dark thoughts then why hide them?  And although this post is light-hearted and self-help-y never bypass thoughts of suicide personally or reported by loved ones; in this case seek professional help immediately.  Now back to ebullient interpersonal nature of this post!  Ready to free your mind?!  

During my bachelor’s education I realized how flawed and ineffective my perfectionism was as I learned more from failure than perfection.  I eventually changed my personal mantra from “never try, never fail” to “you have to lose, to learn”.  Aaron Beck founded cognitive distortion theory as Dr. David Burn expounded upon this such that individuals were able to understand self-sabotaging thoughts.  I found these self-defeating cognitive processes to be eerily familiar and through that awareness have shifted my thinking.  However, like anyone from time to time, I falter.  My hope is to spread the awareness love such that other’s reading this can let themselves off their own cognitive hook.  Just keep swimming!  While there are several cognitive distortions I will touch on the few I found most poignant in my life and provide references for those of you reference geeks to get all the goods!

Cognitive Distortions: Change Your Mind

Overgeneralization- Mental or actual usages of words like “always” and “never”; truth is human behavior in and of itself is more random.  Eliminating these words from your thought cycles and from your accusations of others behaviors will alleviate you and your relationships from untruths.

Black and White Thinking-  All or nothing, right?  This thought cycle tells a person that anything short of perfection is entirely wrong.  As extreme as that sounds question yourself as to how many times you've shown yourself compassion when you've fallen short of your goal?  ROYGBIV your thought cycles, friends.   

Mental Filter-  When something goes wrong all events are colored with that perspective including positive events.  My professor provided the analogous visual reference to a drop of ink in a glass of water.  Once the water is murky and contaminated by the ink peering through that darkness stains our perspective.  If we allow one bad apple (or thought) to reside in our orchard we will lose the entire orchard.  Rid your mental orchard of rotting thoughts (or fruit).

Magnification- Enter stage left!  It is PERFORMANCE time!  Drama. Drama. Drama.  This thought cycle exaggerates the importance of problems and highlights personal inadequacies.  “Today IS the darkest day, your boss IS brooding and sarcastic, and your deadline was YESTERDAY!”  Stage right: cue self-sabotage thought cycle by now magnifying all you are not and everything you have EVER failed at!  I choose to think of these cognitive processes as dark hyperbole.  Remind your thoughts they aren’t very good actors and to keep their day job.    

Emotional Reasoning-  Saving the best for last, Vanessa Williams style.  I am a “feeler” I use my senses like antennas to maneuver through this existence.  In fact, I use the vernacular as if thinking is a synonym for feeling.  “I don’t feel like algebraic equations make sense though”.  What?!  Who cares how you FEEL about it, Haley!  It’s math, there’s only one right answer!  Emotions are fickle, they are fleeting and they are NOT indicative of the way things actually are.  This thought cycle tints reality through the medium of emotion.  Thoughts like, “I feel insecure so clearly everyone hates me and must be trying to ruin my life”.  The spectrum of emotions is broad thus it can provide very creative forms of emotional reasoning.  So be aware of whether you’re being emotional or rational.

The above are just a few cognitive distortions to be aware of while maintaining mental well-being.  I have found that if you are aware of your thought cycles you can counteract the bad and re-condition yourself for the better.  I believe wholly that our thoughts become our mantras, our biology, our health and well-being during our existence here.  Why not make the best of it? 

Light, Love, and Blessings-

Haley Hallock


Relationships are our most prized resource in life. 
Treat them with divine care; as your footprint on 
someone's life will transcend through generations. -H.L.H.

Resolutions to Actualizations: The Power of True Change

The beginning of the year is markedly founded upon the psychological stimulus of change.  The connectedness among society to turn over a new leaf and begin to live the goals of change we hesitate to do “until the right time” seems an ever-present concept.  Society is resolution-minded nearly every January of every year!  Something excitedly stirs within us that this year is going to be different concerning our goals for change!  We’re going to lose those pounds!  We’re going to start that education!  We’re going to finish that certification!  WE’RE GOING TO RULE THE WORLD!

So what happens?  While some of us hold tight to our resolutions and create change for ourselves; often times within a few months the goals fall victim to the monotony of daily tasks.  Does this mean these goals of change are less important to us?  Does this mean we value monotony rather than fearless change?  Are we fearful of what affects the tipping of the Libra scale will have when change actually occurs?  I tend to believe the better portion of human nature has veracious intent and while all of the above mentioned could be considered, I think the root of the issue is less Freudian.  We don’t need an extensive psychological eval in order to manifest quick, lasting change! We simply need the right tools to succeed in actual change! 

By way of facilitating PSYCH-K and being fundamentally floored at the immediate change it provides through shifting of a negative belief system to a positive through aligning both hemispheres of the brain I have found that great change is not so far from our hands.  A couple tips I've found effective through PSYCH-K techniques are listed below in the hopes that personal evolution becomes collective societally.   

Keep it REAL, REAL PERSONAL

Any resolution that lacks personal depth is dichotomous to potential fruition.  If your resolutions are not a personal conviction, even given they are other-centered, they are not your goals.  Thus manifestation is difficult.  For example, your family may desire you stop smoking, but you don’t.  Goals like these are self-defeating and a waste of time.  Additionally with the mind of realness, how big are your goals?  You desire to be an academy award-winning actress? GREAT!  Start small.  Start by refining yourself personally via pragmatic steps.  Focus on an acting class as a first step toward your award-winning career.

KEY COMPONENTS

Visual

When refining belief systems for actualization in PSYCH-K one focuses on the sensory system through visualization, auditory validation, and kinesthetic techniques to obtain goals or resolutions.  If you can see it, you can be it!  Allowing yourself to see beyond the current situation is a huge asset in obtaining goals.  For example:

1.)    Make a vision board that is personal and specific to you and your goal.

2.)    Write three specific visualizations of what your life will look like when you obtain your goal.

Auditory

Remember your words have power!  Ancient Egyptians held sacred the power of speech and moreover inscription.  Sarcophagus’s inscribed with holy sacraments of protection in life and afterlife were protocol for Ancient Egyptians.  Modern-day Evangelicals warn against the tongue as it can be used as a protector or a weapon against oneself or others.  If you choose change also choose to speak conducive to that change.  Let not your own tongue be the stumbling block to your success.  For example:

1.)    Allow negative thoughts to provide prompts for positivism.  Speak a new truth to yourself in times when your previous self-defeating thought cycle takes hold.  It is normal for doubt to oppose change, but you control your thought cycles which manifests a goal.

2.)    Spend time repeating a mantra of your new goal with your eyes closed in a quiet environment.   

Kinesthetic

We are creatures of sensation.  We love to feel good both emotionally and physiologically.  Why else does a child spin and spin in circles simply to fall down?  Sensation is a fascinating asset that motivates human behavior.  If you don’t allow yourself to feel the success, the pride, the peace you will feel when your goal manifests prior to the manifestation you skip a step toward actualization. For example:

1.)    Take the above two steps and manifest the feeling you will have when you finally achieve your goal.  Ruminate on that manifestation.  Soak in it.  Let the feeling boil to the surface of your skin until you cannot escape the sensation.

2.)    Use your sensory system to do the above mentioned work.  Close your eyes, take 5 minutes and touch, taste, smell, hear, and see in your mind’s eye what the sensation of the new goal is for you.

Allow yourself to succeed.  All of your answers are within you.  You truly can have ALL the change and ALL the light you desire as a manifestation concerning your goals.  I am of the mind that we were made to heal our minds and bodies.  That we truly have all our very own answers, we just need proper tools and a guide to blossom beyond the damage we inevitably derive via bumps along the road of life.   Wishing all doors are opened up to each and every one of you who uses your tools and who takes the time to allow yourself to evolve beyond the temporary.

Light, Love, and Blessings,

Haley Hallock