Ep. 61 How to Rewire Your Brain for What You Want (Instead of What You Don’t) Solo Episode

Lisa (00:10):
Hey guys, Lisa Dawn here.
Welcome back to another episodeof the Healed Now What Podcast.
So today I wanted to dive into atopic that's been bubbling up
for me lately.
So, it's a blend of somaticwisdom, spiritual practice, and

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the teachings of Abraham Hicks.
We'll also chat about this wordalignment, what it means, how to
access it, and why combiningsomatic awareness with spiritual
practices can create suchtransformational shifts in our
lives.

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But before we get into all that,does anyone have a dog?
Or any kind of pet that they'vebeen training.
I bring this up because we've.
I recently undertook trainingwith our Australian shepherd

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named Merlin.
If you've been tuning in for awhile, you've heard me talk
about him before and he is justthis sweet, sensitive guy, but
he's also pretty controlling.
So, one of our main issues is, Imean, his, his greetings at the

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door.
are horrendous.
And when he greets other dogs,he likes to, he likes everything
to be in order.
So, yeah, he's He's kind of arude greeter, we'll say.
And we live on this property andthere are three other dogs on

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the property and one inparticular, Merlin, just seems
to pick on.
So finally, my husband and Idecided to work with a trainer
that actually just lives up theroad.
And so it's kind of likelearning this new language.
And I didn't I didn't realizethat I was contributing so much

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to his behavior, which obviouslylike I've heard this a zillion
times before, you know, it's notthe dog, it's the owner.
And I would just refuse to hearthat.
I'm like, Oh, I'm doing the bestthat I can, which is true.
And also, you know, we don'tknow until we know.
The first time that we met withthe trainer.

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Well, it was actually twotrainers, they gave us some
really incredible insights, justwhat to do and what to look for
and how to calm Merlin down upongreetings.
And I realized that alongsidewith, you know, the teachings

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and the trainings and what tolook for, that I also had to get
into a state of looking for thepositive and not treating Merlin
as this, you know, troublemaker,he was kind of like the bad, the
bad one.

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And so I noticed that as soon asI began to change my perspective
to, you know, Merlin is justmisunderstood mostly by me.
My husband and I just haven'tfigured out his cues or exactly
what he needs and that's okay.
And we're just going to worktogether and figure this out.

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As soon as I made that statementand I actually looked at Merlin
and had probably a three minuteconversation with him about how
committed I was to, you know,helping him calm down a little
bit more and to, you know, hehad some issues around, um, just
being overly excited.

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And this excitement would leadinto, it was coupled with panic
and fear, which I know well frommy work in, in somatics.
And so there's a lot of throughlines there.
But within that realization, Iwas just like, Oh, I could feel
my whole body relaxed when I wasmaking these statements of,

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confirmation that everything wasgoing to work out.
We're going to figure it out.
Even from that moment on thevery next day when we went out
to greet one of the dogs, he wasdoing much better.
I noticed that he was looking tome for more of that leadership
and things just.
things were more in flow.

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This is kind of also what hassparked this, this episode.
Because if you're like me, a bitof a science nerd, but also
someone who feels deeplyconnected to the unseen, I think
that you'll appreciate how allof these different perspectives
intersect.
We're going to explore how ourconnection to consciousness,

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somatic awareness, andneuroscience can help us live a
more aligned, joyful, andfulfilling life.
And I wanted to share that storywith Marilyn because, it's an
example.
of how changing our perspectiveand looking for the good can
make a really big shift in howwe view ourselves and our

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relationships to our pets and toother folks.
And also, um, just because Iknow there are people out there
that are training.
Pets that sometimes give upbecause they can be challenging.
So don't give up.

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Okay, so back to the episode.
For those of you who don't know,Abraham is channeled through
Esther Hicks and this Collectiveof Consciousness offers a wealth
of teaching centered on creatingthe life that you want through
deliberate focus and vibrationalalignment.

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So it's this philosophy thatsays the better that you feel,
the better your life gets.
And yet for those of us who'veexperienced trauma or struggle
with nervous systemdysregulation, the idea of just
feeling better can feel likecomplete bullshit.
But there is something to it,which we're going to chat about

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more in depth.
I'm a total sucker for 15 and 30day challenges.
They give me structure, theyhighlight where I'm stuck, and
often provide the nudge I needfor a redirect.
And recently, I rediscoveredAbraham's teachings after more
than a decade.
So their messages startedpopping up in my feed, and I

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took it as a sign to revisitthis work.
And lo and behold, When Ipurchased their book, Ask and It
Is Given, I found a 30 daychallenge nestled within its
pages.
Hee hee! My science y brain wasthrilled.
But also my somatic lenscouldn't resist analyzing how
this could work in practice, notjust mentally, but somatically.

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In somatic experiencing, we talka lot about safety, capacity,
and redirecting towardssensations that feel better or
at the very least suck less.
So this is part of, part of theteachings of somatic
experiencing.
And so this is where the overlapwith Abraham Hicks feels pretty

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profound.
So they teach, if you can't feelgood right now, find a thought
that feels less bad.
And from a nervous systemperspective, this is brilliant
because it's not about fakingpositivity, but slowly titrating
away from distress to give yoursystem the space to feel safe
again.

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So here's how it works.
So we're turning down the threatresponses.
When we consciously redirect ourattention towards something that
feels even slightly better, wecan help deactivate the brain's
alarm system.
We signal to the amygdala that,you know, the tiger's no longer
in the room.
And then we also, activate asense of well being by reminding

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ourselves of what is going well.
A safe home, a kind friend, amoment of laughter.
We're inviting our nervoussystem to shift out of survival
mode and back into moreregulation.
And so this is foundational inhealing.
One of my favorite parts ofAbraham's teachings is their

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emphasis on alignment.
And again, from a somaticperspective, alignment isn't
just a mental exercise.
It's about how our body feelswhen we're in harmony with
ourselves.
So consider this.
When you focus on a thought thatfeels good, just notice what
happens for you.

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So the example that I gave abovewith Merlin's training is like
we're just going to do this.
Everything's working out for usand we're going to figure it
out.
So just choose a thought rightnow that feels a little better.
And just notice what happens foryou.

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What about your breath?
Does it deepen?
Does it soften?
Do your shoulders relax?
Can you feel more of yourself?
Just notice what you notice.

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So these are some subtle cuesthat your body is moving towards
safety.
And the more you practice, themore your body learns to trust
that this state is its default.
Not the exception.
So this 30 day challenge is allabout gradually training your

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focus towards what feels good.
And here's how I've adapted itwith a somatic lens.
So, the morning check in.
When you wake up in the morning,just notice the coziness of your
bed.

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How comfortable you feel rightnow.
How the sheets feel on yourskin.
The temperature, if you'resomeone who wakes up with the
sun without an alarm, maybe evenjust looking out your window and
notice the sky or the sun comingup and pay attention to how

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noticing all of these thingsfeels in your body.
Maybe you might want toincorporate saying something
like, good morning to me, or Iwonder what good things will
happen for me today.

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And then set an intention tonotice and amplify that ease
throughout the day.
The next step is sort of amidday reset.
So just pausing, maybe taking afew breaths, and perhaps just

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naming three things that aregoing well.
Now these don't have to be lifechanging.
Maybe your coffee was perfectlybrewed, or the sun felt warm on
your face.
So really bringing thoseexperiences into your body.
Like how it felt to sip on thatperfect cup of joe, or how the

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warmth felt on your face.
And then as you settle into theevening.
Maybe just taking a moment toeither make a mental note or
journal about what went wellthat day.

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Perhaps you met a friend forlunch, or someone complimented
your shirt.
Just little moments throughoutyour day about things that went
well or things that felt good.
And if it's easier, you can gobackwards from the evening to
the morning.
I find that's really helpful forme.

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And again, as you do this, justnotice how it feels to Think
about these experiences and ifthere's a change or a softening
that you feel within you.
Abraham talks about focusing onwhat you want, not what you

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don't want.
Sounds simple, right?
Well, I thought so, but thenwhen I started tracking my
thoughts, I realized how often Iwas just affirming the things
that I didn't want.
Whoopsies.
So, a little backstory on that.
I'm historically known formaking statements about what I

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don't want, hoping that someoneUsually my husband will figure
out what I do want.
So a mini example of this is theother day, my husband asked
about what flavor I wanted mysmoothie to be, and I
immediately replied, well, Idon't want the chocolate one.

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He's like, yes, but what do youwant?
Sound familiar to anyone?
I could literally give youmillions of examples like this.
So that's one part of thechallenge is, Redirecting
ourselves towards what wedesire.
And the other part is allowingour highest, most fulfilled

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version of ourselves to guideour actions.
So in other words, getting intoalignment with who you truly are
and then taking action from thatplace.
So the other day, I had a lot onmy plate and before diving in, I
took two minutes to breathe andset an intention.

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My intention was I want to feelproductive, creative, and lit
up.
And as I observed my breath, Ifelt this sense of melting.
Like my body was just letting goof resistance.
And what came next was a nap,and then one of the most

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efficient, joyful work sessionsI've had in a very long time.
So this wasn't hustle, it wasalignment.
In that moment, I was allowingMy higher self and my attuned
nervous system to inform myactions rather than pushing
through stress or tension.

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My own spiritual practice hasplayed a huge role in just
feeling better about my life andmy place in it.
It used to be countless hours ofmeditation and other rituals.
And now it can be as simple asjust a few minutes of tuning
into my breath.

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A few minutes of connecting withmy feet on the ground out in
nature, a few minutes of playingwith Merlin when he wants to
play, of course.
But our spiritual practiceallows us to tap into this deep
well of consciousness wherethings are just easier.

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Because it enables us to be inalignment with deep truth and so
much suffering in this lifecomes from being out of
alignment with who we are.
So ultimately the combining ofthese tools in this journey has
taken me from a place of despairto one of deep fulfillment.

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I've been thinking about justhow often we try and separate
science and spirituality, butthe truth is science is just a
lens, a way of observing,observing and understanding the
world.
Neuroscience, for example, showsus that.
Cultivating spiritual practicecan lead to greater resilience,
optimism, and even protectionagainst depression and

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overwhelming experiences.
So instead of asking whethersomething is real, instead, I
like to ask, does it work?
And when I combine spiritualtools like meditation, intention
setting, with somatic practices,I feel the difference.
And so many people do.

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So, what are some more practicaltools for alignment?
I discussed, you know, combiningsomatics with getting in tune
and just feeling better.
How can we bring this into ourdaily lives?
So, here's a few takeaways.
Number one, name what you want.

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So, try instead of focusing onwhat's wrong, practice
identifying what feels good orwhat you desire.
Even small shifts in languagecan create profound changes in
how you feel.
Pausing and breathing.
So take two to three minutesbetween tasks to just observe

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your breath.
There's no need to change it ordo anything with it.
Just notice the sensations inyour body and let yourself melt
into the present moment.
If breath doesn't feel so goodfor you, it could look like even
just laying down on the floor onthe ground for two to three
minutes and allowing your bodyto just kind of feel the support

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of the floor.
And then setting intentionsbefore starting any activity.
This could be really quick.
Just set an intention of how youwant to feel.
I want to feel playful.
I want to feel productive.
And let that sense of alignmentguide your actions.

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So, at the end of the day, whatI feel about this is, alignment
is about connection.
Connection to ourselves, toothers, and to something
greater.
It's about trusting that we'realways being guided.
Even in the messy shit storms oflife.

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So whether you're exploringAbraham Hicks or some kind of
other spiritual practice,somatic practices, or both,
remember this, you are your ownbest guide, your heart, your
body, and your spirit truly doknow the way.
So thank you for being here withme today until next time.

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Bye for now.
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