The Conscious Creative Cook

Heal your Mind to Heal your Body

I have been studying a new concept in medicine called New German Medicine. It is based on the premise that “Every disease origninates from an unexpected, highly acute and isolating conflict shock that occurs simultaneously in the psyche, the brain, and on the corresponding organ” -Dr.Ryke Geerd Hamer

I spend alot of time thinking about how life is full of shocks, challenges and triggers that few of us have learned to effectively navigate in order to support the maintenance of optimal health. It has been my goal for several years to create practices, tools and strategies to minimize the effects of external influence that cause triggers, shocks and challenge my mental/emotional/physical health. Following, are the processes and some tools and strategies I use daily to help me to maintain a sense of groundedness and peace. MY PROCESS

1.Become well acquainted with your triggers. When are you triggered? What triggers you? Where are you triggered? (environmentally as well as where do you FEEL the trigger in your body?) I find it helpful to record and journal the answers to these questions. 2.Establish and commit to practices that will help you to manage your trigger. CONSISTANTLY practicing these activities during times of calm makes it easier to utilize when you are in the middle of a full blown trigger attack.For example, if you establish a daily practice of conscious breathing for 20 minutes a day, when you ARE NOT being triggered you are more likely to utilize it when you are triggered because you have experienced the calm that conscious breathing provides,.

If you are dedicated about your affirmation practice during tranquil times, you are more apt to remind yourself of your worth when you have been triggered by a criticism.

3.Bravely apply your new ways of thinking, believing, perceiving, behaving. People might have an opinion about the new way you are acting but know you are being a role model for THEM to do likewise.

4.Be gentle and offer yourself much compassion when you are not satisfied with how you handled something. It is all practice and process:-) You wouldn’t put down a friend or a child…cut yourself some slack, be gentle with YOU:-)

5.Celebrate EVERY SINGLE little success:-) Everytime you respond to a stressful/challenging situation in a more healthy, empowering way, pat yourself on the back, ACKNOWLEDGE and celebrate your growth.

TOOLS/STRATEGIES

1.Conscious Breathing: Bring attention to your inhale and exhale. If a thought intrudes, observe/acknowledge it and let it go, gently returning your attention to your breathing. Even 5 or 10 minutes of this is so effective in restoring a sense of well being.

I practice this when I do dishes, prep food, during commercials, while walking, while driving, while folding laundry. There are also alot of good guided meditations on You Tube for this.

2.Gentle, Compassionate Self Talk: Practice talking to yourself like you would a small child who is learning something new(who would yell at a baby learning to walk? Acknowledge and allow the time and practice it takes to learn a new way of being. Breaking free from old patterning takes time.

Gentle Compassionate Self Talk is such a great practice in self care/love. Be gentle with yourself when you make mistakes, when someone has critisized you, when you werent able to meet your own expectations, when you are triggered(be the comforting inner parent to your fearful/hurting inner child) words are so powerful, watch the words you speak to your precious self<3

3.Affirmations: When you determine your triggers, write affirmations to help you combat them.

For example, if you are triggered by criticism and struggle with maintaining a sense of self worth when it happens, take 5-10 minutes everyday and affirm: “I am worthy when I make mistakes as well as when I demonstrate competence.”(or whatever works for you…here is a link to a post I wrote on affirmations that have been helpful for me. https://wordpress.com/post/jbrouha.com/712.

When practicing affirmations, it is highly beneficial to practice FEELING what the affirmation is affirming…really FEEL, believe and know your inherent value. This embodiment of the words you are reciting, serves to make the affirmation more effective.

Although I implement other tools and strategies as well as these, I find these 3 to be a good foundation to support one in establishing healthier responses to triggers and challenges.

If you would like to learn more, I invite you to join me for discussion, playing with creating your own personal practices and strategies, as well as an offering of support for establishing new ways to deal with life’s shocks, challenges and triggers:-) Contact me through messenger or mailto:jlbrouha@gmail.com if you are interested.

Examining Our “Roots” to Facilitate Personal Growth

Yesterday when I took a walk in the woods, I noticed how many of the roots were hidden beneath fallen leaves. I thought to myself, “I don’t want to get tripped up on any of these roots”.

I instantly made the connection to how often we blame genetics(our roots) for dis-ease and rarely look at the way we have been emotionally/psychologically CONDITIONED to handle stress/challenges from “our roots”. How we are taught to handle stress directly affects our physical health.

I am quite certain we pass down our dysfunctional coping mechanisms as well as our limited beliefs and perceptions.(I have even read research that suggest the energy from our feelings/thoughts influences the structure of our DNA.)

There is much research stating that the way we cope with stress/challenges directly influences our physical health.

For example, when we learn from our family of origin that we are expected to put other peoples’ needs before our own, feelings of resentment, not being appreciated, overwhelm etc can contribute to the creation of dis-ease in the body.

Moreover, when it is modeled and expected of us, to do, think, believe things that are not aligned with what is really true and right for us, it can express itself in the body(especially in the stomach: situations that we can not “stomach”/tolerate, swallow/accept, digest etc…I have experienced this one first hand…Everytime I am experiencing situations that are no longer tolerable, acceptable, my stomach communicates this lesson to me and when I take action to improve the situation, I feel much relief…no pills necessary)

If you would like to go deeper in exploring how your “roots” have influenced your physical health, as well as your emotional/mental health, I would love to invite you to join me for discussion and practices to supplement your healthcare.

Curious? Contact me through Messenger or at mailto:jlbrouha@gmail.com for more info ❤

Resolving Inner Conflicts to Heal Physical Complaints

I have recently been introduced to a concept in healthcare called New German Medicine. http://learninggnm.com/SBS/documents/sbs_index.html.

New German Medicine is based on 5 Biological Laws, the first, (which is “The Iron Rule” of cancer,) is that every dis-ease origninates from an unexpected, highly acute and isolating conflict shock that occurs simultaineousely in the psyche, the brain, and on the corresponding organ.

For example, when a woman receives shocking information that causes her to worry about a child(for example: finding out they have an addiction problem, have been arrested, in a car accident/hurt/killed, they are pregnant/got someone pregnant, a revealing of a sexual orientation etc) it often expresses itself as breast cancer(on the left side if she is right handed, and on the right side if she is left handed, as the breast is associated with nurturing a child)

If she receives shocking information that causes her to worry about a relationship with a partner/spouse(a health threat/diagnosis, an act of unfaithfulness, a suspician of unfaithfulness, a recognition of an addiction, etc) breast cancer will manifest on the right side(if she is right handed, on the left side is she is left handed)

Dr. Hamer(The doctor who established New German Medicine)teaches that the dis-ease doesnt present itself to harm, but to reveal to us that there are issues in our lives that need examining. He encourages us to perceive dis-ease as an invitation to practice greater self-awareness in order to RESOLVE the inner conflict. Thereby, getting to the root of the issue and healing the physical expression in the body, of the emotional/psychological issue. It is a call from the psyche to explore, transform and heal limiting beliefs, perceptions, feelings,thought, conditioning as a means of restoring the body. This is good news, as it greatly increases our sense of empowerment in our own healing processess. We are no longer at the mercy of doctors, chemical treatments and surgeries.

Over the past 30 years, Dr Hamer has researched and discovered clear evidence(which has been verified by a number of other doctors) that all dis-ease begins with an intense emotional conflict. He states that experiences of intense emotion(anger,grief, worry etc)trigger dis-ease and that by taking action to minimize intense conflict, we are practicing true preventative medicine.

Unfortunately, we are rarely taught nor encouraged to engage in practices of self inquiry,listen to the guidance of the body in order to learn how to interpret it’s language to gain information that would support healing. We rarely ask and respond to what the body/mind needs. We just press on.

Furthermore, few of us feel resourced enough to examine and explore these deep,dark inner wounds alone.

Intuitively, (even before I knew about the concepts in New German Medicine)I have held the belief that I could prevent/heal pain/discomfort that I was experiencing through determining what was going on emotionally within me and taking appropriate action to resolve emotional issues. This has always been my first practice to treat anything that ails me.

Because of this practice, I have become extremely proficient at asking myself the right questions and establishing healing practices that support the restoration of my body/mind.

If you are interested in supplementing your healthcare with learning how to use reflective questions/self inquiry and other practices to get to the root of heath issues, but could use some guidance, I would lo ve to be of service to you in this way.

I am a certified Personal Growth Coach with over a decade of experience in the Human Services field as well as commitment to my own daily personal health care practices.

I am interested in creating a group to explore, practice and share how becoming more aware of one’s inner landscape can influence physical health and sharing practices that make this process a little easier.

If you would like to participate in this group, I would love to hear from you 🙂 email me atj lbrouha@gmail.com

Improve your Affirmation Practice

Although affirmations are often suggested for Personal Growth, I have discovered, that they may often backfire. I have come to realize, it is imperative to honestly investigate your TRUE FELT sense of the affirmation before you go any further working with affirmation. In other words, your honest feeling needs to ALIGN with the words you are thinking and/or speaking.

For example during a time when I was affirming “I pursue my purpose with ease” I wound up hurting my knee. There was no moving forward anywhere for me. Another time, I was working with the affirmation, “I am safe to speak my truth” and I came down with a bad sinus infection which resulted in a hoarse throat. I could barely speak at all.

Maybe you have had similar experiences. It seems to me, the affirmation could be considered a gauge that measures your true feelings. It is my belief, that this is the Universe’s way of showing us there is more personal growth to be cultivated, more internal work to be completed before we level up. The Universe REQUIRES our self honesty in order to promote us to the next level of consciousness:-) For myself, there has been plenty of times the affirmation was more like a wish rather than a truth.

To prevent the Universe from providing me with an additional lesson in FULL EMBODIED BELIEF, I now use affirmation as a practice to bring awareness to any RESISTANCE I am still holding which is preventing personal growth.So far, it seems to be highly efflective in illuminating the issues I need to examine before I am ready to step into a higher consciousness with a greater sense of FELT truth. If our thoughts,feelings, words and actions are not aligned, it has been my experience, that it can cause some suffering. Best to take a little time to get all your ducks in a row by honestly examining and exploring exactly where your personal growth spurt is being obstructed. Here is some guidance to help you to dissolve resistance around affirmation.

Tips to Dissolve Resistance

1.Say/think your Affirmation.

2.Bring your awareness to sensation in the body. What images, thoughts, feeling is arising?

3.Breathe in with intention to expand your capacity to more fully EMBODY the truth of the affirmation. Exhale the resistance.

4. Listen to understand what your body wants you to know. Jot down any insight your body offers you. (Write from the body, not from the mind.)

5.Offer compassion and/or acceptance to your Inner Child and/or body part(s). (self embrace, squeeze, tapping, holding hand to heart/belly, stretching are all really good ways to communicate this to the body/inner child)

6.Continue directing your breath to the part within that needs comfort. Remain mindful of messages.

7.Practice telling yourself a new story that is more in alignment with your affirmation. KNOW that YOU are in charge of re-writing any story or belief that no longer supports your Higher Self. Be patient with yourself. Give yourself permission to do write a new belief system for yourself.

8.Practice embodying the desired FEELING while in meditation as well as when you are out living your life and the feeling arises.

9.Bring conscious awareness to the desired feeling of the affirmation.(For example if you just set a boundary without much effort, bring your conscious awareness to the FEELING of empowerment. Acknowledge your success and give yourself a pat on the back for your growth(always celebrate your successes), Make a point to remember this success as it will encourage future success.Practice visualizing AND FEELING your Affirmation while meditating. This way, when you are in a live situation where the Universe may be wanting you to prove it, you will be ready with your embodied new feeling and belief.

Affirmations are a powerful tool to facilitate Personal Growth, just be mindful that your feelings, thoughts, words and actions are all in alignment, otherwise, things might get a little wonky:-)I’d love to hear about your affirmation experiences:-)

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Weeds2Seeds

Weeds2Seeds

…Providing tools and strategies to weed out false belief, poor perception and old conditioning that prevents personal growth.

…Offering support, so that fertile ground may be established in your thought garden that roots you and nourishes you in experiences of safety and success:-)

…Planting and nurturing seeds of self esteem, empowerment and joy, so that you may blossom into your truth.

… Offering tools that help you enlighten you so you may thrive in your life

Check out my workshops on:

… Women’s Empowerment

… Improving Parenting Skills

Personal Growth Practice: Embody the Higher Self

In response to frequent feelings of frustration, powerlessness and confusion, I was inspired to establish a new practice to promote personal growth.

This practice has been extremely beneficial in helping me to establish clarity, peace and a sense of empowerment in stressful situations. It has served me well in being able to recenter and become more grounded when experiencing challenging circumstances. I can always tell the difference in my energy when I forget to incorporate this practice into my day.

Here is a simple practice to promote personal growth as well as bring a greater sense of empowerment, clarity and peace to your day.

1.After using the bathroom first thing in the morning and washing my face, I hang my head/hair upside down.

2. While upside down, I scratch/massage the crown of my head as well as around the ears, and affirm “I invite my HIgher Self, to embody, guide and inspire me today” Scratching and/or massaging your head is a great way to activate the crown chakra. If you want, you can also use a wire head massager.

3. Bring your attention to the top of your head as you “breathe in” your Higher Self.

4. Envision your Higher Self embodying you with love, peace and joy. Trusting that your Higher Self will direct you to act and speak in ways that will support your highest good.

5. Flip your hair/head up/back.

6. Now, face the mirror and scratch/massage your head again while deeply looking at yourself in the mirror with love and acceptance.

7. Reaffirm, “I invite my Higher Self, to embody, guide and inspire me today.”

8. Take a few breaths, envisioning your Higher Self settling inside of you, embodying you with love,peace and joy.

If you feel like you need a boost, you can repeat this practice anytime throughout the day.

For more practices, tools and strategies to support your Personal Growth, contact me at jlbrouha@gmail.com to sign up for my monthly newsletter, for information about Work shops or 1:1 Coaching, as well as opportunities to purchase inspiring Mental Health Art.

Written by Jenn Brouillette

jlbrou

Mental Health Strategy: Abandon Self Sacrificing

Although we have been raised with the belief that abandoning ourselves for others is highly valued, I would suggest asking yourself: How do I feel in my body when I put others before myself? Do I feel resentment? Does it serve to bolster my sense of worth? Am I resisting setting a boundary on my energy/time to avoid conflict(aka: being a “People Pleaser”?)

As I have sat with these questions I have observed that this conditioning has caused me much resentment, which has expressed itself as alot of constriction…tense discomfort in my body(especially belly). I deeply believed, that when I put others before myself, it somehow increased my worth as person.

What I have come to realize is: I don’t have to DO ANYTHING to be of value. I AM inherently WORTHY. When I do things for others out of love for them, with plenty of time and energy to do it, I feel a much greater sense of wellbeing.

Practicing DOING for others, from a place of love (for them as well as for myself) has been instrumental in helping me to maintain positive mental health. I make it a point NOT to stretch myself beyond my present capacity to give. I honor myself first, which prevents resentment and enhances a sense of good mental health and well being.

I have learned, “FEED YOURSELF FIRST…nourish yourself with daily acts of self compassion, self acceptance and boundaries to nurture positive mental health.

It has been my experience, that when I put myself first, ensuring my energy, needs/desires, boundaries are met, I can serve others from a more genuine loving place…not from a place of obligation and expectation.

This new way of being feels SO liberating and joyful:-) Although we have been conditioned to put others first, we can give ourselves permission to re-examine old beliefs that deplete us and make healthier, more expensive adjustments.

FEED others by FIRST being FULL yourself. We can’t lovingly care for one another when we are showing up FAMISHED ourselves…

Your mental health matters:-) Feed yourself with healthy boundaries, self acceptance, self compassion, time to play…and anything else you need:-)

I’d love to support you in your efforts to blossom into your Highest Self. Contact me at jlbrouha@gmail.com to work with me 1:1♥️☮️

Mental Health Strategy: Acceptance & Compassion

Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Pexels.com

This summer, I have been deeply immersed in a practice of self acceptance. I have avoided using this tool for a long time, for fear of coming face to face with my many shadowy parts of myself(spoiler alert:We all have them:-)

One of the parts of me that I have been examining is my belief that I am somehow “less then”..”not enough” if I wear a bigger size/weigh more than what I have been conditioned to believe is acceptable(who are those people we allow to determine how much we should weigh without knowing anything about us…and why do we just hand over our power and buy into it:-( UGH)

I noticed my frequent resistance to looking in the mirror is a clear reflection of my resistance to looking at myself and examining the beliefs and conditionings that keep me in this perpetual loop of weight loss/weight gain.

I determined it was time to examine the wounded parts of me that find comfort in the consumption of sugar. I ask myself often:”Can I still feel my inherent worth when I weigh more than my ideal?”(or do I criticize, cringe and judge myself every time I see my reflection?)…”Can I still access self compassion? Acceptance in this state of gained weight?

Initially the answer to these questions was a booming,”NO!!!” However, when I decided to treat myself with a prescription of radical doses of love and acceptance prn(whenever needed) I gradually became more comfortable with meeting and greeting myself at the mirror:-)

I used(and am still using) weight gain as a tool, a teacher, guiding me, deeply grounding me into a relationship with self that is founded in self love/worth and acceptance. I am finding this to be SUCH powerful medicine(btw, I am learning medicine that TRULY heals is often in the form of self examination(beliefs, feelings, thoughts etc) as well as changing behavior.)

I am noticing the deeper I sink into self acceptance and self compassion the less sugar I want to consume…this isnt forcing my will to conform with what “I think” is the right way to eat…this is organically arising from a transformative loving relationship with self. Weight loss, I am discovering, is REALLY an inside job…a devotion to seeing the unattractive judgements I hold, the criticisms I keep, the expectations and limitation I assign to what beauty looks/feels like.

This is all a heaviness I carry…the burden of extra energetic weight that translates into body fat. Our cumbersome conditioning ,beliefs, feelings, constantly keep us trapped in endless, unsuccessful attempts to align with a weight that is perfect for each individual…a healthy weight that just organically arises from honoring the guidance of our highest self…tapping into acceptance, love, joy and peace.

I am DONE forcing my will on my body. I am here for the journey of learning and practicing greater self compassion, acceptance and broadening my perception of what beauty looks/feels like as a means of establishing and maintaining healthy weight.

What judgements/critisms do you say/think/feel when you look in the mirror? Can you maintain a sense of self worth when you gain weight? Do you know how to ACCESSaccess and FEEL self acceptance? Self compassion? Want to practice with me:-) I am interested in forming a Women’s Group to share our struggles and support one another in the process of personal self development. If you are interested, message me…I’m thinking the middle of September<3

Mental Health Strategy:Self Inquiry

One thing I feel deeply grateful for is having learned how o engage in the practice of self inquiry.

Self inquiry is the key that opens doors to greater understanding about yourself. It is a means of directing you to ways of living that are more aligned with your soul.

I have frequently been asking myself, “What Nourishes me?” “What makes me feel full…satisfied…content?” These questions have been instrumental in helping me to establish and maintain positive mental health as well as move forward in my process of personal growth.. They have provided clarification as to what course of action I should take in order to maintain the feeling of satisfaction I have been enjoying over the past month.

For me, I have determined slow moving summer days of letting go of routine and schedules has bred deep contentment. It has been such a relief to release routines and schedules and consistently follow my curiosity, feelings, desire and energy. Living at nature’s pace is DEFINATELY for me:-) …it is freeing and fulfilling. By defining this experience as nourishing, I can move with the momentum by planning how I can continue this life style.

Another activity that has been incredibly sustaining is consistently expressing my Truth. In the past, I would often avoid sharing my thoughts and feelings to deflect any possibility of conflict. What I have learned, is there are many ways to honor my Truth WHILE allowing and respecting the Truth of others. Although I’ve only recently been practicing and refining this skill, It feel so fulfilling as I gradually become more masterful at this.

Additionally, honestly expressing who I truly am. sometimes comes through in what I choose to wear.(ignoring old conditioning that says “cover up” and donning something that demonstrates my willingness to be seen…no more hiding and shrinking)

True Self Expression has also showed up as a growing courage that is more willing to ask hard questions in relationships, set uncomfortable boundaries or even practice a greater willingness to RECEIVE(I am amazed how often I notice myself resisting receiving in so many ways…this has been a miracle shift:-)

Other times, Truth is as simple as obeying the desire of my body to let loose and dance while doing the dishes:-) (I’ve startled Scott with my chorus line kicks more than once:-)

Additionally, I have felt SO well fed.. cared for…nourished, by a family who has met me in my desire to make RELATIONSHIP a spiritual practice by showing up for one another in a more authentic,honest and vulnerable way that fosters a feeling of safety and heart2heart connection.

What makes you feel nourished…body, mind, spirit? What prevents you from feeling fully nourished? Follow me on my website jbrou.com for helpful tools, strategies and practices to improve Mental Health or book a 1:1 session with me.

Pack Away Beliefs of Powerlessness and Undeserving

"I am willing to pack away all limiting beliefs of UNDESERVING and POWERLESSNESS that in the past, have interfered with RECEIVING my DESIRES "
... stepping into a new level of consciousness... committing to ACT from awareness...to practice EMBODYING what feels true to me and ACCEPTING how others want to show up in their TRUTH ❤️☮️

-What limiting beliefs are you working through?-