# Embody Your Power Podcast - Episode 21 The Impact of My Near Death Experience
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[00:00:02] hi I'm Danielle Karen and in this podcast I'm going to share with you knowledge and tools that I believe should be accessible to everyone they're fundamental and essential to Being Human embody your power is an integrative model that Bridges science spirituality and ancient wisdom to give you the resources needed to live your fullest potential as a psychotherapist for over 16 years and now as a coach I help people know reclaim and embody their power on all levels it's my mission to help you connect to your unshakable resilience to know true power and freedom to be Sovereign and to remember your divine nature if you're wanting to learn tools to release layers of conditioning heal from trauma feel at home in your body have inner peace expand your capacity for Joy connect spiritually and take a

[00:01:06] journey with me to embody your power then this podcast is for you thank you for joining me together let's raise our Consciousness to help evolve [Music] Humanity in this episode I'm excited to share with you my personal story starting with a major traumatic event when I was 19 as you go on this journey with me you'll see how I came to Value an integrative approach to health you'll also find out how one encounter with the Divine changed my life let's go back in time to 1998 I'm a 19-year-old living life cloaked in the feeling of invincibility excited for adventures and not ever thinking of what could go wrong I decided to take a few new friends rock climbing in Connecticut now picture me at the top of

[00:02:09] this Cliff buzzing with excitement my plan was to set up the ropes and hike down but then one of my friends suggested repelling down hm it hadn't crossed my mind but I think sure why not I was very quick to want to please and imp ress others so as my friend invited me to do something I didn't feel comfortable with it didn't even cross my mind to say you know what this isn't smart I'm totally in over my head and I think it's best to abandon the plan it would have been a different life if I had that awareness in my teen years so onward I went now as I'm hooking the ropes up trying to connect them to my harness I'm not paying paying good attention to what I'm doing I'm more concerned about what my new friends are thinking of me than being present with myself looking back I had intuitive hits trying to get my

[00:03:12] attention but I ignored all warning signs as they didn't really compute with my teenage brain here I am way out of my league leading others into this adventure it's my first time setting the ropes up solo without the safety net of more experienced climbers helping I thought I had it under control so there I am teetering on the edge of the cliff about to LEAP backwards like a pro I grab onto the ropes take the plunge and then in an instant my world went black now falling took a split second but I experienced time in a different way that day I found myself in a formless and Timeless space that didn't include my senses as I knew them I felt ecstatic yet

[00:04:14] peaceful warmth without heat nurtured and loved by formless energy Fearless in the midst of a tragedy and timeless yet only a second had passed I was seemingly in a black void but nothing was lacking in this black void there were no things no objects No Light No location and no time I don't even have a body it's like I'm swimmming in this mystical realm and then it hits me it's a clear knowing as if someone whispered it into my soul you can live or you can die now this is where it gets really interesting I respond and it's not a

[00:05:17] shaky uncertain response in a confident Crystal Clear matter of fact way I respond it doesn't matter and not in some apathetic way it's like I'm tapped into this Cosmic understanding of things honestly upon reflection the response was shocking to me on a normal day if someone came up to me and said hey you can live or die in this moment I don't think my response would be oh it doesn't matter I'd imagine I'd say what do I need to do to live my response during the fall was Vivid and real but why would I have said it doesn't matter there's a spiritual teaching in Zen Buddhism called a Coons are short statements or questions that are designed to provoke deep contemplation and challenge conventional thinking they're intended to push the Mind Beyond logical reasoning and

[00:06:21] encourage a more intuitive and direct experience of reality my experience during the fall in the sense of being okay if I live or die was a Coan gifted to me that day by the universe something I would contemplate for years I was motionless at the bottom of a 40ft cliff the immediate aftermath was a blur I didn't grasp what had happened and thankfully the sensation of hitting the ground was a blank space in my memory a a friend ran out of the forest and urgently knocked on doors to find someone to call an ambulance when the ambulance arrived they handled me with the utmost care placing me on a stretcher cautiously supporting my back and neck due to the uncertainty of my injuries all the other climbers present that day gathered around forming two

[00:07:24] lines to assist the EMTs in moving me it was a beautiful and spontaneous orchestration a supportive chain that continued as each person ran to the end of the line ensuring a smooth transfer out of the forest and into the ambulance I drifted In and Out Of Consciousness retaining only fragments of those moments until I found myself inside the ambulance where the EMT sitting beside me was yelling to the driver go faster go faster which was waking me out of the fog it wasn't until I reached the hospital that I fully regained Consciousness and with it the floodgates of pain opened wide upon reaching the hospital I was brought to a room where doctors immediately addressed a laceration on the top of my skull while they were attending to this a priest walked in and started reading me my last wrs which stirred anger and confusion and this the medical staff

[00:08:30] perhaps under the assumption that I might not make it had a student practicing his stapling skills on me I was just Lucid enough to realize that every time the student inserted a staple the doctor promptly removed it correcting the procedure I mustered the strength to ask the doctor to stop and spare me from the seemingly endless process however without a voice or an advocate my request fell on deaf ears the doctor insisted that if I could feel it more medication was needed I felt defeated not Desiring more medication but longing for my voice to be heard I endured the stapling process until they completed it thankfully after that ordeal the staff tending to me were remarkably supportive and kind The Next Step involved a series of scans to assess my internal injuries the pain during these scans was

[00:09:33] intense and my memories were hazy until I found myself lying in a more comfortable bed hooked up to a morphine drip that my body instinctively knew needed replacement the moment it ran out the scans revealed compression fractures along my spine with one vertebra in my next C7 completely broken off just a centimeter away from a fate that could have left me dead or paralyzed remarkably no other bones were broken and surgery wasn't needed can you imagine that falling 40 feet and hitting the ground feet first yet not breaking a single bone in my feet or legs the impact had taken its toll on my organs though leaving my stomach distended and unable to use the bathroom however once I regained that ability they were ready to release me to everyone's surprise I walked out of the hospital just 5 days later earning the affectionate title of a miracle from all

[00:10:37] the doctors and nurses back home the reality hit hard my body achd and my dreams seemed shattered throughout my teen years I had one major goal to play lacrosse in college I was proud of being recruited and earning a scholarship to a division one school where I started on on the field as a freshman now everything I envisioned for my future everything I built my identity around was threatened I could look at everything I lost in that moment yet I'm grateful for what I gained a modern day initiation that completely transformed me and my purpose it opened gates to New Dimensions that summer time seemed to Halt and my Pace slowed as I recovered I thought a lot about what happened during the fall in addition to that mystical experience I also felt the presence of my beloved grandfather who had passed away 3 years

[00:11:40] earlier I was beside him in his home when he took his last breath and have felt his protective presence ever since was there some kind of divine intervention I knew I could have easily died that day but I don't remember making the choice to live in that Timeless space the material world dissolved and I was blissfully immersed in Source it took years to unravel the layers of everything I encountered that day and it continues to teach and challenge me yet with time I came to see that the connection to source that I experienced was The Ultimate Gift and I wouldn't trade it for anything it revolutionized my perspective on everything compelling me to confront my mortality and leading to a profound understanding of who I am after the daily morphine drip routine at the hospital I woke up at home in a days grappling with existential

[00:12:42] questions who am I why am I here where did I come from why did I live what's my purpose what happens after I die die what was that extraordinary place I went to that was Timeless and Beyond ordinary reality and what really is the nature of reality one thing was abundantly clear the doors to spiritual Realms had just blown wide open prior to this profound experience I didn't feel any particular connection to God I was raised Christian but in a family that didn't really talk about God or religion I went to church took classes and went through the motions much like I did with most aspects of my childhood education now in the haze of recovery I found myself trying to make sense of

[00:13:46] what had happened and what's next despite needing pain medication for a few more weeks and wearing a brace to ensure my body stayed aligned and upright while my bones healed time seemed to stretch endlessly that summer as everything I had been working toward was put on a hold nonetheless my perspective on the world underwent a seismic shift having experienced something beyond the bounds of our common understanding of reality I became intensely open and intrigued by Concepts that didn't neatly fit into commonly accepted beliefs in other words words I started thinking and stepping outside the box this sparked a lifelong interest in spirituality unconventional wisdom and the nature of reality in this episode I'm excited to share with you the key elements that influenced both my healing journey and the trajectory of my life's work at the young age of 19 my identity

[00:14:53] was intricately woven around two pillars playing lacrosse and aspiring to be a physical therapist after a summer of recuperation at home I returned to college and embarked on the Journey of rehabilitating my body still under my scholarship I had the privilege of working with the University's physical therapist every day it was an interesting twist of fate now I was the patient in the very occupation I had been studying and volunteering in pushing and overriding my body had always been a fundamental aspect of training ing as an athlete however after the fall I couldn't find any motivation to do that surrendering to the reality of my body's transformation was far from Easy from the peak of physical strength where I was doing G Jane inspired one arm push-ups I plummeted to the state of vulnerability and injury even the simplest movements like lifting my arms above my head were painful amazingly I recovered enough to

[00:15:58] return to playing La Cross in the spring however reality hit me with a few truths I couldn't reclaim the strength and ability I once possessed and consequently my playing time and games diminished I couldn't Envision exceling in the sport as I had before and the fact that I wasn't as good as I used to be weighed heavily on me another Revelation during this period was that although I was grateful for the physical therapists who assisted me pursuing a career solely focused on the physical structure no longer felt fulfilling falling through a mystical realm had shifted my perspective and I yearned to work with people on a deeper level this realization propelled me into an identity crisis what do I do now I ended up leaving the University of Maryland Baltimore County and transferring to Sunni Stonybrook in New York to complete my bachelor's degree there I made a significant shift in my

[00:17:01] academic Focus switching my major to psychology I was on a quest to find ways to help others that felt meaningful and rewarding I crave to understand the root causes of things and not superficial remedies as I immersed myself in psychology classes a spontaneous change occurred in my life without much thought or planning I stumbled upon the concept of a veget Arian raw food diet and almost instinctively decided to adopt it the very next day without a clear reason why it just felt like an inate yes I want to do that armed with a disciplined approach in certain aspects of my life I wholeheartedly embraced this raw food lifestyle consuming only fruits vegetables nuts and seeds for a year and a half during this period I noticed significant changes in my body feeling light and experiencing a vibrational shift the impact was so profound that it prompted

[00:18:04] me to delve into the realm of nutrition seeking to understand the connection between my diet and these physical changes my exploration led me to read numerous books on nutrition ultimately inspiring me to pursue a degree in the subject after obtaining my bachelor's degree I enrolled in a holistic nutrition master's program this educational Journey starting around the age of 23 marked the first time I received comprehensive knowledge on the significance of good nutrition Spring Water herbs detoxing fasting superfoods and much more the program also introduced me to Alternative healing paradigms encouraging me to think outside conventional Frameworks to see how all of this is applied I took a position at a place called hypocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach Florida here I got to see how they were using a raw food diet wheat grass green juices colonics and

[00:19:08] other alternative therapies to help people heal from all types of illness and cancer a pivotal moment occurred during my studies when I came across a profound book titled the politics of cancer by Samuel Epstein published in 1998 this Revelation shed a light on how the National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society had systematically obstructed funding for research on promising non-toxic alternative cancer treatments and protocols instead they favored highly toxic and often ineffective patented drugs developed by the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry not only that the book gave many cases of the cancer establishment systematic atically harassing people who actually had a track record of healing people using non-toxic treatments many of these people were literally run out of the country by force and fled to

[00:20:12] Mexico this eye openening read fueled my commitment to explore unconventional approaches to healing immersing myself in this book and learning so much about how to take care of my health led me to making a decision that I'm so grateful for without explicitly acknowledging it to myself or anyone else it was a natural step on my path I decided that at all costs I would avoid traditional Western medicine unless it was absolutely needed like an accident such as my fall for example since then I've remained committed to educating myself and taking responsibility for my health understanding that there isn't a one-size fits all approach to diet and health I've experimented with various dietary regimens my Approach evolves as I Traverse different phases of my life always mindful of what I put in my body and the toxins in my environment seeking out biohacking

[00:21:15] strategies I continually explore ways to optimize my well-being I embrace alternative practitioners including energy doctors to support my body and health steering clear of Pharmaceutical drugs and doctors the decision I made at such an early age is one that I'm very grateful for as it continues to be a Cornerstone of my health Journey significantly shaping my well-being to this day taking charge of your own health does take courage as it's often a trial and error Adventure the kind where you're figuring things out as you go stumbling upon lessons one of my first lessons was realizing how much my mind could derail my health I completely jumped into this all raw food diet but it took a turn suddenly I found myself in this rigid obsessive Loop about what I was eating I realized I had to stop the raw food diet as I was beginning to experience being a

[00:22:17] prisoner of my own mind for someone who values Freedom this was a glaring red flag I was no longer free and my social life was slipping away so I hit the brakes on the all raw thing took a step back and did a little recalibration that's where Byron Katie came in Byron Katie's work became my companion helping me find my way back to balance through this process I was Breaking Free from rigid beliefs and discovering a harmonious approach to what I eat and how I live it was a light bulb moment that showed me how powerful the mind is and how it could either help me or hinder me I was introduced to Byron Katy when I was 20 it was back when cassette tapes were in and I was on a mission to get a hold of all of her tapes as I listened to byon Katie do what she calls the work with others I started to experience a newfound relaxation and acceptance I

[00:23:22] indeed listened to every single tape that I could find replaying them until I had her voice repeating in my head her work Unwound parts of me that were suffering in pain and fighting reality it helped me stop being rigid and obsessed about what I was or wasn't eating leading me to find inner peace the work truly transform me and I'm grateful for this inner peace and greater acceptance of myself Byron Katie's work is an inquiry into our thoughts that can cause us stress she came up with a process involving four questions and a turnaround to help people find internal peace you take a statement that's causing you stress and apply four questions to it is it true can you absolutely know that it's true how do you react when you think that thought and who would you be without the thought then you find turnarounds for

[00:24:26] the original statement let me share a personal example at the time I was really wanting someone's approval who was critical of me someone close to me that I had put on a pedestal so I wrote the statement I want Roger to accept me after answering the four questions the turnaround could be something like I don't want Roger to accept me or I want me to accept Roger or I want me to accept me then you ask yourself if the turnaround is as true or truer than the original statement this work really unhooked me from wanting Roger approval because I could see that if I waited for his acceptance I wouldn't need to work on accepting myself also if I accepted myself then I didn't need him or anyone else to accept me

[00:25:28] so I shifted my focus to the empowering action of accepting myself in this example Byron Katie guides people to accept things as they are rather than resisting or fighting reality not from a place of apathy or giving up we can still change when we accept things as they are actually we can create change more effectively by starting with acceptance I'm grateful to Byron Katie and learning this work at such a young age as it helped me feel more relaxed at peace free and compassionate toward myself and others after delving deep into Byron Katie's work I took a leap and enrolled in the contemplative Psychotherapy master's degree program at neuropa University initially I moved to Florida to pursue my Master's Degree there but then I discovered neuropa this unique place in Boulder Colorado after hopping on the computer and learning more about neuropa it was

[00:26:30] an immediate yes why because neuropa approach to learning is downright unconventional in their curriculum it's unlike anything I've seen I had a handful of choices for psychology masters programs at neuropa and what did I do I went for the one that scared me the most now let me tell you why it was scary starting the contemplative Psychotherapy program meant starting with a group of around 30 people the entire curriculum was already set meaning I didn't get to choose any of my classes everyone was taking the same classes and sharing the same academic Journey for three years it scared me to sign up for something that didn't allow me to choose my classes or remain more Anonymous if I wanted to there was no Escape no hiding from these people everyone in the group was holding up a mirror for me to look at myself uncom able absolutely every day it wasn't easy but it was a

[00:27:32] life-changing experience I like to affectionately refer to my time at neuropa as Buddhist boot camp an intense experiential experience that made me literally sweat I mean every day I was sweating despite not identifying with any particular religion as I prefer a direct relationship with the Divine I enjoyed learning about Buddhist psychology I appreciate appr their philosophy if you're going to work with other people's minds you need to know your own so we would meditate in our classes and were required to meditate at home at least 20 minutes a day meditating was very uncomfortable when I first started it felt like someone was standing on my chest now after our first semester our class embarked on a trip to the Shambala Mountain Center it wasn't your typical class setting this was a full-on month-long Meditation Retreat tucked away in the mountains of Colorado approximately eight hours a day every

[00:28:36] day everyone cross-legged on their cushions while I sat in a chair because my back needed the extra support after my injuries now going from a 20-minute meditation routine to a mass of eight hours was an invitation for some kind of transformation that sensation I used to feel like someone standing on my chest during meditation turned into this intense feeling like someone was reaching into my chest grabbing my heart and squeezing it painful oh yeah it felt like there was a cement Fortress around my heart and meditation was wielding a jackhammer chipping away at the layers and at the same time looking out at the beautiful view of pine trees dusted with snow surrounded by amazing cohort and hearing the sound of the wind blow through the pine trees was Serene it was a journey to my heart breaking through protective layers thankfully meditation became an

[00:29:38] incredibly enjoyable experience after utilizing somatic work to heal myself and integrating somatic techniques into my meditation over the next year or so as the retreat concluded a few of my friends decided to undergo a symbolic transformation shaving their heads I felt inspired to do it too however I first had to confront many fears will my head be bumpy will I be attractive what about that scar on the top of my head will I have a hard time finding a job will I be judged what will my family think my dad's response to finding out that I was going to aropa was hey Danielle now don't come back a har Krishna which I interpreted as don't come back with a shaved head and wearing robes once I worked through my fears my friend braided my long curly hair that

[00:30:42] came several inches below my shoulders I heard the buzz of the razor and off came my locks surprisingly I had no fear or worry after it was done I felt strong very powerful and ecstatic when I was stripped of my hair I got to know myself on deeper levels however re-entering the world after this month-long immersive experience of slowing down disconnecting from the outside world and sitting with my mind and heart sometimes in complete silence all day was nothing short of a shock we were warned about the adjustment going back into the world but what blindsided me were the trauma symptoms remnants of my rock climbing accident and other past traumas now flooding my body hours of meditation had forcefully dismantled the barricades I'd built to numb myself from my own history one definition of trauma is too

[00:31:45] much too fast and I found out that this applies to positive things like meditation to jumping into a month-long Meditation Retreat with basically not much prep reparation didn't allow me to integrate that kind of expansive experience without blasting my system apart it's hard to recall exactly all the symptoms I was experiencing what I do remember is that my nervous system felt raw instead of being numb I could feel intense activation in my body all the time all of my senses were much more sensitive and I had terrible insomnia where previously I could fall asleep on command it was a process of rebuilding integrating and understanding the depth of my experiences seeking avenues for healing I learned about somatic experiencing somatic experiencing is a body-based modality developed by Peter LaVine to help people heal from all types of

[00:32:47] trauma I was attracted to this type of work because I was having so many physical symptoms when I found a practitioner to work with I saw how activated I was just to sit across from her her attention was both desired and activating I would sit with my eyes closed for what felt like 10 to 15 minutes in the beginning of our sessions in silence working to reduce the intensity in my nervous system I started by scanning my body to find the most calm or relaxing sensation and focus on that until my whole body felt calm this is one of the many somatic experiencing techniques that I learned in our work together she helped me release the activations stored in my body by helping me experience new corrective experiences for example overriding my intuition almost cost me my life and through our work together I reclaim my relationship to my intuition as my most trusted guide when I don't trust it I

[00:33:51] almost always experience some kind of backlash in my work with others I often ask if they had any intuition about their traumatic experiences many people report having some type of intuitive hit that something wasn't quite right before something bad happened so I find it essential to help people restore their connection with their intuition as their inner guidance likewise I always respect and honor my clients intuition in all the ways it's guiding them in our work together by going back through my move ments I understood where I made the mistake in hooking up the ropes I only hooked one side of the Rope to my figure eight on my harness so when I jumped I grabbed one side of the Rope while the other went flying up the medical trauma was another thing I worked through to experience my voice having the power to say stop and protect me I renegotiated the fall in various ways to help my nervous system heal and

[00:34:54] experience resolution at the age of 27 I was blown away by the results of this body-based experiential therapy that I had never experienced before as I mentioned earlier I spent most of my life feeling numb in my body so an unexpected gift of healing with this modality was to feel at home in my body for the first time my education at naropa was providing me with an excellent foundation in working with my mind and understanding the philosophy of psychotherapy but it lacked education on trauma and tangible techniques to utilize based on the remarkable outcomes I had with somatic experiencing it fueled my desire to incorporate this approach into my future practice bringing relief and healing to others fortunately within a few months my symptoms vanished except for the insomnia that persisted the practitioner I worked with

[00:35:56] tried her best and was persistent about using somatic experiencing techniques to help alleviate the insomnia but I started to get frustrated because they weren't working and it seemed as though we were banging our heads against the wall while grappling with challenges in my somatic experiencing journey I found solace and progress in the realm of nutrition I was reading a book that opened my eyes to the intricate relationship between neurotransmitters our brains our nutrition in our bodies and how we can naturally balance them intrigued I opted to have my neurotransmitter levels tested revealing alarmingly low serotonin levels finally the missing link to my persistent insomnia became evident serotonin essential for melatonin production and sleep was significantly depleted serotonin is our major buffer against stress so when we have a lot of stress the levels drop the ongoing

[00:36:59] stress I had endured from unresolved trauma had significantly impacted my serotonin levels I embarked on a natural approach to boost serotonin levels introducing amino acids that served as precursors to serotonin production I witnessed a remarkable transformation within 3 months I was sleeping again this was another eye-opening moment I realized that when I start seeing clients it's important that I don't assume that one modality can help someone heal their trauma symptoms so I embarked on a path to learn many modalities so that I can look through various lenses to help others trauma very much can impact every aspect of our being physical physiological emotional psychological relational biochemical energetic and spiritual therefore I hold an

[00:38:03] integrative perspective on health and healing once I was able to sleep again and after all the incredible transformation from the sematic experiencing work I was free from the symptoms that emerged after my Meditation Retreat I went from being Comfortably Numb to distressed with an overactivated nervous system to finding the Goldilocks just right Zone where it feels enjoyable to be present in my body and where life feels manageable I felt so grateful for this new relationship with my body in knowing how to work with intense Sensations at any time feeling the profound results of the sematic experiencing work I was inspired to learn more so that I can help others with this modality I enrolled in the sematic experiencing training while I was still in the first year of my Master's Degree at neuropa University due to the Intensive work I

[00:39:05] did as a client I was absorbing the techniques and information with remarkable speed and ease the training gave me a very thorough understanding of how trauma impacts our body and nervous system and the mechanics of our threat and survival responses we explored the nuances of each category of trauma and how to help people heal from all types of trauma I learned the power of corrective experiences to change our relationship to the Past right we can't change the past but we can change our relationship to the Past corrective experiences are a way of giving your brain and body the experience that was needed in order to feel resolution with the past and to reclaim our power understanding corrective experiences completely changed how I looked at the world I began to always think think in terms of what is needed to help someone reclaim power and resolution with the past over time I hone the skill of tracking someone's story for key opportunities to assist them in having a corrective

[00:40:09] experience while neuropa gave me an extraordinary experiential education for being present with people sematic experiencing gave me tangible techniques to implement simultaneously completing the sematic experiencing certification and the comp lative Psychotherapy master's degree at age 29 Mark the culmination of a transformative chapter with all the experiential work in meditation at neuropa I personally grew tremendously and I'm grateful to have walked out of there with a calm mind after graduating I said to myself even if I never practiced as a psychotherapist I'm happy that I did this program for how transformative it was somatic experiencing gave me the gift of being present and at home in my body body I was now equipped with both a vast understanding of trauma and Powerful skills to help people heal from it I opened my private practice and started seeing clients in 2008 after graduating As I Grew my Counseling

[00:41:11] Practice I continued to search for ways to heal and evolve myself I like to refer to myself as a deep diver as I thoroughly dive into many subjects and have a passion for Learning and teaching I like to understand how things work I see the human being as multi-dimensional meaning I believe we're made up of many systems that are working and communicating together I also like to get to the root of where things originate so that I can facilitate change efficiently with the most impact my personal path of growth and transformation has always informed my professional work I experiment on myself trying things out to deeply understand them before integrating them into my work ensuring that everything I bring to my practice is personally experienced and proven beneficial the next major training I stumbled upon was functional neurology while conventional Neurology in medicine is designed to spot diseases and pathology it often can't diagnose a

[00:42:15] problem unless the disease has already advanced significantly this is a big difference between functional medicine and traditional Western medicine functional Med medicine uses markers to help people be proactive and know if they're currently on a path that could cause illness or disease and therefore can help someone take steps to prevent this from happening however traditional medicine uses markers that say you either have a particular diagnosis or you don't and unfortunately once you get the diagnosis you have more to reverse to get things back into a healthy range the functional neurology training was an indepth look at all of the loes of the brain brain the brain stem and the nervous system I learned how all these systems functioned and how to test them to see if there's any functional imbalance by putting the eyes and the body through these tests you can have a window into what's happening in the brain understanding the plasticity of the brain and its ability to change and heal was very inspiring for example

[00:43:19] stories of how people recovered from head injuries Phantom limb pain and strokes the whole thing fascinated me the nerdy side of me likes to geek out on learning the terminology like the word homunculus isn't that a fun word this training gave me a good understanding of how to take care of my own brain and body after the injuries I endured looking through this lens has been helpful when clients have had a head injury or odd symptoms such as only having physical symptoms on one side of their body and I've used it to refer them to functional neurologists for proper assessment and care next up was a complete Game Cher in 2013 I was introduced to internal family systems or ifs by a colleague and was very intrigued at what I was learning from her this began my deep dive into this modality the level one training covered the foundational Concepts level two was exciting because it was taught by dick Schwarz the developer of ifs and it

[00:44:22] focused on trauma and Neuroscience coming from a background in trauma and Neuroscience I was thrilled to expand my understanding through this new modality after that I went to study with dick Schwarz in Italy in a training he offered called ifs and spirituality spirituality can have many interpretations from my perspective I believe we Are Spiritual Beings having a brief Human Experience to me spirituality encompasses recognizing our connection to a Divine source making time to experience that connection acknowledging the interconnectedness of all things zooming out and seeing things from a bigger perspective nurturing inner peace and Harmony expressing love toward ourselves and others serving others maintaining the well-being of our bodies and allowing the Divine to flow through US

[00:45:24] freely my spirit path involves understanding and experiencing my true nature free from the layers of conditioning I was beyond excited to be able to explore spirituality through the ifs lens and to do this in Italy was incredible I'll never forget the first night I arrived at the beautiful Retreat Center on top of a mountain overlooking a shimmering Lake in Northern Italy I went to go soak in the hot tub which was located on the edge of the mountain with an infinity pool view over the lake I was surprised to find myself there with dick Schwarz and his lovely wife Jean and a few others we all chatted as the full moon Rose over the lake a magical start to a profound week when I arrived in Italy for this training I had just started an intensive shamanic healing training One Way Shaman help people is to release what's not theirs and retrieve what is theirs so that they can live their most authentic expression of

[00:46:28] themselves so when Dick began talking about the shamanic nature of ifs I was delighted and I had so many questions he and I had numerous conversations on the subject at The Retreat a few months later he invited me to the sounds Tru studio in Colorado where he recorded greater than the sum of your parts a wonderful audio program that's a thorough exploration of ifs equipped with experiential guided meditations in Colorado we continued our conversations I was exhilarated to learn from dick that there was a way to help people do their own shamanic work instead of having a shamanic practitioner do it on their behalf the core self can be used to retrieve Soul Parts release burdens and even free oneself from cords possession and other energetic forms that can get attached to us this res ated with my Approach because I prefer to empower my clients to do this work and be actively involved

[00:47:31] in it to know their fearlessness in the presence of anything aing them to know that they can do it and to demystify it what I love about ifs is that it uses a language that many people can relate to as it's more Universal there are depths to IFS and what I love is that it can meet people where they're at so even though ifs by by nature is very spiritual it speaks to people regardless of their religious and spiritual beliefs this year I participated in another extraordinary week-long retreat with dick Schwarz called the deep healing of Exiles in Hawaii at this Retreat I was thrilled to interview dick on some of the spiritual aspects of ifs for this podcast so stay tuned it's coming soon another very profound experience I had at this retreat in Italy was with Lo Kelly founder of the effortless mindfulness Institute he taught us a way of turning our awareness around so that we could

[00:48:36] experience awareness being aware of itself it was as profound as you might think it was it was such a powerful way to connect to Source within me and all around me as humans our awareness is almost always looking out at the world how often do you think hm what's aware of me right now this is a profound exercise as I began to tap into Source being aware of me or itself as a unique expression of it it was exciting to be a part of this Retreat where dick and lock worked together to weave their understandings of core self awareness source and spirituality it expanded me and my work in so many ways from there I went to deepen my understanding of shamanic work by studying for a year with an indigenous African Shaman the late Elder Malad Patrice

[00:49:37] s i met Malad when I was at neuropa when he was invited to speak to the students powerful and inspirational his poetic words would often shake my soul I had done a few Elemental rituals with him before before I signed up to do a yearlong cowy shell divination training divination is an ancient practice of communication between our world and the spiritual realm it's a way to tap into our intuition and connect with our guides throughout history cultures worldwide have sought knowledge guidance and messages from higher Consciousness using various divination tools from the iching in China to the runes of Norse tribes in the cowy shells in African and Caribbean Traditions part of the training was to deeply understand the elements so he put us through transformative rituals to connect with them one that I will never forget was an earth ritual that I

[00:50:42] initially read about in one of mela's books where he was buried in the earth vertically overnight in the forest with just his head above ground well we didn't spend the night in the the ground nor were we buried vertically it started with digging a grave in the earth during the day at night when it was dark we prepared a fire Circle complete with drummers as everyone saying harmonic dagara songs taught to us by madoma one by one we would leave the fire Circle strip our clothes off and lay down in the grave While others covered our whole body except our head with the bright red dirt of the region as I was lying there I felt like a tree with my whole body rooted in the ground unable to move I watched the moon rise and felt the Soft Wind against my face being this intimate with Mother Earth I prayed to deepen our

[00:51:47] bond to feel her pulse and to be taught directly from her I asked her to remove anything that that is not serving me while he reclaimed a lost connection this was the second time I had a powerful communion with Mother Earth the first time was when I was 21 in a sweat lodge with Tom Brown Jr where I was immediately put in touch with the Earth as the Divine mother and powerfully moved by her unconditional love for everything as with all rituals madoma conducted it ended with everyone being welcome back by the community singing and drumming by the fire until we were all together again as I communed with each element it deepen my connection and understanding of the elements interestingly the elements are used in ifs to transform the burdens we carry so my greater understanding of them brought more depth to this process being around madoma was an out of this world type of experience a true

[00:52:52] Shaman who lived in both worlds physical and spiritual ordinary and non-ordinary I was captivated to hear about his encounters with the spiritual non-ordinary Realms he would often dive into the Realms of Dreams ancestors quantum physics and Subspace there were direct Transmissions received about the nature of reality simply by being with him he vibrated at a very different frequency he would often share things that would blow my mind which opened me to question where my beliefs originated for example why did I think what he was saying was so out there perhaps because I was conditioned to have a limited view of reality this took my desire to think outside the box to a whole other level where I actively sought to get my mind blown I love when things blow my mind because it helps me break free from conditioning it returns me to a natural state of curiosity and wonder and I

[00:53:55] experienced the freedom of the unknown on my path of getting my mind blown and studying quantum physics I met another teacher Dr Joe dispenza Dr Joe created guided meditations to help people get Beyond themselves beyond their ego so that they can connect with the quantum field as pure Consciousness the quantum field is another word for source so having a way to connect more directly with it was extraordinary building on my experience with lock of awareness being aware of itself Joe guides people to become no one no thing no time no place and experience themselves as pure Consciousness I like to look at this a little differently instead of becoming no one I see it as experiencing more of who we truly are to get to know ourselves beyond our body in 2019 19 about 20 years after my near-death experience I had the

[00:54:59] opportunity to participate in a retreat with Dr Joe and about 60 other people in Costa Rica it was the first time I met him in person and he greeted everyone with a hug sitting outside in a beautiful open air Pavilion overlooking the ocean Dr Joe was guiding us to connect with what he calls the void he describes it as completely black so there's no No Light No objects or things a state of pure Consciousness potentiality and infinite possibilities a realm beyond the limitations of space and time a place where one can connect with the quantum field and tap into the energy of Creation in the void you can experience a sense of Oneness and unity with the universe during one of the meditations in this dreamy atmosphere energy surged through my body and tears began to flow as I was experiencing the void and

[00:56:04] realizing this was exactly what I experienced during my fall now I had a way to intentionally connect with that profound realm again anytime it was an incredible gift to feel that kind of connection to Source Within Me and All Around Me Again many years after my rock climbing accident some clarity came from the I was given remember the response I had when I was confronted with knowing that I could live or die I was swimming in the mystical realm while being held by the infinite love of sorce and my immediate response was it doesn't matter something caught me during my fall it held me in a way I had never been held before in its presence there was nothing to be afraid of I believe this response came from knowing at that moment that death was not the end of me as I was experiencing myself beyond my body having this experience woven into

[00:57:07] the fabric of my being is the most profound way that I know and embody my power I've always wondered how I can help people know or experience what I did in my near-death experience as it was so utterly life-changing obviously you can't go seeking a near-death experience so I've been working on creating my own meditations that help people access this profound State integrating various techniques that I've learned along the way the aftermath of a 40-foot fall at the age of 19 catapulted me on a path of self-discovery health and healing unconventional wisdom and knowing the source within me and all around me I'll always be grateful for the profound Revelations and gifts that show up and transcend the ordinary and physical and touch the depths of the mystical and spiritual the journey to heal myself was also a journey to distill the wisdom I gained into a transformative offering for

[00:58:08] others it is the integration of these diverse approaches that has inspired the creation of an evolving modality called embody your power it's evolving because I'm evolving wherever my path leads me I know I will continue to learn and integrate ways to help others on their path my gift is to see the multi-dimensionality of Being Human to look through many lenses and to weave together and integrate knowledge in the unique way that it wants to move through me May my life experiences and Explorations be of benefit to you thank you for being on this journey with me the Divine in me honors the Divine in you thanks for listening to this podcast if you found this episode helpful please consider assisting me in reaching more people by sharing it with others or writing a review together let's raise our Consciousness to help evolve

[00:59:13] Humanity for more information please visit my website danielc caron.com that's d a n i e l l e c a r r r o [Music] n.com
