The one thing holding you back from better health

An ancient hack to re-discovering a better, healthier you

Want to be better and healthier? Be authentic.

But, becoming authentic requires some work you are probably not familiar with. I know I wasn’t. For me, it took losing virtually everything, a nearly 150 mile bike race across a glacial landscape, a hit and run and an NDE to discover the tools and the path to authenticity.

Re-discovering your authentic self begins and ends with ‘Kintsugi’. I say re-discovering because most of us lose our authenticity over time. We adopt a script and a persona. We read from that script, which isn’t ours but one we perceive to be preferable or acceptable by others. Wear the associated costume and mask. Our authentic self gets painted over and then, forgotten.

What happens to a broken cup, bowl or vase? You pick up the pieces and throw them away. However, there is a Japanese practice of renewal in which the broken pieces of pottery or porcelain are re-assembled. The truest and oldest approaches use naturally occurring materials including tree resin, often Seshime Urushi and pure gold dust.

Japanese Buddhist Kintsugi practitioners reconcile their own imperfections with enlightenment in this process. The art suggests that mending the schisms in one's life can be directly translated into a source of enlightenment which is derived from energetic frequency improvement—harmonization between the heart and head and between ourselves and nature and the Source behind it all.

Raising your energy and creating greater coherence between your heart and mind is a one of the key things required to rediscovering your authenticity. Kimberly Snyder’s new book, “The Hidden Power of the Five Hearts” is a literal roadmap which tightly aligns with ancient yogic and meditation practices centered around this concept.

Her book is evidence-backed and science based, so she didn’t just repackage the teachings from sages scattered across the Millennia. However, her work does neatly overlap with virtually all of these teachings.

There is truth in where science and spirituality overlaps.

Coherence between the heart and mind occur when they are communicating and working in concert with one another. There is a growing body of science being published in numerous academic journals such as The American Journal of Cardiology.

For many of us, we are in states where there is ‘incoherence’. Funny what that word brings to mind, eh?

And, none of this is ‘woo-woo’ bullshit.

Let me give you a personal example. For years, my HRV (Heart Rate Variability) has whipsawed. Even though I was an endurance athlete, it was always lower than it should be and bounced around a lot. When recovering from the hit and run I endured on May 30, it went even lower and continued to whipsaw.

This is where the story takes a bit of a turn.

I recently completed the first step in a process of energetic and heart healing that I layered on top of my physical recovery. I was recently medically cleared for everything.

My orthopedics and neurologists all gave me the ‘ServPro Green Light’ (it’s like it never happened).

I undertook this energetic and heart healing process over several weeks. Half of that time was before getting medical clearance and half of it after. During this time, I had returned to a relatively normal ‘ramped’ training regime. My wearable data was climbing. 100% sleep, resting heart rate back down into the 40’s, respiratory rate in the high 13’s. Yet my restorative sleep and HRV remained out of whack.

The day after completing the first round of the heart and energetic cleansing process, all of my metrics absolutely TANKED. I felt hung over and as if I was covered in a grimy residue.

There is an ancient energetic practice I was introduced to which ties in with the underpinnings of Kintsugi. However, Kintsugi is the second part of the process I undertook. Kintsugi is a very old practice. The other is far more ancient and its label cannot be easily translated into English.

That said, here is a description of that ancient process as it was given to me.

The first step is to recognize the truth of the stones we carry. The second is to locate where you have sequestered them, then uncover and inventory. You must then name each stone (not ‘Bob’ but with the energy the stone’s size, shape and heft represents, ‘self-doubt’, ‘addiction’, ‘rage’, ‘fear of failure’, ‘frustration of lack’, etc.). This takes some time and real work. As each stone, when done correctly, will present itself to you.

This process is harder than you might think. It is elusive. When we are in heart, head incoherence, our ego is loud. It shouts “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH”.

But you can. Let your heart lead. Your head will settle down with practice, effort and consistency. Once this happens, you can begin the process of returning your collected negative energy back to nature. This involves a meditation process and interaction with the stones you have collected (this might take several excursions) and connection with the energetic field of Nature (or the Universe, or Source, or God). Finally, you must agree to return what you have held onto, giving it back to Nature.

Energy is like the wind, water or fire. Each of these is made up entirely of energy. Wind cannot be captured and kept in a box. It must move to be wind. Water cannot be held back indefinitely by anything, when moving. Fire cannot be frozen in place.

Each of these are of nature and are meant to be in motion. Energy is always in motion. When we trap it, lock it away or push it down it thickens. It does not stop moving but it slows.

Think of it as mud turning into sediment, turning into rock.

We collect and hold onto these energetic stones which build up over time, like layers of sediment added to through trauma, anxiety, fear, toxicity, jealousy, frustration, lack of self worth, and so on.

These stones are made of the energetic residue of things, people, thoughts, activities, beliefs and habits which carry lower frequency energy we are often surrounded with.

Often, we choose to hang onto this energy. It is a western badge of pride to say '“I’ll just bury it” or “I’m not dealing with that.” In doing so, you just added to the negative energetic weight you carry. Your stones just got another layer.

There are energetic reasons moroseness or depression are not fleeting. Negative emotions are in part anchored in the pile of rocks you’ve collected.

Recently I completed the first step on returning this energy following the ancient Shamanic process imparted to me.

The energy I have collected and carried all these years is not mine. It belongs to nature and should be returned to nature, but in a very specific way.

When we assemble our stones in physical form we must carry them to and release them into moving water. I chose to use a backpack to carry my stones to a specific place and follow a specific meditation ritual. The 15 minute hike, done barefoot (another requirement) was challenging because the stones weighed over 50 pounds.

The stones return to water so nature can deconstruct and diffuse the energy assembled. Rocks to sand to dust to sediment and so on. Nothing can withstand the power of water. Not even toxic energy.

Once this first step is complete, it was possible to follow the Kintsuigi ritual. Through a Kintsugi meditation process, it becomes possible to re-assemble the elements of your truest self, including what are commonly labeled as imperfections, which are not what the word implies.

Here is what I know. I’ve successfully this process and for the first time since my accident, my wearable status is green. The physical impact that tanked my numbers which was the result of the clearing has passed.

Interestingly, my HRV is nearly 4 times higher than EVER recorded since I started using Whoop in 2021.

Finding and being your authentic self is our natural state, where we are in heart-mind coherence. It is where we are healthiest and happiest. It is where synchronicities present themselves to the fullest and where nature works with, in and through us.

Everything else holds us back and weighs us down.

You want to change your life, health and well being? Take the journey to re-discover your authentic self. You will not regret it.

If you want to know more about the actual steps used in this process, shoot me a message.