the smiley brain

This episode walks through the story of what made me fall in love with Islam. Initially, I felt that this episode did not meet my standards. For a variety of reasons but particularly in regards to the insights I share towards the end on what really made Islam pierce my heart. I wanted to get every detail narrated, a full timeline, a full depiction of all events. But then I remembered something obvious - I'm neither a scholar, nor a historian. I will eternally have so much to learn. I'm a human, inherently designed with imperfections. All I can do is share what I think and how I perceive. If I don't allow myself to freestyle here, where will I?If anything, let this plant a seed. Learn about what happened. Learn from people who know much more than I ever will. Listen with an open heart. Humanize us. ---Disclaimer: If there are any mistakes or misunderstandings in my conclusions or delivery, please correct me with adab. 

VIDEO LINKS:https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy7PYbfuNdq/https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy6GVHfuj_R/Jewish Voice for Peace:https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/take-action/Ceasefire:https://ceasefiretoday.com/BDS:https://bdsmovement.net/get-involved/what-to-boycotthttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/3/29/are-bds-boycotts-hurting-brand-israel 

reflections, stories, and a glimpse into my reconnection with Islam.

feel your feelings, man.

On the first episode of the smiley brain 2.0, I explore the meaning of the word "nafs" in the Islamic tradition. While Carl Jung referred to the shadow and the ego in the late 1800s, the Qur'an detailed the trials of the soul and the ego over 1400 years ago. In this episode, I begin a humble and introductory [attempt at] unpacking of 3 stages of the nafs (ego's journey.) Ultimately, through jihad of the nafs (struggle/purification of the ego) the devotee reaches higher states of awareness and consciousness and surrenders into submission of faith and trust in the Beloved. I have much to learn. I look forward to deepening my knowledge and insights and sharing reflections with you along the way. PS: if you are interested in signing up for classes through Aleff Institute to deepen your knowledge of Farsi and Islamic mysticism and poetry, you can do so through https://aleffinstitute.com. I highly recommend this for people who are willing to invest dedicated energy to learning through a highly informed and perceptive lens. PPS: please forgive any mispronunciations or misunderstandings on my end. You are welcome to inform and educate me! 

This episode is an integration of thoughts and reflections that started off around November, the start of eclipse season, (a window that just closed with the recent full moon.) In this episode, I explore the topics of authenticity and vulnerability and how reclaiming these powers helps to align you with your highest expression of life. It's a joy to share these reflections with you. Thanks for being a part of this ride! PS: if you are interested in working with me one-on-one, I will be reopening my private practice soon. Keep an eye out for session availability! alchemizeyourmind.com

A gift for you before I depart on my next adventure. 

I saw something on Instagram that activated a lot of reflections on opposition of thought. Why are we humans capable of incomprehensible violence when faced with someone expressing an opposing viewpoint? I explore these thoughts in this episode. Content warning: this episode contains mention of violence/death. 

This episode is for anyone who embodies the martyr archetype. If you are an over giver and have a hard time forming healthy and sustainable boundaries, I see you. I'm working through this too. This episode is a real-time integration for myself regarding recent events and realizations. The recent Venus/Pluto conjunction brought a lot of things to light and this episode is a part of my integration from those realizations. 

In this episode, I share some recent reflections I've been having regarding our experience with suffering. So much of our pain and suffering is self imposed based on the shadows and mental projections we are experiencing. In this episode I speak about this at length, and talk through ways to release ourselves from these outdated cycles. 

This episode is an exploration on two main topics: fear, and change. Sometimes the fear we experience is a fear of change. In this episode, I share some insights that have come up for me around these two things as I continue shifting my life. I also will be starting a youtube account very soon! Stay tuned for announcements around this. 

If you are interested in checking out my art, you can do so at art1v1st.com. 30% of all sales on "The Land of Lions" will directly go towards humanitarian aid for the current crisis in Afghanistan. Proof of donations will be provided on my instagram stories: @art1v1st.If you are interested in booking a one on one session with me, you can do so at alchemizeyourmind.com.

One of the most destructive things I've seen as a cause for damage in relationships is the need that people have to be right and to be seen as right. This comes from an unchecked ego (and is often driven entirely by unhealed wounds.) This episode is an exploration into this idea, with personal examples from my own approach to stop operating in this way. 

If you find it challenging to form deep connections with people, this one is for you! This episode is an exploration on the things that can further deepen or, in contrast, hinder human connection.

This episode starts with a live reading from the introduction of Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist." This one is about finding and following your passion: the thing that ignites you, animates you, and feeds your soul.

A prayer for you, for me, and for all of us.

In this episode, I share some ways that I've been motivating myself and coming out a procrastination hole. I also talk about how we can start to shift from receiving chemical rewards (dopamine) externally towards receiving them internally. 

Have you ever met someone who had so many green flags that you wanted to self sabotage and run away? This episode is for you! In this episode, I talk about the difference between green flag and red flag behavior. I compare and contrast how these things can come up and I provide some examples of what this may look like. 

The healing journey looks different for everyone. Some people get onto this path because they want to help others. Some people get on this path when they realize that they only thing they can do is help themselves. In this episode, I talk about parts of my journey and how I was led to the path of (self) healing. If you are new to the healing path, I wish you softness in every part of your journey. This work can be hard but that doesn't mean we don't do it. It often means we do it with even more courage, strength, and self love. 

I remember many years ago reading about the psychology of "bids" - little invitations we give out to others as an offering for the purpose connection. It can sound like "nice weather today, right?" or "Thank you for doing that." I expand on this in the episode, explaining what bids are, how we offer bids, and I talk about some of the inner workings that are taking place in the process. I also talk about how people are our mirrors, standing in your power, and the importance of existing from a space of compassion. If everyone is my mirror, any harm I do to anyone is harm I do to everyone, myself included. 

This episode is a follow up on the previous episode "Soul Retrieval." In this episode, I talk about what soul loss is and I provide examples of how this can come through for people. If you feel that you have experienced soul loss and are seeking support to move through that, please feel free to reach out to me personally. I wish you softness and healing in your journey.

Last week I had the privilege of attending a week-long soul retrieval training with my spiritual teacher Nicole Perez. This episode contains some of my reflections from the experience.

“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” - Joseph Chilton Pearce In this episode, I talk about the importance of play and nourishing the inner child by sharing an example from my own life. Recently I reconnected with my passion for art and it has been infusing me with life force and joy. Art is my favorite form of play and is quick to bring me into a flow state of full presence. I've been observing that as I activate these flow states, I notice shifts in my body. I'm more at ease, I'm more grounded and present, and overall, I'm more happy. I hope this episode inspires you to activate new states of play and healing for your inner child, too!

In a world of celebrity culture and hierarchy, it can be hard to detach from this behavior. In this episode, I talk about the dangers of pedestalizing others, and I explore some of the reasons why I think we engage in this behavior at all. I believe that as we continue to chip away at some of the unhealthy and unnecessary structures that exist in the world around us, we will continue to transform how we live in this world, collectively and individually. As we learn to trust ourselves and turn within, we remove the need for the expert that exists outside of us, because we have uncovered the expert within us.

Have you ever wanted to take action to make changes in your life but felt blocked or uncertain before doing so? If yes, this one's for you. In this episode, I explore what leaning into the unknown means to me, and I share my insights as they come to me. I also touch on the importance of releasing the tendency to self-judge, and I examine how I see judgement acting as a block in our healing journeys. 

Announcement: I have opened a submissions form to receive audience questions to answer on the smiley brain. If you are currently going through a challenging period or seeking guidance or advice on a specific issue, this is for you! You can find the submission form on my website: www.alchemizeyourmind.com/submissions This episode is a reflection of thoughts that have been coming up for me lately. I've been thinking a lot about how we often make decisions from a space of wounding or pain, and it's become so normalized. I think this comes from unhealed core wounds, so I wanted to share some thoughts that have been coming up for me on this topic. Also, free P@lest!n3

This episode is an exploration into the inner compass, and how you can learn to navigate your way through life by using this inner compass. I also talk a little about the inner authority and how we can listen to that voice to make more aligned decisions. By learning how to interact with our inner authority, we unlock new layers of awareness that can help us adjust how we interact with the world around us.

Sometimes when we see someone's story of growth, we don't see the challenges and healing that had to take place in order to arrive there. This episode is an exploration into some of the challenges of moving through periods of growth, and some ways we can navigate those challenges. If you are going through a growth period and finding it challenging to move through it, this one's for you. If you need additional support as you move through your journey, you can work with me at www.alchemizeyourmind.com.

This episode is a reflection on meditation. Years ago, I read "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle and it inspired a lot of awareness around how I could meditate and be more present with myself. This episode explores ideas around meditation, how to meditate, and some of the ways it can transform your life.

This episode is an exploration into what inner peace is. I remember reading somewhere that healing is the end of conflict with yourself (source unknown, please let me know if you know where it's from!) And this stuck with me. This episode examines the idea of healing the inner conflicts we experience, and explores some ways we can go about doing that.

This episode is about love. May you feel love in your heart today, and all days.

Embodying vulnerability can feel hard, scary, and can feel threatening. We may feel raw and exposed, and this can be challenging to experience. At the same time, vulnerability is often something that leads to powerful self-healing and self-awareness. In this episode we talk about the ways that we can learn how to become more vulnerable, and we explore the ways that being unwilling to be vulnerable can impact our relationships. Being vulnerable requires courage. It's brave. It's not easy. But this is more reason to do it. When we can access our vulnerability and fully embody it, we also end up healing many of our shadows and in doing so, we foster healthier connections with others.

"I feel like people get lost when they think of happiness as a destination. We always think that someday we'll be happy. When we get that car or that job or that person in our lives who will fix everything. But happiness is a mood and it's a condition. Not a destination. It's like being tired or hungry. It's not permanent. It comes and goes and that's OK. And if people would think that way, they'd find happiness more often." - A quote from the show One Tree Hill This episode explores the topic of happiness and what it means to be happy.

If you have find it hard to connect with your feelings and to actually experience them, this one's for you. When I say "feel your feelings," I mean this: allow yourself the space and time to sit with the emotions that are trying to capture your attention. Take the time to actually experience them, instead of numbing them, avoiding them, or burying them. When we go through life burying our emotions, they don't ever actually disappear. They just come out in other ways. If you are angered easily, but not able to express your anger, it can turn into resentment over time. What if we emptied out our cups before they got too full? In this episode, I challenge you to experience your emotions and learn how to sit with them in a state of observation and non-judgement. By doing this, we develop a much richer inner awareness, and we learn how to navigate our emotions in a more healthy and nourishing way.

Do you ever feel detached and disconnected from your body? Sometimes we find it challenging to feel connected to our bodies and the information that comes to us through our bodies. If you feel disconnected, this episode is for you. It's common for us to feel disconnected from our physical form. In this episode, we explore different ways to view your relationship with your body and your mind. I believe that our bodies and our minds are like sacred temples, and we have been assigned the task to keep these temples tidy and feeling sacred. I hope this episode inspires a feeling in you to want to view yourself as a divine being, and to treat yourself as such, always.

Friendships are a beautiful way for us to hand select certain people that we keep in our lives. Many people say that our friends are our chosen family members. I think healthy friendships allow for a great opportunity to show up as our most honest and vulnerable selves. This episode explores the importance of friendships, and addresses what I believe to be the most friendship of all: the one we have with ourselves. Tell the people in your life that you love them. Tell your friends that you love and value them. And do the same thing for you.

This episode is for everyone who has a tendency to fall into the martyr archetype. Being the martyr, it can seem instinctive to dismiss ourselves and our needs for the sake of other people. But are we actually helping anyone by doing this? In this episode, we explore how martyrdom and guilt go hand in hand, and talk about ways of breaking from these patterns.

The shadow is all that is within us that remains unconscious and hidden. Shadow work is the process of intentionally accessing these parts of ourselves so that we can confront them, heal the wounds underneath them, and move forward in life from a more holistic and healed space. This episode is an exploration into the beginning of the shadow work journey, with some examples of ways to begin this process.

Communication is the sending and receiving of information. In this episode, we break down what communication is and should be, and the various patterns and wounds that can interfere with our ability to healthily relate to another human.

Most of us were never modeled healthy ways to emotionally regulate, and therefore we are often left in a state of imbalance when we become overwhelmed and overstimulated. In this episode, we explore some ways to move through the times when we are emotionally dysregulated, and we get a motivational boost to move through our most challenging times.

This episode explores the topic of accountability. We explore why it's important for us to be accountable for ourselves, our actions, our thoughts, and our behaviors, and what can get in the way of us doing this. This episode also touches on some things that interfere with our motivation and willpower, two important drivers of accountability. *Note from Sana: excuse the text buzzes in the background :)

In this episode, we explore the topic of emotional safety, what it means, and why it's important. We also touch on how boundaries are intertwined with emotional safety, and how we can combine these two things to heal conflicts within ourselves and outside of ourselves.

In this episode of The Smiley Brain, I talk about people pleasing and explore some ways that this behavior can harmfully impact our lives. Are you a recovering people pleaser? This episode may help you on your journey.

This episode is about the importance of discerning between intuition and insecurity. Sometimes we form thoughts and stories in our heads based on layers of insecurity, and we mistaken this for our intuition. This episode invites you to explore a little deeper, and to discern the differences between the two.

In this episode, I talk about self love, what it is, and how we can start going about embodying it. This episode is for everyone who finds it challenging and needs a boost. Remember that you are always worthy to receive your own love.

In this episode, I talk about courage, what it means to be courageous, what blocks us from embodying our courage, and how we can overcome our inner and outer blocks. This episode is an invitation to remember that you are always capable of overcoming your fears. May you find and seize an opportunity to be courageous today.