Musings: Depressed

Wow! This topic is certainly a doozy. It immediately brings up a lot of emotion and recollection. To admit that I have been depressed is something that I do not like to do but to admit that I have had severe depression is quite another. 

I have fallen deep within the well of despair many times and otherwise fallen clearly down that rabbit hole. I have ruminated and worried about what is, will be or has been. Upon much self-reflection, estimation and analysis through the years, I see depression as all the worries we have had in the past time period while worries in the future arises as anxiety in us. In either case, the biggest problem is that we are not living in the present moment, realizing and appreciating with gratitude all that is great and good already in our lives.

Depression is cycling through all the old, negative guck. It is remembering all that which did not go as well as we had hoped or would want it to be. It is about holding on with a firm grip like your fingers around a pencil that you do not want to let go of but that we need to let go of. We need to unclench our fingers from the object that we have spent so much time being attached to.

The thing is that the past is gone. What happened has happened. Even if you were abused as a child or if you were mistreated by deceitful people with ill, malicious or involuntary intent, what can you do about it? If it is possible or necessary for your soul’s growth to do something legal, then perhaps you should. Otherwise, let bygones be bygones, release and let go.

If you learned a lesson, it was valuable. Perhaps, you need to share this message of warning with other people in which case writing a book or sharing in some respects may be in order. Even when you have done so, you will still need to let go of it all and forgive in the end. 

I ask that you and I live in the “present now” as Eckart Tolle recommends and see the value of this powerful everlasting moment for that is all there is.

Mary Mikawoz
February 13, 2023

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“Insights” by Mary Mikawoz

Insights

From years of spiritual pursuit and personal reflection, I have come up with these 5 insights.

These are “Insights” by Mary Mikawoz

“Anger is about unmet expectations.”
“Depression is anger turned inwards.”
“Anxiety is worrying about the future.”
“We all need goals – mini steps in life.”
“Live in the present – that is all we have.”

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Insights by Mary Mikawoz

My Insights after many years of thinking and processing about things. Feel Free to Share!

Everyday Empath

Book: “The Everyday Empath: Achieve Energetic Balance in Your Life” by Raven Digitalis, Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd., 2019.

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

The book is available March 8, 2019

Raven Digitalis has been an empath all his life. He has focussed on Wiccan and pagan pursuits and is also a farmer. He now explores empathy for those who are newly grounded in it or for those would like to understand highly attuned empaths in their lives. Empathy is an emotional internalization. It is a word that is less than a 100 years old and comes from the German word to “feeling into” where you feel somebody else’s emotion as your own. “Empathy is considerate, compassionate and engaging.”

Unlike sympathy which is a feeling “for” somebody, empathy is a feeling “as” somebody. The empath is “absorbing” the emotional frequency. Everyone is empathic to one degree or another. It all depends on how much you have developed it. Many spiritual people indicate that the emotional response of empathy affects our karma.

Our empathic techniques include the following points: we don’t need to have all the answers, it’s good to be honest, disapproval is ok sometimes, you are not a victim, put yourself first, and cultivate gratitude.

Psychics have an enhanced ability to perceive energies and are more focussed as empaths. For those with highly-developed empathy, we have the benefit of transforming or transmuting the energies by increasing the vibrations. Emotional absorption can take place while on the phone, watching TV, and reading the newspaper, in that these are examples of everyday life energy and it is everywhere. If you feel something negative, transmute its energy field to something positive. If you feel something positive, amplify that to the energy grid.

Although the empath is more compassionate, he/she may be scared and see something they don’t want. Some sensitives turn to alcohol, drug abuse, addictions, video gaming and other methods of emotional disconnection. It is really a good thing to be an empath as we are helping to bring in a new aeon of ages into being. If we isolate ourselves for long periods of time, we are bringing in external negative energy without the ability to project our positive energy.

Some methods for dealing with empathy are to: look at the third eye instead of the eyes, covering up your crown chakra with a a hat or shawl, “fake it till you make it,” carry a rock or gemstone, watch your breathing, and surround yourself with like-minded empaths.

Having said all this, it is important for the empath to have boundaries and reinforce this with visualizing a shield of protection. The Mother Earth and Father Sky shield is a good grounding one. You can try a crystalline shield, an egg shield, a mirror shield, shield of iron, a cloak of invisibility, coat of arms, patterned shield, an empath’s heart shield, shield of prayer, or elemental shield.

Empaths are prone to anxiety, depression and emotional imbalances. There are ways to deal with these problems or issues. An empaths purpose is to inspire unity, growth and healing. Empaths are natural healers and that is what we are supposed to do. That is one reason we should be continuing in our community doing the work of transmuting empathic energy and vibrations.

There are a number of exercises in the book. The first one is to observe people and figure out what is going on. It there a dominant personality and a submissive one? Is it a mother and child trying to work out a conflict? What is the feeling between the couple or the group? A second exercise involves you meeting and talking to your Shadow Self. A third exercise is regarding absorptive and projective empathy. A fourth exercise is self-limitation cord cutting. A fifth exercise is morning and evening rituals for empaths. A sixth exercise is a bathing cleansing. A seventh exercise is an empathic journey into art. An eighth exercise is to think globally and act locally. A ninth and final exercise is for action for animals.

Remember “We are not mere emotional sponges. We are emotional alchemists!”

As a fellow empath, I found the book a good review with some very good insights and also some good suggestions for exercises. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels they are developing feelings of empathy towards others or are into metaphysical subjects. I found the book valuable for myself and found it a good read.

The book is available March 8, 2019 when it will be released to the public.

Tags:Spirit, spirituality, empathy, wiccan, pagan, reading others, shields, protection, Mother Earth Shield, Father Sky shield crystalline shield, egg shield, mirror shield, shield of iron, a cloak of invisibility, coat of arms, patterned shield, heart shield, shield of prayer, elemental shield, cutting cords, alchemists, anxiety, depression, emotional imbalances, Shadow Self, community, animals, transmutation, transformation, energy, vibrations.

Positive Psychology

Book: “Positive Psychology for Overcoming Depression– Self-Help Strategies to Build Strength, Resilience and Sustainable Happiness” by Miriam Akhtar

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

This books is relatively short for a self-help book. It is 254 pages on a digital copy. It is full of good information some of which is common sense but others that are the result of research studies. Miriam Akhtar suffered being “visited by the black dog” but no more based on practices she has implemented in her life.

Miriam spends a good portion of the beginning book explaining what “depression” is and is not. It is rather exhaustive and I wonder when you truly deal with depression, do you need such a lengthy explanation. Depression is a lengthy and continuous feeling of being hopeless, helpless and worthless. It is much more than a passing fancy. It is intense. There are psychological, physical and social symptoms to depression but too many to list here. It is the black hole that you simply can not get out of. There are various spirals you can take down with you from psychological, social to physical and pessimistic spirals.

She starts off the book about the ‘Tale of the Two Wolves.’ The grandfather is explaining to his grandson that there is a struggle going inside each person. A wolf that is evil and mean and a wolf that is good and positive. The grandson asks, which wolf wins to which the old man responds “Which ever one you feed?” It is very important then to feed the positive part of yourself and with determination, deny the negative of any feeding to the evil or bad one.

Miriam suggest doing positive things each day even if it is small and for example involves simply walking in the mall. Many approaches involves using your mental capacity to make changes and as this is the case, it will take time and constant repetition to do so.

Some of the arsenal in the positive kit are: Gratitude, Savouring, Acts of Kindness, Connecting with Loved Ones, Using your Strengths, Mindfulness Meditation, Loving-Kindness Meditation, Physical Activities, and Visualizing Your Best Possible Self (seeing your future positively).

Miriam Akhtar highlights many books that offer further insights into the positive parts of the kit. She references these book as places to get more information to deal with depression.

With gratitude, it is dependent upon the senses you relate to most as to what you are most thankful for. With visual, it might be seeing beautiful art and with touch, it might be a massage or hot bath. With smell, it might be smelling flowers and with auditory, it might be listening to good music or a listening to a choir.

French author, Albert Camus, speaks of “In the midst of winter, I found there was inside me an invincible summer.” We all need to see the beauty and positives in the negative and the cold.

With Loving-Kindness meditation, there are three aspects available – a Visualization of imagining a person smiling at you, of Reflection – reflecting upon positive aspects of a person or yourself and Sound – repeating a sound or mantra such as “Loving Kindness.”

Some tactics for dealing on worrying are: distract yourself, write down your fears, avoid the triggers that set you off and taking one small step towards solving the problem in a s positive way.

These are some of the methods that Miriam has used in dealing with her depression and it can help you too. I recommend this book to people who deal with depression. There is more in the latter part of the book.

Tags: Positive Psychology, Depression, Self-help, Strength, Resilience, Happiness, Visited by the Black Dog, Anxiety, Gratitude, Savouring, Acts of Kindness, Connecting with Loved Ones, Using your Strengths, Mindfulness Meditation, Loving-Kindness Meditation, Physical Activities, and Visualizing Your Best Possible Self